American Council for Fitness and Nutrition

Formed in January 2003, American Council for Fitness and Nutrition (ACFN) is a non-profit association of more than 80 "food and beverage companies, trade associations and nutrition advocates to work toward comprehensive and achievable solutions to the nation’s obesity epidemic," according to the group's website. ACFN is chaired by Dr. Susan Finn. and "is guided by an Advisory Board of experts in the fields of nutrition, physical activity and behavior change." Its membership roster includes a smattering of health groups, but is mostly comprised of food-industry trade groups, advertising associations, and top food corporations.

School Food Policy
Parents Advocating School Accountability was critical of ACFN's role in the debate on vending machines in schools. Dr. Finn told Knight-Ridder Newspapers' Washington Bureau that junk-food-stocked vending machines in schools play no role in the child obesity crisis without disclosing that ACFN's membership includes Coca Cola, PepsiCo, Kraft Foods, Cadbury Schweppes, the Snack Food Association, the Sugar Association and the National Soft Drink Association. Several on the ACFN membership list are also members of the newly formed advertising lobbying group, The Alliance for American Advertising.

Members
partial listing from ACFN's website
 * American Advertising Federation
 * American Association of Diabetes Educators
 * American Association of Advertising Agencies
 * Americans for Our Heritage and Recreation
 * American Beverage Association
 * American Dietetic Association
 * American Meat Institute
 * Archer Daniels Midland Company
 * Association of Fund-Raising Distributors and Suppliers
 * Association of National Advertisers
 * Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
 * Cadbury Schweppes PLC
 * Cargill, Inc.
 * Coca-Cola
 * ConAgra Foods, Inc.
 * Corn Refiners Association
 * Dean Foods Company
 * Food Marketing Institute
 * General Mills, Inc.
 * Grocery Manufacturers of America
 * Hershey Foods Corporation
 * H.J. Heinz Company
 * International Advertising Association
 * International Bottled Water Association
 * International Dairy Foods Association
 * Jack in the Box, Inc.
 * Juice Products Association
 * J. M. Smucker Company
 * Kellogg Company
 * Kraft Foods, Inc.
 * McDonald's Corporation
 * National Association for Health and Fitness
 * National Confectioners Association
 * National Council of Chain Restaurants
 * National Grocers Association
 * National Organization of Blacks in Dietetics & Nutrition
 * National Restaurant Association
 * National Supermarkets Association
 * National Turkey Association
 * Nestle USA, Inc.
 * Ocean Spray
 * PepsiCo, Inc.
 * Procter & Gamble Company
 * Sara Lee Corporation
 * Snack Food Association
 * Sugar Association
 * U.S. Chamber of Commerce
 * YUM! Brands, Inc.

Personnel

 * Susan Finn, Chair

Contact information
American Council for Fitness and Nutrition P.O. Box 33396 Washington, DC 20033-3396 Phone: 800-953-1700 Website: http://www.acfn.org

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Daniel J. Edelman, Inc.
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