Sharon Leaves the Bordello

There has been a smack-down in the blogging world; Sharon Astyk, Peak-Oil and Sustainable Living Blogger Extraordinaire has left the Science Blogs domain. Why? Because Seed Media, owner of Science Blogs, has allowed the nefarious and evil-doing Pepsi Co. to PURCHASE the right to blog as a FOOD AND NUTRITION contributor on their site. Let's get this straight. The company that has inserted itself into school cafeterias across the nation, the company that is the central evil-doer in the film Flow which is about the lack of access to clean water in poor and developing countries (www.flowthefilm.com), the same company that helped to undermine breastfeeding in those same countries...is now a food and nutrition contributor on what we thought was an even-handed science forum.
Since my brain is fried from the week of 90 plus degree temperatures, I cannot even come up with the words to describe what I think is the worst component in this scenario. (And, of course, we all know that these temperatures have nothing to do with climate change. The industry paid scientists and government shills told us so.)
Is it that Pepsi, along with Nestle and Vivendi, are trying to purchase all of the world's potable water in order to sell it back to us in plastic bottles? Is it that now, now that public opinion has swung in a health-seeking direction, Pepsi is pulling their soda product from schools by 2012; not because it's right or because it's in the best interest of children but because educated parents are demanding it and therefore it is the best thing for the bottom line. Or is it that Pepsi's paid marketing and sales people cannot possibly also be nutritionists and therefore are highly unqualified to be writing a food and nutrition blog for a science forum. I can't decide. It's probably all of those things together. Or maybe it's the fact that I'm sick and tired of not knowing who to trust; who is being paid off by whom. Who is behind the curtain pulling those levers. Living in a corrupt world, trying to keep your personal integrity and hold onto your principles can be exhausting. I applaud Sharon for doing what she knew what right and leaving the Pepsi bordello.