Watch Your Language

I am writing to object to the gratuitous insult of our organization in the March 3 magazine. Phil Barber (“Pop Culture,” Entertaining) wrote: “Popcorn got a bad rap in 1994, when those old maids at the Center for Science in the Public Interest revealed that cinema popcorn cooked in coconut oil contained as much as 80 grams of fat per tub, sans butter.” Why denigrate us as “old maids”? First, it’s not true. We’re probably a lot like you and your staff: young to middle-aged professional men and women with families and children. Second, you’re not disputing what we said about popcorn. Why, then, insult us? Would you like your staff dismissed in print as “old spinsters” or “old fogies” for no apparent reason? It’s sloppy thinking, writing and editing.

David Schardt

Center for Science in the Public Interest