New research center investigates corporate influence on public health
A new research center at the University of California, San Francisco will study how corporations manipulate science and regulation to downplay health risks from chemicals, fossil fuels, and ultra-processed foods.
Liza Gross reports for Inside Climate News.
In short:
- The Center to End Corporate Harm aims to expose how industries distort scientific research, delay regulations, and suppress evidence of health risks.
- Researchers will use UC San Francisco’s Industry Documents Library, which contains internal corporate records from the tobacco, opioid, chemical, and fossil fuel industries.
- Scientists say corporate-driven risks contribute to rising rates of chronic diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
Key quote:
“This shift, which has dramatically changed in the last 20 years, is due to corporate-produced risk factors.”
— Tracey Woodruff, director of the Center to End Corporate Harm
Why this matters:
Chronic diseases have surged worldwide, and researchers argue that corporate practices play a major role. Industries have long used tactics to cast doubt on science that threatens their profits, from tobacco companies denying cancer risks to fossil fuel firms questioning climate change. These strategies shape public policy, often delaying regulations that could protect health. By studying industry documents, scientists hope to reveal how corporations influence research and regulations — potentially shifting how policymakers and the public perceive corporate responsibility for public health crises.
Related: Hidden studies from decades ago could have curbed PFAS problem: Scientist
