Friday Food Tabloid: Kellogg Pot Boycott, Romantic Tap Water, Cadbury Purple, and More

Pot smokers boycott Kellogg

Marijuana smokers are boycotting Kellogg over its decision not to renew its contract with Michael Phelps after a photo surfaced of the Olympic swimmer smoking marijuana. The head of the Marijuana Policy Project called the move “hypocritical and disgusting.” And as wacky as this story sounds on the surface, the guy made a pretty good point:

“Kellogg’s had no problem signing up Phelps when he had a conviction for drunk driving, an illegal act that could actually have killed someone,” said Rob Kampia, the group’s executive director. “To drop him for choosing to relax with a substance that’s safer than beer is an outrage, and it sends a dangerous message to young people.”

A marketing expert discussing the matter on The O’Reilly Factor wasn’t angry at Kellogg, but he said the company overreacted and made a “stupid decision” by making such a big deal out of it — especially since Phelps’ contract was unlikely to be renewed anyway.

Options for Valentine’s Day

It’s natural for companies to want to cash in on every holiday they possibly can — even President’s Day — but some of them are really pushing it.

Canadian pizza chain Pizza Pizza claims it has evidence that cheese is an aphrodisiac and will inspire love and passion even more than chocolate. White Castle is offering candlelight dinners, because who can think of a more romantic place than White Castle? And Taco Bell Canada has hired a soap opera writer to compose “spicy hot” Valentine messages. You can even have a “Taco Bell Latin lover” send you or your loved ones “a fiery and passionate voicemail.”

But the least romantic of all Valentine’s Day campaigns has got to be from the advocacy group Food & Water Watch. They had the brilliant idea to link the holiday of love to a pledge against bottled water. How did they connect the two? Not very well. “This Valentine’s Day, fall in love with something that will never do you wrong — tap water!

They would have been better off following the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, which went after  Yellow No. 5 and other food dyes. Colorful candy is indeed more prevalent around Valentine’s Day. Bottled water, not so much.

Other headlines

Speaking of dyes and colors, Cadbury lost the first of its many appeals in its attempt to defend its patent on “Cadbury purple” against Australian rival Darrell Lea. Some people in India are developing a new soft drink made from cow urine.

And I can’t find confirmation on FoodieView, but apparently the recipe search engine/restaurant guide site is determined to overcome President Obama’s aversion to beets. The founder recommends that the White House chef start experimenting with some of the site’s more than 20,000 beet recipes.

Finally, last but definitely not least: a Florida man teaches us who not to call if we’re unhappy with the service at our local Burger King. After a disappointing late-night BK experience, he called 911 and complained that employees were rude, there was no lemonade, and his burger took too long. For his misuse of emergency services, the cops arrested him. (h/t QSRWeb)