https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/obr.70153

ABSTRACT

Introduction

The meat industry's role in funding and influencing scientific research raises concerns about its impact on evidence used to inform public health policy. Although industry influence on other food and beverage sectors is well-documented, its effects on studies of meat consumption remain understudied.

Objective

This study aimed to investigate the influence of meat industry involvement on study conclusions of research examining the health impacts of meat consumption.

Methods

A meta-research review of relevant studies published between 2014 and 2023 was conducted using PubMed and Scopus. Studies investigating the nutritional health impacts of meat consumption were included. Study characteristics, author affiliations, declared funding sources, declared conflicts of interest, and study conclusions were extracted. Association tests were used to assess the relationship between industry ties and study conclusions.

Results

Of 500 included studies, 78 (15.6%) reported industry involvement. Studies with industry ties were 16 times more likely to report favorable conclusions regarding meat consumption (odds ratio [OR] = 16.4, 95% CI: 7.5–35.8), and there was a significant association (p < 0.001) between industry involvement and study conclusion.

Conclusion

Meat industry involvement significantly increases the likelihood of favorable study conclusions in nutrition research. These findings underscore the need for caution when interpreting research funded or associated with the meat industry and emphasize the importance of minimizing conflicts of interest in nutrition research.

Trial Registration

Prospero: ID CRD42024526116

I'm not suggesting that you or I don't have free will. But I do think that free will is conditioned by a vast array of circumstances, including our own biology and the human brain.

I think of it this way: everyone has varying degrees of free will. We have free will but it's contained within certain parameters, certain limiting factors. It's impossible to know what those factors are for another person. We may not even be able to see our own limiting factors.

We have free will but it's conditioned or limited by conditions. Conditioned free will or free will within certain limits or parameters.

How does karma function in this context? Two people commit the same action, whether good or bad based on their intentions. One person fully understands the consequences of their actions. One person only partially understands. Do they each generate different karmic consequences even though they've committed the exact same action? So the karma we generate is linked to our understanding or the world, our actions, and the consequences of our actions? A child does not generate the same consequences as an adult. So karma is on some level psychological?

It's an interesting topic....