The Birth of the Consumer Activist

In the 1880s a gentleman by the name of Harvey W. Wiley began what was to become an incredible 50-year crusade for pure foods. At that time in our history, the food industry was largely unregulated, and it was common practice for manufacturers to tamper with product ingredients, exchanging what was claimed on the label with substandard and sometimes dangerous alternatives, all in the name of profit.

Mr. Wiley also advanced many positions that were deemed quite undesirable at the time. For instance, in 1927 he expressed concern that tobacco use was dangerous and he suspected that it promoted cancer. He exposed many companies for their fraudulent practices.

For all of his efforts, Mr. Wiley became the target of much ridicule and concerted efforts to squelch him. Lobbyists were raised up who successfully killed many of the bills he managed to get introduced into Congress on behalf of the American Consumer. But the work that Mr. Wiley began so many years ago, and his coupling with Good Housekeeping has resulted in many positive changes in the food industry.

My reason for bringing Harvey Wiley to your attention in this blog is to also introduce him to you as the man known as the Pioneer of Consumer Activism.

Over the last several months a controversy known as the Kimkins diet scam has been raging. Thanks to a dedicated group of individuals, the Kimkins diet program, as well as the founder, Heidi Diaz, has been irrefutably proven to be fraudulent. I will be writing much more about many aspects of this fraud in the immediate future.

This blog will join in the line of bloggers dedicated to informing the public of this dangerous fraud, as well as exposing the corruption that is part and parcel of Heidi Diaz. Additionally, I will be looking at the questions of what, exactly, is a Consumer Activist, what right do any of us have to call into question the motives or sound ideas/practices of any person or company in our free enterprise system, and why is it important for us, as free citizens, to do so.

This blog is a quest … a quest for truth – ricerca di verita. Frankly, I’m tired of being lied to, misled and made a fool of by anyone who chooses to hang out a shingle, put themselves out as an expert worth being compensated for some feigned area of expertise, and lashed out at for attempting to learn the truth. And, since the weight issue is one of my issues, I’m going to start there.

I hope you will join with me.