How the Nation’s Food System Can Support Healthy Eating Will Be Discussed in a Free Public Lecture March 13

Marian Frank
Marian Frank

The Center for Science in the Public Interest is the oldest independent, science-based consumer advocacy organization with an impressive record of accomplishments and an ambitious agenda for improving the food system to support healthy eating. Among its goals are decreasing junk food marketing to children, reducing the consumption of sugary drinks and soda, reducing sodium in processed and restaurant foods, improving food safety and diminishing the incidence of foodborne illness.

Peter Lurie, MD, MPH, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, champions consumer access to important health data. He is the featured speaker at Mini-Medical School on Wednesday, March 13, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix's Health Sciences Education Building Lecture Hall C104, 435 N. Fifth Street, Phoenix. The presentation is free and open to the public.

Dr. Lurie will discuss tactics used by the center to advance important public health issues. His topic will be, “Holding Government and Industry Accountable in the Development of Food Policy.” This lecture is presented by the Flinn Foundation Buffmire Lecture series.

The Washington, DC-based center has led recent battles outlawing trans fats and improving food labeling. It publishes the popular Nutrition Action Newsletter, which offers practical advice to consumers interested in nutrition, food safety and health. The organization led the fight for passage of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990, which brought nutrition labels to packaged food. Its advocacy work also spurred restrictions on nitrite and nitrate in cured meats. A current campaign is pressuring companies to stop using food dyes.

About Peter Lurie, MD, MPH

Peter Lurie, MD, MPH, is president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest and former associate commissioner for Public Health Strategy and Analysis at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Dr. Lurie began his career as a family physician after receiving an MD from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and an MPH from the University of California. Afterward, he began taking on leadership roles at the FDA, where he focused on leading the agency’s initiatives on antimicrobial resistance, transparency, caffeinated beverages, arsenic in rice, fish consumption by pregnant and nursing women, expanded access to investigational drugs and prescription drug abuse.

His current topic of concentration at the center is drug safety.

About the College

Founded in 2007, the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix inspires and trains exemplary physicians, scientists and leaders to advance its core missions in education, research, clinical care and service to communities across Arizona. The college’s strength lies in our collaborations and partnerships with clinical affiliates, community organizations and industry sponsors. With our primary affiliate, Banner Health, we are recognized as the premier academic medical center in Phoenix. As an anchor institution of the Phoenix Bioscience Core, the college is home to signature research programs in neurosciences, cardiopulmonary diseases, immunology, informatics and metabolism. These focus areas uniquely position us to drive biomedical research and bolster economic development in the region.

As an urban institution with strong roots in rural and tribal health, the college has graduated more than 1,000 physicians and matriculates 130 students each year. Greater than 60% of matriculating students are from Arizona and many continue training at our GME sponsored residency programs, ultimately pursuing local academic and community-based opportunities. While our traditional four-year program continues to thrive, we will launch our recently approved accelerated three-year medical student curriculum with exclusive focus on primary care. This program is designed to further enhance workforce retention needs across Arizona.

The college has embarked on our strategic plan for 2025 to 2030. Learn more.