The Progressive

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A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Michael Russo  
Phone: (213) 251-3680 ext 332
Email: mrusso@pirg.org

New Report Will Show How Taxpayer Dollars Subsidize Junk Food

WASHINGTON

WHAT: U.S.PIRG will release its new report, Apples to Twinkies, which examines how billions in taxpayer agricultural subsidies end up supporting junk food and contributes to the childhood obesity epidemic. The report is the first to make specific estimates of the amount of tax dollars going to junk food ingredients including high fructose corn syrup, and breaks down these estimates by calculating how many Twinkies, and how many apples, each taxpayer is paying for.

WHEN: 9 A.M. Eastern, Wednesday, September 21, online at www.uspirg.org.

U.S. PIRG, the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs), stands up to powerful special interests on behalf of the American public, working to win concrete results for our health and our well-being. With a strong network of researchers, advocates, organizers and students in state capitols across the country, we take on the special interests on issues, such as product safety,political corruption, prescription drugs and voting rights,where these interests stand in the way of reform and progress.