- USA Today released a big feature today taking the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to task for its relatively lax charity rating criteria compared to alternative raters like CharityWatch (until recently called the American Institute of Philanthropy). The feature noted that one group that takes advantage of the BBB’s easy marks by paying to use their seal of approval is the so-called Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), which gets a “D” from CharityWatch for its high fundraising expenses. CharityWatch director Daniel Borochoff noted, “If you like getting those mailings and want to pay for more of them, support the Humane Society [of the United States].” Want to help pets in your community? Support your local pet shelter (which is not affiliated with HSUS), and then read the whole thing.
- The Governor of Washington has proposed a tax on soft drinks and candy to help the state raise more money. If this sounds vaguely familiar, it should: Washington State passed a soda tax in 2010, but it was so unpopular that it was repealed by referendum in the next election. We’re still waiting for politicians to realize that food and beverage taxes aren’t wanted or useful. That said, state legislators seem less eager than the outgoing governor to repeat the plot of the film Groundhog Day.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released findings last week that give additional reason to doubt predictions of ever-rising rates of obesity. According to a study of clinical records, the obesity rate of children considered most at risk by researchers declined slightly below 2003 levels in 2010. These findings, combined with evidence that obesity in adults is leveling off, make scary-sounding claims that soon almost everybody will need an obesity scooter look even more implausible than they did when activists made them.
- CCF in the News: Our Senior Research Analyst is taking Oklahomans and Nevadans on a trip through the food police’s vision of Christmases Yet to Come, and agriculture media is taking notice of our work in defense of bacon against attacks from vegan groups like HSUS and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
- CCF This Week: In our recent posts we’ve named the worst proposals in a banner year of anti-food activism, echoed a Scientific American contributor’s criticisms of Kelly “Twinkie Tax” Brownell, Robert “No Cookies Under 18” Lustig, and the New York Times’ resident cookbook author who somehow thinks that qualifies him to supersede the scientific method with crank internet anecdotes (Mark Bittman) for attacking food items with shrill and unproductive rhetoric, and noted that attacks on family farmers in Maryland brought by vaccine conspiracist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s Waterkeeper Alliance were rejected by a federal judge.