Category: Issue 536

  • Study Examines Effect of Early Microbiota Disruption on Obesity

    A recent study examining early microbiota disruption has purportedly suggested “that antibiotic exposure during a critical window of early development disrupts the bacterial landscape of the gut, home to trillions of diverse microbes, and permanently reprograms the body’s metabolism, setting up a predisposition to obesity.” Laura Cox, et al., “Altering the Intestinal Microbiota during a…

  • Wired Reviews Obesity Research Initiatives Focused on Sugar

    Examining the evolution of the Nutrition Science Initiative (NuSI), a recent Wired magazine article by Sam Apple explores how NuSI’s latest research efforts seek to test long-standing assumptions about the health effects of sugar and fat. Titled “Why Are We So Fat? The Multimillion-Dollar Scientific Quest to Find Out,” the article highlights the work of…

  • NARB Recommends Advertising Changes to Blue Buffalo

    In an appeal from a National Advertising Division investigation initiated by Hill’s Pet Nutrition, a National Advertising Review Board (NARB) panel has recommended that Blue Buffalo Co. cease implying that other pet food manufacturers are “fooling” their customers on pet food nutrition. They found that the message of “fooling” was expressly or impliedly in several…

  • Ad Watchdog Calls on Chobani to Discontinue “Farmland” Commercials

    The National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus’ Advertising Self-Regulatory Council (ASRC) has recommended that Chobani, Inc. cease airing what it called “Farmland” commercials, “the centerpiece of the company’s campaign to promote its ‘Simply 100’ Greek yogurt.” A rival yogurt company challenged a number of Chobani TV ads that “featured two…

  • Slaughterhouse Co-Owner Pleads Guilty

    Former Rancho Feeding Operations co-owner Robert Singleton has agreed to plead guilty to one count of aiding and abetting the distribution of condemned and diseased cattle in violation of the Federal Meat Inspection Act and will testify against the other owner of the now-defunct slaughterhouse operation and its employees. United States v. Singleton, No. 14-cr-441…

  • Restaurant Manager Alleges Obesity Discrimination

    According to a news source, a 600-pound man, who worked as a Hometown Buffet restaurant manager, has filed a lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act against OCB Restaurant Co. in a Connecticut federal court, alleging that he was fired and replaced with a worker who “is not morbidly obese and does not suffer from…

  • Fast-Food Worker Alleges Pregnancy-Related Discrimination

    A fast-food worker in Oregon has reportedly sued her former employer, seeking $242,000 in damages on the ground that she was discharged because she became pregnant, after being told by general managers during a staff meeting that workers such as the plaintiff were not allowed to become pregnant because “they needed to be present and…

  • Hershey Accuses Importer of Infringing Reese’s, Cadbury Trade Dress

    Hershey Co. has filed a complaint in Pennsylvania federal court alleging that LLB Imports infringes its trademarks and trade dress for several of its products, including Reese’s, York, Cadbury, Malteser, Kit Kat, and Rolo. Hershey Co. v. LLB Imports LLC, No. 14-1655 (M.D. Penn., filed August 25, 2014). According to the complaint, LLB Imports has been…