Category: Media Coverage
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“Happy Meals” Lawsuit Hype Could Lead to Food Industry Reforms
Highlighting the California lawsuit that seeks to stop McDonald’s from marketing “Happy Meals” to children, a March 2011 Inside Counsel article cautions corporate counsel to pay attention to such litigation, because, frivolous or not, the case marks a growing national focus on health and governmental initiatives to impose reforms on the food industry. Additional information…
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Mark Bittman, “Is ‘Eat Real Food’ Unthinkable?,” The New York Times, February 8, 2011
New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman tackles the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) latest dietary guidelines in this opinion piece claiming that “the agency’s nutrition experts are at odds with its other mission: to promote our bounty in whatever form its processors make it.” According to Bittman, the guidelines are clearest when promoting “good”…
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Jerome Groopman, “The Peanut Puzzle,” The New Yorker, February 7, 2011
“People with food allergies live under a constant threat, in a society that is still poorly informed about the condition,” writes New Yorker medical correspondent Jerome Groopman about this rapidly evolving branch of immunology. His article traces the history of food allergy studies, which at first recommended restricting common allergens—milk, corn, soy, citrus, wheat, eggs, peanuts,…
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Jane Brody, “Scientists See Dangers in Energy Drinks,” The New York Times, January 31, 2011
This article summarizes recent research, including a November 2010 literature review in The Mayo Clinic Proceedings, that has questioned the effectiveness and safety of energy beverages (E.B.’s). According to Times journalist Jane Brody, the Mayo study “noted that the drinks contain high levels of caffeine and warned that certain susceptible people risk dangerous, even life-threatening…
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William Neuman, “F.D.A. and Dairy Industry Spar Over Testing of Milk,” The New York Times, January 25, 2011
“Each year, federal inspectors find illegal levels of antibiotics in hundreds of older dairy cows bound for the slaughterhouse,” opens this article about the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) recent decision to begin testing milk from farms “that had repeatedly sold cows tainted by drug residue.” Concerned that “the same poor management practices which led…
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Jennifer Medina, “In South Los Angeles, New Fast-Food Spots Get a ‘No, Thanks,’” The New York Times, January 15, 2011
This article focuses on the Los Angeles City Council’s unanimous decision last month to permanently extend a moratorium on new stand alone fast-food restaurants in South Los Angeles, where the city Department of Health estimates that 30 percent of the residents are obese. Although the ban allows exceptions for “mom-and-pop” businesses and shopping center eateries,…
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Bryant Stamford, “Government Should Step In to Help Kids,” Courier-Journal. com, January 13, 2011
“I don’t want any more government interference than the next guy, but I believe that the precedent has already been set for successful government intervention on behalf of improving our health,” writes Hanover College Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology Professor Bryant Stamford in the first of a two-part article comparing obesity prevention tactics to federal curbs…
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Jessica Leeder, “Honey laundering: The sour side of nature’s golden sweetener,” The Globe and Mail, January 5, 2011
“As crime sagas go, a scheme rigged by a sophisticated cartel of global traders has all the right blockbuster elements: clandestine movements of illegal substances through a network of co-operatives in Asia, a German conglomerate, jet-setting executives, doctored laboratory reports, high-profile takedowns and fearful turncoats,” opens Globe and Mail food reporter Jessica Leeder in this…