Expert nutritionist Marion Nestle receives honorary degree from Transylvania University
LEXINGTON, Ky.—Marion Nestle, one of the nation’s top experts on nutrition, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by Transylvania University on Tuesday, Oct. 23, in Haggin Auditorium. Nestle was recognized for her distinguished career in the field of nutrition as a teacher, scholar, author, public servant and advocate for enlightened policies on dietary guidance, social and environmental influences on food choice, the politics of food safety and the effects of food industry marketing on children’s diets and health. President R. Owen Williams conferred the degree prior to Nestle’s presentation of the fall 2012 Kenan Lecture, “Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health.” Nestle talked to the 700-member audience about rising obesity rates in the United States and how they correlate with several changes that have taken place in the food industry and food politics over the past 15-30 years. She cited research that shows the obesity rate in the early 1980s was around 15 percent, and in the early 2000s, that number jumped to 33 percent and is still rising. She said the average American eats between 200-700 more calories per day than they did in the 1980s. Several factors have led to people eating more, Nestle said, including deregulation of agriculture, Wall Street, and food marketing, which have allowed for much cheaper food to be available outside the home and created more pressure on the food companies to raise their profits. “Much of that
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