"They have quite a few legitimate scientists on their board," Mayer says. (The panel that investigated phthalates in the late 1990s was headed by former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop.) Although they don't always reach the same conclusions as other consumer watchdog groups, they genuinely do seem interested in consumer safety and real science, he adds.
"We're controversial," Stier says. "We're always looking for areas where there's a gap between conventional wisdom and science."
The Center for Consumer Freedom
The CCF calls itself a "nonprofit organization devoted to promoting personal responsibility and protecting consumer choices." Founder Rick Berman, a Washington lobbyist, says his organization collects money from more than 100 companies, but he keeps the identity of donors secret, even from his own staff. According to the Center for Media and Democracy, past supporters of CCF include the American Beverage Institute, Monsanto, Tyson Foods and Wendy's.
The CCF has staked out some unusual territory in the health wars. The group has criticized Mothers Against Drunk Driving and fought against lowering the blood alcohol content thresholds for DUI laws. It strongly opposed a law requiring nutrition labeling in New York City restaurants. And it has frequently claimed that junk food doesn't cause obesity. For that matter, it believes that the entire obesity "crisis" is little more than media hype.
"We're libertarians," says Justin Wilson, a senior researcher at CCF. "Our convictions are founded on science." He claims that obesity is good for the economy -- all of those diet plans and doctor visits keep money flowing. He also says consumers deserve "full information" on health topics, as long as it doesn't interfere with their choices. "We should all be able to enjoy a meal guilt-free."
The CCF is often criticized as an unflinching mouthpiece for industry, especially food and beverage companies. "They are a completely self-serving operation," Mayer says. Rampton is more blunt: "[Berman] would promote arsenic if the arsenic industry paid him," he says.
Center for Science in the Public Interest
This organization, publisher of the Nutrition Action Healthletter, is best known for its reports detailing the nutritional excesses of Italian restaurants, Chinese restaurants and movie theater concession stands. It once memorably dubbed the dish fettuccine Alfredo (typically more than 1,000 calories and 50 grams of saturated fat per restaurant portion) "a heart attack on a plate."
