The US food lobby isn’t happy with Eric Schlosser:
As “Fast Food Nation” a fictionalized movie based on Eric Schlosser’s book, is set to have its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival tomorrow, an array of U.S. food companies are sharpening a campaign to rebut the allegations in the film and a new book that fast-food chains contribute to the nation’s obesity epidemic and other problems.
Mr. Schlosser and co-author Charles Wilson this month released “Chew On This: Everything You Don’t Want To Know About Fast Food” that makes similar arguments as the earlier book, which ties fast-food to health problems, the decline of small farmers and American cultural homogenization. The new one, however, is aimed at 11- to 15-year-olds — an important demographic for fast-food companies.
Now, more than a dozen trade groups representing producers of beef, potatoes, milk and snacks, along with restaurant groups, are fighting back with a media campaign to counter what one groups contends is the “indigestible propaganda” Mr. Schlosser is spreading.…
Industry-funded lobbyists are worried about Schlosser, and they should be. There is a growing awareness towards food companies – not unlike tobacco companies in years past – that responsibility lies in the quality and health of its products.