Past Conferences

Information About Past Conferences, Including Speakers, Subjects, and Schedule

NGOs, an Overview: Their Role in Public Advocacy
March 25, Mike Jacobson Ph.D., the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)

Mike Jacobson is a founding member and the executive director of CSPI. Since its founding in 1971, CSPI has been a strong advocate for improving public nutrition and health, food safety standards, alcohol policy, and sound science. Its award-winning newsletter, Nutrition Action Healthletter, is the largest-circulation health newsletter in North America, providing reliable information on nutrition and health. CSPI is a consumer advocacy organization whose twin missions are to conduct innovative research and advocacy programs in health and nutrition, and to provide consumers with the most current and useful information available about their health and well-being.

In the first talk, Mr. Jacobson gave an overview of NGOs in the United States and emphasized his role as a founder of CSPI and many of the early projects the organization undertook. CSPI has been a consistent advocate for food safety and nutrition and lobbied tirelessly for the requirement of the food labels that are presently on all food products. He spoke of the importance of the watchdog function that many NGOs play in pressuring profit-driven corporations to comply with established legal standards and provided an excellent point of departure for the talks to follow.