Preventative Medicine, Politics and Big Pharma Debate

Andrew Urquhart speaks with Professor Grant Schofield, an expert in preventative medicine, about New Zealand First's health policy which draws on work from the Make New Zealand Healthy trust. Schofield explains he was part of a scientific advisory team that offered comprehensive health reform policy to all political parties, focused on shifting spending from treating sickness to preventing disease; and rejects claims of plagiarism since the policy was openly offered and only New Zealand First engaged meaningfully with it.

The discussion covers bodily autonomy and informed consent in medicine, the influence of government dietary guidelines on institutions like hospitals, prisons and schools, and whether taxpayers should subsidise healthy food choices similar to existing subsidies for pharmaceuticals and big food. Schofield also raises concerns about Big Pharma's heavy marketing influence within medicine, particularly around weight-loss drugs, contrasting this with the comparatively weak lobbying power behind whole-food and lifestyle-based approaches to health.

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