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Obesity.
PETA. BSE.
Mention
those to most people in the food industry and pulses quicken,
brows furrow and fists tighten.
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angst stems mostly from something we've been railing
on in this column since its inception — there is a
lack of coordinated industry response to tell the
truth to consumers about food-related topics. Obesity
has trial lawyers and government officials lining
up to place blame and a price tag, leaving many in
the industry feeling targeted and undefensed. PETA's
outlandish billboards and claims are often too loud
for the mainstream, but the chords it strikes are
often undeterred. BSE offers enough problems without
a vocal coalition of activists speaking out against
the beef industry. |
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One
group trying to fill the void is The Center for Consumer
Freedom. The non-profit organization based in Washington,
D.C., touts itself as standing up against “the growing fraternity
of food cops, health-care enforcers, militant activists,
meddling bureaucrats and violent radicals who think they
know what's best for you.”
Its
print campaign included ads in The Washington Post, Reader's
Digest, Working Mother magazine, Time and Newsweek. Its
television campaign includes spots on all of the major networks
(ABC, NBC, Fox) and cable stations.
The
campaigns garner laughs and “Right On”s from most in the
food industry, but they are also a little brasher than the
usually conservative industry enjoys.
"You
are too stupid,” exclaims one of the ads, an effort to steer
the obesity issue away from the courts and toward personal
responsibility. “Actor. Governor. Fatso?” another ad asks
in reference to Arnold Schwarzenegger. “Even if animal research
resulted in a cure for AIDS, we'd be against it,” headlines
another ad, quoting PETA President Ingrid Newkirk.
The
CCF also makes an impact as an expert on food-related issues.
Richard Berman, the CCF's executive director, has been quoted
in nearly every newspaper in the country and appeared on
national television, often rebutting comments from members
of PETA, the Center for Science in the Public Interest and
the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
In
a story from the Newhouse News Service, Berman offers this
explanation: “It's a bit like the story of the frog not
jumping out of the kettle of water that's slowly rising
in temperature. People's freedoms get marginalized over
time and every inch they give up seems too small to fight
over.”
Critics
call the CCF a front group for Berman's public relations/lobbying
work and the food, alcohol and tobacco industries.
“We
speak up whenever activists propose curtailing freedom,”
the CCF explains on its Web site www.consumerfreedom.com.
“We're opposed to actions that restrict your right to make
your own choices.
“And
when they talk about throwing bricks through windows, taxing
your favorite foods or throwing the book at popular restaurants
with tobacco-style lawsuits, we make sure you know about
it.”
Thanks,
CCF.
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