Though hardly the most shocking of news, by now I’m sure you’ve all heard that Paula Deen officially announced that she has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I have never been able to stomach Paula Deen’s show; I don’t like her cooking style and at times and I find her television personality to be obscene, especially for her age (see above, now imagine your grandma doing that). Such a serious diagnosis is undoubtedly heartbreaking news and, as far as her health is concerned, I wish Mrs. Dean only the best. However, I have a problem with a few things…

Let me first start with how she plans on changing the way she cooks in light of her diagnosis: she’s not going to change a thing. Instead, she is going to use “moderation,” similar to an alcoholic saying, “Just one drink.” She will eat what she normally eats, just in a more “balanced” manner.

It’s definitely sad that Paula Deen has type 2 diabetes, but what’s wayyyyyyy more tragic is the fact that 16,000 other people from her hometown also have it. while the national average for type 2 diabetes is 8%, 11.8% of Savannah Georgia, Paula’s hometown, suffer from the disease. I’d imagine a good amount of those people idolize Paula, and why wouldn’t they? She is a person of influence that represents their city. When you have the power to influence people and, in this case, even help to save their lives, I believe you have an obligation to do so. Instead, she deflects responsibility, even having said on the Today Show, “Honey, I’m your cook, not your doctor.” My mom is a cook; Paula Deen is a national television star. It’s a little insulting for Paula to totally ignore the health consequences of the food and recipes she promotes given the fact that millions of people adore her, purchase her products, and most importantly, eat the recipes she teaches them how to make.

Every good cook should know that taste and nutrition are not mutually exclusive. It doesn’t take much for healthy food to taste delicious and, given how experienced Paula is, it shouldn’t be difficult for her to tweak her recipes to promote a healthy AND delicious diet. However, since she’s not “your doctor,” she doesn’t believe this to be her responsibility. The funny thing is, despite this, she’ll happily sign an endorsement deal to try and get you to buy a diabetes drug from your doctor. Which leads me to my next problem.

Paula Deen ain’t shy about putting her name on things. Smithfield Ham? Paula put her name on it, even though Smithfield is a company that prides itself on torturing the animals it raises, exploiting the workers it hires and destroying the environment it occupies. Paula don’t care. Now she’s gonna put her name on a drug.

Along with her announcement of having diabetes, she announced a partnership with Novo Nordisk, a pharmaceutical company in Denmark that manufactures the type 2 diabetes drug Victoza, which Deen injects daily. Although she says she will donate a lot of the profits to the American Diabetes Foundation, she will still make millions off of the deal. While her philanthropy is commendable, the endorsement itself is a little ridiculous. Let’s be honest, a pharmaceutical company that sells a diabetes drug goes out of business if people are healthy. I’m not suggesting any foul play, but it just seems to be a bit of a conflict of interest for a famous food personality to not make an effort prevent people from developing the disease, but rather sell a drug that helps you live with the disease once you have it. Anthony Bourdain summed it up as well as anyone could when he tweeted, “Thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business, so I can profitably sell crutches later.”

My intention is not to hate on Paula right now. I’m not a hater. But I felt obligated to voice my opinion on the situation. I think if an influential person conducts their business in an irresponsible way, they should be called out, and especially if it involves food, you better believe I’ll call them out. I don’t mean to be harsh. I’m sure Paula is a really sweet person; but I’m commenting objectively as a business owner. The way I see it, Paula Deen is merely running the business of Paula Deen. She’s a brand just like Starbucks, Coke and just like Food Freaks are brands. If I feel obligated to make my food-centered career a socially responsible one even despite my brand’s modest influence, then a person as influential as Paula damn well better.