Meat + Poultry - September 2004 - 89

FSI MEDIA WATCH

Fighting fire with fire

■

Obesity. PETA. BSE.
Mention those to most people
in the food industry and pulses quicken,
brows furrow and fists tighten.
The 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 foodrelated 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.
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

16 FSI FOOD SYSTEMS ınsıder

SEPTEMBER 2004

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 tobaccostyle lawsuits, we make sure you know
about it."
Thanks, CCF.
By James Arnold
Food Systems Group

insider
FOOD

SYSTEMS

Board of Advisers
The following advisory board
assists in keeping the Food Systems
Insider in line with its mission.

Charles Ahlem
Owner of Charles Ahlem Ranch
(1,700-cow, Grade A Jersey dairy)
and founder of Hilmar Cheese Co.
in Turlock, Calif.

Dr. Brad White
Beef production medicine
specialist, Mississippi State College
of Veterinary Medicine in
Mississippi State, Miss.

Dr. Dennis DiPietre
Financial adviser to Tosh Farms
(diversified swine and crop farm)
in Henry, Tenn., and
consultant to the pork industry

Jean Kinsey
Professor of Applied Economics
at the University of Minnesota
and director of
The Retail Food Industry Center

Dr. Daryl Olsen
Veterinarian for
Audubon-Manning Veterinary
Clinic Management Services

John Story
Meat consultant for retail
grocery industry with more than
40 years in the business

Warren Weibert
Owner of Decatur County
Feedyard in Oberlin, Kan.
■

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Boehringer Ingelheim

Elanco Animal Health

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DROVERS
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MEAT&POULTRY MAGAZINE
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Meat + Poultry - September 2004

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