Category: Issue 342
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Sarah Newman, “Is Goat the New Cow? Why American Foodies and Environmentalists Are Reviving the Old-World Staple,” AlterNet, March 16, 2010
“Goats were the first animals raised for food that were domesticated by humans 9,000 years ago,” writes Participant Media researcher Sarah Newman in this article examining the impact of goats on the world’s food supply. “Currently, two-thirds of all red meat eaten worldwide is goat meat,” common fare for a few billion people currently inhabiting…
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Claudia Kalb, “Culture of Corpulence,” Newsweek, March 22, 2010
This article invokes public-health campaigns of the past, including measures taken to increase seat belt use and stop drunk driving, to call for “big-think solutions” to the nation’s obesity problems. The author outlines the factors that have led to a tripling of obesity rates among teenagers, such as a decrease in physical activity; ubiquitous high-calorie,…
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Soup Maker Sued for Salt and Fat Content
A New York resident has sued Campbell Soup Co. alleging that its “Less Sodium” and “Healthy Request” tomato soups are falsely advertised because they contain the same levels of salt and fat as the company’s “regular” tomato soup. Smajlaj v. Campbell Soup Co., No. 10-1332 D.N.J., filed March 12, 2010). Seeking to certify a nationwide class…
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Class Action Filed Against FDA-Targeted Companies over “0g Trans Fat” Claim
A New York resident has filed a false-advertising class action in a California federal court against the companies that make certain ice cream products labeled with the statement “0g trans fat.” Carrea v. Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, No. 10-1044 (N.D. Cal., filed March 11, 2010). Seeking to certify a nationwide class of ice cream purchasers,…
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Colombians Sue Chiquita in U.S. Court for Alleged Terror Campaign
Nearly 1,000 unnamed plaintiffs, who claim to be family members of individuals purportedly killed by terrorist organizations in Colombia’s Urabá region, have sued Chiquita Brands International, Inc., alleging that throughout the 1990s and at least until 2004, the company “funded, armed, and otherwise supported” these organizations “to produce bananas in an environment free from labor…
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Court Refuses to Stop Current Planting of GE Sugar Beets
A federal court in California has denied a request for preliminary injunction to halt the cultivation of genetically engineered (GE) sugar beets while the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) completes its court-ordered environmental impact statement (EIS) for the crop under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Ctr. for Food Safety v. Schafer,…
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NYC Lifts Prohibition on Urban Beekeeping
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has reportedly revised Health Code Article 16 to allow residents to keep Apis mellifera hives within the city limits. Previously outlawed as too dangerous or venomous for urban life, the common honeybee is currently cultivated by hundreds of clandestine city beekeepers, many of whom quietly…