Category: Issue 309
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Study Links Safe Levels of BPA to Reproductive Health Issues
A recent study has reportedly claimed that exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) at levels currently considered safe for humans can allegedly cause “significant reproductive health effects” in rats. Heather B. Adewale, et al., “Neonatal bisphenol-A exposure alters rat reproductive development and ovarian morphology without impairing activation of gonadotropin releasing hormone neurons,” Biology of Reproduction, June…
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Nicholas D. Kristof, “Lettuce From the Garden, With Worms,” The New York Times, June 21, 2009
“Over the years… I’ve become nostalgic for an occasional bug in my salad, for an apple that feels as if it were designed by God rather than by a committee,” writes New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof in this op-ed article promoting Food, Inc., “a terrific new documentary” that purportedly offers “a powerful and largely persuasive…
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French Market Study Supports Reduction of Alcohol in European Wines
The French National Institute for Agronomic Research has released the results of a market survey reportedly suggesting that European consumers cannot distinguish between wines with 9 to 11 percent alcohol content by volume and those with 12 to 14 percent. Twelve scientific teams have apparently “demonstrated that producers could reduce the alcohol content by up…
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EU Farmers Stage Protest Against Low Milk Prices
European farmers recently staged a demonstration outside a meeting of EU agriculture ministers in Luxembourg City, where protesters blocked traffic with tractors, burned a bale of hay and spilled milk in opposition to softening commodity prices. Led by Copa-Cogeca and the European Milk Board, the protesters called on “the heads of state and government to…
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Ninth Circuit Denies Petition for Panel Rehearing in Roundup Ready® Alfalfa Litigation
In September 2008, a divided panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the injunction imposed by a district court on the sale of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready® alfalfa until the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) completes an environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act. Additional details about the court’s ruling appear in…
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Maker of Energy/Weight Loss Beverage Faces Class Action Claims
A putative class action has been filed in a federal court in California against the company that makes Redline® beverages and supplements, alleging that some of the ingredients cause “effects that go beyond the Product’s goal of energy enhancement and weight loss.” Aaronson v. Vital Pharms., Inc., No. 09-1333 (S.D. Cal., filed June 19, 2009). While…
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Humane Society Lacks Standing to Challenge Foie Gras Rules, Says State Appeals Court
A New York appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit that sought a declaration from the state agricultural department that foie gras is an adulterated food product which poses a risk to human health. In re: Humane Soc’y of the U.S., Inc. v. Brennan, No. 506189 (N.Y. App. Div., decided June 18, 2009). According to the…