In Part I of this series, I said I would track down the core of a claim blogger Tom Bux made against the American Cancer Society. I debunked his argument that public schools are hostile to big business. Instead, it seems to me that the two institutions have a cozy relationship based on schools buying unhealthy food products from the corporations that sell them. That conclusion foreshadows the one I reached today.
Let's read Bux's assertion again.
And I also have a bone to pick with the American Cancer Society. This same group who works to keep teens off smoking (a noble goal) wants to take a grant from Kraft Foods to work on nutrition workshops. The Cancer Society said that if they took money from Kraft they would pull their funding because Kraft is owned by Altria, the parent compnay of Phillip-Morris, the tobacco company.
After seeing what sort of political agenda the American Cancer Society has, along with the threat of them pulling funding from already cash strapped non-profits leads me to think that I will no longer give money to these a-holes at the American Cancer Society.
I was unable to find a program in the situation Bux described. (He did not provide a name.) However, my research was rewarding. The close relationship between the tobacco industry and the production of unhealthy foods was brought to my attention anew.
Columnist Lloyd Garver reminds us that sometimes the tobacco fogeys and the fat fogeys are the same people. He was curious about legislation in Congress to prevent lawsuits over the health hazards of fast food consumption.
(CBS) Obesity is quickly catching up to smoking as the Number One cause of preventable death in the United States. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that rich diets and sedentary lifestyles contributed to 400,000 deaths in the year 2000 — just 35,000 behind tobacco . The Centers for Disease Control believes that by next year obesity will probably kill more Americans than smoking. This was probably the best news for tobacco companies since the invention of lying.
. . .As I continued to read about this act of Congress, I learned that the "powerful food lobby" pressured Congress to pass the bill. I had never heard of a food lobby, let alone a "powerful" one. To me, the most famous "powerful lobby" was the tobacco lobby, and . . . Wait a minute. Could these lobbyists possibly be the same people?
Article comments
1 - Mac Diva
Read Part I of this series here. Bux believes public schools are the enemies of big business. I believe the evidence says otherwise.
2 - jadester
interesting. i already knew, to a slight extent, about how many companies you wouldn't realise actually belong to the same bigger "group" (or whatever they choose to call themselves) - that situation i believe is the same in most countries of the world. Certainly here in britain too.
The idea of these companies sponsoring charity programs reminds me of that episode of The Simpsons where Lisa gets a glimpse of the future, and the school is now run by the Pepsi company
teacher (on tv) :"If i have two pepsis, and drink one, how much more refreshed am i?"
kid: "pepsi?"
Didn't tobacco companies sponsor research into whether smoking was harmful/increased the risk of cancer, a few decades ago? i seem to remember reading something about that...
3 - cancer?
As of tomorrow Kraft will fire me for being sick from cancer operations and radiation. Not sick enough I was told.
4 - sick and humiliated
As a soon to be fired Kraft employee, I plan to protest out in the streets as soon as my health allows it. I will let the people know just what Kraft really does when one of their employees has cancer. The recordings and paperwork I have will prove what I will be saying about Kraft is true. Right now it's hard to walk, but hopefully I will be having an operation soon and then I will be able to protest. The treatment I received from Kraft was harsh and humiliating.