Recognizing Industry’s Role in Protecting Public Health

In a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine, CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden extolled the government’s role in protecting and promoting health through population-wide action (Frieden, 2013). He alleged that government may be the only entity capable of promoting the greater good in public health by reconciling social and economic interests. His perspective requires some examination.

Amongst the longstanding nutritional interventions that are considered major triumphs in prote…