Content and websites distributed are designed to misinform the public and smear other non-profit groups with misinformation
Phony front group - smear campaigns. Mouthpiece for the tobacco, meat and GMO industry - if it kills you and unhealthy, they market it with lies. They represent everything WRONG with America.
They stand for everything Bad. A group that is "against" MADD or HSUS is crazy.
This "nonprofit" is pure evil
A cynical lobbying company funded by diverse industries to deceive the consumers and discredit the work of real ngos with lies and biased reports.
Sponsors are mainly fast food, meat, alcohol and tobacco industries.
How can such an unethical organization working directly against the public interest exist and not be banned by the government is deeply disturbing
The Ultimate goal for Berman with the Consumer Freedom is to decieve the American public from the truth. Also affliated with Humane Watch its goals are to cripple and abolish such groups as the ASPCA, HSUS and Peta.
WHY because they are our MOST powerful voice in Congress as the NRA is to gun holders.. We dont see Berman attacking them do we.. Bermans own son has disclaimed him as his father for his evil intentions.
The truth is Berman has found a way to profit as a non profit entity and continue to spread false information to the public.. Bermans phony organizations is support by AG, FarmBureau and other ag entitys that have something to hide.. Which such bills as the AG GAG bill one that was created by Rep Sue Wallis of Wy, to felonize people for whistle blowing the truth of what happens in a processing plant.. Several other states represented by AG have united to push for these laws that protect criminals and hide safety food issues etc. If horse slaughter is soo humane as Sue Wallis claims why does she create such bills to hide the truth..
AG and others play a part in the good ole boy system protecting criminals. For example Leroy Baker an auctioneer of Sugar Creek in Ohio.. He has several fines totalling over $162,000 and til this date not one penny has been paid and hes still shipping horses to slaughter making profits..
For more info visit. Kaufmanzoning.net, sharkonline.org, animalsangels.org.
Review from CharityNavigator
CCF exists for one purpose - to mislead the public about the various, and plentiful, wrongdoings done by corporations from which it receives millions every year. These corporations, many of them involved in exploitation of animals, would never directly criticize popular nonprofits like HSUS and PETA because they know they'd face tremendous backlash from their customers. So they hire CCF to do it for them.
Richard Berman is so corrupt himself that when he hired an independent film maker to produce a documentatry about PETA/HSUS, he ended up suing the guy and suppressing distribution of the film - because the film maker actually had the temerity to make it balanced instead of a one-sided hit piece. Google "Your Mommy Kills Animals" for more information.
Review from CharityNavigator
As much as the other reviewers would disagree, the Center for Consumer Freedom does it's intended goal perfectly. They are proponents to VASTLY help consumers see the lies that would inhibit their freedoms, nothing more, nothing less. They do not go as drastically far as other groups, and to my experience, they have been reported nothing but the truth (I've checked via third party areas), and do not deceive the public. Instead of actually criticizing the cause itself, notice how most of these reviews resort to attacking it's founder personally as well as using bias information simply because it criticizes their own cause. Consumer Freedom does it's job perfectly, regardless of what libel people write.
Someone forwarded me a copy of The Center for Consumer Freedom's latest e-mail, with respect to one of their organization's HumaneWatch.org. I decided to take a look at their tax records, since the e-mail that they sent was remarking on how HSUS raised over $100 million a year using deceptive practices." Wow! What an eye-opener. The CEO of CCF's salary listed on their latest tax records was only $25,385. Wow, I thought. That's really low, so this must be a halfway decent non-profit. Something about this didn't seem kosher to me, so I decided to look more closely. Upon further inspection, on page 8 of their tax return it lists what Independent Contractors they use, and how much they paid. Interestingly enough, the first independent contractor listed is a company called Richard Berman & Company, Inc., 1090 Vermont Ave NW #800, Washington, DC 20005. The compensation paid to Richard Berman & Company for "management services" was $1,682,126. I was shocked at how a non-profit could attempt to be SO deceptive, especially when calling out another non-profit (HSUS) as being deceptive. Why list your salary as $25K, when in fact your PROFIT company was paid nearly $1.7 million? Some Google research revealed this SCAM for what it is -- CCF is a corporate lobbyist using a non-profit front. Google Richard Berman scam and/or CCF scam and you will find a host of information about how CCF is receiving money from corporate giants like Philip Morris, Kraft, etc. to protect their interests.
I was shocked to see how much money was funneled into Richard Bermans pockets. This is a scam of the first order! They should have their non tax status pulled and be thrown in jail! This is not a charity, this is a scam!
Review from CharityNavigator
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I was attracted to this group by advertisements and looked into their operations. I found out that this group is run by the Washington Lobby Firm "Berman and Co." a firm that specializes in turning public opinion against groups like M.A.D.D., the Humane Society of the United States, the Center for Disease Control, and has tried to convince people that Mercury in fish is not harmful, second hand smoke is harmless, and they lobby against raising the minimum wage on behalf of restaurant owners.I also found out that 92% of donations go directly to "Berman and Co." as consulting fees. they have many non profit front groups that take in donations that in turn hire "berman and Co." as consultants. it's a total scam and they need to be shut down.
This organization is funded by corporations for one specific reason: to trash non-profits that attempt to make a better world. It has promoted smoking for the tobacco industry, it trashes the Humane Society of the US (paid for by donations from the worst CAFO companies), and even fights obesity studies in the interest of soda and fast food companies.
I'm proud to have donated to this group. CFCF has done some great work exposing the ten's of thousands of animal deaths that PETA does annually. As a pet lover, I find it hard to believe that PETA puts tens of millions into ads annually while making no attempt to find pets homes and instead killing them. They are opposed to pets and think that dogs and cats should instead be running free in the "wild", so to instead of creating more pet owners, they'd rather kill the pets. CFCF among other groups is helping to get the word out about this.
The Center for Consumer Freedom is a corporate funded lobby group paid to run smear campaigns against non-profits. The New York Times calls it a "fake consumer-advocacy group." CCF runs a number of websites that target organizations like the Humane Society of the United States, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Center for Science in the Public Interest, and even the Centers for Disease Control. They are paid to argue that mercury in fish doesn't hurt pregnant women, girls can spend as much time in tanning beds as they want with no risk of cancer, and drunk driving laws are not needed. Their attacks are misleading at best, outright lies at worst. And over 90 percent of the millions paid to the CCF goes straight into the pockets of its director Rick Berman. There's lots of info on the web about how bad the CCF is. Some of this includes: Berman Exposed - http://bermanexposed.org/ HumaneWatch.info – provides background on HumaneWatch http://humanewatch.info/blog/hw-facts/ Rick Berman Attacks the Humane Society - PR Watch http://www.prwatch.org/node/8894 http://www.prwatch.org/node/9115 Center for Consumer Freedom - SourceWatch http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Consumer_Freedom Who is HumaneWatch? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_6FvqQEuCU Rachel Maddow's Oct '09 interview with Rick Berman: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paula-crossfield/rachel-maddow-takes-on-co_b_312729.html Rachel Maddow - Rick Berman's deeply dishonest Astroturf Express adjusts, flourishes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Uf_QgMz_w Investigation of Berman, CCF - http://www.alternet.org/investigations/146832/corporate_frontman_known_as_'dr._evil'_makes_a_fine_living_attacking_charities/
The deceptively-named "Center for Consumer Freedom" is an industry front group founded by Richard Berman. In Berman's own words, CCF exists to "shoot the messenger", to discredit public interest groups that expose corporate greed and illegal activity. CCF is a vocal opponent of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Center for Science in the Public Interest, The Humane Society of the US, and unions. Although it is organized as a 501(c)(4) charity, CCF serves no charitable purpose, is operated out of Berman's PR firm's offices, and funnels 92% of its "donations" into the hands of Richard Berman. It's an appalling personal enrichment scheme that exploits a loophole in the tax code in order to undermine REAL charities. CCF operates a number of sham websites designed to fool consumers into thinking that CCF is a public interest group. These websites frequently cite each other as "reputable" sources, and offer questionable research conducted by their "Director of Research", David Martosko. Martosko's background prior to joining CCF consists of a degree in opera, and experience as an AM radio talk show director. He has no scientific training, and has no means of evaluating the accuracy or worth of the conclusions CCF publishes. For example, CCF urges pregnant women to eat mercury-contaminated fish, claiming that they can safely eat 10x the government's recommended limits. They make this claim without scientific backing and without regard to safety margins. Their sponsor in the matter? Disreputable companies in the seafood industry. If it furthers their message, CCF will publish it, even when the information has been widely discredited or proven to be false. On May 14, 2009, WSB-TV in Atlanta broadcast a segment examining the HSUS handling of funds raised for Hurricane Katrina rescues. The reporter relied on false information provided by CCF. When the deception was discovered, WSB-TV immediately pulled the story. (The reporter was fired.) However, CCF continued to publish propaganda claiming that the story was true -- and used the broadcast based on THEIR misinformation as "proof"! WSB-TV promptly issued an angry cease and desist letter to CCF demanding that they stop misrepresenting the story, and that they reference the correction whenever they reference the original story. CCF still points to the original, discredited broadcast to this day, even though they have to link to an illegal copy on an Iranian file sharing site to do so. That's just a sample of CCF's duplicity and sleazy behavior. To find out more, visit http://www.bermanexposed.org http://www.humanewatch.info http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/about/wsb_letter_re_berman.pdf http://www.startribune.com/local/96226034.html http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/18/us/politics/18berman.html http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/05/60minutes/main2653020.shtml?source=search_story http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/politics&id=4140447
The Center for Consumer Freedom is a corporate attack group who's sole purpose is to attack groups that are working to improve society. Targets of CCF are Mother's Against Drunk Driving, Center for Disease Control, PETA, The Humane Society of the United States. CCF is non-profit in name only, Most of their funding is through anonymous corporate money.
See Front Page Story in New York Times dated June 18, 2010. The information is pretty much all right there. You make the call. I think I'll sit their fundraisers out, fwiw.
Review from Guidestar
I had come across various sources from CCF and some of the campaigns they are running. I questioned their motives and wondered why they would be attacking these particular organizations, such as Mother's Against Drunk Driving and the Humane Society of the United States. After doing a bit of research, it was clear that the CCF is being paid by the industries that profit off of alcohol and meat or fast food, industries whose bottom lines might be affected by the charity organizations they've sent attack dogs on. CCF is nothing more than a paid mouthpiece, doing the talking that the corporations don't want to do because it would be bad for their image. Don't fall for the CCF or any of their misinformation campaigns. Stay healthy, keep drunk drivers off the street and continue to fight for the welfare of animals... money might speak for the CCF, but it sure doesn't speak for me. Just Google "Center for Consumer Freedom" for lots of information about their deceitful "non-profit" front group.
CCF is a front group for the interests of restaurant, alcohol, tobacco, Big agriculture and other industries that don't always serve the public's best interest. It runs media campaigns which oppose the efforts of scientists, doctors, health advocates, environmentalists and groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Its enemies list has included such diverse social interest groups and individuals as the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons; the American Medical Association (AMA); the Arthritis Foundation; the Consumer Federation of America; New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani; the Harvard School of Public Health; the Marin Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Other Drug Problems; the National Association of High School Principals; the National Safety Council; the National Transportation Safety Board; the Office of Highway Safety for the state of Georgia; Ralph Nader's group, Public Citizen; the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Humane Society of the United States. Some groups the CCF has targeted have questioned its ethics and legitimacy. The president of the American Federation of Teachers referred to the CCF's leader as "a shameless lobbyist who has shilled for pesticide, alcohol and tobacco companies." A USA Today journalist said that they should change the name of their website to FatForProfit.com. It has also been criticized for its efforts to portray groups such as the Humane Society of the United States as "violent" and "extreme," and for its opposition to banning the use of trans fats. The group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has also campaigned against the CCF's validity as a non-profit tax exempt charitable organization, filing an IRS complaint in 2004 attacking the CCF's claims that its advocacy campaigns were "educational" in nature. Some corporations, including PepsiCo and Kraft Foods, have declined to work with the CCF, saying they disagree with some of the group's arguments or with its approach to advocacy. Essentially, CCF works to slander groups working for public interest causes because the profits of its corporate backers are at stake. Rather than take on the issues directly, the corporations pay CCF to create a pretend non-profit to do the dirty work.
The CCF should be called the Center for Consumer Disinformation. According to this group, it's safe for pregnant women to eat fish containing mercury (no matter what those pesky scientists and doctors say), it is a violation of your rights to prevent you from drinking and driving, and unions are bad. This group is a sham and should not be considered a "charity". It's essentially a tax shelter for Rick Berman's PR firm, and its only purpose is to serve as an attack group for the food and beverage industries; they pay Berman big bucks to slander, spin, and outright lie in an attempt to discredit advocacy groups and grassroots movements that attempt to protect us from big industry by giving us vital information. It's a miracle the CCF staff can sleep at night. Must be the lack of a conscience.
The Center for Consumer Freedom is a “non-profit” corporation (see “industry front-group”) operated by lobbyist Richard Berman. Formerly known as the Guest Choice Network, CCF was initially funded with a $600,000 “donation” from tobacco company Philip Morris. Berman gets a lot of money from his private and corporate clients for his “non-profit” entities and then his privately owned company, Berman & Company is hired as a consultant. Of the millions of dollars “donated” to CCF, between the years 1995 and 1998, 49% to 79% went directly to Berman or Berman & Co. for those consulting fees. CCF has fought against a Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) initiative to lower the blood alcohol content (BAC) limit for drivers by claiming that the stricter limits would punish responsible social drinkers; attacked the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claiming that warnings about salmonella-related food poisoning are just “whipping up fear over food.” The corporations supporting CCF have vested interests in keeping employee wages low; encouraging cheap, unhealthy restaurant-chain food, particularly meat; and tobacco, soft drink, and alcohol companies and more recently CCF has been hired by food conglomerates more interested in bottom line profits than the welfare of animals. The CCF is nothing more than a front group for powerful wealthy companies with unpopular ideals who are afraid to stand up publicly for their heinous beliefs and hire these guys to fight their dirty little fights.