The Group That Came In From The Fringe ( Center for Science in the Public Interest )

Star Tribune ^ | August 15, 2005 | Thomas Lee

[wallcrawlr]

Ask Michael Jacobson how he feels when critics call the Center for Science in the Public Interest the "food police" and he answers with the bravado that has made CSPI one of the most reviled enemies of big food companies.

"Depends on who says it," said Jacobson, CSPI's executive director and co-founder. "People who say it with humor, I think 'fine.' Other people mean it in a derogatory way, and I think nasty thoughts about those people.

"I see it in a way as food detectives, where we try to find out what's going on and we tell the public and the government authorities," he added. "We, unlike police, can't arrest people. We can't throw anybody in jail."

Would he?

"I would love to," Jacobson said, laughing.

Jacobson said he's joking, but others aren't so sure. Over the years, CSPI, based in Washington, D.C., has advocated everything from warning labels on soda cans to federal limits on salt. Whether or not any of these proposals will succeed is very much open to debate. But with growing public concern over obesity, CSPI is finding a sizable audience for its ideas, which, even its critics acknowledge, makes the group a potent force in the food business.

< snip >

Jacobson admits CSPI uses colorful language to get people's attention. But he insists CSPI is a serious, credible organization.

[wallcrawlr]

Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest: “While sometimes there is bombast in the media, behind the scenes we talk to the major companies and also to trade associations, and they take us seriously.”

[LibFreeOrDie]

Yeah, anyone can start up a group named "Center for Science in the Public Interest" that has nothing to do with either science or the public interest.

[weegee]

People For The American Way AREN'T.

NPR's All Things Considered DOESN'T consider the conservative viewpoint in their news reports.

There are plenty of such organizations with misleading names that bestow confidence.

[Oztrich Boy]

Other people mean it in a derogatory way, and I think nasty thoughts about those people.

ooh! What a be-itch!

[Oztrich Boy]

Move-on HASN'T

[wallcrawlr]

ACT America Coming Together...sounds gross

[RichInOC]

Mike, I don't need you to tell me some of the stuff I eat and drink is nasty for my health. I know. Anybody with common sense and a little bit of experience knows. We like it anyway and we accept the risk. Bugger off.

[weegee]

If Italian food, Chinese food, etc were all so deadly, why are there still Italian and Chinese people?

This just in, life is a terminal condition. To hear the scientists say it, some people should be starved to death now to end their existence if they don't have a "quality" life.

[TNCMAXQ]

You are right. Catholics for Free Choice isn't much of an organization either, I have read. It consists of a couple of activists and an office, with a name that sounds good to the media.

[okie01]

Catholics for Free Choice isn't much of an organization either, I have read. It consists of a couple of activists and an office, with a name that sounds good to the media.

Don't forget the fax machine.

[CaptainMorgantown]

Part of the reason 'obesity' is becoming so prevalent is because a lunatic fringe of 'scientists' have succeeded in installing their definition of a 'healthy' weight, whereby only their vegan friends meet the standards of 'health'. I recently saw a list of public figures whose heights and weights are known, and where they fell in the government guidelines. The list of individuals who are officially 'obese' included Gov. Swarchzeneggar, Tom Brady and Donavan McNabb (among a long list of professional athletes). President Bush, who in his late 50s can still outrun most of his Secret Service detail, was classified as 'overweight'.

'Food police' doesn't describe the overreaching ambition of these folks. 'Lifestyle police' more aptly describes it.

[RightWingAtheist]

[MrStumpy]

Have you noticed that most nations with the word (PEOPLES) in it ie;Peoples republic of fartistanin aren't really concerned with the People

[grey_whiskers]

Too late past my bedtime, so I couldn't find a pic of my own, but ....

how about Gene Wilder's Dr. Frankenstein in Yound Frankenstein?

Cheers!