Category: Issue 312
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Elizabeth Kolbert, “XXXL: Why Are We So Fat?,” The New Yorker, July 20, 2009
“Whether anything will be done – or even can be done – to stem the global tide of obesity is, at this point, an open question,” writes New Yorker columnist Elizabeth Kolbert in her review of several “weight-gain books” that examine the causes and course of this recent phenomenon. The theories under consideration include those…
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Vegan Group Seeks Cancer Warning on Hot Dogs
The Cancer Project, a vegan advocacy group affiliated with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), has reportedly filed a putative consumer fraud class action on behalf of three New Jersey residents that seeks to require cancer-risk labels on hot dogs and other processed meats. Filed July 22, 2009, in New Jersey Superior Court, the…
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CSPI-Backed Action Against Denny’s Seeks Disclosure of Sodium Levels, Warning Notice
A consumer supported by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has reportedly filed a putative class action in New Jersey Superior Court, alleging that meals he purchased at Denny’s® restaurants contained “alarmingly large and undisclosed amounts of sodium.” DeBenedetto v. Denny’s Corp., No. ___ (N.J. Super. Ct., filed July 23, 2009). At…
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Trade Group Files False Advertising Suit over Plastic Water Bottle Claims
A trade group representing bottled water producers, distributors and suppliers has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Eco Canteen Inc., a stainless steel bottle manufacturer, “for engaging in a deliberate scare campaign to mislead and deceive the public” about the purported health and environmental risks associated with plastic bottle use. Int’l Bottled Water Ass’n…
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California Advisory Committee Requests More Information About Bisphenol A
The Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee of the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental and Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has reportedly asked OEHHA to further investigate the potential developmental and reproductive health effects of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA). The committee voted against placing BPA on the state’s Proposition 65 list of chemicals…
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Fraser Institute Report Urges Reform of Canadian Food Labeling Policy
A new report from the independent research organization Fraser Institute claims that Canada’s rigid advertising standards leave consumers in the dark about the potential health benefits of certain food products. “Canadian consumers are being denied,” Brett Skinner, the Fraser Institute’s director of bio-pharma and health policy, was quoted as saying. “They don’t know about the…