Food Safety

"Food industry lobbyists met privately with Bush administration officials 10 times while the government was crafting rules to protect the food supply from bioterrorism." The Center for Science in the Public Interest stated, "The result is regulations that the industry likes, but that don't fully protect the public interest." The Grocery Manufacturers of America, Altria Group and others lobbied to weaken proposed

"Years ago, the environmental movement coined the term "greenwashing" to describe how corporations use public relations to make themselves appear environmentally friendly. Now, nutrition advocates need their own moniker for a similar trend among major food companies - call it 'nutri-washing,'" writes Michele Simon, a public health lawyer and director of the Center for Informed Food Choices.

The media giants have taken interest in America's obesity epidemic - recently sponsoring a three-day conference - but the food industry appears to be calling the shots when it comes to dealing with the issue. "What I found most striking at the [Time/ABC News Obesity Summit] was the utter lack of leadership from our federal government officials," writes Center for Informed Food Choice's Michele Simon.

In Australia, McDonald's launched an unprecedented, multi-million dollar advertising and PR campaign to counter the release of the US documentary "Super Size Me," which follows filmmaker Morgan Spurlock on a month long McDonald's binge. Until recently, the fast-food giant chose to ignore the hit movie. But McDonald's now fears for its reputation.