At the sprawling headquarters of Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, giant rollers knead mattresses to test their durability. Computers analyze stereo sounds in a mock living room, complete with wall panels to simulate curtains.
Food tasters pick apart peanut butter and cookies while breathing specially filtered air.
Our answer was no. We take this stuff very seriously, we don't want to make it into a joke. The nonprofit organization supports 457 employees. What the public may not realize, though, is that CU uses its prestige to advance a host of controversial political positions that aren't exactly laboratory-tested. The organization has raised alarms about Alar and bovine growth hormone, protested cuts in social spending, and lobbied for anti-redlining legislation in the insurance industry.