Center for Consumer Freedom
Encyclopedia
The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), formerly the Guest Choice Network, is a non-profit American lobby group. It describes itself as "dedicated to protecting consumer choices and promoting common sense," and defending "the right of adults and parents to choose how they live their lives, what they eat and drink, how they manage their finances, and how they enjoy themselves."
CCF was set up in 1995 by Richard Berman
, executive director of the public affairs firm Berman and Company
, with $600,000 from the Philip Morris
tobacco company. Berman told The Washington Post that CCF is now funded by a coalition of restaurant and food companies as well as some individuals; according to the group's website it is supported by over 100 companies and thousands of individual consumers. Sponsors are reported to include Brinker International, RTM Restaurant Group (the owner of Arby's), Tyson Foods, HMSHost Corp, and Wendy's.
CCF has campaigned against a number of organizations, such as the Centers for Disease Control, the Center for Science in the Public Interest
, Mothers Against Drunk Driving
, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
, and Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
, and maintains several websites devoted to criticizing them.
The CCF state that "despite their innocent-sounding names, many of these organizations are financial Goliaths that use junk science, intimidation tactics, and even threats of violence to push their radical agenda".
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
has responded "If you are in the business of putting veal or beef on the tables of America, and slaughtering more than a million animals per hour, and making an awful lot of money at it, you are going to try to neutralize PETA or other animal-rights groups"
The group defines its mission as fighting against "a growing cabal of food cops, health care enforcers, militant activists, meddling bureaucrats, and violent radicals who think they know what's best for you, [who] are pushing against our basic freedoms."
The CCF has argued against smoking ban
s and for keeping the legal blood-alcohol level for drivers at 0.10. It questions the dangers of red meat
consumption and pesticides.
In a 1999 interview with the Chain Leader
, a trade publication for restaurant chains, Berman said his organization attacks activists more aggressively than other lobbyists. "We always have a knife in our teeth," he said. Claiming that activists "drive consumer behavior on meat
, alcohol, fat, sugar, tobacco and caffeine," his strategy is "to shoot the messenger... We've got to attack their credibility as spokespersons."
In 2002 CCF spokesman John Doyle described nationwide radio ads put out by the group as efforts to attract people to their website and "draw attention to our enemies: just about every consumer and environmental group, chef, legislator or doctor who raises objections to things like pesticide
use, genetic engineering
of crops or antibiotic
use in beef and poultry."
CCF gives out annual "Tarnished Halo" awards to so-called "animal-rights zealots, celebrity busybodies, environmental scaremongers, self-appointed "public interest" advocates, trial lawyers, and other food activists", and its Guest Choice Network affiliate gives out the "Nanny Awards" to "food cops, anti-biotech activists, vegetarian scolds and meddling bureaucrats".
The CCF had posted a number of videos to YouTube
until June, 2010, when its 'consumerfreedom' account was suspended for undisclosed Terms of Service violations. It posted the trailer for the children's movie Charlotte's Web, claiming that the movie "encourages kids to 'say no to bacon' and print out stickers reading 'Tofu Rulez'" and links to groups it states are "extremist," such as the Humane Society of the United States
.
The CCF criticizes statistics used by nutrition groups to describe a global "obesity epidemic," and in 2005, it filed a series of Freedom of Information Act
requests against the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
in response to a CDC study claiming that 400,000 Americans die each year as a consequence of being obese. After the CCF campaign CDC reduced its estimates to 112,000 annual deaths, leading the CCF to advertise widely that it had discredited the study.
unnecessarily euthanizes
animals in its care.
The CCF runs ActivistCash.com, a website that states it "provides the public and media with in-depth profiles of anti-consumer activist groups, along with information about the sources of what is called their exorbitant funding." The site features generally negative profiles of various groups it believes oppose consumer freedom, such as Greenpeace
, PETA
and Mothers Against Drunk Driving
. It also hosts "biographies" offering negative portrayals of key activists and celebrity supporters for various groups. The site reports what it states are links between profiled groups and extremism, and argues, in general, that the groups profiled hold extreme views that are contrary to the public interest. It states to have examined 500,000 IRS documents in its profiling, listing for each group major donors, income and expenditure, key supporters and connections with other groups.
The CCF operates a number of other websites aside from its own, including PhysicianScam.com, Trans-FatFacts.com, Animalscam.com, Obesitymyths.com, and CSPIScam.com. MercuryFacts.com and FishScam.com contain a mercury calculator that offers an alternative calculation of amount of a fish that can be eaten before getting an unsafe dose of mercury, calculated as ten times the reference dose
recommended by the EPA.
The CCF has also claimed (counter to research findings) that dieting and meal tracking do not lead to weight loss, and it has been a critic of United Auto Workers, and the American Federation of Teachers
, among others.
(beer), Bruss Company (steaks and chops), Cargill Processed Meat Products
, Davidoff
(cigars), Harrah's (casinos), Overhill Farms (frozen foods), Philip Morris
, and Standard Meat Company (steaks). The group's advisory panel comprised representatives from most of these companies, plus further representatives from the restaurant industry, including former Senator George McGovern
, and Carl Vogt of law firm Fulbright & Jaworski
.
Form 990s for the Center for Consumer Freedom are available for years 2002-2005 on the GuideStar website. For the last available year, 2005, revenues were $3.7 million, while expenses reached $3.8 million.
Experts on non-profit law questioned the group's non-profit status in an article that appeared in the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Acknowledged corporate donors to the CCF include Coca-Cola
, Wendy's
, Tyson Foods
, Monsanto
, and Pilgrim's Pride
. As of 2005, the CCF reported more than 1,000 individual donors as well as approximately 100 corporate supporters.
, meat
, and tobacco industries
while representing consumers.
According to The Washington Post, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
(CREW), a watchdog group, asked the Internal Revenue Service in 2005 to revoke CCF's tax-exempt status, alleging that Berman and his company had used CCF to direct over $7 million charitable money to himself and his company since 1997, an allegation Berman rejects.
Some groups the CCF has targeted have questioned its ethics and legitimacy. The president of the American Federation of Teachers referred to the CCF's leader as "a shameless lobbyist who has shilled for pesticide, alcohol and tobacco companies." A USA Today
journalist said that they should change the name of their website to FatForProfit.com. Michael Pollan
writes in his New York Times blog that the CCF is an astroturf
organization that works on behalf of large food companies to protect their ability to sell junk food. It has also been criticized for its efforts to portray groups such as the Humane Society of the United States
as "violent" and "extreme," and for its opposition to banning the use of trans fats. The group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
has also campaigned against the CCF's validity as a non-profit tax exempt charitable organization, filing an IRS
complaint in 2004 attacking the CCF's states that its advocacy campaigns were "educational" in nature.
Some corporations, including PepsiCo
and Kraft Foods
, have declined to work with the CCF, saying they disagree with some of the group's arguments or with its approach to advocacy.
Following a CCF call for a retraction of a New York Times story about mercury levels in sushi as “bad science,” Newsweek
senior editor Sharon Begley has criticized the CCF's interpretation of EPA statistics and implications of FDA restrictions on tuna and other fish.
CCF was set up in 1995 by Richard Berman
Richard Berman
Richard Berman is a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer, public relations executive, and lobbyist. Through his public affairs firm Berman and Company, Berman runs several industry-funded non-profit organizations such as the Center for Consumer Freedom and the Center for Union Facts...
, executive director of the public affairs firm Berman and Company
Berman and Company
Berman and Company is a Washington, D.C. based public affairs and non-profit management firm founded by lawyer and lobbyist Rick Berman. In addition to its public relations clients, Berman and Company runs several industry-funded non-profit organizations such as the Center for Consumer Freedom and...
, with $600,000 from the Philip Morris
Philip Morris USA
Philip Morris USA is the United States tobacco division of Altria Group, Inc. Philip Morris USA brands include Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Benson and Hedges, Merit, Parliament, Alpine, Basic, Cambridge, Bucks, Dave's, Chesterfield, Collector's Choice, Commander, English Ovals, Lark, L&M, Players and...
tobacco company. Berman told The Washington Post that CCF is now funded by a coalition of restaurant and food companies as well as some individuals; according to the group's website it is supported by over 100 companies and thousands of individual consumers. Sponsors are reported to include Brinker International, RTM Restaurant Group (the owner of Arby's), Tyson Foods, HMSHost Corp, and Wendy's.
CCF has campaigned against a number of organizations, such as the Centers for Disease Control, the Center for Science in the Public Interest
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Center for Science in the Public Interest is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit watchdog and consumer advocacy group focusing on nutritional education and awareness.-History and funding:...
, Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Mothers Against Drunk Driving is a non-profit organization in the United States that seeks to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and overall push for stricter alcohol policy...
, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
, and Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., which promotes a vegan diet, preventive medicine, alternatives to animal research, and encourages what it describes as "higher standards of ethics and effectiveness in research." Its primary...
, and maintains several websites devoted to criticizing them.
The CCF state that "despite their innocent-sounding names, many of these organizations are financial Goliaths that use junk science, intimidation tactics, and even threats of violence to push their radical agenda".
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., which promotes a vegan diet, preventive medicine, alternatives to animal research, and encourages what it describes as "higher standards of ethics and effectiveness in research." Its primary...
has responded "If you are in the business of putting veal or beef on the tables of America, and slaughtering more than a million animals per hour, and making an awful lot of money at it, you are going to try to neutralize PETA or other animal-rights groups"
Guest Choice Network
The forerunner to the CCF was the Guest Choice Network, which was organized in 1995 by Berman with money from Philip Morris, "to unite the restaurant and hospitality industries in a campaign to defend their consumers and marketing programs against attacks from anti-smoking, anti-drinking, anti-meat, etc. activists ..." According to Berman, the mission was to encourage operators of "restaurants, hotels, casinos, bowling alleys, taverns, stadiums, and university hospitality educators" to "support [the] mentality of 'smokers rights' by encouraging responsibility to protect 'guest choice.'" In November 2001, the group launched a website, ActivistCash.com, which compiled information gathered from IRS documents and media reports, describing the funding and activities of groups it opposed, and listed key activists and celebrity links. In January 2002 the Guest Choice Network became the Center for Consumer Freedom, a change of name the group said reflected that "the anti-consumer forces [were] expanding their reach beyond restaurants and taverns [and] going into your communities and even your homes."Governance
The CCF's director of research is David Martosko, a former radio talk show producer. Its other directors are Richard Berman, Jacob Dweck, David Browne, and Lane Cardwell. Its senior research analyst is Justin Wilson. The group is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and as such does not disclose the identity of its funders. IRS records show that in 2007 the CCF paid more than $1.5 million to Berman and Company for research, communications, and other services.Activities
The CCF has argued against smoking ban
Smoking ban
Smoking bans are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, which prohibit tobacco smoking in workplaces and/or other public spaces...
s and for keeping the legal blood-alcohol level for drivers at 0.10. It questions the dangers of red meat
Red meat
Red meat in traditional culinary terminology is meat which is red when raw and not white when cooked. In the nutritional sciences, red meat includes all mammal meat. Red meat includes the meat of most adult mammals and some fowl ....
consumption and pesticides.
In a 1999 interview with the Chain Leader
Chain Leader
Chain Leader was a trade publication and web site owned by Reed Business Information serving the information needs of owners and operators of full, fast-casual, and quick service chain restaurants....
, a trade publication for restaurant chains, Berman said his organization attacks activists more aggressively than other lobbyists. "We always have a knife in our teeth," he said. Claiming that activists "drive consumer behavior on meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
, alcohol, fat, sugar, tobacco and caffeine," his strategy is "to shoot the messenger... We've got to attack their credibility as spokespersons."
In 2002 CCF spokesman John Doyle described nationwide radio ads put out by the group as efforts to attract people to their website and "draw attention to our enemies: just about every consumer and environmental group, chef, legislator or doctor who raises objections to things like pesticide
Pesticide
Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...
use, genetic engineering
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
of crops or antibiotic
Antibiotic
An antibacterial is a compound or substance that kills or slows down the growth of bacteria.The term is often used synonymously with the term antibiotic; today, however, with increased knowledge of the causative agents of various infectious diseases, antibiotic has come to denote a broader range of...
use in beef and poultry."
CCF gives out annual "Tarnished Halo" awards to so-called "animal-rights zealots, celebrity busybodies, environmental scaremongers, self-appointed "public interest" advocates, trial lawyers, and other food activists", and its Guest Choice Network affiliate gives out the "Nanny Awards" to "food cops, anti-biotech activists, vegetarian scolds and meddling bureaucrats".
The CCF had posted a number of videos to YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
until June, 2010, when its 'consumerfreedom' account was suspended for undisclosed Terms of Service violations. It posted the trailer for the children's movie Charlotte's Web, claiming that the movie "encourages kids to 'say no to bacon' and print out stickers reading 'Tofu Rulez'" and links to groups it states are "extremist," such as the Humane Society of the United States
Humane Society of the United States
The Humane Society of the United States , based in Washington, D.C., is the largest animal advocacy organization in the world. In 2009, HSUS reported assets of over US$160 million....
.
The CCF criticizes statistics used by nutrition groups to describe a global "obesity epidemic," and in 2005, it filed a series of Freedom of Information Act
Freedom of Information Act (United States)
The Freedom of Information Act is a federal freedom of information law that allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government. The Act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure...
requests against the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services headquartered in Druid Hills, unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, in Greater Atlanta...
in response to a CDC study claiming that 400,000 Americans die each year as a consequence of being obese. After the CCF campaign CDC reduced its estimates to 112,000 annual deaths, leading the CCF to advertise widely that it had discredited the study.
Activism websites
PETA is a frequent target of CCF advertising and publicity. The Center for Consumer Freedom is publisher of the website PetaKillsAnimals.com, which alleges People for the Ethical Treatment of AnimalsPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
unnecessarily euthanizes
Animal euthanasia
Animal euthanasia is the act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, an animal suffering from an incurable, especially a painful, disease or condition. Euthanasia methods are designed to cause minimal pain and distress...
animals in its care.
The CCF runs ActivistCash.com, a website that states it "provides the public and media with in-depth profiles of anti-consumer activist groups, along with information about the sources of what is called their exorbitant funding." The site features generally negative profiles of various groups it believes oppose consumer freedom, such as Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
, PETA
Peta
Peta can refer to:* peta-, an SI prefix denoting a factor of 1015* Peta, Greece, a town in Greece* Peta, the Pāli word for a Preta, or hungry ghost in Buddhism* Peta Wilson, an Australian actress and model* Peta Todd, English glamour model...
and Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Mothers Against Drunk Driving is a non-profit organization in the United States that seeks to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and overall push for stricter alcohol policy...
. It also hosts "biographies" offering negative portrayals of key activists and celebrity supporters for various groups. The site reports what it states are links between profiled groups and extremism, and argues, in general, that the groups profiled hold extreme views that are contrary to the public interest. It states to have examined 500,000 IRS documents in its profiling, listing for each group major donors, income and expenditure, key supporters and connections with other groups.
The CCF operates a number of other websites aside from its own, including PhysicianScam.com, Trans-FatFacts.com, Animalscam.com, Obesitymyths.com, and CSPIScam.com. MercuryFacts.com and FishScam.com contain a mercury calculator that offers an alternative calculation of amount of a fish that can be eaten before getting an unsafe dose of mercury, calculated as ten times the reference dose
Reference dose
A reference dose is the United States Environmental Protection Agency's maximum acceptable oral dose of a toxic substance. Reference doses are most commonly determined for pesticides...
recommended by the EPA.
The CCF has also claimed (counter to research findings) that dieting and meal tracking do not lead to weight loss, and it has been a critic of United Auto Workers, and the American Federation of Teachers
American Federation of Teachers
The American Federation of Teachers is an American labor union founded in 1916 that represents teachers, paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; local, state and federal employees; higher education faculty and staff, and nurses and other healthcare professionals...
, among others.
Funding
Initial funding for the original Guest Choice Network organization came from Philip Morris, with the initial donation of $600,000 followed by a $300,000 donation the following year. Philip Morris attorney Marty Barrington wrote in a 1996 internal company memorandum: "As of this writing, PM USA is still the only contributor, though Berman continues to promise others any day now." By December, 1996, supporters consisted of Alliance Gaming (slot machines), Anheuser-BuschAnheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. , is an American brewing company. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and 18 in other countries. It was, until December 2009, also one of America's largest theme park operators; operating ten theme parks across the United States through the...
(beer), Bruss Company (steaks and chops), Cargill Processed Meat Products
Cargill
Cargill, Incorporated is a privately held, multinational corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Founded in 1865, it is now the largest privately held corporation in the United States in terms of revenue. If it were a public company, it would rank, as of 2011, number 13 on the Fortune 500,...
, Davidoff
Davidoff
Davidoff is a Swiss luxury tobacco goods brand name, which is carried by a range of products including cigars, cigarettes and pipe tobaccos. Its cigarette brand is currently owned by Imperial Tobacco but the company is otherwise independently owned....
(cigars), Harrah's (casinos), Overhill Farms (frozen foods), Philip Morris
Altria Group
Altria Group, Inc. is based in Henrico County, Virginia, and is the parent company of Philip Morris USA, John Middleton, Inc., U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, Inc., Philip Morris Capital Corporation, and Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. It is one of the world's largest tobacco corporations...
, and Standard Meat Company (steaks). The group's advisory panel comprised representatives from most of these companies, plus further representatives from the restaurant industry, including former Senator George McGovern
George McGovern
George Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
, and Carl Vogt of law firm Fulbright & Jaworski
Fulbright & Jaworski
The international law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. is one of the largest law firms in the United States with nearly 1,000 attorneys in over 50 practice areas. The firm was founded in Houston in 1919 by R. C. Fulbright, an attorney working in railway regulation, and J.H. Crooker, a litigator...
.
Form 990s for the Center for Consumer Freedom are available for years 2002-2005 on the GuideStar website. For the last available year, 2005, revenues were $3.7 million, while expenses reached $3.8 million.
Experts on non-profit law questioned the group's non-profit status in an article that appeared in the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Acknowledged corporate donors to the CCF include Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
, Wendy's
Wendy's
Wendy's is an international fast food chain restaurant founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company decided to move its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. It has been owned by Triarc since 2008...
, Tyson Foods
Tyson Foods
Tyson Foods, Inc. is a multinational corporation based in Springdale, Arkansas, that operates in the food industry. The company is the world's second largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork only behind Brazilian JBS S.A., and annually exports the largest percentage of beef out of...
, Monsanto
Monsanto
The Monsanto Company is a US-based multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation. It is the world's leading producer of the herbicide glyphosate, marketed in the "Roundup" brand of herbicides, and in other brands...
, and Pilgrim's Pride
Pilgrim's Pride
Pilgrim's Corp., previously Pilgrim's Pride , is a former U.S.-owned company with its U.S. headquarters relocated to Greeley, Colorado. As a subsidiary of the Brazilian food giant, JBS, it is the largest chicken producer in the United States and Puerto Rico and the second-largest chicken producer...
. As of 2005, the CCF reported more than 1,000 individual donors as well as approximately 100 corporate supporters.
Criticism
The CCF has drawn harsh criticism for having taken its startup funding from the Philip Morris tobacco company and for lobbying on behalf of the fast foodFast food
Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
, meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
, and tobacco industries
Tobacco industry
The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any warm, moist environment, which means it can be farmed on all...
while representing consumers.
According to The Washington Post, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is a nonprofit 501 organization that describes itself as "dedicated to promoting ethics and accountability in government and public life by targeting government officials – regardless of party affiliation – who sacrifice the common good to...
(CREW), a watchdog group, asked the Internal Revenue Service in 2005 to revoke CCF's tax-exempt status, alleging that Berman and his company had used CCF to direct over $7 million charitable money to himself and his company since 1997, an allegation Berman rejects.
Some groups the CCF has targeted have questioned its ethics and legitimacy. The president of the American Federation of Teachers referred to the CCF's leader as "a shameless lobbyist who has shilled for pesticide, alcohol and tobacco companies." A USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
journalist said that they should change the name of their website to FatForProfit.com. Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan is an American author, journalist, activist, and professor of journalism at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. A 2006 New York Times book review describes him as a "liberal foodie intellectual."...
writes in his New York Times blog that the CCF is an astroturf
Astroturfing
Astroturfing is a form of advocacy in support of a political, organizational, or corporate agenda, designed to give the appearance of a "grassroots" movement. The goal of such campaigns is to disguise the efforts of a political and/or commercial entity as an independent public reaction to some...
organization that works on behalf of large food companies to protect their ability to sell junk food. It has also been criticized for its efforts to portray groups such as the Humane Society of the United States
Humane Society of the United States
The Humane Society of the United States , based in Washington, D.C., is the largest animal advocacy organization in the world. In 2009, HSUS reported assets of over US$160 million....
as "violent" and "extreme," and for its opposition to banning the use of trans fats. The group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is a nonprofit 501 organization that describes itself as "dedicated to promoting ethics and accountability in government and public life by targeting government officials – regardless of party affiliation – who sacrifice the common good to...
has also campaigned against the CCF's validity as a non-profit tax exempt charitable organization, filing an IRS
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
complaint in 2004 attacking the CCF's states that its advocacy campaigns were "educational" in nature.
Some corporations, including PepsiCo
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
and Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
, have declined to work with the CCF, saying they disagree with some of the group's arguments or with its approach to advocacy.
Following a CCF call for a retraction of a New York Times story about mercury levels in sushi as “bad science,” Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
senior editor Sharon Begley has criticized the CCF's interpretation of EPA statistics and implications of FDA restrictions on tuna and other fish.
External links
- ConsumerFreedom.com Official website