Whenever there is a good cause to help people in their daily lives from the evils of consumerism, you can almost always find a lobbyist that is fighting for the particular industry that might lose revenue from pertinent legislation. New York City led the way last year by passing a ban on trans-fats. Lard companies in the tri-state areas must have been furious. Bakeries were dismayed. Cardiac surgeons were....well, lets not go there, but you get my point. So there has to be someone that tries to defend trans-fats, and guess what, there is.
From RawStory:
60 Minutes reported Sunday on "Dr. Evil," the nickname of lobbyist Rick Berman, who specializes in defending all the products others decry as unhealthy and destructive. Berman, who sees himself as a defender of personal freedom against the "nanny state," told CBS, "Businesses themselves don't find it convenient to take on causes that don't seem politically incorrect and I'm not afraid to do that."
60 Minutes showed an ad produced by Berman's ConsumerFreedom.com, decrying the "food police" who tell you what you can or can't eat. Berman's favorite targets also include animal rights activists, trial lawyers, and union leaders. Berman does not reveal his clients, who are alleged to include numerous fast food restaurant chains and junk food manufacturers, but relies instead on a "clever system of non-profit educational entities," including the Center for Consumer Freedom and the Center for Union Facts.
"While those tactics have made him rich and powerful, it's difficult to find someone who provokes as much venom as Rick Berman," CBS reported. There are many sites online dedicated to countering Berman's claims and exposing the corporate interests behind him, such as ConsumerDeception.com and PRWatch.
It just goes to show that in corporate America, there is a job for anyone who wants to play in the cesspool of lies and deception.
|