Guest guest Posted June 8, 2008 Report Share Posted June 8, 2008 http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_9506365 Public Forum Letter Article Last Updated: 06/06/2008 07:42:26 PM MDT David Martosko criticizes the vegan diet for its "yuck" factor and overrated health claims ("Ummm, bacon," Forum, June 2). While I am not a vegan, I come to their defense. First, the vegan diet is hardly unappetizing, consisting mainly of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. Second, the health benefits of this diet are widely documented, as are the harmful effects of excessive saturated fats and high caloric intake associated with a meat-based diet. Third, the mistreatment of animals and people in the meat industry is also widely documented. His observation that most Americans don't care is irrelevant. Fourth, Martosko's Center for Consumer Freedom is an industry-sponsored organization whose sole purpose is to fight back the barrage of health concerns from an increasingly aware public. Martosko's "director of research" title is deceptive: he is not a scientist; he is a lobbyist and an actor. His comments should be taken with a grain of organic salt. Stephen Keen Salt Lake City Peter vv Sent from Mail. A Smarter Email. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 8, 2008 Report Share Posted June 8, 2008 ah, David Martosko... the man who said "hey, mercury ain't that bad!" and "drunk drivers, nah, it's like 10 ppl, the same ones..." the man should run for Senator in oklahoma, he's fit right in Peter VV Jun 8, 2008 12:39 PM Re: Shilling for calories http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_9506365 Public Forum Letter Article Last Updated: 06/06/2008 07:42:26 PM MDT David Martosko criticizes the vegan diet for its "yuck" factor and overrated health claims ("Ummm, bacon," Forum, June 2). While I am not a vegan, I come to their defense. First, the vegan diet is hardly unappetizing, consisting mainly of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. Second, the health benefits of this diet are widely documented, as are the harmful effects of excessive saturated fats and high caloric intake associated with a meat-based diet. Third, the mistreatment of animals and people in the meat industry is also widely documented. His observation that most Americans don't care is irrelevant. Fourth, Martosko's Center for Consumer Freedom is an industry-sponsored organization whose sole purpose is to fight back the barrage of health concerns from an increasingly aware public. Martosko's "director of research" title is deceptive: he is not a scientist; he is a lobbyist and an actor. His comments should be taken with a grain of organic salt. Stephen Keen Salt Lake City Peter vv Sent from Mail. A Smarter Email. What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know, it's what we know for sure that just ain't so. - Mark Twain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 8, 2008 Report Share Posted June 8, 2008 Lobbyists Hide Behind Non-Profit Fronts Wednesday, May 03, 2006 | 7:48 PM Only On 7 By Mark Matthews May 3 - KGO (KGO) -- Lobbying in Washington is taking a new turn. A growing number of lobbying firms are setting up non-profit front groups to push their corporate messages. We found one example when we began investigating the source of information on a website called Fishscam. For years we've heard about health risks associated with eating certain kinds of fish because of high mercury levels. The Chicago Tribune recently did a big report on canned tuna with high levels of mercury, forcing the FDA to reevaluate their standards. So I was particularly interested when I came across Fishscam.com which says those mercury warnings are full of baloney. Like to eat ahi but you're worried about mercury? Click on Fishscam.com, a website run by the Center for Consumer Freedom. Story continues below Advertisement David Martosko, Center for Consumer Freedom: "The best science indicates that the trace amounts of mercury in the fish we feed our children and our families is so small that it's not a danger to anybody." David Martosko is director of research at the Center for Consumer Freedom -- a non-profit tax exempt educational organization. David Martosko: "We like to call shenanigans on people when they're really off base. So we're sort of a watchdog group in that respect." The center has found there's a lot to watch. You know those warnings about drinking and driving & David Martosko: "Government statistics and independent science confirms very clearly that the drunk driving problem in this country has been reduced to a small hard core of repeat offenders." In fact, government statistics don't show that. The majority of arrests are first-timers, but the center runs ad campaigns against lowering the legal blood alcohol limit. You know those warnings that Americans are getting fat? The center says we should be promoting exercise. David Martosko: "That would do far more to combat childhood obesity than say suing McDonald's." The centers ads are eye catching. And the message is food police are out to take the ice cream away from children, the hot dog out of your hand. The Center for Consumer Freedom ads say activists are trying to scare us. One of those activists is San Francisco physician Jane Hightower. Dr. Jane Hightower, research scientist: "I'm honored." (laughs) Dr. Hightower published a report linking the coronary artery disease in her patients with the large amounts of tuna and swordfish they were eating. Dr. Jane Hightower: "I didn't get paid to do this study. I did it because people were not feeling well and they all had elevated mercury levels." Her research is supported by the Environmental Protection Agency which warns pregnant women -- don't eat any swordfish. David Martosko: "Dr. Hightower I think is three parts activist and one part scientist." Martosko attacks Hightower for being an activist. But Martosko himself is no part scientist. He was a music major in college and then an AM radio talk show producer before becoming chief researcher for the Center for Consumer Freedom which is headquartered inside the lobbying offices of Richard Berman, a lobbyist for the restaurant and beverage industry. Berman set up the Center for Consumer Freedom and a number of other tax exempt educational organizations. And those educational non-profits all seem to support messages that dove tail nicely with the food beverage and tobacco industries that have hired Richard Berman. David Martosko: "Welcome to Washignton. This is the way things tend to be done here." When we tried to ask Rick Berman himself about that, he ducked out of our interview. Rick Berman: "We'll give you a photograph. Say whatever you want to say." ABC7's Mark Matthews: "Oh don't do that to me." Berman wouldn't talk with us about how his non-profits are connected financially to his lobbying business, and his research director didn't tell us. David Martosko: "I don't know the firms that send the Center for Consumer Freedom money. I don't want to know. It's not my business to know." We did find that 10 years ago Berman lived in a house in a D.C. suburb. After he opened his first non-profit, he moved to a much more expensive home. The most recent available tax records for the Center for Consumer Freedom show in 2004 Berman and Co. took in a million-and-a-half dollars from the Center for Consumer Freedom. John Stauber, environmental activist: "It's like getting a tax advantage for paying your lobbyist." John Stauber is an environmental activist and founder of the Center for Media and Democracy which tracks Berman's financing. He says Berman's tax exempt organizations don't have to reveal who gives them money. During one of our repeated requests for an interview, Rick Berman told me it wouldn't serve his food and beverage clients to be specifically identified with the often edgy campaigns of his non-profit educational organizations. John Stauber, Center for Media & Democracy: "Not public interest campaigns, but smear campaigns that he brags about to muddy the image and reputation of legitimate public interest organizations and scientists." Stauber says some groups have filed complaints against Berman with the IRS. The IRS doesn't confirm or deny investigations. The former IRS director in charge of the tax exempt division says the IRS takes a broad view of what is educational. Marc Owens, former IRS division director: "If someone sets up a website claiming the moon is made of green cheese and they go through some elaborate proof of that, the IRS isn't going to say that's too absurd. It's a form of free speech." Marc Owens says Berman could get in trouble if he's found to be running a tax exempt organization for private benefit. But the IRS admits it doesn't have a lot of people check up on that. Berman told the Washington Post he's been contacted by the IRS and nothing came of it because he's doing nothing wrong. But on Capitol Hill, an activist on issues of health care and childhood obesity, Representative Pete Stark of Fremont, calls Berman's operation an abuse. Pete Stark, D-Fremont: "I don't know what we do except expose the guy for what he is and expose the programs for doing what he's trying to do to people." David Martosko told me that he likes to call shenanigans on people who are off base. We have that in common. There are a growing number of people keeping track of Berman and Co. For more information on that, visit the links below. Center for Media and Democracy: on the Center for Consumer Freedom Sourcewatch: on Berman & Co. Sourcewatch: on Rick Berman Peter VV Jun 8, 2008 12:39 PM Re: Shilling for calories http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_9506365 Public Forum Letter Article Last Updated: 06/06/2008 07:42:26 PM MDT David Martosko criticizes the vegan diet for its "yuck" factor and overrated health claims ("Ummm, bacon," Forum, June 2). While I am not a vegan, I come to their defense. First, the vegan diet is hardly unappetizing, consisting mainly of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. Second, the health benefits of this diet are widely documented, as are the harmful effects of excessive saturated fats and high caloric intake associated with a meat-based diet. Third, the mistreatment of animals and people in the meat industry is also widely documented. His observation that most Americans don't care is irrelevant. Fourth, Martosko's Center for Consumer Freedom is an industry-sponsored organization whose sole purpose is to fight back the barrage of health concerns from an increasingly aware public. Martosko's "director of research" title is deceptive: he is not a scientist; he is a lobbyist and an actor. His comments should be taken with a grain of organic salt. Stephen Keen Salt Lake City Peter vv Sent from Mail. A Smarter Email. What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know, it's what we know for sure that just ain't so. - Mark Twain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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