Peer review doesn't work, if the peers all buy into the same mythos - eg, if all the peers agree that low-fat is the way to go, or that a calorie is a calorie, then a paper that contradicts that is doomed.

Not saying that peer review NEVER works, just the conditions under which it will not work.

BTW, that conference sounds REALLY interesting, and you are right, it will likely never ever show up in the popular media. Will any of these papers be published? who are the authors? (underlying question: can I find these on PubMed?)