- British newspaper The Guardian brings us a gem of unintended consequences from the so-called “sustainable” food movement (that wins a striking lack of converts). Vegans and vegetarians looking for meat substitutes have turned to a South American grain, quinoa, and that decision has made life difficult in Bolivia, where quinoa is a staple. The increased interest in quinoa from “ethically conscious” Western one-percenters has apparently caused ruinous food inflation. Some ethical consciousness. Next thing you know, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) will be killing animals. Oh, wait.
- The New York Times’s resident herald of the limp “food movement” (and sometimes very amateur epidemiologist) Mark Bittman is not happy with Coca-Cola’s advertising addressing obesity. You see, Bittman knows that Coke “makes its money selling sugar-sweetened beverages” and is “still selling them.” Of course, Bittman’s most famous book, How to Cook Everything — no stranger to high-calorie meals, including a hamburger more loaded than a Big Mac — is still for sale. So, Mr. Bittman, before criticizing soft drink companies, shouldn’t you renounce cheese and all its works (since your epidemiology-by-Internet-commenter says that it’s evil) by taking that book off the market and offering full refunds to anybody who bought it?
- Our Senior Research Analyst is telling Alabamans and Coloradans that they should make a New Year’s Resolution to use personal responsibility, rather than government regulation, if they want to lose weight. He writes, “Food activists seem to think that a little tax here, a warning label there, and a few banned appetizers will make us resemble swimsuit models by summer. But the research demonstrates that diet ‘nudges’ can have the exact opposite effect.”
- CCF in the News: Our Executive Director is calling out the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) for getting itself embroiled in an alleged racket with donors’ doggie dollars in the New York Post and Washington Examiner. Our Senior Research Analyst is criticizing the self-commissioned food police Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) for attacking “life’s simpler pleasures” for Baltimore and Los Angeles readers and PETA in its hometown for killing over 90 percent of the pets in its care. He also sat down with Reason TV to discuss a Washington, D.C. suburb’s misguided proposal to use the zoning code to reduce food choices.
- CCF This Week: In our daily posts this week, we’ve taken PETA to task for posing as a shelter pet advocate while killing pets left and right, objected to CSPI attacking restaurant dishes while ignoring that restaurants offer healthy options, used Coca-Cola’s new ad campaign as a teachable moment for activist goalpost-moving, and looked into the election returns to find that food freedom is a bipartisan desire.
