Center for Consumer Freedom

Morose Meals: Not Exactly a Kid-Pleaser

By now, it seems the most pundits (except MeMe Roth and the grinches at the Center for Science in the Public Interest) have shown disapproval at Santa Clara County’s narrowly approved decision to ban toys from popular children's restaurant meals.

Potato Chips = Heroin? Yeah, Right

"Junk food could be addictive 'like heroin'," screams one news headline today above a story describing a new study in the journal Nature Neuroscience. Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in Florida found that rats fed high-fat diets exhibited " addiction" symptoms, lost control, and overate. Get ready for the hyperbole.

Norman Borlaug, R.I.P.

We read with sadness that Norman Borlaug, leader of the Green Revolution, passed away yesterday. Borlaug, called “the man who fed the world,” helped develop genetically modified organisms and spread the technology in impoverished Third World countries.

Clip of the Week: The Worst Cover of All TIME

Reason.com compiled a thorough list of TIME magazine's worst-ever cover stories. Of course, the No. 1 spot went to our favorite old chestnut: the obesity epidemic.

Obesity Blame-Game Gets an F

Today we opened our local paper, The Washington Post, and read about a recent study that urges area schools to increase exercise requirements. To us, this read a little like "Sky Is Blue, Study Says." But as the national debate over obesity indicates, that Post story is probably news to many. The prevalence of obesity among kids aged 2 to 5 and 6 to 11 more than doubled since the 1970s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19, the prevalence of obesity more than tripled. There are just two possibilities: Either kids started eating more, or they've been exercising less.

‘Responsible Lenders’ Fail at Basic Math

The Center for "Responsible‚" Lending have a new study that proves only one thing: in pursuit of their anti-credit crusade, CRL won't hesitate to manipulate data or accuse their competitors of racism. It should be no surprise though, as the North Carolina-based activist group, it has a long history of playing fast and loose with the truth.

News Network Tests Positive For Seafood Hype

Usually we disregard stories that have the term “unscientific experiment” in their introduction. But we came across one today that feeds a myth so harmful to public health that it must be corrected. (Again) We’re referring, of course, to the all-too-common misunderstanding of seafood scares and a general blindness to the unmatched benefits that seafood provides.

Sitting Disease: Obesity’s True Culprit

A Mayo Clinic researcher has identified exactly what is causing people to gain so much weight, even though our eating habits haven’t changed a lick in decades. So what’s behind our expanding waistlines? It’s called “sitting disease” – and it’s entirely preventable.