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{{Short description|American non-profit entity}} | |||
] | |||
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}} {{Use American English|date=March 2024}} | |||
The '''Center for Consumer Freedom''' (CCF), formerly called the '''Guest Choice Network''', is a non-profit U.S. advocacy group funded by the "restaurants, food companies and more than 1,000 concerned individuals," according to its website. It describes its mission as defending the "right of adults and parents to choose what they eat, drink, and how they enjoy themselves." Stressing individual responsibility over government legislation, CCF opposes compulsory warning labels on food, bans on smoking in restaurants, lawsuits against obesity, and similar activities. It runs media campaigns and gives out annual "Nanny Awards" to "those groups and individuals who would protect us from ourselves." It has been called a "tobacco/meat industry front group" by the ]. | |||
{{Infobox organization | |||
| logo = | |||
| type = ] | |||
| founded_date = 1995 | |||
| founder = ] | |||
| location = ] | |||
| origins = | |||
| key_people = | |||
| area_served = | |||
| product = | |||
| method = Lobbying | |||
| revenue = $3,561,286 (2014)<ref name="guide">{{cite web|title=The Center for Organizational Research and Education|url=https://www.guidestar.org/profile/26-0006579|website=GuideStar|publisher=Internal Revenue Service|accessdate=27 August 2016}}</ref> | |||
| expenses = $4,252,732 (2014)<ref name=guide/> | |||
| num_volunteers = | |||
| num_employees = | |||
| num_members = | |||
| owner = | |||
| Non-profit_slogan = | |||
| homepage = {{URL|https://coreprojects.com}} | |||
}} | |||
The '''Center for Organizational Research and Education''' ('''CORE'''), formerly the '''Center for Consumer Freedom''' ('''CCF''') and prior to that the '''Guest Choice Network''', is an American ] founded by ]. It describes itself as "dedicated to protecting ]s and promoting common sense."<ref name=Mayer>{{cite news|last1=Mayer|first1=Caroline E.|last2=Joyce|first2=Amy|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/26/AR2005042601259.html|title=The Escalating Obesity Wars|date=April 27, 2005|newspaper=]|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> | |||
Projects and campaigns of CORE include Humane Watch, a watchdog of the ]; the Environmental Policy Alliance, which criticizes ]; and Activist Facts, a site dedicated to tracking ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Center for Organizational Research and Education|url=https://coreprojects.com/|access-date=2020-09-16|website=Center for Organizational Research and Education|language=en}}</ref> | |||
Created in 1995 as the Guest Choice Network by ], executive director of the public affairs firm ], it was initially funded by the ] tobacco company, but now has a number of corporate sponsors, such as ], the ], and ] The concept of the group, according to a letter to Barbara Trach, then Philip Morris' senior program manager for public affairs, was "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 ..." Its purpose was to encourage 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'" (pdf). | |||
The organization defends the alcohol, meat, and tobacco industries<ref>{{cite news |last1=Speed |first1=Madeleine |title=Plant-based meat industry on a mission to rebrand itself as healthy option |url=https://www.ft.com/content/e2f09994-7d1d-4839-8111-1983c5bc14bc |access-date=7 October 2023 |work=Financial Times |date=6 October 2023}}</ref> and has been critical of organizations including the ], the ], ], the ], ], and the ].<ref name=Mayer/> | |||
CCF opposes various activist groups, in particular ] and other animal-rights organizations, and funds a number of websites — for example, ''activistcash.com'' — critical of activist groups, documenting the financial backing, controversial views and, in some instances, the alleged criminal activities of those involved. | |||
Experts on non-profit law have questioned the validity of the group's non-profit status in '']'' and other publications, while others, including political commentator ] and author ], have treated the group as an entity that specializes in ].<ref name="Pollan">{{cite news|newspaper=]|date=June 4, 2006|title=Attacks on the 'Food Police'|first=Michael|last=Pollan|url=http://pollan.blogs.nytimes.com/2006/06/04/attacks-on-the-food-police/|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Preston|first=Caroline|date=March 11, 2010|title=Nonprofit Group Attacks Humane Society Over Spending of Donations|volume=XXII|newspaper=The Chronicle Of Philanthropy|publisher=IPA Publishing Services|number=8|url=http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/about/chronicle_of_philanthropy.pdf|accessdate=May 2, 2015|via=HumaneSociety.org|archive-date=September 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924031942/http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/about/chronicle_of_philanthropy.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="DijamWingfield">{{cite journal|last1=Drajem|first1=Mark|last2=Wingfield|first2=Brian|date=November 2, 2012|title=Union Busting by Profiting From Non-Profit May Breach IRS|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-02/union-busting-by-profiting-from-non-profit-may-breach-irs.html|accessdate=May 2, 2015|journal=]}}</ref><ref name="Johnson">{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Sara |title=Beltway Astroturf Organization Sets Sights on Green Building |url=https://www.architectmagazine.com/design/beltway-astroturf-organization-sets-sights-on-green-building_o |work=Architect |date=March 6, 2014}}</ref> | |||
== History == | |||
Berman's ], ] letter to Trach stated: | |||
==History and background== | |||
:I'd like to propose to Philip Morris the establishment of the Guest Choice Network. 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. (pdf) | |||
CORE was founded in 1995 as the Guest Choice Network by ], owner of the public affairs firm ], with $600,000 from the ] tobacco company to fight smoking limitations in restaurants. In 2005, Berman told '']'' that the organization was funded by a coalition of restaurant and food companies as well as some individuals.<ref name=Mayer/> {{As of|2020|September}}, according to the group's website it is supported by companies, foundations and individual consumers.<ref name="about">{{cite web|url=https://www.consumerfreedom.com/about/|title=About Us|publisher=Center for Consumer Freedom|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> Sponsors {{as of|2005|lc=y}} were reported to include Brinker International, RTM Restaurant Group (the owner of Arby's), Tyson Foods, HMSHost Corp, and Wendy's.<ref name=Mayer/> | |||
===Guest Choice Network=== | |||
By April 1998, at Guest Choice Network's public launch, the group's advisory board comprised of representatives from the restaurant, meat, and alcoholic-beverage industries. | |||
The forerunner to the CCF was the Guest Choice Network, organized in 1995 by Berman with money from Philip Morris,<ref name=Mayer/> "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..." According to Berman, the mission was to encourage 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.'"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prwatch.org/documents/berman/berman600k.pdf|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090317061354/http://www.prwatch.org/documents/berman/berman600k.pdf|archivedate=March 17, 2009|title=Letter from Rick Berman to Barbara Trach|date=April 11, 1995|website=]|publisher=]|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> | |||
In November 2001, the |
In November 2001, the group launched a website, ActivistFacts.com, which selected information gathered from IRS documents and media reports, describing the funding and activities of groups it opposed, listing key activists and celebrity connections. | ||
In January 2002, the Guest Choice Network became the Center for Consumer Freedom, a change of name the group said reflected that "the anti-consumer forces expanding their reach beyond restaurants and taverns going into your communities and even your homes."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://guestchoice.com/index.html|title=Guest Choice Network|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20020124091734/http://guestchoice.com/index.html|archivedate=January 24, 2002|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> In 2013, CCF became the Center for Organizational Research and Education.<ref>{{cite news|last=Eilperin|first=Juliet|title=The ad war over EPA's climate rule has begun|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/06/04/the-ad-war-over-epas-climate-rule-has-begun/|newspaper=]|accessdate=May 2, 2015|date=June 4, 2014}}</ref> | |||
In January 2002, Guest Choice Network became the Center for Consumer Freedom, a move from the corporate-sounding 'guest' towards the more individualist-sounding 'freedom'. The move reflected the desire to be more than simply a lobby group for the direct interests the food and tobacco industry, to a wider focus on the issues implied by 'Consumer Freedom', and was a natural progression from the establishment of ActivistCash, which didn't fit into traditional lobby group activity. | |||
== |
===Governance=== | ||
The group is a tax-exempt ] nonprofit organization, and as such it is not required to disclose the identity of its funders.<ref name=about/> IRS records show that in 2013 CCF paid more than $750,000 to Berman and Company.<ref name="ap">{{cite journal|last=Sargent|first=Greg|url=http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=8984|title=Berman's Battle|website=]|date=January 3, 2005|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205120303/http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=8984|archivedate=December 5, 2010|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> | |||
See ] below. | |||
In a document released by the ''New York Times'' on October 30, 2014, from a talk Berman gave to the Western Energy Alliance while he was unaware of being recorded, Berman described the approach of his various organizations as one of "Win Ugly or Lose Pretty." He also reassured potential donors about the concern that they might be discovered as supporters: "We run all of this stuff through nonprofit organizations that are insulated from having to disclose donors. There is total anonymity."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/31/us/politics/31lobbyist-docs.html|title="Endless War" and Other Rallying Points|date=October 30, 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/31/us/politics/pr-executives-western-energy-alliance-speech-taped.html|title=Hard-Nosed Advice From Veteran Lobbyist: 'Win Ugly or Lose Pretty'; Richard Berman Energy Industry Talk Secretly Taped|last=Lipton|first=Eric|date=October 30, 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> | |||
As with other groups linked to Berman and Company, the CCF does not disclose the identity of its funders. However, some information is available, as CCF is registered as a tax-exempt ], and accordingly financial information is disclosed via IRS Form 990s. | |||
===Employees=== | |||
More information about donors was released following the 1998 attorney generals' settlement with the tobacco industry that required tobacco companies to release millions of pages of previously confidential company documents. Nonetheless, up-to-date funding data is difficult to obtain, but is thought to be largely from the food/beverage industries. | |||
As of 2020, Will Coggin is the managing director.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Will Coggin|url=https://www.consumerfreedom.com/about/will-coggin/|access-date=2020-09-24|website=Center for Consumer Freedom|language=en-US}}</ref> Previous CORE directors included Joseph Kefauver, Daniel Mindus, David Browne, James Blackstock, Richard Verrechia, F. Lane Cardwell, and Nelson Marchioli.<ref>{{cite web|date=November 10, 2011|title=2010 IRS Form 990|url=http://www.consumerfreedom.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/CCF990_2010.pdf|accessdate=May 2, 2015|publisher=The Center For Consumer Freedom}}</ref> | |||
According to a 1995 CCF budget, the nascent Guest Choice Network 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 said 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." (pdf) | |||
==Activities== | |||
Initial funding had come from Philip Morris, with the initial donation of $600,000 followed by a $300,000 donation the following year. (pdf) "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 ], ]. | |||
Berman himself has described his organization's preferred tactics,<ref name="Graves"/> many of which are characteristic of ]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Disinformation Techniques: A Glossary |url=https://rigged.ghost.io/techniques/ |website=Rigged |language=en |date=6 June 2021}}</ref><ref name="Bottari">{{cite news |last1=Bottari |first1=Mary |title=Bradley Foundation Bankrolls Front Groups of Discredited PR Spin Doctor Richard Berman |url=https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2017/05/09/bradley-foundation-bankrolls-front-groups-richard-berman/ |work=EXPOSEDbyCMD |agency=The Center for Media and Democracy |date=9 May 2017}}</ref> These include marginalizing your opponent, "making it personal", being "nasty", manipulating people through "fear and anger", branding movements as "not credible", undermining moral authority, and giving corporations "total anonymity."<ref name="Graves">{{cite news |last1=Graves |first1=Lisa |title=Rick Berman Exposed in New Audio; Hear His Tactics against Environmentalists and Workers Rights |url=https://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/10/12646/rick-berman-exposed-new-audio-detailing-tactics-against-environment |work=PR Watch |agency=The Center for Media and Democracy |date=30 October 2014 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Lipton">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/31/us/politics/pr-executives-western-energy-alliance-speech-taped.html|title=Hard-Nosed Advice From Veteran Lobbyist: 'Win Ugly or Lose Pretty'; Richard Berman Energy Industry Talk Secretly Taped|last=Lipton|first=Eric|date=October 30, 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> | |||
In subsequent years, GCN acquired more donors, but was still almost solely funded by a few large corporations: the IRS Form 990 for the six-month period from July to December 1999 shows that is income for that period was $111,642, of which $105,000 came from six unnamed donors. | |||
In 2002, CCF spokesman John Doyle described nationwide radio ads put out by the group as efforts 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 ] use, ] of crops or ] use in beef and poultry."<ref>{{cite news|last=Ness|first=Carol|url=http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Hand-that-feeds-bites-back-Food-industry-forks-2838697.php|title=Hand that feed bites back: Food industry forks over ad campaign to win hearts, stomachs|newspaper=]|date=May 11, 2002|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> | |||
For the year 2000, an income of $514,321 was reported, of which $492,500 came from seven unnamed donors. It did not report paying salaries to any employees, but did list $256,077 paid to Berman and Co., Inc., for "management services." | |||
CCF gave out annual "Tarnished Halo" awards to so-called "animal-rights zealots, celebrity busybodies, environmental scaremongers, self-appointed "public interest" advocates, trial lawyers, and other food activists",<ref>{{cite press release|title=The Fifth Annual 'Tarnished Halo' Awards; PETA, California Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Among 'Best of the Worst'|publisher=U.S. Newswire|date=January 13, 2006}}</ref> and its Guest Choice Network affiliate gave out the "Nanny Awards" to "food cops, anti-] activists, ] scolds and meddling bureaucrats".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.consumerfreedom.com/news_detail.cfm?headline=71|title=Food for Thought|publisher=The Center for Consumer Freedom|date=February 10, 2000|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060525042728/http://www.consumerfreedom.com/news_detail.cfm?headline=71|archivedate=May 25, 2006|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Gardner|first=Marilyn|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2000/0209/p16s2.html|title=Protecting us from ourselves|journal=]|date=February 9, 2000|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=June 2014}}<ref>{{cite press release|title=The Guest Choice Network Presents the 3rd Annual 'Nanny' Awards|publisher=PR Newswire|date=February 1, 2001}}</ref> | |||
As the CCF was originally a corporate-led lobby group, it did not have any membership dues in its early years, but in 2005 the group now claims over 1000 individual supporters, and solicits individual donations on its website ; but it is believed that the group still receives most of its funding from corporations. | |||
CCF criticized statistics used by nutrition groups to describe a global "obesity epidemic", and in 2005, it filed a series of ] requests against the U.S. ] in response to a CDC study stating that 400,000 Americans die each year as a consequence of being ].<ref>{{cite news|title=Industry salivates over new cash cow|last=Berman|first=Rick|newspaper=]|date=February 23, 2005|url=http://www.consumerfreedom.com/oped_detail.cfm/oped/316|via=The Center For Consumer Freedom|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050831215517/http://www.consumerfreedom.com/oped_detail.cfm/oped/316|archivedate=August 31, 2005|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=June 2014}} After CCF campaign CDC reduced its estimates to 112,000 annual deaths, leading CCF to advertise widely that it had discredited the study.<ref name=Mayer/> | |||
==Activities== | |||
The group defines its mission as fighting against "a growing ] of food cops, health care enforcers, militant activists, meddling bureaucrats, and violent radicals who think they know what's best for you, are pushing against our basic freedoms." | |||
In 2020, CCF launched a campaign targeting ] products like ] and ].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Barrett|first=Sully|date=2020-02-06|title=Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods face a new 'fake meat' foe with long, controversial history|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/06/beyond-meat-impossible-foods-face-new-powerful-fake-meat-foe.html|access-date=2020-09-10|website=CNBC|language=en}}</ref> CCF claims the ] is nothing more than "ultra-processed imitations."<ref>{{Cite news|last=O’Connor|first=Anahad|date=2019-12-03|title=Fake Meat vs. Real Meat|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/03/well/eat/fake-meat-vs-real-meat.html|access-date=2020-09-10|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The organization has run full-page ads in '']'' and '']''—in one comparing the product contents to ].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-11-15|title=This man wants to convince America beef is healthier than meatless burgers|url=http://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/nov/15/richard-berman-convince-america-beef-healthier-meatless-burgers-impossible|access-date=2020-09-10|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref> The Center for Consumer Freedom also conducts polling, including one from 2021 which found that 73 percent of nutritionists don't recommend fake meat.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cobe |first1=Patricia |title=Is consumer appetite for plant-based meat waning? |url=https://www.winsightgrocerybusiness.com/fresh-food/consumer-appetite-plant-based-meat-waning |website=Restaurant Business |access-date=31 January 2023}}</ref> Several articles have stated that CCF's campaign against plant-based meat contributed to the industry's dip in 2023, including Plant Based News which called CCF's campaigns "a far more significant issue than the article implies."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stojkovic |first1=Jennifer |title=Fake Meat Or Fake News? Why Vegan Food Isn't 'Just Another Fad' |url=https://plantbasednews.org/opinion/opinion-piece/fake-meat-news-vegan-food-fad/ |website=Plant Based News |date=25 January 2023 |access-date=31 January 2023}}</ref> | |||
CCF has argued against ]s, for retaining the permissible driving ] at 0.10, and questions the heavily debated dangers of ] consumption, and ]. {{fact}} | |||
As for why CCF is pursuing ], ] said, "The rhetoric is ahead of the facts...I’m not trying to say their stuff is going to kill you. What I am going to say is it is not healthier for you...These are not burgers or sausages or chicken strips that have been constructed with crushed celery."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Glenza|first=Jessica|date=2019-11-15|title=This man wants to convince America beef is healthier than meatless burgers|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/nov/15/richard-berman-convince-america-beef-healthier-meatless-burgers-impossible|access-date=2020-09-10|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> | |||
In a 1999 interview with the ''Chain Leader'', a trade publication for restaurant chains, Berman said 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 ], alcohol, fat, sugar, tobacco and caffeine," his strategy is "to shoot the messenger ... We've got to attack their credibility as spokespersons." | |||
The project has included ], reports, and ]. One ad that aired during the ] was met with a ] from ].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Jiang|first=Irene|title=Impossible Foods made a parody video about poop in beef in response to a Super Bowl ad attacking plant-based 'meat'|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/impossible-foods-made-parody-video-ccf-super-bowl-ad-2020-2|access-date=2020-10-07|website=Business Insider}}</ref> | |||
In a ], ] '']'' article, CCF spokesman ] 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 ] use, ] of crops or ] use in beef and poultry." | |||
Most recently, CORE launched a campaign called China Owns Us. Its ] contains a ] called "China’s Global Supply Chain: How Chinese Communism Threatens American Interests."<ref>{{Cite web|title=China's Global Supply Chain: How Chinese Communism Threatens American Interests - China Owns US|url=https://chinaownsus.com/whitepaper/|access-date=2020-10-07|website=chinaownsus.com|language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
<!--The group has a number of specific targets and sites including:--> | |||
=== |
=== Activism websites === | ||
In addition to its own websites the CCF, which since 2014 also uses the name "Center for Organizational Research and Education"(CORE),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://coreprojects.com/|title=Center for Organizational Research and Education|website=Center for Organizational Research and Education|language=en|access-date=2018-12-24}}</ref> operates several dozen websites specifically targeting organizations and agencies working on social issues including animal rights, fair wages, transfats, drunken driving, sugar, labor union activities, and mercury content in fish.<ref>{{cite news|last=Olberding|first=Matt|url=http://journalstar.com/business/local/farm-and-food-recall-worse-pr-than-anything-anti-meat/article_8322883a-3719-5fd3-8bd0-67eb99bd8c1e.html|title=Farm and Food: Recall worse PR than anything anti-meat groups could conjure|date=February 14, 2014|newspaper=Lincoln Star Journal|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> | |||
According to ActivistCash.com, the website "''provides the public and media with in-depth profiles of anti-consumer activist groups, along with information about the sources of their exorbitant funding''". The site features generally negative profiles of various groups it believes oppose consumer freedom, including: | |||
* animal rights organizations such as ] (PETA) | |||
* environmental organizations such as ] | |||
* anti-alcohol organizations, including ] | |||
One CORE-run site, "Activist Facts", claims that "The organizations we track on this site are tax-exempt nonprofits, many of which engage in anti-consumer activism."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.activistfacts.com/about/|title=About Us {{!}} Activist FactsActivist Facts|website=Activist Facts|date=12 January 2013 |language=en|access-date=2018-12-24}}</ref> The site features generally negative profiles of various groups it believes oppose consumer freedom, such as the ], ], ], ], the ] and ]. It hosts "biographies" offering negative portrayals of key activists and celebrity supporters of various groups. The site reports what it claims are links between profiled groups and extremism, and argues, in general, that the groups profiled hold extreme views that are contrary to the public interest. It claims to have examined 500,000 IRS documents in its profiling, listing—for each group—major donors, income and expenditure, key supporters and connections with other groups. | |||
The site attempts to identify links between profiled groups and extremism, and in general argues that the activist groups profiled hold extreme views that are contrary to the public interest. | |||
CORE also manages campaigns critical of ]. According to its site, the Environmental Policy Alliance (EPA) "is devoted to uncovering the funding and hidden agendas behind environmental activist groups and exploring the intersection between activists and government agencies."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Environmental Policy Alliance|url=https://environmentalpolicyalliance.org/|access-date=2020-10-23|website=Environmental Policy Alliance|language=en}}</ref> Green Decoys, a project of EPA, was reported to "argue...environmental organizations camouflage an activist agenda to influence policymakers and the public, funded by millions of dollars from huge foundations."<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-05-26|title=Sportsmen group accused of being 'green decoy' for environmentalists|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sportsmen-group-accused-of-being-green-decoy-for-environmentalists|access-date=2020-10-23|website=watchdog.org|language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
It claims to have examined 500,000 IRS documents in its profiling, listing for each group major donors, income and expenditure, key supporters and connections with other groups. | |||
More CCF-created websites include HumaneWatch.org, PhysicianScam.com, Trans-FatFacts.com, Animalscam.com, Obesitymyths.com, and CSPIScam.com. MercuryFacts.com and FishScam.com contain a mercury calculator that offers an alternative calculation of amount of a fish that can be eaten before getting an unsafe dose of mercury, calculated as ten times the ] recommended by the EPA. CCF has also claimed (counter to research findings) that dieting and meal tracking do not lead to weight loss.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rogers|first=Dick|url=http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/Name-of-organizations-can-be-deceiving-3276175.php|title=Name of organizations can be deceiving|date=July 20, 2008|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> | |||
It also documents celebrity links with the various groups, key figures in activism, as well as documenting how the groups are funded, with a vast list of donations made via various foundations to the groups. | |||
==Funding== | |||
===PetaKillsAnimals.com=== | |||
CORE says it receives ] from individuals, businesses and ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=About Us|url=https://www.consumerfreedom.com/about/|access-date=2020-10-25|website=Center for Consumer Freedom|language=en-US}}</ref> Initial funding for the original Guest Choice Network organization came from Philip Morris, with the initial donation of $600,000 followed by a $300,000 donation the following year. Philip Morris attorney Marty Barrington wrote in a 1996 internal company memorandum: "As of this writing, PM USA is still the only contributor, though Berman continues to promise others any day now."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prwatch.org/documents/berman/pm300k.pdf|date=March 28, 1996|website=PR Watch|title=Letter from Philip Morris attorney Marty Barrington citing initial funding for the CCF|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927191427/http://www.prwatch.org/documents/berman/pm300k.pdf|archivedate=September 27, 2007|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> By December, 1996, supporters consisted of ] (slot machines), ] (beer), Bruss Company (steaks and chops), ], ] (cigars), ] (casinos), Overhill Farms (frozen foods), ], and Standard Meat Company. The group's advisory panel comprised representatives from most of these companies, plus further representatives from the restaurant industry, including former Senator ], and Carl Vogt of the law firm ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pmdocs.com/PDF/2072395989_5990_0.PDF|title=The Guest Choice Network Supporters; The Guest Choice Network Advisory Panel|date=December 1, 1996}}{{dead link|date=June 2014}}</ref> | |||
CCF is opposed to PETA's agenda, which states that animals should not be used by humans, and is one of the most active and high-profile anti-PETA groups. | |||
Acknowledged corporate donors to the CCF include ],<ref name=FP/> ],<ref name=FP/> ],<ref name=FP/> ],<ref name=Barton /> ],<ref name=FP/><ref name=Barton>{{cite news|last=Barton|first=Paul|url=http://www.nwanews.com/story.php?paper=adg§ion=National&storyid=39402|title=Poultry firms side with lobbyist in PR battle with animal-welfare group|newspaper=]|date=September 22, 2003|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015234839/http://nwanews.com/story.php?paper=adg§ion=National&storyid=39402|archivedate=October 15, 2007|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> and ].<ref name=Barton /><ref name=Mayer/> {{as of|2005}}, the CCF reported more than 1,000 individual donors<ref name=about/><ref name=Mayer/> as well as approximately 100 corporate supporters.<ref name=FP>{{cite news|last=Warner|first=Melanie|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/12/business/yourmoney/12food.html?|title=Striking Back at the Food Police|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 12, 2005|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> | |||
It publishes the website PetaKillsAnimals.com , which according to the site has an aim to "''stand up to malicious animal-rights activists, the "food police," environmental scaremongers, neo-prohibitionists, meddling bureaucrats, and other self-anointed saints who claim to "know what's best" for you. ''" The site is critical of PETA, alleging that the organization is well-funded but is ineffective in the protection of animals. In an attempt to justify some of its claims, the site has produced documents showing that PETA kills most of the animals its care, and features news that shows PETA, its staff and leaders in a negative light. The site has also produced anti-PETA advertising and publicity stunts outside PETA meetings. | |||
== |
==Responses== | ||
{{blockquote|In its very name and many of its slogans, this organization and others like it exploit concepts of "freedom" and "consumer choice" — while attempting to shout down voices that would foster more reasonable and informed choices about diet and its impact.|Sociologist ] of ]<ref name="Nibert2013"/>}} | |||
===Directors=== | |||
The latest available IRS Form 1990, for the 2004 calendar year, lists directors and key employees as: | |||
Some of the CCF's various critics, including targets, fight back. Labor groups pushing to increase the minimum wage have taken a tough line against Berman and his clients.<ref>{{cite news|last=Greenhouse|first=Steven|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/17/business/as-worker-advocacy-groups-gain-momentum-businesses-fight-back.html?|title=Advocates for Workers Raise the Ire of Business|date=January 16, 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> ], has carried out its own investigations of CCF and founder ], and filed complaints about CCF with the IRS.<ref>{{cite news|last=Beall|first=Pat|url=http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/news/taking-on-the-popular-dr-evil-targets-humane-socie/ncsyJ/|title=Taking on the popular: 'Dr. Evil' targets Humane Society|date=January 18, 2014|newspaper=]|url-access=subscription |accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Kopf|first=Aleese|url=http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/news/local/critical-flier-targets-humane-society-gala-support/ncswk/|title=Critical flier targets Humane Society gala, supporters|date=January 19, 2014|newspaper=]|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> Together, ] and HSUS filed a complaint against Berman and Company, Berman's firm, with the New York Commission on Public Integrity.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news|last=Strom|first=Stephanie|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/18/us/politics/18berman.html?|title=Nonprofit Advocate Carves Out a For-Profit Niche|date=June 17, 2010|newspaper=The New York Times|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> CCF has filed its own complaint with the IRS against HSUS.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Drajem|first=Mark|title=Latest Salvo in Feud Targets Humane Society's Accounting|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-11-07/latest-salvo-in-feud-targets-humane-society-s-accounting|journal=Bloomberg Business|accessdate=May 2, 2015|date=November 7, 2013}}</ref> | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
! Name !! Title !! Avg. work hours per week !! Compensation !! Deferred compensation !! Expense account | |||
|- | |||
| ] || Pres., Exec. || 1 || $18,000 || - || - | |||
|- | |||
| ] || Director || 0.25 || $250 || - || - | |||
|- | |||
| ] || Director || 0.25 || $250 || - || $81,272 | |||
|- | |||
| ] || Director || 0.25 || $250 || - || - | |||
|- | |||
| ] || Sec., Treas. || 0.25 || $250 || - || - | |||
|- | |||
| ] || Management company || 0 || $1,228,311 || $206,745 || - | |||
|} | |||
] created a website to counter the charges of Berman and CCF, calling them a "front group" which "devotes considerable manpower, time, and money in an attempt to make people who care about animals believe false and misleading information about PETA's work."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://features.peta.org/petasaves/|title=PETA Saves Animals|publisher=]|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> ] has responded "If you are in the business of putting veal or beef on the tables of America, and slaughtering more than a million animals per hour, and making an awful lot of money at it, you are going to try to neutralize PETA or other animal-rights groups."<ref>{{cite news|last=Sharkey|first=Joe|authorlink=Joe Sharkey|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/23/business/23road.html|title=Perennial Foes Meet Again in a Battle of the Snack Bar|date=November 23, 2004|newspaper=The New York Times|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> ] says that the CCF receives significant funding from businesses that make up the ] in order to conduct public relations campaigns to challenge any criticism of their practices.<ref name="Nibert2013">{{cite book |last=Nibert |first=David |date=2013 |title=Animal Oppression and Human Violence: Domesecration, Capitalism, and Global Conflict|url=http://cup.columbia.edu/book/animal-oppression-and-human-violence/9780231151894|location= |publisher=] |page=267 |isbn=978-0231151894}}</ref> | |||
John Doyle is also communications director for Berman & Co, has acted as spokesman for the CCF, the ] and the ]. | |||
According to ''The Washington Post'', ] (CREW), a watchdog group, asked the Internal Revenue Service in 2005 to revoke CCF's tax-exempt status, alleging that Berman and his company had used CCF to direct over $7 million charitable money to himself and his company since 1997, an allegation Berman rejects.<ref name=Mayer/> In its complaint to the ], CREW attacked CCF's claims that its advocacy campaigns were "educational" in nature.<ref name=Mayer/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.citizensforethics.org/press/newsrelease.php?view=5|title=CREW Files IRS Complaint Against The Center for Consumer Freedom Alleging Violations of Tax Exempt Status|publisher=]|date=November 16, 2004|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051222080945/http://citizensforethics.org/press/newsrelease.php?view=5|archivedate=December 22, 2005|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=Forbes|url=https://www.forbes.com/business/2005/09/23/obesity-lobbying-ccf-cz_sl_0923ccf.html|title=Food Fight|last=Lubove|first=Seth|date=September 23, 2005|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070503062928/http://www.forbes.com/business/2005/09/23/obesity-lobbying-ccf-cz_sl_0923ccf.html|archivedate=May 3, 2007|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> | |||
The IRS Form 990 filed for the six-month period from July to December 1999 by CCF (then calling itself the Guest Choice Network), listed the following officers: | |||
In March 2013, independent nonprofit evaluator ] issued a Donor Advisory warning potential donors that "the majority of the Center for Consumer Freedom's program expenses are being directed to its CEO Richard Berman's for-profit management company, Berman and Company."{{Citation needed|reason=Old Link Does Not Include Cited Information|date=January 2023}} This mirrors the findings of Bloomberg News, which disclosed that from 2008 to 2010, Berman and Company was paid $15 million from donations to his five nonprofit organizations.<ref name="DijamWingfield" /> | |||
*], executive director. | |||
*], director | |||
*], secretary/treasurer | |||
*], director (Popeo is also chairman of the ]) | |||
*], director (Whitesides has also worked as a public relations representative for Coca-Cola North America and ]. In November 2001, she went to work as a legislative representative for the National Restaurant Association.) | |||
The CCF has drawn criticism for having taken its startup funding from the ] tobacco company and for lobbying on behalf of the ], ], and ] while claiming to represent consumers.<ref name=Mayer/><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/24/opinion/24sun3.html|title=The Story Behind a New York Billboard and the Interests It Serves|last=Klinkenborg|first=Verlyn|date=July 24, 2005|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/opposition/facts/center_for_consumer_freedom.html|title=Center for Consumer Freedom: Non-Profit or Corporate Shill?|publisher=]|date=November 6, 2009|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100331203002/http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/opposition/facts/center_for_consumer_freedom.html|archivedate=March 31, 2010|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cspinet.org/booze/WashingtonRpt0305.htm#ABI |title=Washington Report: American Beverage Institute Attacks RWJF |publisher=] |accessdate=May 2, 2015 |date=May 2003 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151221205653/http://www.cspinet.org/booze/WashingtonRpt0305.htm#ABI |archivedate=December 21, 2015 }}</ref> | |||
===Advisory panel=== | |||
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. | |||
*], Meridian Products Corporation | |||
*Robert Basham, ], Inc. | |||
*John F. Berglund, Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association | |||
*Lou Chatey, Sebastiani Vineyards | |||
*H.A. Divine, University of Denver | |||
*Timothy J. Doke, ], Inc. | |||
*], Tetley USA, Inc. | |||
*William L. Hyde, Jr., ] | |||
*James Spector, ], USA | |||
*Michael Middleton, ] | |||
*Daniel J. Popeo, Washington Legal Foundation | |||
*Richard G. Scalise, Armour Swift-Eckrich | |||
*Daniel Timm, the Bruss Company | |||
*], Fulbright & Jaworski | |||
*Richard Walsh, Darden Restaurants, Inc. | |||
*Terry Wheatley, ] Winery | |||
Some commentators have questioned the CCF's ethics and legitimacy. A '']'' journalist said that they should change the name of their website to FatForProfit.com.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-05-04-name-edit_x.htm|newspaper=]|title=What's in a name?|date=May 4, 2005|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> ] writes in his '']'' blog that the CCF is an ] that works on behalf of large food companies to protect their ability to sell junk food.<ref name="Pollan"/> It has also been criticized for its efforts to portray groups such as ] as "violent" and "extreme," and for its opposition to banning the use of trans fats.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.no-smoke.org/getthefacts.php?id=70|publisher=Americans' For Nonsmokers Rights|title=Center for Consumer Freedom|accessdate=May 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513150722/http://www.no-smoke.org/getthefacts.php?id=70|archive-date=May 13, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Unti|first=Bernard|url=http://www.hsus.org/about_us/about_hsus_programs_and_services/eye_on_the_opposition/center_for_consumer_freedom.html|title=Center for Consumer Freedom: Non-Profit or Corporate Shill?|publisher=The Humane Society of the United States|date=July 1, 2005|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051017221830/http://www.hsus.org/about_us/about_hsus_programs_and_services/eye_on_the_opposition/center_for_consumer_freedom.html|archivedate=October 17, 2005|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trans-fatfacts.com/|title=About Trans Fat|publisher=The Center for Consumer Freedom|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061224163935/http://www.trans-fatfacts.com/|archivedate=December 24, 2006|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Lamb|first=Gregory M.|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1012/p13s01-lifo.html|title=Lead paint, cigarettes: Are trans fats next?|journal=The Christian Science Monitor|date=October 12, 2006|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Rosenblum|first=Jonathan|url=http://www.prwatch.org/node/5554|title=Trans Fat Spin Doctors Chart Legislative Risks|website=PR Watch|publisher=The Center For Media And Democracy|date=December 19, 2006|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> | |||
===Other representatives=== | |||
In addition to these officers, several Berman & Co. employees and associates have appeared in news stories as CCF representatives: | |||
*] has worked for a variety of conservative causes, including Republican election campaigns, ], Frontiers of Freedom, and ]'s ]. | |||
*On February 24, 2000, the ] reported that Tom Lauria, a sometime tobacco industry spokesman, had been hired as director of communications for CCF (then named the Guest Choice Network). Lauria left Berman's employ sometime in 2001. | |||
*David Martosko has been described in news stories as CCF's director of research. | |||
Jack Reilly, a former ] lawyer, told '']'' that he thought the Berman nonprofits could be seen as having been established to provide business for Berman's firm, and thus were really commercial in nature.<ref name="nytimes.com"/> | |||
== 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 argues that increases in the cost of doing business in the United States, such as minimum wage increases and mandatory health insurance for workers result in higher unemployment, and the ], a lobby group for restaurants, which argues that it is possible to drink responsibly and drive, and that the focus should be on preventing drunk driving, rather than forbidding any amount of drink before driving. | |||
Some corporations, including ] and ], have declined to work with the CCF, saying they disagree with some of the group's arguments or with its approach to advocacy.<ref name=FP/> | |||
==Corporate sponsors== | |||
Through an anonymous insider, the obtained the following information about corporate contributions to the Guest Choice Network/CCF: | |||
Following a CCF call for a retraction of a ''New York Times'' story about mercury levels in sushi as "bad science," '']'' senior editor Sharon Begley has criticized the CCF's interpretation of ] statistics and critiques of ] restrictions on tuna and other fish.<ref>{{cite news|last=Begley|first=Sharon|url=http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/labnotes/archive/2008/01/24/would-you-like-mercury-with-your-sushi.aspx|title=Would You Like Mercury With Your Sushi?|date=January 24, 2008|magazine=]|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080126144455/http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/labnotes/archive/2008/01/24/would-you-like-mercury-with-your-sushi.aspx|archivedate=January 26, 2008|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> | |||
=== Contributions === | |||
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" | |||
|+Contributors | |||
|- | |||
!Corporation !!Pre-2001!!2001!!2002!!Total | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$200,000|| ||$200,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$100,000||$100,000||$200,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$200,000|| ||$200,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$100,000||$100,000||$200,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$200,000|| ||$200,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$164,600|| ||$164,600 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$100,000|| ||$100,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$50,000||$25,000||$75,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
| || ||$64,872||$64,872 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$43,872|| ||$43,872 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
| || ||$40,000||$40,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$33,700|| ||$33,700 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
| || ||$25,000||$25,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$18,000|| ||$18,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|$17,500|| || ||$17,500 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$15,000|| ||$15,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$15,000|| ||$15,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$15,000|| ||$15,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$15,000|| ||$15,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$15,000|| ||$15,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$11,900|| ||$11,900 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|$10,000|| || ||$10,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$10,000|| ||$10,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$10,000|| ||$10,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$10,000|| ||$10,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|$10,000|| || ||$10,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$9,200|| ||$9,200 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
| || ||$7,500||$7,500 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
| || ||$7,000||$7,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$6,000|| ||$6,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$6,000|| ||$6,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$5,300|| ||$5,300 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$5,100|| ||$5,100 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|$5,000|| || ||$5,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
| || ||$5,000||$5,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
| || ||$5,000||$5,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
| || ||$5,000||$5,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
| || ||$5,000||$5,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$5,000|| ||$5,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$3,300|| ||$3,300 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$3,250|| ||$3,250 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$3,000|| ||$3,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$1,250||$1,250||$2,500 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|$2,500|| || ||$2,500 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|$2,500|| || ||$2,500 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$1,000||$1,500||$2,500 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$2,400|| ||$2,400 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|$2,000|| || ||$2,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$2,000|| ||$2,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
| || ||$2,000||$2,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$1,500|| ||$1,500 | |||
|- | |||
!] (part of ]) | |||
| || ||$1,500||$1,500 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|$1,500|| || ||$1,500 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
| || ||$1,500||$1,500 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$1,500|| ||$1,500 | |||
|- | |||
!] Foodservice<br>(now ] Foodsolutions) | |||
|$1,250|| || ||$1,250 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$1,086|| ||$1,086 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$,500||$,500||$1,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|$1,000|| || ||$1,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|$1,000|| || ||$1,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$1,000|| ||$1,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
| || ||$1,000||$1,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$1,000|| ||$1,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
| || ||$1,000||$1,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$1,000|| ||$1,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$1,000|| ||$1,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
| || ||$1,000||$1,000 | |||
|- | |||
!], Inc. | |||
|$1,000|| || ||$1,000 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$,750|| ||$,750 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$,750|| ||$,750 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$,347||$,347||$,694 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|$,500|| || ||$,500 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|$,500|| || ||$,500 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
| || ||$,500||$,500 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$,500|| ||$,500 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$,500|| ||$,500 | |||
|- | |||
!], Inc. | |||
|$,500|| || ||$,500 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
| || ||$,500||$,500 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
| || ||$,400||$,400 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$,300|| ||$,300 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$,252|| ||$,252 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|$,200|| || ||$,200 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
|||$,150|| ||$,150 | |||
|- | |||
!] | |||
| || ||$,140||$,140 | |||
|- | |||
!Total | |||
|$56,950 ||$1392,007 ||$402,509 ||$1851,466 | |||
|} | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
*] (CSPI) (in the US) | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
==External links== | |||
*] | |||
===CCF sites=== | |||
*] | |||
* | |||
*] | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
==References== | |||
===Anti-CCF sites=== | |||
*{{sourceWatch|id=Center_for_Consumer_Freedom|page=Center for Consumer Freedom}} | |||
* | |||
* run by pro ] site VegSource.com | |||
{{Reflist|30em}} | |||
{{SourceWatch text}} | |||
==External links== | |||
] | |||
*{{Official website|http://www.consumerfreedom.com}} | |||
] | |||
<!--Note: Many of the following links can probably be convereted to inline citations--> | |||
] | |||
*"", HuffPost Impact, by Nicholas Graham, March 18, 2010 | |||
*, CBS News, February 11, 2009, by Daniel Schorn | |||
*"", USA Today, July 31, 2006, by Jayne O'Donnell | |||
*"", BusinessWeek, February 27, 2006 | |||
*"" - Berman and Company | |||
*"" by Ian T. Shearn, The Humane Society of the United States | |||
{{authority control}} | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] |
Latest revision as of 21:18, 5 March 2024
American non-profit entity
Founded | 1995 |
---|---|
Founder | Richard Berman |
Type | 501(c)(3) |
Location | |
Method | Lobbying |
Revenue | $3,561,286 (2014) |
Expenses | $4,252,732 (2014) |
Website | coreprojects |
The Center for Organizational Research and Education (CORE), formerly the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) and prior to that the Guest Choice Network, is an American non-profit entity founded by Richard Berman. It describes itself as "dedicated to protecting consumer choices and promoting common sense."
Projects and campaigns of CORE include Humane Watch, a watchdog of the Humane Society of the United States; the Environmental Policy Alliance, which criticizes environmental activists; and Activist Facts, a site dedicated to tracking tax-exempt nonprofits.
The organization defends the alcohol, meat, and tobacco industries and has been critical of organizations including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Humane Society of the United States, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
Experts on non-profit law have questioned the validity of the group's non-profit status in The Chronicle of Philanthropy and other publications, while others, including political commentator Rachel Maddow and author Michael Pollan, have treated the group as an entity that specializes in astroturfing.
History and background
CORE was founded in 1995 as the Guest Choice Network by Richard Berman, owner of the public affairs firm Berman and Company, with $600,000 from the Philip Morris tobacco company to fight smoking limitations in restaurants. In 2005, Berman told The Washington Post that the organization was funded by a coalition of restaurant and food companies as well as some individuals. As of September 2020, according to the group's website it is supported by companies, foundations and individual consumers. Sponsors as of 2005 were reported to include Brinker International, RTM Restaurant Group (the owner of Arby's), Tyson Foods, HMSHost Corp, and Wendy's.
Guest Choice Network
The forerunner to the CCF was the Guest Choice Network, organized in 1995 by Berman with money from Philip Morris, "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..." According to Berman, the mission was to encourage 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.'"
In November 2001, the group launched a website, ActivistFacts.com, which selected information gathered from IRS documents and media reports, describing the funding and activities of groups it opposed, listing key activists and celebrity connections.
In January 2002, the Guest Choice Network became the Center for Consumer Freedom, a change of name the group said reflected that "the anti-consumer forces expanding their reach beyond restaurants and taverns going into your communities and even your homes." In 2013, CCF became the Center for Organizational Research and Education.
Governance
The group is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and as such it is not required to disclose the identity of its funders. IRS records show that in 2013 CCF paid more than $750,000 to Berman and Company.
In a document released by the New York Times on October 30, 2014, from a talk Berman gave to the Western Energy Alliance while he was unaware of being recorded, Berman described the approach of his various organizations as one of "Win Ugly or Lose Pretty." He also reassured potential donors about the concern that they might be discovered as supporters: "We run all of this stuff through nonprofit organizations that are insulated from having to disclose donors. There is total anonymity."
Employees
As of 2020, Will Coggin is the managing director. Previous CORE directors included Joseph Kefauver, Daniel Mindus, David Browne, James Blackstock, Richard Verrechia, F. Lane Cardwell, and Nelson Marchioli.
Activities
Berman himself has described his organization's preferred tactics, many of which are characteristic of disinformation attacks. These include marginalizing your opponent, "making it personal", being "nasty", manipulating people through "fear and anger", branding movements as "not credible", undermining moral authority, and giving corporations "total anonymity."
In 2002, CCF spokesman John Doyle described nationwide radio ads put out by the group as efforts 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."
CCF gave out annual "Tarnished Halo" awards to so-called "animal-rights zealots, celebrity busybodies, environmental scaremongers, self-appointed "public interest" advocates, trial lawyers, and other food activists", and its Guest Choice Network affiliate gave out the "Nanny Awards" to "food cops, anti-biotech activists, vegetarian scolds and meddling bureaucrats".
CCF criticized statistics used by nutrition groups to describe a global "obesity epidemic", and in 2005, it filed a series of Freedom of Information Act requests against the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in response to a CDC study stating that 400,000 Americans die each year as a consequence of being obese. After CCF campaign CDC reduced its estimates to 112,000 annual deaths, leading CCF to advertise widely that it had discredited the study.
In 2020, CCF launched a campaign targeting plant-based meat products like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. CCF claims the plant-based meat is nothing more than "ultra-processed imitations." The organization has run full-page ads in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal—in one comparing the product contents to dog food. The Center for Consumer Freedom also conducts polling, including one from 2021 which found that 73 percent of nutritionists don't recommend fake meat. Several articles have stated that CCF's campaign against plant-based meat contributed to the industry's dip in 2023, including Plant Based News which called CCF's campaigns "a far more significant issue than the article implies."
As for why CCF is pursuing plant-based meat, Berman said, "The rhetoric is ahead of the facts...I’m not trying to say their stuff is going to kill you. What I am going to say is it is not healthier for you...These are not burgers or sausages or chicken strips that have been constructed with crushed celery."
The project has included advertisements, reports, and commercials. One ad that aired during the 2020 Super Bowl was met with a parody commercial from Impossible Foods.
Most recently, CORE launched a campaign called China Owns Us. Its website contains a white paper called "China’s Global Supply Chain: How Chinese Communism Threatens American Interests."
Activism websites
In addition to its own websites the CCF, which since 2014 also uses the name "Center for Organizational Research and Education"(CORE), operates several dozen websites specifically targeting organizations and agencies working on social issues including animal rights, fair wages, transfats, drunken driving, sugar, labor union activities, and mercury content in fish.
One CORE-run site, "Activist Facts", claims that "The organizations we track on this site are tax-exempt nonprofits, many of which engage in anti-consumer activism." The site features generally negative profiles of various groups it believes oppose consumer freedom, such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Greenpeace, The Humane Society of the United States, PETA, the Restaurant Opportunities Center and Mothers Against Drunk Driving. It hosts "biographies" offering negative portrayals of key activists and celebrity supporters of various groups. The site reports what it claims are links between profiled groups and extremism, and argues, in general, that the groups profiled hold extreme views that are contrary to the public interest. It claims to have examined 500,000 IRS documents in its profiling, listing—for each group—major donors, income and expenditure, key supporters and connections with other groups.
CORE also manages campaigns critical of environmental groups. According to its site, the Environmental Policy Alliance (EPA) "is devoted to uncovering the funding and hidden agendas behind environmental activist groups and exploring the intersection between activists and government agencies." Green Decoys, a project of EPA, was reported to "argue...environmental organizations camouflage an activist agenda to influence policymakers and the public, funded by millions of dollars from huge foundations."
More CCF-created websites include HumaneWatch.org, PhysicianScam.com, Trans-FatFacts.com, Animalscam.com, Obesitymyths.com, and CSPIScam.com. MercuryFacts.com and FishScam.com contain a mercury calculator that offers an alternative calculation of amount of a fish that can be eaten before getting an unsafe dose of mercury, calculated as ten times the reference dose recommended by the EPA. CCF has also claimed (counter to research findings) that dieting and meal tracking do not lead to weight loss.
Funding
CORE says it receives funding from individuals, businesses and foundations. Initial funding for the original Guest Choice Network organization came from Philip Morris, with the initial donation of $600,000 followed by a $300,000 donation the following year. Philip Morris attorney Marty Barrington wrote in a 1996 internal company memorandum: "As of this writing, PM USA is still the only contributor, though Berman continues to promise others any day now." By December, 1996, supporters consisted of Alliance Gaming (slot machines), Anheuser-Busch (beer), Bruss Company (steaks and chops), Cargill Processed Meat Products, Davidoff (cigars), Harrah's (casinos), Overhill Farms (frozen foods), Altria, and Standard Meat Company. The group's advisory panel comprised representatives from most of these companies, plus further representatives from the restaurant industry, including former Senator George McGovern, and Carl Vogt of the law firm Fulbright & Jaworski.
Acknowledged corporate donors to the CCF include Coca-Cola, Wendy's, Outback Steakhouse, Cargill, Tyson Foods, and Pilgrim's Pride. As of 2005, the CCF reported more than 1,000 individual donors as well as approximately 100 corporate supporters.
Responses
In its very name and many of its slogans, this organization and others like it exploit concepts of "freedom" and "consumer choice" — while attempting to shout down voices that would foster more reasonable and informed choices about diet and its impact.
— Sociologist David Nibert of Wittenberg University
Some of the CCF's various critics, including targets, fight back. Labor groups pushing to increase the minimum wage have taken a tough line against Berman and his clients. The Humane Society of the United States, has carried out its own investigations of CCF and founder Richard Berman, and filed complaints about CCF with the IRS. Together, MADD and HSUS filed a complaint against Berman and Company, Berman's firm, with the New York Commission on Public Integrity. CCF has filed its own complaint with the IRS against HSUS.
PETA created a website to counter the charges of Berman and CCF, calling them a "front group" which "devotes considerable manpower, time, and money in an attempt to make people who care about animals believe false and misleading information about PETA's work." Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has responded "If you are in the business of putting veal or beef on the tables of America, and slaughtering more than a million animals per hour, and making an awful lot of money at it, you are going to try to neutralize PETA or other animal-rights groups." David Nibert says that the CCF receives significant funding from businesses that make up the animal–industrial complex in order to conduct public relations campaigns to challenge any criticism of their practices.
According to The Washington Post, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a watchdog group, asked the Internal Revenue Service in 2005 to revoke CCF's tax-exempt status, alleging that Berman and his company had used CCF to direct over $7 million charitable money to himself and his company since 1997, an allegation Berman rejects. In its complaint to the IRS, CREW attacked CCF's claims that its advocacy campaigns were "educational" in nature. In March 2013, independent nonprofit evaluator Charity Navigator issued a Donor Advisory warning potential donors that "the majority of the Center for Consumer Freedom's program expenses are being directed to its CEO Richard Berman's for-profit management company, Berman and Company." This mirrors the findings of Bloomberg News, which disclosed that from 2008 to 2010, Berman and Company was paid $15 million from donations to his five nonprofit organizations.
The CCF has drawn criticism for having taken its startup funding from the Philip Morris tobacco company and for lobbying on behalf of the fast food, meat, and tobacco industries while claiming to represent consumers.
Some commentators have questioned the CCF's ethics and legitimacy. A USA Today journalist said that they should change the name of their website to FatForProfit.com. Michael Pollan writes in his New York Times blog that the CCF is an astroturf organization that works on behalf of large food companies to protect their ability to sell junk food. It has also been criticized for its efforts to portray groups such as The Humane Society of the United States as "violent" and "extreme," and for its opposition to banning the use of trans fats.
Jack Reilly, a former Internal Revenue Service lawyer, told The New York Times that he thought the Berman nonprofits could be seen as having been established to provide business for Berman's firm, and thus were really commercial in nature.
Some corporations, including PepsiCo and Kraft Foods, have declined to work with the CCF, saying they disagree with some of the group's arguments or with its approach to advocacy.
Following a CCF call for a retraction of a New York Times story about mercury levels in sushi as "bad science," Newsweek senior editor Sharon Begley has criticized the CCF's interpretation of Environmental Protection Agency statistics and critiques of Food and Drug Administration restrictions on tuna and other fish.
See also
- Center for Science in the Public Interest
- Center for Union Facts
- Employment Policies Institute
- Restaurant Opportunities Center
References
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External links
- Official website
- "Rachel Maddow Confronts Notorious Corporate Lobbyist Rick Berman (VIDEO)", HuffPost Impact, by Nicholas Graham, March 18, 2010
- 60 Minutes: "Meet Rick Berman, A.K.A. "Dr. Evil"", CBS News, February 11, 2009, by Daniel Schorn
- "Got a nasty fight? Here's your man", USA Today, July 31, 2006, by Jayne O'Donnell
- "Blitz Of The Week", BusinessWeek, February 27, 2006
- "Richard "Rick" Berman" - Berman and Company
- "Investigative Report: CCF's Richard Berman" by Ian T. Shearn, The Humane Society of the United States