Food For Thought 3.10.09

"It's a nice effort that looks good on its face. But it's fluff when it comes to the real need for information on the potential down sides of alcohol consumption." (George A. Hacker of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, commenting on a certain vodka brand's new "enjoy with Absolut responsibility" program which, mind you, includes encouragement to moderate drinking, a description of alcohol's direct effects, the ability to set up text message reminders to slow down and so forth. Sure, they hope for some positive marketing out of this campaign. But Center for Science in the Public Interest has rarely offered sound advice in the general public interest. Rather, they've sought to crack down on fat, butter, alcohol, fast food and other products that are fine in moderation. One wonders why journalists keep turning to them for crackpot responses. Oh, yeah...As quoted by the New York Times.)