Comparing Coke and Carrots (on Coke's Tab)

At a conference on sugar and other sweeteners, medicine and epidemiology professor Adam Drewnowski challenged the World Health Organization's characterization of soft drinks as "energy-dense foods." He said that soft drinks' "high water content gives them the energy density of fresh carrots." Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust, a think tank on food issues, organized the conference, which was sponsored by Coca-Cola's Beverage Institute for Health and Wellness and co-sponsored by four sweetener manufacturers. Oldways' president explained, "If you want to deal with a serious problem, you have to try to get as much information as you can. Who knows more about this than Coca-Cola?"