Food Nazis Strike Again

IMHO terrorist would also be appropriate. Blackmailers is another good word for what they are. Racketeers is another. & let's not forget bullies. The restaurant, food, & tobacco industry-funded Center for Consumer Freedom derisively refers to CSPI as "the Food Police." I think they are letting CSPI off easy. I am not against getting any info out there to help us make better decisions. But that is not what the gang at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) want. They are the elite who think that the rest of us are too dumb to make our own decisions & They need to save us from themselves. It isn't up to us to decide what is or isn't too much, if they say it is too much (as in this case salt), then we must bow to their wishes. Maybe there is too much salt in Denny's Food, but it is up to the consumer to decide, not them.

If you check out their website you will see that they are calling on Obama to create a food czar ( "Healthy Weights, Healthy Lives Commission"). They want to raise taxes of alcohol & soda to help fund ObamaCare. They are behind Obama's efforts to give the government more control of our lives.

Then there is this wonderful piece of logic: "Due to inflation since the last alcohol tax increase in 1991, taxes on alcoholic beverages have fallen some 40%, effectively resulting in an unintended and unwarranted tax cut for alcohol producers and reduced revenue for the Treasury." Huh?????????? As a percentage of the price, yes it is less, but in no way shape or form can that be considered a tax cut.

It is time to let the loonies at CSPI know that we are mad as hell & not going to take it any more & to butt out. Here are the addresses to contact them. All I suggest is that you try & be more civil & respectful to them they they are to us. & pass this on. They are bullies. & they will continue until enough people stand up to them.

U.S. mailing address:

Center for Science in the Public Interest

1875 Connecticut Ave. N.W.Suite 300

Washington, D.C. 20009

Main switchboard: (202) 332-9110

Fax: (202) 265-4954

Canadian mailing address:

Centre for Science in the Public Interest

Suite 4550, CTTC Bldg.

1125 Colonel By Drive

Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5R1CANADA

Tel.: (613) 244-7337

Fax: (613) 244-1559

Email:
For journalists and copyright questions: cspinews@cspinet.org
For questions and concerns about your Nutrition Action Healthletter subscription (both U.S. and Canadian editions): circ@cspinet.org
For questions about articles in Nutrition Action Healthletter, or other questions about CSPI's work: cspi@cspinet.org
For questions about CSPI in Canada: jefferyb@istar.ca

Denny's Sued Over Salty Food

Center for Science in the Public Interest Sues Denny's Over High Sodium Levels; Denny's Calls Lawsuit 'Frivolous'
By Miranda Hitti

WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
July 23, 2009 -- The nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is suing the national restaurant chain Denny's, claiming the restaurant has too much sodium in its food.
In a statement, Denny's calls the lawsuit "frivolous" and says its nutrition information is posted on its web site.
The lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey in Middlesex County, seeks to make Denny's put on its menus the sodium content of its food and a warning about high sodium levels.
In a news conference, Michael Jacobson, the CSPI' s executive director, said that the CSPI had negotiated with Denny's starting in December 2007 and decided to file the lawsuit when those negotiations "fell through."
"They said they'll try to lower sodium but they want to do it at their own schedule, which, unfortunately, could be decades," Jacobson said.
In a news release, the CSPI states that Denny's made "small" sodium cuts in several items, but those change didn't go as far as CSPI wanted and didn't include menu disclosures.
Noting that the CDC recommends most adults get no more than 1,500 milligrams per day of sodium, Jacobson said that certain Denny's dishes contain far more sodium, such as the 2,580 milligrams of sodium in the Moons Over My Hammy ham, egg, and cheese sandwich.
That sandwich is one of the items that lawsuit plaintiff Nick DeBenedetto, a 48-year-old New Jersey man with hypertension (high blood pressure), said was one of his favorite Denny's meals over the past 20 years.
In the news conference, DeBenedetto said he tried to live a healthy lifestyle and that he was "astonished and shocked" to learn how much sodium was in the Denny's items he typically ordered. "I wouldn't have selected these items if I'd known the extreme amount of sodium in this food," DeBenedetto said.
Jacobson says that although Denny's has posted sodium and other nutritional information online, that information should go on the menu. "If you drop into a Denny's, you're not going to the web. It's a totally inadequate means of informing consumers," Jacobson said.
Denny's Responds
Denny's released a statement about the lawsuit. Here is that statement:
"Denny's believes the lawsuit filed by CSPI is frivolous and without merit, and the company will fight it aggressively in court. With hundreds of items on the menu, Denny's offers a wide variety of choices for consumers with different lifestyles, understanding that many have special dietary needs. In June 2009, the company launched Better for You items, allowing guests to replace favorites with lower-sodium and fat alternatives. Additionally, earlier this month, Denny's launched a Better for You kids menu. All nutrition information is available online at www.dennys.com."