Category: Issue 313
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Shook Partner to Speak During Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Conference
Shook, Hardy & Bacon Corporate Law Partner Nate Muyskens will join a panel of distinguished speakers in Washington, D.C. at a Legal iQ Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) conference, September 21-23, 2009. Co-sponsored by Shook, the conference brings together counsel from global corporations and federal enforcement agencies to address FCPA issues with a specific focus on “Defining New…
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Bijal Trivedi, “The Calorie Delusion: Why Food Labels Are Wrong,” New Scientist, July 15, 2009
This article explores how the method of estimating the calories in food, developed in the late 19th century, may provide misleading information on the amount of energy people actually get from a food. The calorie counts are calculated by burning small samples of food, and science writer Bijal Trivedi observes, “Nutritionists are well aware that…
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Sherry Colb, “Child Obesity as Child Neglect: Is the Standard American Diet Dangerous?,” FindLaw.com, July 22, 2009
Cornell Law School Professor Sherry Colb discusses the recent incident involving the removal of a morbidly obese teen from the custody of his mother for child neglect. Colb questions the wisdom of South Carolina’s decision to place the child in the state’s protective custody, suggesting, “the government could spend considerably less money providing [the mother]…
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Canadian Study Reveals Higher Levels of Folic Acid in Foods Than Claimed on Labels
According to a news source, the Canadian Journal of Public Health has published research showing that folic-acid fortified foods often contain, on average, 50 percent more of the vitamin than listed on product labels. Some foods apparently contain 377 percent of the folic acid declared. The federal government reportedly adopted a folic-acid fortification program in…
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Report Urges Lawmakers to Look at Anti-Tobacco Campaigns in the Fight Against Obesity
The Urban Institute and the University of Virginia have issued a report claiming that lawmakers should study anti-tobacco campaigns as they consider taxing fattening foods and sugary drinks to curb the nation’s obesity problem. Titled “Reducing Obesity: Policy Strategies from the Tobacco Wars,” the report asserts that increased education about smoking and taxing tobacco products…
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Proposed Prop. 65 Styrene Listing Challenged
An industry trade group has sued Cal/EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to stop it from listing styrene as a carcinogen under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Prop. 65). Styrene Info. & Research Ctr. v. OEHHA, No. 09-53089 (Cal. Super. Ct., Sacramento Cty., filed 07/15/09). According to the complaint, styrene…
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Environmental Group Notifies EPA of Intent to Sue over Pesticide Effects on Polar Bears
The Center for Biological Diversity has sent a 60-day notice of intent to sue letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claiming that the agency has failed to take required action under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to further the polar bear’s conservation when making decisions about the use of pesticides and herbicides under the…
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Chicken Growers Lawsuit to Be Heard by En Banc Court of Appeals
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has decided to rehear a case involving the interpretation of the Packers and Stockyards Act as applied to contracts between chicken growers and a processor. Wheeler v. Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., No. 07-40651 (5th Cir., decided July 27, 2009). In 2008, a three-judge circuit panel decided that the law does not…