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February 2006 |
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Editor’s Note
You couldn't have missed the
media frenzy over the "low-fat diet" study not showing
lower disease risks. Here's what the headlines should
have read: "$415 million of tax dollars wasted on
improperly designed research." As I wrote in my letter
published in the San Francisco Chronicle, the explanation
for the results is that subjects failed to actually
attain a low-fat regimen. Humans evolved on a low-fat
diet based on mostly plant foods that came from nature.
For an excellent debunking of this study, please visit
Dr. John McDougall's website:
http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2006other/060200lowfat.htm.
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Brief News from Big Food |
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Kraft and
Philip Morris Scientists Caught Comparing Notes
In a
follow-up report to an extensive three-part series on Kraft
and obesity, the Chicago Tribune (Kraft is headquartered in
Illinois) published an article entitled: “Where there's
smoke, there might be food research, too: Documents indicate
Kraft, Philip Morris shared expertise on how the brain
processes tastes, smells.” Many people don’t realize that
the company responsible for Oreos, Cheese Whiz, and Oscar
Meyer wieners is owned by the same parent company (Altria)
of the makers of Marlboro and Virginia Slims. The Tribune
has dug into documents spanning the mid-1980s though 2001,
made available through tobacco litigation against Philip
Morris.
The
documents reveal that Kraft and Philip Morris discussed
investing jointly in brain scans to study how the brain
processes tastes and smells. For example, a 1997 planning
memo proposed investing in "neuroimaging," or brain scans,
and research on sensory neuroreceptors, which are sites on
brain cells that process smells and tastes. Also, a 1998
memo suggested that Kraft and Philip Morris collaborate on
foods and drinks "engineered to influence" a customer's mood
or sense of fullness. The paper said that because Philip
Morris has released few documents since 2001, it’s difficult
to determine if the cigarette maker and Kraft have
collaborated in recent years.
Source: Chicago Tribune, 01/29/06 (with links to documents)http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0601290254jan29,1,3082179.story?coll=chi-business-hed
Economics of Fast Food: It’s the Burgers Stupid
The business magazine Forbes
has revealed the economic truth behind the fast food
trend of placing so-called healthier items on menus.
"The No. 1 entree ordered by men in America is a
hamburger," says Henry Balzer, a vice president with NPD
Foodworld who tracks data on eating habits. "And the No.
1 entree among women is French fries, followed by a
hamburger." Industry surveys show that the number of
people concerned about the amount of fat they consume
has actually declined over the years—to 30% today from
over 50% in 1994—the group's latest survey showed. The
article also says “the 80-20 rule” is going strong,
meaning that 80% of the company's revenue can be
attributed to 20% of its products, led by its flagship
burgers and fries. Forbes explains:
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Certainly, soups and salads
have added incremental revenue, since they serve that
segment that has made a commitment to healthier eating.
They also make for effective window dressing, helping to
keep critics and regulators quiet. But a fast-food
fixture that has measured its success in terms of
"billions served" can't live on lightweight salads that
people can get anywhere. It must beef up sales of Big
Macs and Quarter Pounders. Given the 80-20 rule, a 5%
drop in burger and fries sales, coupled with a 10% gain
in "new menu" items would net out to a 2% drop in
revenue. For a $20 billion company like McDonald's,
that's a $400 million hit. |
Source:
Forbes, 01/19/06
http://www.forbes.com/business/2006/01/18/mcdonalds-burgers-salads-cx_tvr_0119mcd.html
Industrialized Food Linked to Mental Illness
In January, two British
reports came to the same worrying conclusion: that diet
plays an important part in mental illness. The Mental
Health Foundation says that studies clearly linked
attention deficit disorder, depression, Alzheimer's
disease, and schizophrenia to junk food and the absence
of essential fats, vitamins and minerals in
industrialized diets. Another report released by the
advocacy group Sustain found: "Food can have an
immediate and lasting effect on mental health and
behavior because of the way it affects the structure and
function of the brain.” Dr Andrew McCulloch, chief
executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said: "We are
well aware of the effect of diet upon our physical
health. But we are only just beginning to understand how
the brain as an organ is influenced by the nutrients it
derives from the foods we eat and how diets have an
impact on our mental health." Researchers said the
proliferation of industrialized farming had introduced
pesticides and altered the body fat composition of
animals due to the diet they are now fed. Report
researcher Courtney Van de Weyer said: "The good news is
that the diet for a healthy mind is the same as the diet
for a healthy body. The bad news is that, unless there
is a radical overhaul of food and farming policies there
won't be healthy and nutritious foods available in the
future for people to eat."
Sources:
Sydney Morning Herald, 01/17/06
Sunday Express (Scottish edition), 01/29/06
To read both reports:http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/page.cfm?pagecode=PRFM#reports
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Fighting
Back: Legal Strategies and Other Good News |
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Kellogg and
Nick Sued Over Food Marketing
The Center
for Science in the Public Interest and the Campaign for a
Commercial-Free Childhood have announced their intention to
sue Kellogg and Viacom, the parent company of Nickelodeon,
for marketing junk food to children. The case will be filed
in Massachusetts under that state’s consumer protection
statute. The groups will ask a Massachusetts court to enjoin
the companies from marketing junk foods to audiences where
15 percent or more of the audience is under age eight, and
to cease marketing junk foods through web sites, toy
giveaways, contests, and other techniques aimed at that age
group. "The thrust of Nickelodeon's and Kellogg's likely
defense will be to blame parents, since parents ultimately
are responsible for their kids' diets," said CSPI litigation
director Steve Gardner. “Parents are also responsible for
making sure their young kids don't get hit by cars. But if
someone's recklessly driving around your neighborhood at 80
miles an hour, you're going to want to stop them."
"For over
thirty years, public health advocates have urged companies
to stop marketing junk food to children," said Susan Linn,
co-founder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.
"Even as rates of childhood obesity have soared, neither
Viacom nor Kellogg has listened. We can no longer stand by
as our children's health is sacrificed for corporate
profits." Massachusetts' consumer protection law requires 30
days' notice of such a lawsuit, which the plaintiffs served
on the defendants on January 18. For more on this story, see In My Opinion, below.
Sources:
Center for Science in the Public Interest (press release,
letter to defendants)
http://www.cspinet.org/new/200601181.html
Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (FAQs about
lawsuit)http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/pressreleases/lawsuitfaq.htm
Update on
Connecticut’s School Food Battle
Readers of
Informed Eating will recall how Connecticut school
nutrition advocates worked tirelessly last spring to get a
controversial bill through the state legislature (despite
heavy lobbying by Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola), only to be
turned away by the governor when she vetoed the bill. Now,
the advocates are back, this time with a compromise plan
that comes pre-approved by the governor herself. The new
bill would impose a total ban during the school day on the
sale of soda and sports drinks. School cafeterias and
vending machines would be limited to the sale of water,
low-fat or skim milk, non-dairy milk and juice. The bill
would leave other food standards voluntary, but encourage
schools by tripling the current lunch subsidy for districts
that adhere to new state rules. "What we have today to
announce is the best and the strongest bill in terms of
standards for nutritious beverages in the country," said
Connecticut Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams, who
championed last year’s bill. The measure will be introduced
in the three-month legislative session that ends in May.
Will Coke and Pepsi fight it again? Stay tuned.
Source:
Hartford Courant, 02/02/06
http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-junkfood0202.artfeb02,0,4645234.story?coll=hc-headlines-politics-state
Florida Students Protest Candy Sale
Proving that
kids can be smarter than adults, more than a dozen
elementary school students in Florida refused to sell candy
and chips to raise money because they learned in class about
the health dangers of such snacks. "If they tell us to don't
eat junk food and then after school we sell it, that
disobeys what they said," explained 10-year-old Daphnie Auguste,
a member of the defiant class of 19 gifted fourth- and
fifth-graders. The students have until the end of February
to raise the remaining $12,000 needed for a weeklong trip in
May to Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Source: kfmb.com, 02/03/06
http://www.kfmb.com/story.php?id=37523 |
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IN MY
OPINION, by Michele Simon |
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Suing
the Pants Off SpongeBob
Litigation
may be the one weapon left in the fight against corporate
America's fattening of children.
The case may sound silly, but
it's not. SpongeBob SquarePants is being hauled into court
in Massachusetts. His crime? Exploiting young children and
contributing to escalating rates of obesity and diabetes.
How can a cartoon character be guilty of such things? By
corporate marketing run amok.
For complete
article published on Alternet, 02/01/06:
http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/31585/
Upcoming Lecture Series on Food Politics
We on the west coast are lucky that New York University has
temporarily loaned us Food Politics author Marion
Nestle. A visiting professor at the University of
California, Berkeley this spring, Professor Nestle is
hosting a timely lecture series on the politics of food.
CIFC’s Michele Simon is honored to be part of the stellar
line-up of speakers. You can hear Simon explain
“How Big Food Resists Government Regulation: Corporate Spin
in the Obesity Debate” on March 1 at 4pm. The event is free
and located in Room 250 of the Goldman School of Public
Policy on the UC Berkeley campus.
For details on the entire series:
(PDF)
http://www.informedeating.org/Lectureposter.pdf
Seeking International
Stories of Battling Big Food
CIFC’s Michele Simon is currently writing a
book that will expose how the food industry is attempting to
block nutrition advocacy efforts. To avoid being too “Ameri-centric”,
she is currently seeking stories from other countries. If
you are involved with, or know of any battles against Big
Food “across the pond” or anywhere else, please contact
Michele Simon at:
Michele@informedeating.org or (510)
465-0322. Thank you!
Recommended Resource
Once upon
a time, CIFC offered cooking classes to help people with the
practical tools they need to transition to a whole foods,
plant-based diet. But now, we just refer you to others more
skilled at this piece of the puzzle. Top of our list is
Compassionate Cooks, who is “dedicated to empowering people
to make informed food choices (see why we like them?) and to
debunking myths about vegetarianism.” If you’re in the Bay
Area, don’t miss their upcoming popular class called
“Demystifying Tofu and Tempeh,” on February 25. If you’re
not in the Bay Area, you can still order the DVD. For
details on both, visit:
http://www.compassionatecooks.com. |
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PO Box 16053
Oakland, CA 94610 |
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The Center for
Informed Food Choices is a nonprofit organization that
advocates for a whole foods, plant-based diet and educates
about the politics of food.
CIFC is proud to make Informed Eating available as a
free public service. Unlike industry publications, it is not
underwritten by corporate sponsors. We would greatly
appreciate your support for this newsletter and our other
important policy work.
For more
information or to make a tax-deductible donation, please visit
www.informedeating.org or call (510) 465-0322.
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We encourage you to pass
this newsletter along to friends.
 2006
Informed Eating - All Rights Reserved |
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