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Someone sent me this photo in an email. It’s funny but also disgusting how corrupt our government has become, in cahoots with huge corporations via their lobbyists who are paid to do their bidding.

It’s the same thing with food. Food lobbyists like Rick Berman get paid a tidy sum to wield influence on government agencies, all the while making the American public believe they are doing this in their best interest.

Berman & Co., a Washington, DC public affairs firm owned by lobbyist Rick Berman, represents the tobacco industry as well as hotels, beer distributors, taverns, and restaurant chains. Berman & Co. lobbies for companies such as Cracker Barrel, Hooters, International House of Pancakes, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Red Lobster, Steak & Ale, TGI Friday’s, Uno’s Restaurants, and Wendy’s. It also operates a network of several front groups, web sites, and think tanks that work to keep wages low for restaurants and to block legislation on food safety, secondhand cigarette smoke, and drunk driving.

According to a July 31, 2006, profile of Rick Berman in USA Today, Berman and Co. has 28 employees and takes in $10 million dollars a year, but “only Berman and his bookkeeper wife” know how much of the $10 million ends up in their own pockets. Source: Sourcewatch

Check out Rick Berman’s website for his front group (SourceWatch on front groups), The Center for Consumer Freedom where they are plugging soda pop, bashing environmentalists, and “Busting the Myth of Organic Foods”. All under the guise of protecting consumer freedoms and promoting personal responsibility.

Gee, isn’t it great that they are protecting our right to buy soda laden with chemicals and high-fructose corn syrup and eat meat full of growth hormones and antibiotics. Thanks, Center for Consumer Freedom!

The most deceptive thing about front groups is that they doll themselves up to look like non-profit organizations that are founded to help people. They even have the nerve to ask for donations.

Meanwhile, the Center for Consumer Freedom is pulling in $10 million dollars a year from a long list of corporations including The Coca Cola Company, Cargill, Monsanto, and many others. (See the list of corporate contributions here – scroll down to the bottom of the page.)

Read more about the The Center for Consumer Freedom on Sourcewatch.