Category: Scientific/Technical Items
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Consumer Reports Survey Finds Preference for Use of “Lab Grown Meat” Over “Clean Meat”
Consumers Union has announced the results of a phone survey asking consumers how meat products created from cultured animal cells in a laboratory should be labeled. The survey purportedly found that 49 percent of respondents indicated that the products should be labeled as meat with an explanation of its production and 40 percent answered that…
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Study Purports to Find Increased Consumer Acceptance of GMOs After Labeling Mandate
Researchers at the University of Vermont have published the results of a study comparing consumer attitudes towards genetically modified organisms (GMOs) before and after implementation of the state’s labeling mandate. Jane Kolodinsky et al., “Mandatory labels can improve attitudes toward genetically engineered food,” Science Advances, June 27, 2018. Funded in part by the U.S. Department…
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Essay Recommends Research Into Effects of Microplastics in Soils, Freshwater
In an essay for Science, a researcher argues that current evidence suggests microplastic contamination is widespread on land and in freshwater and calls for additional research into the effects of microplastics on human health and agricultural practices. Science’s sister publication Science Advances also published a study examining organic fertilizer’s role in spreading microplastics in the environment. According to…
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Study Links High Phthalate Levels and Dining Out
A study has reportedly found that Americans who consumed more restaurant, fast-food and cafeteria meals had phthalate levels up to 35 percent higher than those who ate out less frequently. Julia R. Varshavsky, et al., “Dietary sources of cumulative phthalate exposure among the U.S. general population in NHANES 2005-2014,” Environment International, March 29, 2018. The data…
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Childhood Obesity is Rising, According to Study
Researchers have released a study concluding that rates of childhood obesity are rising rather than declining or stabilizing as previously reported. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), researchers reportedly found that although the prevalence of obesity has increased across all childhood age groups since 1999, “significant increases in obesity and severe obesity”…
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Beef, Dairy Consumption Linked to High Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Using a “food impacts” database, researchers from Tulane University and the University of Michigan have reportedly found that high levels of beef and dairy consumption account for large portions of diet-related greenhouse gas emissions. Martin C. Heller, et al., “Greenhouse gas emissions and energy use associated with production of individual self-selected US diets,” Environmental Research…
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Journal Retracts Another Brian Wansink Paper
Preventive Medicine has issued a retraction of a 2012 study conducted by Brian Wansink, director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab, that purported to find that children were more likely to eat vegetables if the foods were given “attractive” names. The journal made corrections to the article in early February 2018 but retracted…
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Study Reportedly Links Ultra-Processed Foods to Increased Cancer Risk
Researchers in France and Brazil have concluded that a 10 percent increase in the consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with a “significant increase of greater than 10% in risks of overall and breast cancer.” Thibault Fiolet, et al., “Consumption of ultra-processed food and cancer risks: results from NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort,” BMJ, February 14, 2018. The…