Houghton Publishing Takes On Fast Food Industry (Chew On This)

[KittyWampus]

Houghton Takes on Fast Food Industry


by Rachel Deahl, PW Daily -- 6/1/2006

Houghton Mifflin is no friend of Ronald McDonald's. The publisher—which in 2001 released Eric Schlosser's now-definitive polemic on America's love affair with the greasy spoon, Fast Food Nation—was prepared to deal with controversy when it adapted that book for kids. But the house has been overwhelmed, and a little shocked, by the fast food industry's response to Chew on This. Schlosser's kid-friendly deconstruction of the evils of Big Macs, Big Gulps and Supersize fries, which he co-authored with Charles Wilson, has drummed up a healthy interest among kids. Released early last month the book—which will be No. 4 on The New York Times children’s chapter bestseller for June 4—has proven a big enough concern among certain food companies that Web sites have sprung up attempting to discredit the title and its authors. After The Wall Street Journal reported in April about the extreme tactics being used against the book, Houghton has decided to fight back.

In a press release issued today by the publisher, Houghton outlined what it sees as a "Swift Boat-Style campaign" against their book. Hougton's v-p and editor-in-chief Eamon Dolan said that, while he wasn't surprised the book caused a stir, he was shocked to see personal attacks launched against his authors. Now the house's goal, he said, is to "dispel this cloud of disinformation." To that end, Houghton has hired an outside public relations firm to help craft its message. This morning’s news release lists the organizations rallying against Chew on This—The Heartland Institute, The American Council on Science and Health and The Center for Individual Freedom. It notes that all the groups have ties to the DCI Group, a Washington lobbying firm which Houghton said supported the tobacco industry and has "a long history of opposing public health initiatives."

Houghton also points out that the DCI Group called Schlosser "a politically motivated activist who plays on people's fears" and added that, in an essay on The Heartland Institute's Web site (penned by the group's science director), the authors were accused of engaging in Nazi tactics. This is what Dolan takes issue with and is hoping the press picks up on. "There's something unnerving about trying to attack a journalist's character, rather than attacking the facts."

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6340013.html

[Terran1212]

1. Read Fast Food Nation; loved it

[hadrons]

2. I've brought all his books (only 3), but I gave the new one to a friend

who has a (almost) 2 year old ... she lives in Houston and hoefully she'll read it (she has commented on how big the people are there)

[KittyWampus]

3. The kid friendly book may do a lot to help. Kids DO influence parental

behavior.