The two faces of the food industry.Stung by accusations that it is causing the obesity epidemic, the food industry is fighting back. Whatever the reason--genuine corporate responsibility, fear of lawsuits, or gaining favorable publicity--some prominent companies are improving their products or policies. But, in other ways, the industry is undercutting the public's health. Among the positive steps: * After a California attorney charged that Kraft, the biggest American food manufacturer, had not disclosed the artery-clogging trans fat trans fat n. 1. A trans fatty acid. 2. Trans fatty acids considered as a group. trans fat A fat containing trans fatty acids. in Oreo cookies, the company removed almost all of the trans fat from its foods. Then it promised to stop advertising to children under 6 and to advertise only healthier foods to kids aged 6 to 11. * McDonald's has introduced several healthier salads, grilled chicken sandwiches, and fruit dishes. The chain is putting nutrition information on its wrappers In data mining and treatment learning, wrappers were used by Ron Kohavi and George John. Their idea was to wrap their treatments learners in a preprocessor that would search to make subsets from the current set of attributes. and says (actually, it has been saying for the past four years!) that it is working to get rid of the trans fat from its fried foods, even though McDonald's restaurants There are more than 30,000 McDonald's restaurants in 119 countries. Restaurants The first McDonald's was not a restaurant at all, but it was a sit-in stand. The company's early franchises were built to a standard pattern that did not offer seating; this was in part to prevent in some countries already fry in trans-free or low-trans oils. * To help rebut To defeat, dispute, or remove the effect of the other side's facts or arguments in a particular case or controversy. When a defendant in a lawsuit proves that the plaintiff's allegations are not true, the defendant has thereby rebutted them. TO REBUT. charges that they're just making kids fat, some companies--including Coca-Cola and Pepsi--and the sugar industry are spending a few million dollars a year on physical-activity programs. McDonald's has even retooled Ronald McDonald as an exercise guru. * Some chains are using their purchasing muscle to force changes up the food chain. McDonald's has insisted that livestock producers improve the living--and dying--conditions of chickens and cattle. Whole Foods and WalMart are creating huge markets for organically grown foods. At the same time, the food industry is quietly, but aggressively, lobbying Congress for two laws that might as well be called "Food Industry Protection Acts." They would: * Gut state food-safety and food-labeling laws. Industry's top priority is the National Uniformity for Food Act, which would preempt pre·empt or pre-empt v. pre·empt·ed, pre·empt·ing, pre·empts v.tr. 1. To appropriate, seize, or take for oneself before others. See Synonyms at appropriate. 2. a. California's Proposition 65. That law requires foods and other products to bear a warning if they increase the risk of cancer or birth defects birth defects, abnormalities in physical or mental structure or function that are present at birth. They range from minor to seriously deforming or life-threatening. A major defect of some type occurs in approximately 3% of all births. . Companies see the current business-friendly Congress and Administration as their best chance to get rid of Prop. 65, as well as scores of other state labeling and safety laws. * Ban lawsuits. The food industry is campaigning for the Orwellian-named Commonsense com·mon·sense adj. Having or exhibiting native good judgment: "commonsense scholarship on the foibles and oversights of a genius" Times Literary Supplement. Consumption Act, which would bar citizens from suing companies on grounds that foods caused obesity or an "associated health condition" (like heart disease). The bill's chief sponsors, like Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, are backed by companies like KFC KFC Kentucky Fried Chicken (restaurant chain) KFC Kenya Flower Council KFC Kitchen Fresh Chicken (Kentucky Fried Chicken motto) KFC Kung Fu Cult (Cinema) KFC Kitchen Fixed Charge , which is based in Kentucky. The industry pretends that it only wants to ban "frivolous" lawsuits, but it can't point to a single lawsuit that courts have labeled as such. We have sued KFC for selling trans-fat-laden foods that cause heart disease and we have threatened to sue Kellogg and Viacom/Nickelodeon for advertising junk foods junk food n. Any of various prepackaged snack foods high in calories but low in nutritional value. junk food to kids. (As of early September, both bills had passed the House. By now, the Senate may have already approved one or both.) Which is the real food industry? They both are. Our job is to make sure that when the industry acts in its own interest, the public doesn't get hurt. Michael F. Jacobson Michael F. Jacobson, who holds a Ph.D. in microbiology, co-founded the Center for Science in the Public Interest in 1971, along with two fellow scientists he met while working at the Center for the Study of Responsive Law. , Ph.D. Executive Director Center for Science in the Public Interest |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion