Category: Issue 344
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Moby Discusses New Book Critical of Factory Farming
AlterNet recently interviewed musician Moby on the publication of his new book, Gristle: From Factory Farms to Food Safety (Thinking Twice About the Meat We Eat), edited with food policy activist Miyun Park. According to the March 31, 2010, interview, the vegan manifesto is “a medley of anti-industrial meat memes written by an eclectic mix of…
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Laura Beil, “Is Your Breakfast Giving You Cancer?,” Prevention, March 29, 2010
“If there’s a nutrient it’s easy to overdose on, it’s folic acid,” writes Prevention columnist Laura Beil in this article citing research allegedly linking the synthetic form of B vitamin folate to colon, lung and prostate cancers. Beil reports that this nutrient is already a staple in most diets, partly because the government requires its…
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Jamie Oliver Debuts New Reality Series in America
British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver recently debuted his first American network TV show titled Food Revolution, a reality series that brings his penchant for school lunch reform and theatrical interventions to cafeterias and homes in Huntington, West Virginia. A health food evangelist, Oliver has drawn both praise and criticism in the United Kingdom for his…
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CSPI Calls on FDA, State Attorneys General to Reduce “Slack Fill” in Food Packaging
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is urging the Food and Drug Administration and state attorneys general to crack down on “slack fill” in food packages. Industry apparently defines slack fill as the difference between the capacity of a container and the volume of product inside. The federal government’s existing regulations are…
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Industry Concerns About Food Fraud Come to Light
Following a recent American Chemical Society (ACS) meeting at which scientists discussed how wines could be authenticated by measuring carbon isotopes, whose levels varied in the atmosphere during the years nuclear weapons were tested, a number of recent articles discuss the subject of food fraud. Said to affect some 5 to 7 percent of a…
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Corporate Watchdog Launches Campaign to “Retire Ronald McDonald”
Comparing fast-food advertising icon Ronald McDonald to Joe Camel, Corporate Accountability International has initiated a campaign calling on McDonald’s Corp. to “Retire Ronald.” The campaign is based on a report, “Clowning with Kids’ Health,” that calls the character “the product of a well-orchestrated and shrewd marketing strategy” that targets those most vulnerable to food-industry marketing—children. The…
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Wholesaler Sues Chocolate Companies Alleging Price Fixing
Supervalu, Inc. has filed an antitrust action against a number of chocolate manufacturers, alleging that they conspired to fix chocolate candy prices and overcharged the plaintiff for these products from 2002 through 2008. Supervalu, Inc. v. The Hershey Co., No. 10-1354 (E.D. Pa., filed March 29, 2010). The complaint outlines the chocolate companies’ sales during the…