[9] Sponsors as of 2005[update] were reported to include Brinker International, RTM Restaurant Group (the owner of Arby's), Tyson Foods, HMSHost Corp, and Wendy's.
[2] The forerunner to the CCF was the Guest Choice Network, organized in 1995 by Berman with money from Philip Morris,[2] "to unite the restaurant and hospitality industries in a campaign to defend their consumers and marketing programs against attacks from anti-smoking, anti-drinking, anti-meat, etc.
In January 2002, the Guest Choice Network became the Center for Consumer Freedom, a change of name the group said reflected that "the anti-consumer forces [were] expanding their reach beyond restaurants and taverns [and] going into your communities and even your homes.
[16] Previous CORE directors included Joseph Kefauver, Daniel Mindus, David Browne, James Blackstock, Richard Verrechia, F. Lane Cardwell, and Nelson Marchioli.
[19][20] These include marginalizing your opponent, "making it personal", being "nasty", manipulating people through "fear and anger", branding movements as "not credible", undermining moral authority, and giving corporations "total anonymity.
"[18][21] In 2002, CCF spokesman John Doyle described nationwide radio ads put out by the group as efforts to attract people to their website and "draw attention to our enemies: just about every consumer and environmental group, chef, legislator or doctor who raises objections to things like pesticide use, genetic engineering of crops or antibiotic use in beef and poultry.
"[22] CCF gave out annual "Tarnished Halo" awards to so-called "animal-rights zealots, celebrity busybodies, environmental scaremongers, self-appointed "public interest" advocates, trial lawyers, and other food activists",[23] and its Guest Choice Network affiliate gave out the "Nanny Awards" to "food cops, anti-biotech activists, vegetarian scolds and meddling bureaucrats".
"[35] In addition to its own websites the CCF, which since 2014 also uses the name "Center for Organizational Research and Education"(CORE),[36] operates several dozen websites specifically targeting organizations and agencies working on social issues including animal rights, fair wages, transfats, drunken driving, sugar, labor union activities, and mercury content in fish.
"[39] Green Decoys, a project of EPA, was reported to "argue...environmental organizations camouflage an activist agenda to influence policymakers and the public, funded by millions of dollars from huge foundations.
Philip Morris attorney Marty Barrington wrote in a 1996 internal company memorandum: "As of this writing, PM USA is still the only contributor, though Berman continues to promise others any day now.
[44] Acknowledged corporate donors to the CCF include Coca-Cola,[45] Wendy's,[45] Outback Steakhouse,[45] Cargill,[46] Tyson Foods,[45][46] and Pilgrim's Pride.
"[53] Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has responded "If you are in the business of putting veal or beef on the tables of America, and slaughtering more than a million animals per hour, and making an awful lot of money at it, you are going to try to neutralize PETA or other animal-rights groups.
"[54] David Nibert says that the CCF receives significant funding from businesses that make up the animal–industrial complex in order to conduct public relations campaigns to challenge any criticism of their practices.
"[citation needed] This mirrors the findings of Bloomberg News, which disclosed that from 2008 to 2010, Berman and Company was paid $15 million from donations to his five nonprofit organizations.
[5] 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.