Food & Beverage (page 193)

Yet another article in a major publication pins the so-called obesity epidemic on the popularity of restaurant food. Hinting broadly that the government will soon try to modify the food choices you make, USDA's Eileen Kennedy tells the Wall Street Journal, "We need a strategy to deal with obesity - we need to intervene, change our behavior, break our eating patterns." ("Fill 'er Up: So little time, so much money," Wall Street Journal, 5/1/00.)

Good Morning America's Charles Gibson introduced a segment yesterday with model Cindy Crawford by telling the audience how Cindy had spent some time with a group of women who want to "kick a habit that has been brewing in every city across the board." What is the evil habit these poor women are trying so hard to break? "Caffeine addiction."

After months of buildup from USDA Secretary Dan Glickman and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the agenda for the May 30-31 “National Nutrition Summit” has…

A series of articles in the San Francisco Chronicle sets the stage for a major public policy debate over the goals of USDA’s upcoming National Nutrition Summit on May 30-31.

Yet another editorial argues against personal responsibility, unfairly pinning obesity on "the cynical forces of corporate advertising and marketing" who employ "pester power" to sell "junk and processed food." ("Healthy eating priorities point children towards benefits of balance," The Herald, 4/17/00.)

Taking advantage of all the press hoopla about a supposed "obesity epidemic" among humans, Purina Pet Products has declared that there is "an epidemic of canine obesity" too. As one might expect, Purina is cashing in with a bevy of products designed to help owners trim down their doggie.

A coalition of environmental groups, labor, consumer groups, and anti-agribusiness groups is attempting to gain more influence in setting international food policy. With America’s leading anti-choice group, the Center for…

Chef Rick Bayless, leader of the nanny activist group Chefs Collaborative 2000, joined the bandwagon of activists who are saying America's restaurant portions are too large. "In some cases, it's frightening. In more expensive restaurants, portions are usually smaller; in cheaper restaurants, they're enormously abundant," said Bayless.

Pollsters at the food-friendly Economic and Agricultural Trade 2000 website are asking informed consumers if the new USDA organic standards imply an unearned government seal-of-approval on organic rhetoric about safety, nutrition and health. Check ABC's 20/20 story to get the real scoop on organic food.

Despite numerous peer-reviewed studies attesting to coffee's safety and benefits, British journalist Jane Clarke goes bonkers over your morning cuppa java. She cites many of CSPI's baseless complaints against caffeine and declares "[C]affeine is capable of completely undermining your body's natural state of well-being." ("Body & mind: a mug's game," The Observer, 4/2/00.)