Next Book Group Meeting
Appetite for Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines our Health and How to Fight Back
When: Wednesday, January 25, 2012; 6:30-8:30pm
Location: Salvadorean Bakery, 1719 SW Roxbury St, Seattle, WA 98106 www.thesalvadoreanbakery.com
Order the book from Powell’s for $7.95
Facilitated by John Fawcett-Long:
A few years ago a small group of us associated with the Washington Sustainable Food and Farming Network (WSFFN) started to study the presence and impact of corporate agribusiness in Washington state. Al Krebs, now deceased and author of The Corporate Reapers, worked with us. I would like to restart that effort so that at a minimum we can report on what’s going on in Washington and monitor these corporations.
Description from the Book’s website (www.appetiteforprofit.com):
The United States is currently embroiled in a national debate over the growing public health crisis caused by poor diet. Many people are starting to ask who is to blame and how can we fix the problem, especially among children? The major food companies are responding with a massive public relations campaign. These companies, including McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Kraft, and General Mills are increasingly on the defensive. In response, they are pretending to sell healthier food and otherwise position themselves as “part of the solution.” All the while, they continue to lobby against commonsense nutrition policies.
This book explains how to fight back by offering reliable resources. Readers will learn how to spot the PR, how to not be fooled, and how to organize, for example, to improve school food. Appetite for Profit, for the first time:
- Explains why we cannot trust food corporations to “do the right thing”
- Describes the local battles of going up against the powerful food lobbies
- Offers a comprehensive guide to the public relations, front groups, and lobbying tactics that food companies employ to trick the American public
- Provides an entertaining glossary that explains corporate rhetoric, including phrases like “better-for-you foods” and “frivolous lawsuit”
