Category: Issue 283
-
E. Coli Class Action Against Nebraska Beef Removed to Federal Court
Strict liability and breach of warranty claims filed in an Ohio state court in July 2008 after an E. coli outbreak linked to ground beef sold by Nebraska Beef sickened at least 19 in that state have been removed to federal court. Schlagel v. Nebraska Beef, Ltd., No. 08-01091 (S.D. Ohio, removed November 17, 2008).…
-
Scientist Warns CDC About Uptick of C. Difficile in Foods
A University of Arizona scientist has reportedly warned the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that more than 40 percent of prepackaged meats sampled in 2006 tested positive for Clostridium difficile, an intestinal bug usually associated with hospitals and nursing homes. In addition, Professor of Veterinary Science J. Glenn Songer apparently found that 30…
-
Greenpeace Urges Ban in Light of Study Allegedly Linking GM Crops to Lower Fertility in Mice
A study commissioned by the Austrian Ministries for Agriculture and Health has reportedly linked genetically modified crops to lower fertility rates in mice, prompting Greenpeace International to reiterate its call for a global ban. Led by University of Vienna Professor of Veterinary Medicine Jurgen Zentek, researchers concluded that compared to mice on a normal feed…
-
Study Allegedly Links Maternal High-Fat Diet to Increased Risk of Obesity in Offspring
A recent study explores the claim that rats fed a high-fat diet (HFD) during pregnancy produce offspring predisposed to overeating and obesity. Guo-Qing Chang, et al., “Maternal High-Fat Diet and Fetal Programming: Increased Proliferation of Hypothalamic Peptide-Producing Neurons That Increase Risk for Overeating and Obesity,” Journal of Neuroscience, November 2008. The Rockefeller University researchers examined the…
-
Researchers Link Obesity Rates to Time Spent Watching Fast-Food Ads
Economists with the National Bureau of Economic Research have published a study that examines data compiled between 1979 and 1997 to “estimate the effects of TV fast-food restaurant advertising on children and adolescents with respect to being overweight.” Shin-Yi Chou, et al., “FastFood Restaurant Advertising on Television and Its Influence on Childhood Obesity.” The Journal…
-
James E. McWilliams, “Our Home-Grown Melamine Problem,” The New York Times, November 17, 2008
This op-ed article examines the widespread presence of melamine in U.S. agriculture, claiming that despite China’s highly publicized problems with the industrial plasticizer, “what the American consumers and government agencies have studiously failed to scrutinize is how much melamine has pervaded our own food system.” James McWilliams, a history professor at Texas State University at…
-
UK Soil Association Calls for Action on Antibiotic-Resistant E. Coli
The UK Soil Association has reportedly urged veterinarians to limit their penicillin use after health officials found that cows from one unidentified English farm are carriers of extended-spectrum betalactamase (ESBL) E. coli, a rare antibiotic-resistant strain of the disease. Although the organic watchdog noted that the government has asked the farmer and his family to follow…
-
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Continues Bisphenol A Exposés
In a continuing series on the purported health effects of bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical widely used in plastic food storage containers and metal food cans, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has reported that all of the 10 “microwave safe” containers tested at the newspaper’s request leached BPA when heated in a microwave or conventional oven.…