What the Cluck?

We're happy to be borrowing the title for this blog post from Barbara Brenner of Breast Cancer Action (BCA). She was referring to the unfathomable partnership between KFC and the Susan G. Komen Foundation this past spring called "Buckets for the Cure," whereby money was raised to "spread breast cancer awareness and educational messaging." Seriously?

In order to "fight" cancer, we should buy buckets of fried, hormone- and antibiotic-ridden chickens, often inhumanely-raised, and then eat it? What could possibly be the "educational" message in this? Even though there's much resistance and debate as to the relationship between diet and health, we think most people will agree that this kind of bottom-of-the-food-chain fast food is not good for our bodies, and least of all when one has cancer. 

Barbara Brenner rightly calls this partnership an example of the "pinkwashing" that is running rampant right now. This occurs "when a company purports to care about breast cancer by promoting a pink-ribboned product, but manufactures products that are linked to the disease." (Including, often times, the very product with the pink ribbon on it!) "Make no mistake," Brenner adds, "every pink bucket purchase will do more to benefit KFC's bottom line than it will to cure breast cancer."

For more information on this topic, check out this great two-part article entitled "Cluck for the Cure," which includes a description of a probable human carcinogen in this "cancer-fighting" food:

http://www.cancerdecisions.com/content/view/462/2/lang,english/

http://www.cancerdecisions.com/content/view/463/2/lang,english/

And remember, everything you put on or in or near your body is either helping your body, or it's helping cancer. We say "Cluck that!" to this partnership, and others like it!