Stories by Michele Simon

Michele Simon is a public health lawyer specializing in industry marketing and lobbying tactics. She is the author of Appetite for Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines Our Health and How to Fight Back, and research and policy director at Marin Institute, an alcohol industry watchdog group. She is grateful to live in Oakland, Calif., within walking distance of a farmers market. You can follow her on Twitter. subscribe to Michele Simon's feed

Busted: Food Myths Brought to You By Corporate Front Groups

Posted on: Oct 24, 2012, Source: AlterNet

The messages Food MythBusters aims to correct are brought to us not only by those companies with a vested interest in promoting pesticides and biotechnology, but also by a host of less obvious sources.

Are Corporations and Big Banks Making a Windfall From Food Stamps?

Posted on: Jun 13, 2012, Source: AlterNet

How much food stamp money are Coca-Cola, General Mills and Walmart getting? The government isn't telling.

Time to Retire the USDA's Dietary Guidelines?

Posted on: Feb 8, 2011, Source: Grist.org

The time has come to ask, are dietary guidelines just another charade, a waste of taxpayer dollars?

Why "Happy Meals" Are a Crime

Posted on: Jan 26, 2011, Source: Grist.org

The legal case against Happy Meals, marketed to kids.

How Junk Food Giant PepsiCo Is Buying Up High-Ranking Experts to Look Like a Leader in Health and Nutrition

Posted on: Aug 4, 2010, Source: AlterNet

Pepsi's strategy: Create a research environment so scientists and public health experts don't feel out of place at the corporate HQ of sugar, salt and fat.

Nestle Stoops to New Low, Launches Barge to Peddle Junk Food on the Amazon River to Brazil's Poor

Posted on: Jul 8, 2010, Source: AlterNet

Has Big Food already run out of customers in cities and other locales that are more readily accessible by land?

Pepsi Teams up with White House to Whitewash Worthless Snacks and Sodas

Posted on: Jun 1, 2010, Source: AlterNet

PepsiCo claims to be "investing in a healthier future for people and our planet." But how is that possible when their top-selling products include Mountain Dew and Doritos?

Disney's PR Strategy Unhealthy for 'Little Consumers'

Posted on: Oct 18, 2006, Source: AlterNet

Disney says it's concerned about kids' eating habits. But the company can't turn down the huge profits associated with helping junk-food companies market to children.

Suing the Pants Off SpongeBob

Posted on: Jan 31, 2006, Source: AlterNet

Litigation may be the one weapon left in the fight against corporate America's fattening of children.

McDonald's Labeling Scheme: Not Lovin' It

Posted on: Nov 4, 2005, Source: AlterNet

The fast-food chain says it will tell diners just how much fat, sodium and calories are in its food. But this is just the latest attempt to whitewash its unhealthy practices.

Big Soda's Publicity Stunt

Posted on: Aug 28, 2005, Source: AlterNet

The trade group responsible for pushing sugary drinks to children of all ages has just trumpeted another set of useless new guidelines.

Government Abandons Children to Big Food

Posted on: Jul 21, 2005, Source: AlterNet

A government-convened panel that was intended to discuss ways to limit marketing junk food to kids instead became an enormous PR opportunity for the junk food industry.

The Junk Food Lobby Wins Again

Posted on: Jun 17, 2005, Source: AlterNet

The junk-food industry's lobbyists are working hard to make sure sodas, candy and fast food are cheap and plentiful in the nation's schools.

Uncle Sam's Lame Diet Tips

Posted on: Feb 1, 2005, Source: AlterNet

The very definition of food has been transformed by industry, yet the federal government's dietary guidelines don't reflect that.