In 1967, the Sugar Research Foundation funded 'Project 226,' paying Harvard researchers the equivalent of $48,900 to publish a literature review in the New England Journal of Medicine that dismissed sugar's role in heart disease and blamed dietary fat instead. No funding disclosure was made. This single corrupt study shaped US dietary guidelines for decades, contributing to the obesity epidemic.
“Let me assure you this is quite what we had in mind, and we look forward to its publication.”
From “crazy” to confirmed
The Claim Is Made
This is the moment they called it crazy.
In 1967, the Sugar Research Foundation made a decision that would ripple through American health policy for the next five decades. They identified a problem: scientific research was beginning to suggest that sugar consumption contributed to heart disease. Their solution was straightforward, if ethically questionable. They would pay Harvard researchers to publish findings that shifted blame away from sugar and onto dietary fat instead.
The project was called "Project 226," and the price tag was $48,900—equivalent to roughly $400,000 in today's money. The Sugar Research Foundation contracted with researchers at Harvard's School of Public Health to produce a literature review that would be published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine. The outcome was predetermined. The researchers were tasked with examining existing scientific literature on sugar, fat, and heart disease, but the funding came with clear expectations about the conclusions they should reach.
The study was published in 1967 under the title of a comprehensive review of the evidence. It concluded that dietary fat, not sugar, was the primary culprit in heart disease. The research made no mention of the Sugar Research Foundation's financial involvement. This non-disclosure was crucial—readers, other scientists, and eventually policymakers had no idea the work was funded by an industry with a vested interest in the outcome.
For decades, this single study carried enormous weight in shaping American nutrition policy. It influenced dietary guidelines at the federal level and cascaded into recommendations from health organizations across the country. Doctors told patients to cut fat from their diets. The food industry responded by producing low-fat products—which often contained added sugar to improve taste. The public followed these guidelines, believing they were based on objective science.
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Confirmed: They Were Right
The truth comes out. Officially documented.
Confirmed: They Were Right
The truth comes out. Officially documented.
The truth remained hidden for fifty years. In 2016, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, obtained internal documents from the Sugar Research Foundation through historical archives and freedom of information requests. These papers revealed the explicit arrangement between the industry and the Harvard scientists. The communications showed that the Foundation had selected the researchers, defined the scope of the literature review, and expected findings favorable to sugar.
The evidence was damning precisely because it came from the industry's own documents. Internal memos outlined the strategy. The researchers' names were listed alongside notes about their willingness to shape conclusions. There was no ambiguity in the paperwork—this was a calculated effort to manipulate scientific consensus.
The impact cannot be overstated. While many factors contributed to America's obesity epidemic, the dietary guidelines shaped by this corrupted research played a measurable role. For fifty years, Americans were told to fear fat while consuming record amounts of sugar. Public health suffered as a result.
This case matters today because it demonstrates how easily scientific consensus can be manufactured when financial incentives align with desired outcomes. It raises urgent questions about current research funding, disclosure requirements, and industry influence in health policy. The sugar industry's secret Harvard deal wasn't an isolated incident—it was a blueprint that other industries have followed. Understanding what happened in 1967 helps us recognize similar patterns today and demand better safeguards for scientific integrity.
Unlikely leak
Only 5.7% chance this would come out. It did.
Conspirators
~300Network
Secret kept
49.1 years
Time to 95% exposure
500+ years
