Category: Issue 325
-
Researchers Allege Link Between HFCS and Hypertension
According to a news source, research presented this week during a scientific meeting in San Diego, California, found that more than 4,500 adults who ate or drank more than 74 grams per day of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) increased their risks of developing high blood pressure. Apparently, that level of consumption led to a 28 percent,…
-
Danish EPA Publishes Report on Endocrine Disruptors in Consumer Products
The Danish Environmental Protection Agency has published a survey and health assessment examining the exposure of 2-year-olds to chemical substances in consumer products. The report apparently focused on endocrine disruptors, including phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA), found not only in general consumer products but specifically in food products and food contact materials. The study apparently…
-
Experts Debate Promise of GM Crops in New York Times
The New York Times invited several agriculture experts and activists to participate in its October 26, 2009, “Room For Debate” column, which addressed the potential of genetically modified (GM) crops to alleviate world hunger and protect the environment. Although essays by both Raj Patel of the Institute for Food and Development Policy and North Carolina…
-
New York Daily News Guest Columnist Peter Singer Advocates Meat Tax
A high tax on meat is needed for meat-eaters to consume less, ultimately resulting in multiple benefits to human health, animal welfare and the environment, writes Peter Singer, a Princeton University bioethics professor and author of Animal Liberation and co-author of The Ethics of What We Eat, in an October 25, 2009, guest column in the…
-
Pine Nuts Reportedly Leave Some People with “Pine Mouth” Aftertaste
Pine nuts imported from China have reportedly left some Americans with a bitter, metallic aftertaste, prompting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate the claims. According to a news source, FDA has received about two dozen complaints of “pine mouth” in recent months, but no illnesses have been reported. “Should the FDA find a…
-
Fish Farm Salmon Escape into British Columbia Waters; Hawaii Approves Tuna Farm
Some 40,000 Atlantic salmon have reportedly escaped a fish farm into Pacific Ocean waters off the coast of British Columbia. They apparently slipped through a hole in the net while farm crews removed fish that had died from low oxygen levels. Recovery was apparently delayed, and Atlantic salmon were found some miles away by commercial…
-
U.S. Supreme Court Review Sought in GM Alfalfa Case
Monsanto Co. and farmers who grow genetically modified (GM) alfalfa have reportedly filed a petition seeking U.S. Supreme Court review of a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision barring them from selling or using Roundup Ready® alfalfa seed until the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) completes an environmental impact statement (EIS). Monsanto v. Geertson Seed…
-
San Francisco Questions Cereal Maker’s Immunity Claims
San Francisco’s city attorney has written to the Kellogg Co. to express “serious concerns about Kellogg’s advertising of sugary children’s breakfast cereals with the claims, ‘Now Helps Support Your Child’s Immunity’ on the front of the package.” The company is apparently promoting its Cocoa Krispies® cereal with this claim. The letter contends that “[t]he Immunity…