Integrity Ain't Cheap

Corporate funders for the American Council on Science and Health have included American Cyanamid, American Meat Institute, Amoco, Anheuser-Busch, Archer Daniels Midland, Ashland Oil Foundation, Boise Cascade, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Burger King, Chevron, Ciba-Geigy, Coca-Cola, Consolidated Edison, Coors, Dow Chemical, DuPont, Exxon, Ford Motor Co., Frito-Lay, General Electric, General Mills, General Motors, Hershey Foods, Johnson & Johnson, Joseph E. Seagrams & Sons, Kraft Foundation, Kraft General Foods, Merck Pharmaceuticals, Mobil, Monsanto, National Agricultural Chemicals Association, National Dairy Council, National Soft Drink Association, National Starch and Chemical Foundation, Nestlé, NutraSweet Co. (owned by Monsanto), Oscar Mayer Foods, Pepsi-Cola, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Shell Oil, Sugar Association, Union Carbide Corp., Uniroyal Chemical Co., USX Corp., and Wine Growers of California.

The Kellogg Co. has also contributed, but in 1998 it chose not to renew its $10,000 annual donation. ACSH responded with an angry letter, accusing Kellogg of "trying to manipulate scientific findings" by withholding funding because the ACSH does not support the company's argument that dietary fiber helps prevent colon cancer. Whelan pleaded for Kellogg to reconsider, noting her organization's lengthy history of combat with the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a group that, unlike ACSH, has regularly criticized the food and restaurant industries.

"We've been there to counter CSPI's claims as [it] has attacked virtually every aspect of modern-day food technology, whether it be caffeine, sugar, dietary fiber, the fat-replacer olestra, dietary fat and cholesterol, moderate consumption of alcohol--or whatever other alleged carcinogen, toxin, or 'killer' ingredient [CSPI] has singled out for indictment," Whelan stated.

"I am appalled and regret the level of reaction from an organization that seems to be of the opinion that they should be funded forever," responded a Kellogg representative.