Category: Issue 297
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Study Claims Eating Red Meat May Affect Longevity
A recent National Cancer Institute (NCI) study has concluded that consumption of red and processed meat modestly raises the risk of death from all causes, including heart disease and cancer. Rashmi Sinha, et al., “Meat Intake and Mortality: A Prospective Study of Over Half a Million People,” Archives of Internal Medicine, March 23, 2009. In…
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Christine Haughney, “When Economy Sours, Tootsie Rolls Soothe Souls,” The New York Times, March 24, 2009
The recession seems to have a sweet tooth, according to this New York Times reporter who discovered that many big candy makers are enjoying rising sales and surprising profits despite a sour economy. Haughney reports that that Cadbury had a 30 percent rise in profits for 2008, Nestlé’s profits grew by 10.9 percent and Hershey, which…
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Clara Jeffery and Monika Bauerlein, “Editor’s Note: Want to Fix the Country? Fix Food,” Smart Growth (Mother Jones), March/April 2009
Smart Growth, a special report issued by Mother Jones magazine, this month featured an editor’s note focusing on the recent Senate confirmation hearing of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and the need for a sustained dialogue about the U.S. food system. According to the article, the confirmation hearings included remarks by Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) that…
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Andrew Martin, “Is a Food Revolution Now in Season?,” The New York Times, March 22, 2009
“After being largely ignored for years by Washington, advocates of organic and locally grown food have found a receptive ear in the White House, which has vowed to encourage a more nutritious and sustainable food supply,” claims this article exploring the nation’s sustainable-food movement. The author writes that at the heart of the movement “is…
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Strategic Alliance Promotes Definition of Healthful Food
The Prevention Institute’s Strategic Alliance Healthy Food and Activity Environments has released a sign-on letter titled “Setting the Record Straight: Nutritionists Define Healthful Food,” which asks health and nutrition professionals to adopt the institute’s definition of wholesome food. The letter states that healthy food “is not limited to the nutrients that a food contains,” but…
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Rudd Center Director Co-Authors Trio of Food Policy Papers
Recently published articles co-authored by Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity Director Kelly Brownell explore various aspects of addressing obesity. They include: Kelly Brownell & Kenneth Warner, “The Perils of Ignoring History: Big Tobacco Played Dirty and Millions Died. How Similar is Big Food?,” The Milbank Quarterly, 2009. This article discusses the…
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Chinese Court Accepts Civil Lawsuit in Melamine-Tainted Milk Scandal; Criminal Convictions Upheld
A Chinese court in Shijiazhuang has reportedly agreed to accept a lawsuit filed by the parents of a child allegedly affected by the 2007 melamine contamination of milk and infant formula. Until this week, no court had accepted the litigation, a first step in securing compensation outside the administrative procedures established by the government. According…
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Court Orders Banana-Plantation Litigants to Address Potential Termination of Litigation
A California judge has reportedly ordered the parties to litigation over the exposure of banana-plantation workers to a pesticide that allegedly caused their sterility to explain why two lawsuits should not be dismissed as a sanction for the alleged misconduct of the plaintiffs and their lawyers. Mejia v. Dole, No. BC340049 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los…