Center for Consumer Freedom

From SourceWatch

The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) (formerly called the "Guest Choice Network") is a front group for the restaurant, alcohol and tobacco industries. It runs media campaigns which oppose the efforts of scientists, doctors, health advocates, environmentalists and groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving, calling them "the Nanny Culture -- the growing fraternity of food cops, health care enforcers, anti-meat activists, and meddling bureaucrats who 'know what's best for you.' "

Over 40 percent of the group's 2005 expenditure was paid to Rick Berman's PR company, Berman & Co. for "management services. ^[1] As part of its operations CCF runs a series of attack websites, including "consumerfreedom.com, activistcash.com, cspiscam.com, animal-scam.com, fishscam.com, obesitymyths.com, physiciansscam.com [and] petalkillsanimals.com".^[2]

Contents 1 Recent campaigns 1.1 Defending payday loans 1.2 Anti-PETA and pro-mercury 1.3 Anti-anti obesity 2 History 2.1 Starting off smoking 2.2 Quotable and notable 3 Personnel 4 Former personnel 5 Affiliated organizations 6 Funding 6.1 2005 finances 6.2 Contributions 7 Contact information 8 SourceWatch resources 9 References 10 External links

Recent campaigns

Defending payday loans

In a March 2008 letter to the editor of The Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin), CCF's Tim Miller defended the payday loan industry. "Research shows that when politicians respond to the calls of overzealous interest groups ... to eliminate payday lending, borrowers are forced to turn to more expensive and less desirable options," he wrote. "Economists with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that after North Carolina banned payday loans, those who were experiencing financial stress turned to bounced checks, bankruptcies and delinquent bill pay." ^[3]

Anti-PETA and pro-mercury

CCF runs PetaKillsAnimals.com, a campaign against People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, as well as campaigns questioning the health impact of mercury in fish. According to Forbes: [1]

Berman has already moved onto his next topic: scares about mercury levels in fish. He'll soon be adding FishScam.com to a growing collection of Web sites that includes AnimalScam, CSPIscam and ActivistCash, which exposes the financing behind do-gooder groups and lefty celebrities.

Anti-anti obesity

A September 2005 Forbes article describes ads CCF ran in its "anti-anti-obesity" campaign: [2]

In one ad, Seinfeld "Soup Nazi" character actor Larry Thomas plays a chef who weighs customers, then barks "salad!" or "no food for you" depending on how far they push the scale. In another, heavy-handed "food police" rip an ice cream cone away from a whimpering kid, whack a beer from a man about to enjoy a sip and snuff out a hot dog on the ground.

In April 2005, following a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study that "obesity accounts for 25,814 deaths a year in the United States" - in contrast to earlier CDC studies suggesting 365,000 annual obesity-related deaths [3] - CCF launched a $600,000 ad campaign. The ad, run in such major newspapers as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and USA Today, called "obesity" a "hype" and stated, "Americans have been force-fed a steady diet of obesity myths by the 'food police,' trial lawyers, and even our own government." [4] CCF's Mike Burita said the ad campaign was part of their "putting pressure on the leadership of the CDC, who has still not endorsed this new figure" for obesity-related deaths. Claiming that CCF wanted "some perspective," Burita added, "Obesity is certainly a genuine problem. But when genuine problems become political issues they tend to become exaggerated, as this has." [5]

In early 2002, CCF ran national radio ads targeting studies on the link between food consumption and health. One ad referred to "red-faced picketers wielding pointed wooden sticks with signs that read 'eat tofu or die' on the way to your classic cheeseburger and fries."

History

Guest Choice Network, the predecessor organization to CCF, was formed in such a way so as not to appear "owned" by Philip Morris, to address the lack of interest restaurant owners had in Philip Morris's "Accommodation Program," and to have a broader appeal to industry than just tobacco. GCN was designed to "create an aggressive mentality by [restaurant] operators [to oppose} government smoking bans," according to a letter by Rick Berman to Philip Morris [2073148834]

In a 1995 letter to Philip Morris (PM), Rick Berman (of the public affairs company Berman & Company) proposed that PM form an aggressive front group called the "Guest Choice" network to motivate restaurant owners to aggressively fight smoking restrictions while appearing to be acting on their own. Berman said to PM, "...if you want to gain more ground quickly for the smokers' rights issue, the [Guest Choice] program must create a proactive, aggressive mentality by [restaurant] operators regarding government smoking bans..." Berman described how hiding Philip Morris' involvement would allow the group take more aggressive action:

"Additional benefit -- if externally perceived as driven by restaurant interests, there will be more flexibility and creativity allowed than if it is 'owned' by Philip Morris. The American Beverage Institute, which opposes overly aggressive DWI laws, enjoys this profile."[6]

PM took Mr. Berman's suggestion and formed the "Guest Choice Network," changing its name in recent years to the "Center for Consumer Freedom," which in addition to fighting smoking bans also fights the organic food movement and lobbies against lowering the legal blood alcohol limit for drunk driving. Rick Berman has also been associated with another group that fronts for the tobacco industry, the American Beverage Institute.

CCF is one of the more active of several front groups created by Berman & Co., a public affairs firm owned by lobbyist Rick Berman. Based in Washington, DC, Berman & Co. represents the tobacco industry as well as hotels, beer distributors, taverns, and restaurant chains. Hotels, motels, restaurants, bars and taverns together comprise the "hospitality industry," which has long been cultivated by the tobacco industry as a third party to help slow or stop the progression of smokefree laws.

CCF actively opposes smoking bans and lowering the legal blood-alcohol level, while targeting studies on the dangers of red meat consumption, overfishing and pesticides. Each year they give out the "nanny awards" to groups who, according to them, try to tell consumers how to live their lives.

Anyone who criticizes tobacco, alcohol, fatty foods or soda pop is likely to come under attack from CCF. Its enemies list has included such diverse groups and individuals as the Alliance of American Insurers; the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons; the American Medical Association; the Arthritis Foundation; the Consumer Federation of America; New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani; the Harvard School of Public Health; the Marin Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Other Drug Problems; the National Association of High School Principals; the National Safety Council; the National Transportation Safety Board; the Office of Highway Safety for the state of Georgia; Ralph Nader's group, Public Citizen; the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Starting off smoking

Berman launched the Guest Choice Network in 1995. Its initial funding came entirely from the Philip Morris tobacco company. "I'd lke to propose to Philip Morris the establishment of the Guest Choice Network," Berman stated in a December 11, 1995 letter to Barbara Trach, PM's senior program manager for public affairs. "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." The purpose of the Guest Choice Network, as Berman explained in a separate planning document, would be to enlist 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.'" According to a yearend 1995 budget, Guest Choice 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 promised 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."

The tobacco company complied with Berman's initial funding request for $600,000 and pitched in another $300,000 early the following year. "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 March 28, 1996. Aside from Philip Morris, there are no other publicly-known funders of Guest Choice until its public launch two years later, in April 1998, sporting an advisory board comprised mostly of representatives from the restaurant, meat and alcoholic beverage industries.

Quotable and notable

On November 16, 2004, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service alleging that CCF had violated its tax exempt status. The complaint alleges that CCF engaged in prohibited electioneering, made substantial payments to the founder of the organization, Richard Berman, and to Berman's wholly owned for profit entity Berman & Co., and engaged in activities with no charitable purpose. CREW executive director Melanie Sloan told Forbes, "It doesn't seem to me that someone should get a tax deduction while they're writing public relations memos about how people should be able to smoke in restaurants." [7] The full text of CREW's complaint is available online. [8]

In a May 11, 2002 San Francisco Chronicle article, CCF spokesman John Doyle 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 pesticide use, genetic engineering of crops or antibiotic use in beef and poultry." [9]

In a 1999 interview with the Chain Leader, a trade publication for restaurant chains, Berman boasted 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 meat, alcohol, fat, sugar, tobacco and caffeine," his strategy is "to shoot the messenger. ... We've got to attack their credibility as spokespersons."

In November 2001, the Guest Choice Network launched a separate web site, ActivistCash.com, which purports to expose the "hidden funding" of various activist groups that support animal rights, food safety and smoking prevention. In January 2002 the Guest Choice Network renamed itself the Center for Consumer Freedom.

Personnel

CCF is registered as a tax-exempt nonprofit organization. The IRS Form 990 filed for 2005 lists the following officers:

• Richard Berman, executive director.
• John Doyle, Secretary, Treasurer and Director, rolws which it states take 1 hour a week;
• Jacon Dweck, Director
• David Browne, Director
• Lane Cardwell, Director.

Former personnel

The IRS Form 990 filed for the the six-month period from July to December 1999 by CCF (then calling itself the Guest Choice Network), listed, in addition to Berman, the following officers:

• Ray Kraftson, director
• Dixie L. Berman, secretary/treasurer
• Dan Popeo, director (Popeo is also chairman of the Washington Legal Foundation, a corporate-funded right-wing think tank which paid him $301,593 in salary and benefits in 2000.)
• Allison Whitesides, director (Whitesides has also worked as a public relations representative for Coca-Cola North America and Outback Steakhouse. In November 2001, she went to work as a legislative representative for the National Restaurant Association.)

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.
• Steve Bartlett, Meridian Products Corporation
• Robert Basham, Outback Steakhouse, Inc.
• John F. Berglund, Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association
• Lou Chatey, Sebastiani Vineyards
• H.A. "Andy" Divine, University of Denver
• Timothy J. Doke, Brinker International, Inc.
• Richard Fisher, Tetley USA, Inc.
• William L. Hyde, Jr., Ruth's Chris Steakhouse
• James Spector, Philip Morris, USA
• Michael Middleton, Cargill Processed Meat Products
• Daniel J. Popeo, Washington Legal Foundation
• Richard G. Scalise, Armour Swift-Eckrich
• Daniel Timm, the Bruss Company
• Carl Vogt, Fulbright & Jaworski
• Richard Walsh, Darden Restaurants, Inc.
• Terry Wheatley, Sutter Home Winery

In addition to these officers, several Berman & Co. employees and associates have appeared in news stories as CCF representatives:

• Mike Burita has worked for a variety of conservative causes, including Republican election campaigns, Phyllis Schlafly, Frontiers of Freedom, and Brent Bozell's Media Research Center.
• John Doyle, communications director for Berman & Co., also doubles as a spokesman for the CCF, the Employment Policies Institute and the American Beverage Institute.
• On February 24, 2000, the Washington Post reported that Tom Lauria, "who helped peddle the tobacco industry's message at the Tobacco Institute before the lobby group was dismantled last year as part of an agreement with the states," 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.

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 fights to keep the minimum wage low and opposes mandatory health insurance for workers), and the American Beverage Institute, which opposes restrictions on drinking and driving.

Funding

CCF is registered as tax-exempt nonprofit organization and is required to disclose some financial information to the Internal Revenue Service which is publicly available by inspecting their IRS Form 990s. Like Berman's other front groups, it does not disclose the identity of its funders, but some information about it has become publicly available thanks to the 1998 attorney generals' settlement with the tobacco industry, which required tobacco companies to release millions of pages of previously secret company documents.

CCF claims to represent "more than 30,000 U.S. restaurants and tavern operators." However, the IRS Form 990 which it filed for the the six-month period from July to December 1999 (under the name of "Guest Choice Network") shows that almost all of its financial support came from a handful of anonymous sources. Its total income for that period was $111,642, of which $105,000 came from six unnamed donors. It received no income from membership dues. Some of its funding apparently came from one of Berman's other organizations, the American Beverage Institute, which "contributes monthly amounts to the Guest Choice Network to assist with media expenses." The Guest Choice Network did not report paying salaries to any of its employees, who were presumably paid by Berman & Co.

CCF's Form 990 for the year 2000 showed total income of $514,321, almost all of which ($492,500) came from seven unnamed donors. Once again, it received no income from membership dues and did not report paying salaries to any employees. However, it did list $256,077 in compensation paid to Berman and Co., Inc., for "management services."

2005 finances

CCF's Form 990 for the year 2005 listed total revenue of $3.67 million. ^[4] Of its expenditure of $3.82 million in 2005, $2.19 million was for a series of major advertisements, $856,699 was for running a series of websites and distributring a daily emnail newsletter to "approximately 30,000 subscribers" and a further $214,000 on maintaining a "database of foundations grants and funding sources of organizations dealing with food and beverage issues."^[5]

Of the group's $3.82 million of expenditure in 2005, $1.62 million was paid as compensation to Berman & Co., representating approximately 42% of the group's total expenditure.^[6]

Contributions

Through a whistleblower, the Center for Media and Democracy has obtained the following information about corporate contributions to the Guest Choice Network/CCF:

Contributors

Corporation	Pre-2001	2001	2002	Total
Coca-Cola Company		$200,000		$200,000
Excel/Cargill		$100,000	$100,000	$200,000
Monsanto		$200,000		$200,000
Tyson Foods		$100,000	$100,000	$200,000
Wendy's International, Inc.		$200,000		$200,000
Outback Steakhouse		$164,600		$164,600
Pilgrim's Pride Corp.		$100,000		$100,000
HMS Host Corporation		$50,000	$25,000	$75,000
RTM, Inc.			$64,872	$64,872
White Castle System		$43,872		$43,872
Perdue Farms, Inc.			$40,000	$40,000
Hatfield Quality Meats		$33,700		$33,700
Brinker International			$25,000	$25,000
Quantum Foods		$18,000		$18,000
Standard Meat	$17,500			$17,500
Applebee's International, Inc.		$15,000		$15,000
Coldwater Seafood		$15,000		$15,000
P.F. Chang's China Bistro		$15,000		$15,000
Performance Food Group		$15,000		$15,000
Rare Hospitality		$15,000		$15,000
Marie Callendar Pie Shops		$11,900		$11,900
Advantica Restaurant Group	$10,000			$10,000
National Steak and Poultry		$10,000		$10,000
Packaging Corporation of America		$10,000		$10,000
T. Marzetti Company		$10,000		$10,000
Trinchero Family Estates	$10,000			$10,000
King and Prince Seafood		$9,200		$9,200
Paradise Tomato Kitchens, Inc.			$7,500	$7,500
Michigan Turkey Producers Cooperative			$7,000	$7,000
Fired Up		$6,000		$6,000
Restaurant Concepts		$6,000		$6,000
Rosemount Estates (Southcorp Wines)		$5,300		$5,300
TriOak Foods		$5,100		$5,100
Armour-Swift Eckrich	$5,000			$5,000
Darifair Foods			$5,000	$5,000
Dean Foods Company			$5,000	$5,000
Ken's Foods Inc.			$5,000	$5,000
Simmons Foods, Inc.			$5,000	$5,000
Sugar Foods Corporation		$5,000		$5,000
Casual Restaurant Concepts		$3,300		$3,300
LTP Management Group		$3,250		$3,250
Anton's Airfoods, Inc.		$3,000		$3,000
Cameron Mitchell Restaurants		$1,250	$1,250	$2,500
Chart House Enterprises	$2,500			$2,500
Max & Erma's Restaurants, Inc.	$2,500			$2,500
Royal Cup		$1,000	$1,500	$2,500
Pro Edge		$2,400		$2,400
Comarco Products	$2,000			$2,000
Save-on Seafood		$2,000		$2,000
Sun Orchard, Inc.			$2,000	$2,000
Custom Cuts		$1,500		$1,500
Good Humor/Breyer's Ice Cream			$1,500	$1,500
Harrah's Entertainment, Inc.	$1,500			$1,500
Pro Clean			$1,500	$1,500
Worldwide Restaurants Concepts		$1,500		$1,500
Bestfoods Foodservice	$1,250			$1,250
Kagome, Inc.		$1,086		$1,086
Campagna-Turano Bakery, Inc.		$,500	$,500	$1,000
Carlson Hospitality Worldwide	$1,000			$1,000
Country Kitchen International	$1,000			$1,000
Daisy Brand		$1,000		$1,000
Eli's Cheesecake Company			$1,000	$1,000
Jeff's Gourmet Pies		$1,000		$1,000
John Soules Foods			$1,000	$1,000
KPR Foods		$1,000		$1,000
Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers		$1,000		$1,000
Revolution, Inc.			$1,000	$1,000
Ruth's Chris Steak House, Inc.	$1,000			$1,000
John R. Daily Company		$,750		$,750
Mexican Restaurants		$,750		$,750
Not Your Average Joe's		$,347	$,347	$,694
Buca, Inc.	$,500			$,500
Louise's Trattoria	$,500			$,500
National Everclean Service			$,500	$,500
North American Enterprises		$,500		$,500
Real Food Marketing		$,500		$,500
Ruby Tuesday, Inc.	$,500			$,500
Syracuse's Italian Sausage			$,500	$,500
China Mist			$,400	$,400
KorBert, Inc.		$,300		$,300
Crystal's International		$,252		$,252
4 B's Restaurants	$,200			$,200
North American Provisioners		$,150		$,150
Coffee Reserve, Inc.			$,140	$,140
Total	$56,950	$1392,007	$402,509	$1851,466

In January 2006 David Martosko from CCF was asked, in the context of their campaign dismissing concerns about mercury concentration in seafood, whether they received funding from the seafood industry, from coal companies or utilities. "Well, I know that we never accepted money from utilities or coal companies. I don't know exactly which companies in the food sector support us. You know, it's not my job to know. I really don't pay attention. I do know that the vast majority of our, say, institutional funding, comes from the food sector. Beyond that, I just don't know," he said. [10]

Contact information

Like other Berman & Co. front groups, CCF is headquartered at the following address:

Berman & Co.
1775 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 1200
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: (202) 463-7110
FAX: (202) 463-7107
Email: rberman@new-reality.com
website: www.consumerfreedom.com

SourceWatch resources

• Berman & Co.
• Rick Berman
• ActivistCash.com
• A Visit to the ActivistCash.Com Web Site
• American Beverage Institute
• Employment Policies Institute
• Employment Roundtable
• FishScam.com
• PetaKillsAnimals.com

References

1. ↑ "The Center for Consumer Freedom", Form 990, 2005, p.3.
2. ↑ "The Center for Consumer Freedom", Form 990, 2005, Statement 1.
3. ↑ Tim Miller, Center for Consumer Freedom, "Payday Loans a Helpful Option for Consumers," letter to the editor, The Capital Times (Madison, WI), March 7, 2008.
4. ↑ "The Center for Consumer Freedom", Form 990, 2005, p.1.
5. ↑ "The Center for Consumer Freedom", Form 990, 2005, p.3.
6. ↑ "The Center for Consumer Freedom", Form 990, 2005, p.5.

External links

• ConsumerFreedom.com makes the pious claim of "protecting consumer choice" while it's quite clear that they are promoting products which they hope that the consumer will choose; and challenging those who promote interests beyond their product profits. In February 2004, there was an ad campaign on the Washington, DC Metro featuring a photo of a mouse next to a photo of a sick girl in a hospital bed, criticizing PETA for its stance on animal testing and imploring viewers to visit the website to find out more and to donate money to post similar ads. A search on SamSpade [11] shows that the website is owned and operated by Guest Choice Network and Berman.
• GuestChoice.com
• CSPI: Bogus "Consumer Group" Stripped of Domain Name
• ConsumerDeception.com provides additional detail about Berman and the CCF, including links to documents in the Philip Morris archives showing that the tobacco company has given at least $2,950,000 to Berman and the Guest Choice Network.
• Young Adults Educating Responsible Drinking offers a number of statistics and other helpful information about drinking and driving.
• ParentalFreedom.com a site spoofing Consumer Freedom which features a letter from Berman threatening a critic who exposes Berman's ties to industry.
• "Corporate Whore Caught With his Pants Down," article on Berman documenting some of CCF's "Orwellian-speak" suggesting the organization should be called "Corporate Freedom" rather than "Consumer Freedom."
• "Ad blitz dismisses obesity threat as 'hype'," Reuters, April 26, 2005.
• Caroline E. Mayer and Amy Joyce, "The Escalating Obesity Wars: Nonprofit's Tactics, Funding Sources Spark Controversy, Washington Post, April 27, 2005.
• Melanie Warner, "Striking Back at the Food Police", New York Times, June 12, 2005.
• Paul Krugman, "Girth of a Nation", New York Times, July 4, 2005.
• Seth Lubove, "Food Fight," Forbes, September 23, 2005.
• Bruce Gellerman, "Mercury in Fish: Casting Caution to the Wind?", Living on Earth, January 13, 2006. (Program includes David Martosko of the Center for Consumer Freedom, Dr. Leo Trasande of Mount Sinai Medical School and journalist Sam Roe of the Chicago Tribune.)
• Mark Matthews, Lobbyists Hide Behind Non-Profit Fronts, KGO TV, San Francisco, CA, May 3, 2006
• "PETA accused of unethical treatment," United Press International, August 28, 2007.
• Tim Miller, Center for Consumer Freedom, "Payday Loans a Helpful Option for Consumers," letter to the editor, The Capital Times (Madison, WI), March 7, 2008.

This article may include information from Tobacco Documents Online.

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