Category: Issue 460
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NPR Blog Highlights Efforts to Curb Food Label Proliferation
A recent post on NPR’s “The Salt” blog has highlighted a sharp increase in the number of food labels designed to signal a product’s nutritional content and environmental status, raising questions about whether “the proliferation of ‘pick me!’ logos has become somewhat overwhelming.” According to the October 29, 2012, post, the International Ecolabel Index has…
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Farm Labor Laws Back in Spotlight
In a recent article detailing the safety risks faced by underage farm workers, New York Times journalist John Broder examines thwarted efforts to broaden farm labor regulations after reports of silo, bin and grain elevator fatalities at both large commercial enterprises and smaller family operations not currently covered by federal law. “Experts say the continuing rate…
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Daily Beast Examines Food Addiction Theories
“[T]he theory that the brain responds to high-fat, high-calorie foods similarly to how it responds to drugs is now gaining scientific muscle, led by renowned names in the field of addiction,” reports The Daily Beast’s Laura Beil in an October 28, 2012, article describing so-called food addiction as “one of the hottest topics in obesity…
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Mother Jones Provides Public Access to Sugar Industry Documents
Following publication of an article titled “Sweet Little Lies,” Mother Jones magazine has made available online the documents underlying the authors’ assertions of sugar-industry influence over government dietary policy and scientific health effects research. Additional details about the article appear in Issue 459 of this Update. Among the documents is one from 1942 that purportedly…
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Australian Health Experts Urge “Junk Food” Regulations
Two health experts who recently appeared on Australia’s ABC Lateline have reportedly called for additional government regulation to help combat rising obesity levels. University of Melbourne Professor Rob Moodie, who previously chaired Australia’s Preventative Health Taskforce, reportedly suggested that because voluntary programs have failed to curb obesity and diabetes rates, the government should step in…
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Wealthy Plaintiffs’ Tobacco Lawyer Ready to Pursue Food Companies
According to Hank Campbell, writing for Science 2.0, lawyers who made their fortunes suing cigarette manufacturers are now prepared to replace “Big Tobacco” with “Big Food.” “Not because they have done anything wrong, but rather because we live in a culture where a dizzying cross-section of people assume anyone working for a corporation must be…
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Critics Sour on USDA’s Latest Sugar Consumption Data
Nutritionists and consumer groups have reportedly criticized the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for reducing its per capita sugar consumption estimate from approximately 100 pounds per year to 76.7 pounds per year. According to an October 26, 2012, New York Times article, Center for Science in the Public Interest (CPSI) Executive Director Michael Jacobson “stumbled…
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U.S. Food Industry Highly Consolidated, Says Food & Water Watch
Food & Water Watch has issued a report detailing how the consolidation of business along the entire food chain has resulted in farm losses, layoffs and higher prices with fewer choices for consumers. Titled “The Economic Cost of Food Monopolies,” the report discusses the effects of consolidation in Iowa’s hog sector, New York’s dairy industry,…