Banning Cheese Advertising from Children's TV Programming

Junk food I understand, but this?

http://www.brandweek.com/bw/news/recent ... 1003543637

brandweek wrote:The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has written to the Federal Trade Commission asking the agency to ban cheese advertising during children's TV shows. Such a move, if implemented, could remove tens of million of dollars in dairy product advertising—from pizza to Laughing Cow—from the airwaves.

Always consider the messenger.

Another (not unbiased) view of PCRM

Ann Fisher wrote:Always consider the messenger.

Another (not unbiased) view of PCRM

Definitely not unbiased.

Okay, my first reaction to this announcement was outrage. Then I read:

"In 2005 it [the physicians' group in question] filed a lawsuit against Kraft, General Mills, Dannon, McNeil Nutritionals and Lifeway Foods because those companies ran ads claiming dairy products could help consumers lose weight. Kraft agreed to stop advertising those claims and was dropped from the suit, but eventually the suit was thrown out of state court in Virginia."

And I thought, okay, claiming cheese is a diet food is wrong...then I realized, wait a minute, who am I getting outraged for? Kraft? General Mills? McNeil Nutritionals? The same food mega-conglomerates that are pushing out small artisanal farmers and cheese makers and flooding the market with their dreck?

So on second thought, though I share the revulsion about regulations against foie gras and so on, I realize I don't care about companies like McNeil Nutritionals. Let them face harassment from agencies that, in so many cases, tailor legislation to help companies like theirs whose goals may be opposed to those of us who want to see smaller, not larger, organizations making cheese (organizations that could never afford to advertise on Spongebob).

Let the titans battle, and I hope somewhere, beneath their radar and perhaps their contempt, is a group of nuns in Wisconsin, making small batches of excellent cheese and selling it to me and my friends.

Hammond

gleam wrote:

Ann Fisher wrote:Always consider the messenger.

Another (not unbiased) view of PCRM

Definitely not unbiased.

How much do I win if I can find a link that criticizes sourcewatch.org?

eatchicago wrote:

gleam wrote:

Ann Fisher wrote:Always consider the messenger.

Another (not unbiased) view of PCRM

Definitely not unbiased.

How much do I win if I can find a link that criticizes sourcewatch.org?

http://www.activistcash.com/organizatio ... cfm/oid/12

and somehow it always links back to these stooges:

http://www.consumerfreedom.com/

David Hammond wrote:And I thought, okay, claiming cheese is a diet food is wrong...then I realized, wait a minute, who am I getting outraged for? Kraft? General Mills? McNeil Nutritionals? The same food mega-conglomerates that are pushing out small artisanal farmers and cheese makers and flooding the market with their dreck?

Actually, it wasn't just cheese they sued over, but any dairy product. Lifeway Foods, for instance, was sued for claiming (as they still do) that their kefir is a relatively low-fat source of protein and other nutrients that can be substituted for higher fat meals, as well as a source of essential pro-biotics. All of which is absolutely true (sorry, I don't mean to sound like a commercial). Lifeway is not a big conglomerate, but a local family run (though now publicly owned) company started by a Russian immigrant. They actually do a lot to encourage healthy nutrition for kids.

http://www.lifeway.net/product.php

Unless things have changed recently, Lifeway is at least 20% owned by Danone (aka Dannoon yogurt).

I think this issue regarding advertisements for cheese could be settled cleanly and painlessly. I propose a universal ban on Children's TV programming.

Antonius

nr706 wrote:Unless things have changed recently, Lifeway is at least 20% owned by Danone (aka Dannoon yogurt).

Like I said, the company is public, but it is still run by the family that founded it 20 years ago. Dannon's purchase of 1/5 interest is fairly recent, and certainly doesn't put Lifeway into remotely the same class as Kraft or General Mills.

d4v3 wrote:

nr706 wrote:Unless things have changed recently, Lifeway is at least 20% owned by Danone (aka Dannoon yogurt).

Like I said, the company is public, but it is still run by the family that founded it 20 years ago. Dannon's purchase of 1/5 interest is fairly recent, and certainly doesn't put Lifeway into remotely the same class as Kraft or General Mills.

Agreed, of course, but that wouldn't change my perception of Kraft and General Mills as being super-mega-monster agri-conglomerates.

David Hammond wrote:Agreed, of course, but that wouldn't change my perception of Kraft and General Mills as being super-mega-monster agri-conglomerates.

I would call that more of an observation than a perception . Actually, I agree with your original point. I feel the same way as you do about many activist groups. So what if they are obsessed fanatics? At least they are confronting the bad guys, even if it's for silly reasons. I guess my point about the lawsuit you mentioned was that it not only targeted super-conglomerates passing off processed cheese as a diet food, but also smaller companies making the justifiable claim that eating yogurt instead of a Big Mac for lunch will help you lose weight.

I feel the same way as you do about many activist groups. So what if they are obsessed fanatics? At least they are confronting the bad guys, even if it's for silly reasons.

Yes, good thing they got deadly lard replaced with healthy vegetable-based trans-fats.

but I thought there was some actual study that people who ate more low fat dairy did lose more weight - something to do with the calcium - or was it just that they didn't eat as many big macs?