From Disinfopedia, the encyclopedia of propaganda:Center for Consumer Freedom

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From Disinfopedia, the encyclopedia of propaganda: " Center for Consumer Freedom "

 

 

The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) (formerly called the " Guest Choice

Network " ) is a front group for the restaurant, alcohol and tobacco industries.

It runs media campaigns which oppose the efforts of scientists, doctors, health

advocates, environmentalists and groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving,

calling them " the Nanny Culture — the growing fraternity of food cops, health

care enforcers, anti-meat activists, and meddling bureaucrats who 'know what's

best for you.' "

CCF is one of the more active of several front groups created by Berman & Co., a

public affairs firm owned by lobbyist Rick Berman. Based in Washington, DC,

Berman & Co. represents the tobacco industry as well as hotels, beer

distributors, taverns, and restaurant chains.

The group actively opposes smoking bans and lowering the legal blood-alcohol

level, while targeting studies on the dangers of red meat consumption,

overfishing and pesticides. Each year they give out the " nanny awards " to groups

who, according to them, try to tell consumers how to live their lives.

Anyone who criticizes tobacco, alcohol, fatty foods or soda pop is likely to

come under attack from CCF. Its enemies list has included such diverse groups

and individuals as the Alliance of American Insurers; the American Academy of

Orthopedic Surgeons; the American Medical Association; the Arthritis Foundation;

the Consumer Federation of America; New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani; the Harvard

School of Public Health; the Marin Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and

Other Drug Problems; the National Association of High School Principals; the

National Safety Council; the National Transportation Safety Board; the Office of

Highway Safety for the state of Georgia; Ralph Nader's group, Public Citizen;

the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and the U.S.

Department of Transportation.

In a 1999 interview with the Chain Leader, a trade publication for restaurant

chains, Berman boasted that he attacks activists more aggressively than other

lobbyists. " We always have a knife in our teeth, " he said. Since activists

" drive consumer behavior on meat, alcohol, fat, sugar, tobacco and caffeine, "

his strategy is " to shoot the messenger. ... We've got to attack their

credibility as spokespersons. "

In a May 11, 2002 San Francisco Chronicle article, CCF spokesman John Doyle

responded to questions about nationwide radio ads put out by the group. He said

the ads were meant to attract people to their website and " draw attention to our

enemies: just about every consumer and environmental group, chef, legislator or

doctor who raises objections to things like pesticide use, genetic engineering

of crops or antibiotic use in beef and poultry. " [1]

Personnel

CCF is registered as a tax-exempt nonprofit organization. The IRS Form 990 filed

for the the six-month period from July to December 1999 by CCF (then calling

itself the Guest Choice Network), listed the following officers:

 

Richard Berman, executive director.

Ray Kraftson, director

Dixie L. Berman, secretary/treasurer

Dan Popeo, director (Popeo is also chairman of the Washington Legal

Foundation, a corporate-funded right-wing think tank which paid him $301,593 in

salary and benefits in 2000.)

Allison Whitesides, director (Whitesides has also worked as a public

relations representative for Coca-Cola North America and Outback Steakhouse. In

November 2001, she went to work as a legislative representative for the National

Restaurant Association.)

 

The CCF also has an advisory panel. In 1998 it included the following

individuals:

 

Dave Albright, National Steak & Poultry

Jane Innes, Perkins Family Restaurants, L.P.

Steve Bartlett, Meridian Products Corporation

Robert Basham, Outback Steakhouse, Inc.

John F. Berglund, Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association

Lou Chatey, Sebastiani Vineyards

[[H.A. " Andy " Divine]], University of Denver

Timothy J. Doke, Brinker International, Inc.

Richard Fisher, Tetley USA, Inc.

William L. Hyde, Jr., Ruth's Chris Steakhouse

James Spector, Philip Morris, USA

Michael Middleton, Cargill Processed Meat Products

Daniel J. Popeo, Washington Legal Foundation

Richard G. Scalise, Armour Swift-Eckrich

Daniel Timm, the Bruss Company

Carl Vogt, Fulbright & Jaworski

Richard Walsh, Darden Restaurants, Inc.

Terry Wheatley, Sutter Home Winery

 

In addition to these officers, several Berman & Co. employees and associates

have appeared in news stories as CCF representatives:

 

Mike Burita has worked for a variety of conservative causes, including

Republican election campaigns, Phyllis Schlafly, Frontiers of Freedom, and Brent

Bozell's Media Research Center.

John Doyle, communications director for Berman & Co., also doubles as a

spokesman for the CCF, the Employment Policies Institute and the American

Beverage Institute.

On February 24, 2000, the Washington Post reported that Tom Lauria, " who

helped peddle the tobacco industry's message at the Tobacco Institute before the

lobby group was dismantled last year as part of an agreement with the states, "

had been hired as director of communications for CCN (then named the Guest

Choice Network). Lauria left Berman's employ sometime in 2001.

David Martosko has been described in news stories as CCN's director of

research.

 

Affiliated Organizations

In addition to the Center for Consumer Freedom, Berman & Co. sponsors several

other organizations and web sites, including the Employment Policies Institute

(which fights to keep the minimum wage low and opposes mandatory health

insurance for workers), and the American Beverage Institute, which opposes

restrictions on drinking and driving.

History

Berman launched the Guest Choice Network in 1995. Its initial funding came

entirely from the Philip Morris tobacco company. " I'd lke to propose to Philip

Morris the establishment of the Guest Choice Network, " Berman stated in a

December 11, 1995 letter to Barbara Trach, PM's senior program manager for

public affairs. " The concept is to unite the restaurant and hospitality

industries in a campaign to defend their consumers and marketing programs

against attacks from anti-smoking, anti-drinking, anti-meat, etc. activists. ...

I would like to solicit Philip Morris for an initial contribution of $600,000. "

The purpose of the Guest Choice Network, as Berman explained in a separate

planning document, would be to enlist operators of " restaurants, hotels,

casinos, bowling alleys, taverns, stadiums, and university hospitality

educators " to " support mentality of 'smokers rights' by encouraging

responsibility to protect 'guest choice.' " According to a yearend 1995 budget,

Guest Choice planned

to spend $1.5 million during its first 13 months of operation, including

$390,000 for " membership marketing/materials development, " $430,000 to establish

a communication center and newsletter (which Berman promised would have a " 60%

to 70% smoking focus " ), $110,000 to create a " multi-industry advisory council, "

and $345,000 for " grassroots network development/operation. "

The tobacco company complied with Berman's initial funding request for $600,000

and pitched in another $300,000 early the following year. " As of this writing,

PM USA is still the only contributor, though Berman continues to promise others

any day now, " wrote Philip Morris attorney Marty Barrington in an internal

company memorandum dated March 28, 1996. Aside from Philip Morris, there are no

other publicly-known funders of Guest Choice until its public launch two years

later, in April 1998, sporting an advisory board comprised mostly of

representatives from the restaurant, meat and alcoholic beverage industries.

In November 2001, the Guest Choice Network launched a separate web site,

ActivistCash.com, which purports to expose the " hidden funding " of various

activist groups that support animal rights, food safety and smoking prevention.

In January 2002 the Guest Choice Network renamed itself as the Center for

Consumer Freedom.

In early 2002, CCF ran national radio ads targeting studies on the link between

food consumption and health. One ad referred to " red-faced picketers wielding

pointed wooden sticks with signs that read 'eat tofu or die' on the way to your

classic cheeseburger and fries. "

Funding

CCF is registered as tax-exempt nonprofit organization and is required to

disclose some financial information to the Internal Revenue Service which is

publicly available by inspecting their IRS Form 990s. Like Berman's other front

groups, it does not disclose the identity of its funders, but some information

about it has become publicly available thanks to the 1998 attorney generals'

settlement with the tobacco industry, which required tobacco companies to

release millions of pages of previously secret company documents.

CCN claims to represent " more than 30,000 U.S. restaurants and tavern

operators. " However, the IRS Form 990 which it filed for the the six-month

period from July to December 1999 (under the name of " Guest Choice Network " )

shows that almost all of its financial support came from a handful of anonymous

sources. Its total income for that period was $111,642, of which $105,000 came

from six unnamed donors. It received no income from membership dues. Some of its

funding apparently came from one of Berman's other organizations, the American

Beverage Institute, which " contributes monthly amounts to the Guest Choice

Network to assist with media expenses. " The Guest Choice Network did not report

paying salaries to any of its employees, who were presumably paid by Berman &

Co.

CCF's Form 990 for the year 2000 showed total income of $514,321, almost all of

which ($492,500) came from seven unnamed donors. Once again, it received no

income from membership dues and did not report paying salaries to any employees.

However, it did list $256,077 in compensation paid to Berman and Co., Inc., for

" management services. "

Through a whistleblower, the Center for Media and Democracy has obtained the

following information about corporate contributions to the Guest Choice

Network/CCF:

Pre-2001 Contributions 4 B's Restaurants$200Advantica Restaurant

Group$10,000Armour-Swift Eckrich$5,000Bestfoods Foodservice$1,250Buca,

Inc.$500Carlson Hospitality Worldwide$1,000Chart House Enterprises$2,500Comarco

Products$2,000Country Kitchen International$1,000Harrah's Entertainment,

Inc.$1,500Louise's Trattoria$500Max & Erma's Restaurants, Inc.$2,500Ruby

Tuesday, Inc.$500Ruth's Chris Steak House, Inc.$1,000Standard

Meat$17,500Trinchero Family Estates$10,000

2001 Contributions Anton's Airfoods, Inc.$3,000Applebee's International,

Inc.$15,000Cameron Mitchell Restaurants$1,250Campagna-Turano Bakery,

Inc.$500Casual Restaurant Concepts$3,300Coca-Cola Company$200,000Coldwater

Seafood$15,000Crystal's International$252Custom Cuts$1,500Daisy

Brand$1,000Excel/Cargill$100,000Fired Up$6,000Hatfield Quality Meats$33,700HMS

Host Corporation$50,000Jeff's Gourmet Pies$1,000John R. Daily Company$750Kagome,

Inc.$1,086King and Prince Seafood$9,200KorBert, Inc.$300KPR Foods$1,000LTP

Management Group$3,250Marie Callendar Pie Shops$11,900Mexican

Restaurants$750Monsanto$200,000National Steak and Poultry$10,000North American

Enterprises$500North American Provisioners$150Not Your Average Joe's$347Outback

Steakhouse$164,600P.F. Chang's China Bistro$15,000Packaging Corporation of

America$10,000Performance Food Group$15,000Pilgrim's Pride

Corporation$100,000Pro Edge$2,400Quantum Foods$18,000Raising Cane's Chicken

Fingers$1,000Rare Hospitality$15,000Real Food

Marketing$500Restaurant Concepts$6,000Rosemount Estates (Southcorp

Wines)$5,300Royal Cup$1,000Save-on Seafood$2,000Sugar Foods Corporation$5,000T.

Marzetti Company$10,000TriOak Foods$5,100Tyson Foods, Inc.$100,000Wendy's

International, Inc.$200,000White Castle System$43,872Worldwide Restaurants

Concepts$1,500

2002 Contributions Brinker International, Inc.$25,000Cameron Mitchell

Restaurants$1,250Campagna-Turano Bakery, Inc.$500China Mist$400Coffee Reserve,

Inc.$140Darifair Foods$5,000Dean Foods Company$5,000Eli's Cheesecake

Company$1,000Excel/Cargill$100,000Good Humor/Breyer's Ice Cream$1,500HMS Host

Corporation$25,000John Soules Foods$1,000Ken's Foods Inc.$5,000Michigan Turkey

Producers Cooperative$7,000National Everclean Service$500Not Your Average

Joe's$347Paradise Tomato Kitchens, Inc.$7,500Perdue Farms, Inc.$40,000Pro

Clean$1,500Revolution, Inc.$1,000Royal Cup$1,500RTM, Inc.$64,872Simmons Foods,

Inc.$5,000Sun Orchard, Inc.$2,000Syracuse's Italian Sausage$500Tyson Foods,

Inc.$100,000

Contact Information

Like other Berman & Co. front groups, CCF is headquartered at the following

address:

Berman & Co.

1775 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 1200

Washington, DC 20006

Phone: (202) 463-7110

FAX: (202) 463-7107

Email: rberman

Websites:

http://www.activistcash.com

http://www.consumerfreedom.com

http://www.cspinot.org

http://www.guestchoice.com

 

Related Disinfopedia Articles

 

Berman & Co.

Rick Berman

ActivistCash.com

A Visit to the ActivistCash.Com Web Site

American Beverage Institute

Employment Policies Institute

Employment Roundtable

 

 

 

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