Finally An Intelligent Move: RIP Smart Choices
After creating quite a stir in the foodie blogosphere, the mainstream media, and even riling up the lethargic FDA, the industry led Smart Choices label is voluntarily suspending the promotion of its program. Â They even had the Attorney General of Connecticut after them–Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced that he was investigating the program and some [...]
October 26, 2009
Tags: blogs, change, education, FDA, Health, heroes, nutrition, policy Posted in: Health, Politics, Science & Technology 
3 Comments
Personal Pleas For Food Safety, Will The Calls Be Heeded This Time?
It’s been 16 years since the Jack-In-The-Box E. coli in 1993, where hundreds were injured and four children died after eating undercooked hamburgers from the chain. Â Court documents later showed that the “fast-food chain knew about but disregarded Washington state laws that would have prevented the deadly 1993 outbreak of E. coli food poisoning” (link). [...]
October 12, 2009
Tags: change, FDA, food safety, Health, policy, USDA Posted in: Health, Politics 2 Comments
Great Food Politics Blogs
Parke Wilde teaches graduate level courses in food policy and statistics at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Â Along with some of his graduate students, he keeps the U.S. Food Policy.
He recently wrote a sort of ‘top ten’ list of food policy blogs for blogs.com:
In this list, he looked beyond [...]
October 7, 2009
Tags: blogs, education, food, Health, policy Posted in: Fun Food Facts, Health 2 Comments
Lobbyist Run Non-Profit Scams
Rachel Maddow is pretty awesome. Â She tells it like it is. Â Listen to her dish it out against the Center for Consumer Freedom. Â Really, that should be “consumer freedom“:
If you are further interested in what a crackpot Richard Berman is, you can find out about him and his expertise at bermanexposed.com. Â Essentially, there are a [...]
October 5, 2009
Tags: Health, heroes, innovation, marketing, obesity, soda, sugar Posted in: Fun Food Facts, Health, Politics No Comments
Egypt Becomes A Pigsty Without Pigs
In an attempt to curb the spread of HINI influenza, commonly referred to as ’swine flu’, Egypt’s officials ordered the culling of every single pig in the nation. Â Egyptian officials now claim that the measure was not related to the swine flu pandemic, but rather about cleaning up the filth in a local neighborhood that [...]
September 25, 2009
Tags: bacon, Health, policy, waste Posted in: Health, Politics No Comments
Dairy Farms Contaminate Water And Get Away With It
According to the EPA, agricultural runoff is single largest polluter of the nation’s rivers and streams. However, thanks to years of paltry EPA authority and the lax legislation imposed during the Bush administration, their hands are pretty much tied when it comes to stopping it. There are laws in place that have big [...]
September 21, 2009
Tags: agriculture, Barack Obama, change, cows, farmers, green, Health, moms, policy, USDA Posted in: Health, Politics One Comment
A Relentless Focus On Prevention, Or Something
Food safety and child nutrition were topics at this year’s National Food Policy Conference. Â Bringing together the food industry, public health officials, consumer advocacy groups, and the government, the conference makes a concerted effort to demonstrate progressive action on key issues facing the nation and its food supply.
The Child Nutrition Act is due to be [...]
September 14, 2009
Tags: agriculture, change, education, farmers, FDA, food safety, Health, nutrition, policy, USDA Posted in: Politics No Comments
The Future Of Health Care Is Fighting The Farm Lobby
In an op-ed piece for the New York Times, Michael Pollan portends the entangled futures of health care, obesity, and insurance companies. Just as the insurance companies joined governmental efforts to rally against smoking, Pollan foresees insurance companies tackling obesity. This is necessarily after upcoming health care reforms.
Even the weaker versions of reform [...]
September 11, 2009
Tags: agriculture, Barack Obama, change, farmers, Health, Michael Pollan, nutrition, obesity, policy, subsidies Posted in: Health, Politics No Comments
“Smart Choices” A Dumb Move?
Diet Pepsi, Kraft’s macaroni & cheese, Kid Cuisine, Lunchables, and Froot Loops (now with added fiber!) are just some of the 500 processed foods getting the green “Smart Choices” label. “Smart Choices” is front-of-the-package labeling meant to help rushed or confused consumers pick healthy(er?) foods.
Sure, Diet Pepsi and Kraft’s macaroni and cheese are smart [...]
September 7, 2009
Tags: food event, Health, innovation, marketing, nutrition, obesity, pepsi, sugar Posted in: Health, Science & Technology 2 Comments
Stop Picking On Soda, Says American Beverage Association
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene started its new campaign against sweetened beverages. In an effort to curb obesity by getting people to think about their caloric intake, posters ask “Are you pouring on the pounds?”
To many public health officials, soda and other sweetened beverages are the scourge of obesity. They [...]
September 2, 2009
Tags: cane sugar, Health, marketing, nutrition, obesity, soda, sugar Posted in: Health, Politics 4 Comments
