This is the second time this group (Center for Science in the Public Interest) has dropped this load of owl pellets into my e-mail:

Greetings,



If you are a Harry Potter fan, or have friends or relatives who are, visit SaveHarry.com

"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" premiers this week, and we at the Center for Science in the Public Interest are renewing our campaign to save Harry Potter from the clutches of the Coca-Cola Company. Again, Coke is helping fuel the childhood obesity epidemic by aggressively marketing sugar- and caffeine-laden drinks to young fans of the Harry Potter series.

Harry Potter creator J. K. Rowling's deal with Coke makes "Chamber of Secrets" look more like the "Chamber of Commerce." Coke's exclusive $150-million-marketing arrangement with Warner Bros. plasters familiar Potter
icons like owls, castles, and even Harry himself on Coke cans, packaging, or game cards.

Visit http://SaveHarry.com/ and send Rowling a message asking her to stop allowing Coca-Cola's use of Harry
Potter to market junk food to kids!



I don't think I'll bother to respond this time, since my last response was ignored and it got me on their mailing list.

Basically, I told them the following:

Obviously, none of you has even picked up one of these books, much less read it. Harry and his friends are no advertisement for healthy eating, not on their best days. Even at regular meals, huge portions of meats, fatty foods, and sugary desserts are the rule.



And junk food?

In the very first book, before Harry even gets to Hogwarts, he buys out most of the junk food being shopped around on a cart, and he and Ron plow cheerfully through the entire great, sticky pile.

Candy and other sweet treats figure prominently in many scenes. Oddly, vegetables and high-fiber foods do not.

And Harry's favorite drink is butterbeer, which he and his friends drink constantly and in huge amounts. The ingredients vary, but following is a typical recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
ROOT BEER
BUTTER
CREAM

HOW TO MAKE IT:

1. POUR ROOT BEER IN A CUP AND BUTTER IN A SMALL BOWL.
2. PUT THE BOWL OF BUTTER IN THE MICROWAVE AND MELT IT.
3. THEN PUT THE ROOT BEER IN THE MICROWAVE, BUT NOT TO LONG BECAUSE YOU WANT IT TO BE MODERATELY WARM BUT NOT TO WARM OR IT ISN'T FIZZY AND GOOD ANYMORE.
4. POUR SOME MELTED BUTTER IN THE ROOT BEER BUT NOT TOO MUCH.
5. THEN POUR SOME CREAM (THE SAME KIND AS YOU PUT IN COFFEE) IN.
6. IT MIGHT TAKE A FEW TRIES TO MAKE THE RIGHT AMOUNTS FOR YOUR LIKING.

Now, Coca-Cola may not be the best nutrition package in the world, but at least it doesn't have a cholesterol load that could dam the Colorado River. In fact, Coca-Cola is probably BETTER for you than butterbeer. It is a known fact that butterbeer will inebriate house-elves, so who knows what else is in it?

Among many other things, you guys screwed up theater popcorn, and a day doesn't go by that you don't stick your organic oar* into my life. The only reason I'm not opting out of your mailing list is so that I can keep an eye on you. Touch my coffee cup and you'll regret it.

And of course, the fact that Coca Cola is dumping millions of dollars into children's reading programs as part of this campaign doesn't apparently mean anything.

As Harry might say, "Bugger off!"



*Yeah, that disgusting image popped into my head too.