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

 

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