Center for Science in the Public Interest

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The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is a non-profit watchdog and consumer advocacy group headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Contents

History and organization

CSPI is headed by Michael F. Jacobson, who founded the group in 1971 along with two fellow scientists from Ralph Nader's Center for the Study of Responsive Law.

CSPI is a section 501(c)(3) organization exempt from federal income tax. CSPI's chief source of income is its Nutrition Action Health Letter, which has about 900,000 subscribers and does not accept corporate advertising.[1][2] The organization receives about 5-10 percent of its $17 million annual budget from private foundation grants.

Programs and campaigns

Nutrition and food labelling

CSPI has used threats of litigation to pressure large American companies over nutrition and food labeling,[3] including the purported mislabeling of "low-fat" foods in restaurants. In 2003, the group worked with lawyer John F. Banzhaf to force ice cream retailers to display nutritional information about their products. Most recently, they expanded the demand for nutrition labeling to include all chain restaurants, and helped introduce menu labeling legislation in several U.S. cities and states. Their guidelines include detailed nutrition labeling, abolishing the use of trans fats, and reducing the amount of sodium in processed foods.

CSPI was also instrumental in convincing fast food restaurants to stop using animal fat for frying in 1989.[4] They have recently been fighting against the use of trans fats in those same restaurants.

Food Safety

One of CSPI’s largest projects is its "Food Safety" initiative, directed to reduce food contamination and foodborne illness. In addition to publishing Outbreak Alert!, a compilation of food-borne illnesses and outbreaks, the project supports the establishment of a new Food Safety Administration that would fold the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Department of Agrigulture (USDA) into one bureaucratic body.

Alcohol Policies Project

The group’s "Alcohol Policies Project" advocates against what it considers adverse societal influences of alcohol. The project is run by long-time director George Hacker, a lawyer who also co-directs the Coalition for the Prevention of Alcohol Problems.

One of the main activities of the Project is directing the "Campaign for Alcohol-Free Sports TV". The campaign, launched in 2003 with support of at least 80 other local and national groups, calls upon college administrators to sign a pledge that their institutions will prohibit all alcohol advertising on local sports programming, and that they will also work within their athletic conferences and within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to prohibit alcohol advertising from televised college sports. It also seeks Congressional support for such a prohibition.

Criticisms

A number of individuals and organizations have criticized the CSPI, including politician Bob Barr, who claims that its research is not valid and that it conducts smear campaigns against those who publish contradictory research.[5]

Notes

  1. ^ "Nutrition Action Health Letter". Center for Science in the Public Interest.
  2. ^ "Our Funding: CPSI Funding Sources". Center for Science in the Public Interest. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  3. ^ Masterson, K (2007-10-14). "Food cop: Love him or hate him". 
  4. ^ "CSPI Accomplishments". Center for Science in the Public Interest. Retrieved on 2007-10-02.
  5. ^ Barr, Bob (2006-09-18). "Scientific Research Ruse". Washington Times.

References

  • Center for Science in the Public Interest. Project to Empower Students to Transform the Campus Drinking Culture: Survival Skills for the Successful Advocate. Washington, DC: Center for Science in the Public Interest, n.d.
  • Goetz, D. Liquor industry gets stricter on advertising. Louisville Courier-Journal, 10.09.03

External links

Wikipedia content modification information:

  • This page was last modified on 26 August 2008, at 13:03.

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