Better watch out–the Food Police are going after your coffee and donuts!
That’s the message being sent by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a self-appointed consumer group that has targeted restaurant chains for serving food not meeting their standards for healthy fare. Last week, the Center for Science in the Public Interest sued KFC–formally known as Kentucky Fried Chicken–for frying foods in oils containing trans fat. Now, the New York-based consumer-health group is planning a campaign against the Starbucks Corp. because of the “high-calorie, high-fat” coffee and baked goods products it sells. From Reuters:
Starbucks Corp. may be next on the target list of a consumer-health group that this week sued the operator of the KFC fried chicken restaurant chain for frying foods in oils high in harmful trans fat. The Center for Science in the Public Interest said it is planning to campaign against the global cafe chain because of the increased risk of obesity, heart disease and cancer associated with high-calorie, high-fat products it sells.
And the possibility of legal action against Starbucks, similar to the case it is taking against KFC owner Yum Brands Inc., has not been ruled out, said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. “Regular consumers of Starbucks products could face Venti-sized health problems,” Jacobson said, referring to Starbucks’ use of the ‘Venti’ designation for ‘large.’
The group is primarily funded by newsletter subscribers and individual donors. It has support in the campaign from the small IWW Starbucks Workers Union, which has members in three stores, all in New York.
After ranting on about the lack of caloric and nutritional information displays–available on request at all Starbucks’ stores–and complaining that its free beverages and food for workers policy is making employees fat, head Food Nazi Michael F. Jacobson takes a swipe at Dunkin’ Donuts’ blue collar clientele: “People expect foods from Dunkin’ Donuts to be unhealthy, but Starbucks has more of an upper middle class, healthy, hip, politically correct facade. [However] the food is just as harmful to your arteries.”
What a bunch of jerks.
Source: Reuters
Not only jerks, but stupid jerks too boot. Just because a pastry costs $2.00 more than the same pastry elsewhere, you’re supposed to assume that it is better for you?! Please.
Wow this is insane. If American’s are so overweight, why spend time, money and energy fighting court battles against trans-fats in KFC. It’s friend chicken for crying outloud, of course it’s bad for you! Groups like these should be spending their resources educating, evangelising and helping kids develop healthier eating practices. Spending countless hours suing companies over something they are not going to change is a waste of time, money and energy on our court system.
Dunkin Donuts exec’s, please do no succumb to their foolishness. I will continue to buy your donuts and run marathons to stay healthy!
LOL. They should spend the time preparing for llitigation organizing exercise and healthy living classes–and suing the school systems to implement them instead of trying to restrict choice..
I KNOW a donut isn’t health food, so I don’t eat a dozen of them. I go to the gym every day so that I can have one as a treat once in a while. Isn’t this just common sense?
People also get on a high horse about portion sizes. DD bagels and muffins are huge, sure, but who is a 105 pound woman lawyer to say that it is too big for a 250 pond construction worker that burns 15 times more calories at his job in a day than she does on her shiny health club treadmill in a week?
Besides, she doesn’t have to eat the whole bagel at once.
There is a big difference between foods fried in oil and foods fried in high trans-fat content oil. Trans fat is increasingly becoming apparent as a major cause of heart problems because it is an artificially derived product. Frying foods in partially-hydrogenated vegetable oil is good for the food industry because of its long shelf-life. But it turns out that it is VERY bad for people because it raises LDL Cholesterol levels, is very difficult to metabolize, and can lead to other problems like cancer. The trans-fat fight is not a fight against fat, mind you. I enjoy donuts as much as the next lard-ass, but will not touch DD’s varieties anymore after reading the science behind it. As it turns out, natural things like butter and lard are actually potentially less harmful (or stick to friendlier forms of vegetable oil like canola, safflower, etc.) than the artificial oils we have been fed the last five decades.
By the way, companies such as Frito-Lay have eliminated trans fat from their products successfully, Oreos are now trans fat free, but Dunkin’ Donuts has been reluctant to change.
After all the print about Nazis, Food Police, liability and rhetoric about this and that it will end up with someone like me, an individual who would like to know what is the caloric count of what I am eating. When I am unable to obtain the basic values for items I would like to eat then I must go elsewhere for my pleasures. Of course, the individuals that I socialize with and “compare problems with diets that affect my health” discuss how we can get feed back about the food that we eat before we decide if we will be dropping a food source.
Consider this just my feelings. I am not looking for a platform to “bash” independant business.
It is a shame that Dunkin Donuts takes the approach that the information is used to bash their business. That is as compared to the vast majority that will provide nutritional information and handle any publicity good or bad.
Who can say for sure that the trans-fat in Donkin Donuts is bad for people? It’s an ongoing scientific controvercy with people weighing in on both sides. Like nicoteen and smoking. And, who gives these Health Nazis the right to take away our ability to choose for ourselves what we consume?
I applaud Dunkin Donuts pro-consumer (rights) stance! Keep looking out for our best interests…
Alan, you couldn’t be more confused. “Pro-consumer (rights)” would include that the consumer not be harmed by corporations for the sake of profits. In the old days, if one bakery put something harmful but tasty in their food, you would go elsewhere and it would close or change its harmful practices. Today, Dunkin’ Donuts are everyplace, and they have the ability to harm their customers who are too passive to complain or even be the wiser.
I can’t understand how you could possibly claim to be pro-consumer and yet side with corporations!
I for one, would give DD some business if they would make their donuts using time-tested and less harmful ingredients.
I am doing a paper on Trans fat and what the big deal is all about it. I eat and KFC and Arby’s and all that crap and I’m not fat. I think Trans fats a wonderful and make my food taste good. i know its bad for me so I choose to eat it once in a great while. we really need to find better things to complain about.
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