A recent study in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology has apparently raised questions about “the scientific logic and feasibility of the decades-long effort to limit salt intake in humans,” according to a concurrent University of California, Davis, press release. Researchers analyzed 24-hour urinary sodium excretion data from 19,151 individuals involved in 62 sodium intake studies from 33 countries, concluding that “humans naturally regulate their salt intake within a narrowly defined physiologic range.” Their findings revealed that despite varying food environments, human salt consumption “tracks within a narrow range” between 2,700 and 4,900 mg. In addition, neuroscience research has apparently suggested that “sodium intake is tightly controlled by critical pathways in the brain to main optimal function of many physiologic functions.” “If sodium intake is physiologically determined, then our national nutrition guidelines and policies must reflect that reality,” the lead author was quoted as saying. “It is…
Category Archives Issue 324
The second of a five-part series, this article examines in some depth how a number of European countries came to turn their backs on genetically modified (GM) crops. Belgian scientists apparently experimented with GM plants in the 1980s and instituted 50 different field trials, positioning Europe to be a world leader in plant biotechnology. A public backlash, fueled by fears over mad cow disease and food safety, followed the European Union’s approval of a pesticide-resistant corn, and no GM crop has since been approved. European scientists, concerned about the politicization of science, are apparently considering ways to restore public confidence in scientific integrity and the safety of GM crops. The Dutch have apparently proposed that the EU allow each member nation to make its own decision about whether to allow GM crops after giving consideration to a broad range of issues, including human safety, biodiversity, “cultural heritage,” and economics. The Dutch…
Members of the “Size Acceptance Movement” reportedly protested outside the mayor of London’s office recently, urging him to ensure that employers are not prejudiced against overweight people. The group claims that surveys show 93 percent of employers would rather employ a thin person rather than an overweight one even if such individuals are equally qualified. The group evidently wants to ban “fat-ism” in the UK by emulating a San Francisco ordinance that prohibits height and weight discrimination in housing and employment. Demonstrators said the overweight should be protected on the same grounds as race, age and religious discrimination, and that attacking someone for being fat should be a hate crime. “I have been punched, I have had beer thrown in my face, I have had people attack me on the train,” one protestor said. See BBC News, October 19, 2009.
A recent episode of CSI: Miami has reportedly drawn criticism from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and other trade groups for the show’s portrayal of a foodborne illness investigation. Titled “Bad Seed,” the October 20, 2009, installment of the popular CBS drama focused on a fictional outbreak that eventually led the crime scene investigators to discover, not only the origin of a deadly new E. coli strain, but a feedlot using genetically modified (GM) corn. According to the Agricultural Law blog, the plot also covered a wide range of legal issues such as Veggie Libel laws, organic standards, pollen drift and genetic contamination, farmer liability for unauthorized GM crops, undocumented farm workers, farm consolidation, and crop contamination via irrigation water. Plaintiffs’ attorney Bill Marler reportedly provided CBS producers background information for the episode. See Agricultural Law, October 20, 2009 Both the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA)…
The Royal Society has issued an October 2009 report, Reaping the Benefits: Science and the sustainable intensification of global agriculture, that calls for “a £2 billion ‘Grand Challenge’ research program on global food security.” According an October 21 press release, the world must increase food crop production by at least 50 percent by 2050 to meet global demands without damaging the environment. The “Grand Challenge” program should thus aim to support public research and policies designed to explore “new methods of crop management to increase yields and minimize environmental impact. It should also support the development of improved crop varieties by both conventional breeding and genetic modification.” The report assesses “science-based technologies and developments in biological science that are seen to have potential benefits for increasing crop yields.” It specifically examines the consequences and complications of food crop innovation stemming from short-term (less than eight years), medium-term (nine to16 years) and…
Plaintiffs who brought personal and economic injury claims against Topps Meat Co. for an E. coli outbreak that led to the recall of more than 20 million pounds of ground beef in 2007 have filed a motion for class certification. Patton v. Topps Meat Co., No. 07-654 (W.D.N.Y., motion filed October 15, 2009). While the proposed classes, a “consumer class” of persons who purchased ground beef subject to the recall and allege economic losses and an “injury class” of persons who consumed the ground beef and allege personal injury, are national in scope, the plaintiffs contend that New York law will apply to the case. According to the named plaintiffs, each of whom was allegedly sickened by consuming contaminated meat, federal investigators confirmed 40 E. coli cases linked to the outbreak strain and estimate that for every reported case, 20 cases go unreported. Thus, they suggest that the number of injury…
Connecticut residents have filed a putative class action in state court against several fast food companies alleging that they violated consumer protection laws by selling grilled chicken products containing a carcinogenic chemical without providing warnings. Delio v. McDonald’s Corp., No. __ (Conn. Super. Ct., Hartford Cty., filed October 21, 2009). They seek to represent a class of all individuals who purchased and ingested these products in Connecticut and allege that the defendants knew or should have known that PhIP is formed when chicken is grilled and that it “has no safe level for ingestion.” The named plaintiffs, who are represented by The Cancer Project, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization, seek warning signs, actual damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees. The complaint refers to scientific research on PhIP and notes that California placed it on its list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer in 1994 and that the…
A federal court in Florida has refused to enforce a $97 million judgment obtained in a Nicaraguan court by 150 banana plantation workers who alleged that exposure to the pesticide DBCP caused their sterility. Osorio v. Dole Food Co., No. 07-22693 (S.D. Fla., decided October 20, 2009). The plaintiffs sought to enforce the award under a Florida law allowing for the recognition of out-of-country foreign money judgments. Defendants Dole Food Co. and Dow Chemical Co. contended that the Nicaraguan law under which the case was litigated, Special Law 364, violated their due process rights in a number of respects, and the court agreed, finding multiple grounds for non-recognition under the Florida statute. Among other matters, the Nicaraguan law targeted a limited number of defendants, established irrefutable presumptions about causation, restricted defendants’ ability to introduce evidence, required significant financial deposits by defendants even before liability was determined, and granted no right…
EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel has reportedly announced €280 million ($417 million) in additional subsidies to dairy farmers affected by plummeting agricultural prices. Intended to appease vocal protesters and agricultural lobbies, the aid responded to requests from 21 member states, including France and Germany, despite objections from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. In addition, the European Union has agreed to cap milk production, although it stopped short of creating a pan-European institution to regulate the market. “We hope that we can stabilize the market with the proposals that we have today,” Swedish Farm Minister Eskil Erlandsson was quoted as saying. Meanwhile, the European Milk Board has welcomed the subsidies and production limits but noted that farmers have already lost €15 billion ($22 billion) in the current economic crisis. “That shows that 280 million euros won’t get us far,” the board president told reporters. See The Canadian Press, Daily…
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to solicit public feedback on issues related to the hazards of “combustible dust” in workplaces, including agricultural and grain handling industries, and factories that manufacture food, animal food, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals. OSHA defines combustible dust as “all combustible particulate solids of any size, shape, or chemical composition that could present a fire or deflagration hazard when suspended in air or other oxidizing medium.” Materials that can form combustible dust include wood, coal, plastics, biosolids, candy, sugar, spice, starch, flour, feed, grain, fertilizer, tobacco, paper, soap, rubber, drugs, dried blood, dyes, and certain textiles and metals. OSHA will accept comments on the proposed rule until January 19, 2010. See Federal Register, October, 21, 2009.
12
