Category: Other Developments
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Animal Welfare Groups Pull Reins on Proposed Horse Slaughterhouse
A New Mexico rancher has reportedly petitioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to operate the first horse slaughterhouse since the ban for such operations was lifted in November 2011. Since 2006, the federal government has essentially blocked horse slaughterhouses because Congress did not fund their legally required USDA inspections. Those inspections, however, were approved…
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ASA UK Chides Budweiser for Linking Beer to Sexual Success
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint alleging that a radio advertisement for Budweiser® beer violated rule 19.6 of the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice code by linking the consumption of alcohol to sexual success. According to ASA, the ad produced by AB InBev UK Ltd. featured a male speaker modeled after…
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Texas Hospital Refuses to Hire Employees with BMI Exceeding 35
Citizens Medical Center, located in Victoria, Texas, has reportedly instituted a prohibition on hiring any employee with a body mass index (BMI) higher than 35, or 210 pounds for an individual 5 feet, 5 inches tall or 245 pounds for someone 5-foot-10. Apparently, the hiring policy is not based on the expense of health care…
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Researchers Pull Plug on GE “Enviropig”
Canadian researchers have reportedly halted the development of genetically engineered (GE) pigs after the hog producers association sponsoring the project decided to stop funding it. Created in 1999 by scientists at the University of Guelph and financed by Ontario Pork, the so-called Enviropig™ apparently contained genes from mice and an E. coli bacterium that enabled…
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IOM Report Looks at Role of Obesity in Cancer Survival
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has issued a workshop summary examining the role of obesity in cancer survival and recurrence. Held October 31-November 1, 2011, by IOM’s National Cancer Policy Forum, the workshop included presentations from experts on “the latest laboratory and clinical evidence on the obesity-cancer link and the possible mechanisms underlying that link.”…
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Food Companies Sign UK Government Pledge to Reduce Calories
The U.K. Department of Health has announced a new “Public Health Responsibility Deal” signed by 17 major food and beverage companies that have agreed to cap calories in their products. According to a March 24, 2012, department press release, the pledge aims “to cut five billion calories from the nation’s diet” by asking signatories to…
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U.S. Appeals WTO’s Stance on COOL Regulations
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has appealed a ruling made by a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel against the United States in a dispute with Mexico and Canada over country-of-origin labeling (COOL) laws for beef and pork products. Responding to complaints filed by Canada and Mexico, WTO’s Dispute Settlement Panel ruled in…
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CHEM Trust Investigates Chemical Causes of Obesity
The U.K.-based Chemicals, Health and Environment Monitoring (CHEM) Trust has issued a March 2012 report claiming that recent studies have linked “hormone disrupting chemicals in food and consumer products” to obesity and Type 2 diabetes in humans. The report apparently analyzes 240 research papers offering epidemiological or laboratory evidence to suggest that certain chemicals—such as…