The above quote is one of the most iconic lines in movie history. It comes from one of the greatest movies of all time—and my choice for the most romantic movie ever.
The line belongs to Captain Louis Renault (played by Claude Rains). He has just been ordered by German Major Heinrich Strasser to shut down Rick’s Place, the nightclub owned by Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart). The order comes as a direct result of the French patrons singing La Marseillaise to drown out the German officers singing Die Wacht am Rhein.
Renault has no reason to shut down the club, but he is great at playing the middle.
The “Oh, thank you very much” makes the scene even more charming. Such manners.
Why share a short scene from the most romantic movie of them all? Because when I learned that the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) had accepted large amounts of money from food companies and industry trade groups—including some of the world’s largest producers of soda, sugar, and ultra-processed foods in return for less than objective reporting on these companies and the products they produce—I was shocked, shocked.
The report was first published in October in the British journal, Public Health Nutrition, and was followed by The Washington Post, Food Politics (the blog published by Marion Nestle) and others.
It is shocking that the organization largely responsible for nutrition education in our country, with great media access, and given input into food policy accepted over $15 million from food companies and their connected trade groups between 2011 and 2017. I wouldn’t be shocked to learn that the contributions have continued or even gotten larger.
If you were to call your health plan or wellness provider and ask them to send somebody over to teach your employees about proper nutrition, there is a chance that the person who shows up will be a member of AND. And their advice will go something like this:
AND Nutritionist: “Eat your fruits and vegetables. Don’t you dare ever fry chicken. You must grill it. Drink enough milk to get a milk moustache and, because food isn’t food anymore and the soil has been depleted, you must take a multi-vitamin, multi-mineral supplement.”
A few of those AND members will go one step further: “…..and have you heard of this new MLM supplement company I’m involved with?”
If you wonder why nutrition advice is contradictory and in conflict, it’s because the people who are supposed to be teaching you about nutrition belong to a whorish trade group that accepts large donations from the companies that are manufacturing the food products that the average consumer needs to be educated about. Why would a AND member speak anything but glowingly about the companies that subsidize their hotel rooms, and pay for the meals and booze at the upcoming Las Vegas convention?
This is not a new issue. AND’s behavior has been on the radar of others for a long time. Jon Stewart, while still hosting “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central, did a funny story about the food industry in general and AND in particular. Did you know those square yellow individually-wrapped slices made by Kraft are not allowed to be marketed as cheese? But they did get a Kids Eat Right seal of approval from AND (in return for a nice sized check, I’m sure).
The U.S. obesity rate increased from 29.9% in 1999-2000 to 42.4% in 2017-2018 (Source Centers for Disease Control/Prevention). When Rick Blaine was letting the love of his life, Ilsa Lund, get on the plane to Lisbon with her husband, Victor Laszlo, I doubt that the obesity rate was above 15%. Just to be clear: there are numerous reasons for the level of obesity. AND being in bed with the food manufacturers is just one of them.
In Casablanca, Claude Rains gets dangerously close to stealing the movie from Bogie. His line at the end, “Major Strasser has been shot. Round up the usual suspects,” is probably more a part of our culture than “I’m shocked, shocked…..”
