Category: Other Developments
-
“Supermoms” Lobby Washington Against Overuse of Antibiotics in Food Production
A group calling itself “Supermoms Against Superbugs” reportedly gathered in Washington, D.C. recently to lobby for greater limits on antibiotics used in U.S. food production. Organized by the Pew Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming and the American Academy of Pediatrics, the coalition included chefs, farmers, pediatricians, and consumers who participated in meetings with…
-
Corporate Accountability International Targets Fast-Food Toys
Corporate Accountability International (CAI) has issued a May 2012 report that purportedly aims “to help parents, community residents, health professionals, activists, youth and others take action to safeguard their communities’ health against the abuses of global fast food corporations.” Outlining four policy approaches intended to reduce the “harmful influence of fast food corporations,” the report…
-
Report Questions International Standards for Nanoscale Materials in Food Packaging
The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) recently issued a report questioning the ability of international governing bodies to adequately address the use of engineered nanoscale materials (ENMs) in food contact and packaging materials. Noting that the Codex Alimentarius Commission, operating under the auspices of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World…
-
When Gruyère Cheese Is Not Made in Gruyère, Is It Still Gruyère Cheese?
A Wisconsin-based cheese maker has reportedly agreed, under pressure from its Swiss parent and the Swiss gruyère industry, to cease using the word “gruyère” in labeling and promoting its Grand Cru Gruyère cheese. The change, effective in May 2013, was agreed to despite a recent decision by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) refusing…
-
IOM Issues Weight of the Nation™ Strategy Report
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has published a May 8, 2012, consensus report assessing more than 800 obesity prevention strategies and identifying those “with the greatest potential to accelerate success.” Released at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Weight of the Nation™ conference and funded by the National Academies of Sciences, Robert Wood Johnson…
-
CAMY Criticizes States for Failure to Address Youth Exposure to Alcohol Marketing
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) has issued a May 1, 2012, report claiming that the majority of states have failed to adequately address youth exposure to alcohol advertising. According to a concurrent press release, CAMY researchers apparently reviewed state advertising laws to determine whether each…
-
Book Complements Upcoming “Weight of the Nation” HBO Documentary
The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM’s) executive officer has co-authored a book examining America’s obesity epidemic. Judith Salerno’s The Weight of the Nation: To Win We Have to Lose was published to complement a four-part HBO documentary on obesity debuting May 14-15, 2012, and a national campaign to curb obesity rates, both of which were featured in…
-
New Research Presented at Childhood Cancer Conference Targets Sucralose
New research conducted by Morando Soffritti, director of the Ramazzini Institute in Bologna, Italy, has allegedly found that male mice systematically dosed with sucralose throughout their life cycles were more likely to develop a specific type of cancer. Presented at the April 25 childhood Cancer 2012 Conference in London, the research evidently relied on 843…