Everything you buy has to be tested, from the food you eat to the products you use every day. If the scientists testing these goods were to find negative effects associated with them, you would hope they would say something about it. However, big time corporations persuade scientists with large sums of money which leaves them blinded by greed and willing to alter negative lab results in favor of these corporations. This misjudgment on the scientists behalf may lead to disastrous consequences when they do not warn consumers of the harmful effects a product entails.

Companies are required by law to have their products verified and tested for safety before they can hit the market. To do so, they hire their own research teams to test the products. However, this influences the researchers to alter their data in order to have a steady flow of cash. Therefore, customers are not being adequately informed of the harmful consequences of products. So if the consumer knows that the things they are buying can give them cancer or a heart attack, they will not spend their money and the companies would not survive. These selfish companies dismiss the health and safety of their customers to earn money.

“I think it is really bad that scientists accept being bought out by corporations. They are spreading lies and people do not know who to trust because of this. I think it is outrageous that the world has come to this,” freshman Chiara Kusmierek said.

In one research study, the Coca-Cola Company was accused of helping their scientists promote the idea that drinking Coke does not lead to obesity. Conversely, they tried to prove that many Americans are obese because they are too focused on eating and drinking right but not exercising enough. This claim is very misleading given that Coke contains 9 ½ tea spoons of sugar and 140 calories in one can! Coke consumption is plummeting and according to Well, “In the last two decades, consumption of full-calorie sodas by the average American has dropped by 25 percent.” This means that Coca Cola will pay these scientists as much as it takes to promote their drink as being healthy. Despite what the Coca Cola Company says, drinking Coke has been linked to obesity as well as type-2 diabetes and coronary artery disease.

Nevertheless, some may argue that it is understandable for scientists to alter data and misinform the populace in order to make more money. Scientists may not have a choice if they work for a research company who instructs them to show biased outcomes with the consequence of losing their jobs if they refuse to cooperate. Without a job how can the scientists support their families and provide them with a better life?

Although scientists should support their families, what about the other billions of families in the world who may be affected by the products these scientists lie about? When people become scientists they must sign a “Hippocratic Oath for Scientists” which means they must be just and honest. They also have an obligation to be aware of the consequences of the actions they take that influence people, animals or the environment and try to minimize the effects. Keeping in mind all of these values, it is clear to see that the scientists who take part in these deceitful studies have broken both the Hippocratic Oath and their own moral conscious. It is not ethical to put so many people at risk for the sake of someone’s self-indulgence.

With all of these companies trying to convince everyone what effects their products have and whether it is healthy or not, it is difficult to separate the truth from the big marketing schemes. It is hard to believe everyone is so fixated on making money that they have become heartless and selfish.