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Junk Food Industry Fights Back Against NYC Nanny State
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 30, 2009
Modified Sep 30, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 30, 2009
Modified Sep 30, 2009
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Unhealthy food purveyors are fed up with what they see as City Hall's scaremongering about their products, so they've gone on the offensive with a $1 million nationwide ad campaign. In New York, the Center for Consumer Freedom—a "consumer advocate" front for a collective of food corporations—is asking people, "When did the Big Apple become Big Brother?" We thought it started around the time Peter Stuyvesant imprisoned people harboring Quakers, but no; the answer to that rhetorical question is Mayor Bloomberg. His Health Department is behind a number of public health initiatives, including requiring chain restaurants to display calorie info, and, most recently, a public awareness campaign against soda.
The national ad blitz headquarters is the Sweet Scam website, which is dedicated to defending corn syrup against a rising tide of public disdain. In an assertion that sounds like it's straight from the lips of unctuous Simpsons lawyer Lionel Hutz, the group asserts: "Some people mistakenly believe that some sweeteners are healthier than others. But the facts don't add up. Whether it’s sugar from cane, beets, or corn, all sweet treats have the same number of calories." Of course, it's not really the calories in high-fructose corn syrup that worries people. Below, the TV ad that's going to start airing on cable this week.
Tagged
ad
big apple big brother
food
health department
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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