A recent study has reportedly claimed that bisphenol A (BPA) can disrupt the maturation of human oocytes in vitro, raising questions about the effect of the substance on human development and fertility. Ronit Machtinger, et al., “Bisphenol-A and human oocyte maturation in vitro,” Human Reproduction, August 2013. Researchers apparently analyzed the impact of both high (20 µg/ml) and lower concentrations (20 ng/ml and 200 ng/ml) of BPA on clinically-discarded oocytes obtained from patients undergoing fertility treatments at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. According to a July 31, 2013, hospital press release, the results evidently showed that as BPA dose increased, there was (i) “a decrease in the percentage of eggs that matured,” (ii) “an increase in the percentage of eggs that degenerated,” and (iii) “an increase in the percentage of eggs that underwent spontaneous activation, the abnormal process when an egg acts as though it has been fertilized, even though it…
Category Archives Issue 493
A recent Alternet.org article titled “23 Gallons a Day from One Cow? Industrial Agriculture Engaged in Extreme Breeding,” has questioned the longstanding practice of selectively breeding livestock to produce animals that are highly efficient and productive. While acknowledging that “breeding animals to exaggerate traits humans find useful is hardly new,” author Jill Richardson claims that industrial agriculture has taken the practice to new extremes that compromise the ability of animals to live natural lives. “Some of these changes are a result of growth hormones, lighting, feed, and (for dairy cows) more frequent milkings,” she writes, “but a lot of t is breeding and industrial agriculture has taken it to an extreme … [A] look at the variety of chicken breeds kept by small farms, hobbyists, nd backyard chicken owners shows just how much humans have successfully meddled in chicken genetics. You can find chickens adapted to iving in hot weather…
In an August 3, 2013, Washington Post article, writer Kimberly Kindy suggested that some of the chemicals—notably cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), a purportedly common finishing rinse—used in U.S. poultry processing plants may be masking the presence of Salmonella and other pathogens that remain on the birds that are sold to consumers. Titled “USDA Reviews Whether Bacteria-Killing Chemicals are Masking Salmonella,” Kindy reports that academic researchers agree that “the chemicals could be overwhelming an antiquated testing process,” and she states that several of the scientists have been enlisted by U.S. Department of Agriculture food safety experts to investigate the matter. At issue, Kindy contends, is whether CPC, or other antimicrobials, might remain on the samples collected for pathogen testing at a high enough concentration to kill the bacteria on the way to the lab. If so, Food Safety and Inspection Service experts could perceive a false negative test result when the chicken may…
An August 7, 2013, Slate article by Genetic Literacy Project Executive Director Jon Entine has criticized a recent magazine story allegedly linking eosinophilic disorder—“a multisystemic condition in which white blood cells overproduce in response to allergens”—to genetically modified (GM) corn, calling out Elle writer Caitlin Shetterly for stoking “conspiratorial fears that the government is covering up evidence that GMO foods can damage the public health.” According to Entine, the article in question “was particularly appalling” insofar as it failed to produce any evidence or tests to confirm the “unusual diagnosis” that GMO foods caused Shetterly’s autoimmune disorder. Instead, Entine argues, Shetterly relied on a “journalistic trick… to frame a settled issue in the scientific community as a mystery or a controversy.” “There has not been one study that links the genetically engineered corn or any approved genetically modified food on the market to allergies,” University of California, Davis, plant geneticist…
A coalition of U.K. dairy groups, including Dairy UK, the National Farmers Union and British Cheese Board, has published an August 1, 2013, letter in The Daily Telegraph, urging the European Commission (EC) to tighten regulations governing country-of-origin labeling (COOL). Stating that current regulations permit imported dairy products to be stamped with “UK marks,” the coalition has requested that only dairy products made in “this country, from milk produced by Britain’s dairy farmers should be labeled as British.” “Unlike other food products . . . country of origin labeling is not mandatory on dairy products and we think that it should be,” said a spokesperson for the coalition. “Many consumers want to buy British dairy products and support British dairy farmers. The current labeling arrangements don’t ensure that they have the information to be able to do that.” According to news sources, of particular concern to the coalition are dairy…
National and local health groups have sent an August 1, 2013, letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack, urging the agency to allow demonstration projects “designed to promote healthier food and beverage purchases” under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Organizations such as the American Heart Association, American Medical Association and Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) have asked USDA to approve SNAP pilot projects as part of an effort to provide the agency and Congress with the data needed “to make an informed decision concerning ways to improve the nutritional quality of purchases through the SNAP program.” According to a concurrent CSPI press release, these projects “might include curbs on purchases of soda and other sugar drinks or unhealthful foods.” “Most Americans’ diets, including the diets of low-income folks served by SNAP, are overflowing with soft drinks and woefully deficient in whole grains and…
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has published an August 2013 report that seeks to provide guidance to federal, state and local groups “for systematic and routine planning, implementation, and evaluation of the advancement of obesity prevention efforts.” Titled Evaluating Obesity Prevention Efforts: A Plan for Measuring Progress, the latest effort complements the specific goals and strategies outlined in a 2012 report funded by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation as part of IOM’s Weight of the NationTM campaign. To this end, it offers frameworks for national, state and community-level obesity evaluation plans that address “aspects of data collection and infrastructure systems, capacity for conducting evaluations, and feedback mechanisms for the data collected,” among other things. In particular, the report identifies 83 indicators for evaluation, including overarching indicators that “focus on obesity, overweight, and weight status for evaluating the combined effect of the full system of the goals and strategies outlined…
A recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine has faulted the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) process for declaring food additives “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS), citing alleged financial conflicts of interest among those chosen by companies to verify the safety of new additives. Thomas Neltner, et al., “Conflicts of Interest in Approvals of Additives to Food Determined to Be Generally Recognized as Safe: Out of Balance,” JAMA Internal Medicine, August 2013. Led by Thomas Neltner, director of the Pew Health Group’s Food Additive Project, researchers used the Institute of Medicine’s conflict of interest criteria to analyze “451 GRAS notifications voluntarily submitted to FDA between 1997 and 2012.” In particular, they sought to determine (i) “the likelihood that a decision by an individual making a [GRAS] determination would be unduly influenced by the financial interests of a manufacturer of an additive,” and (ii) “the seriousness of possible harm if a GRAS…
According to news sources, French President François Hollande has said that the country will maintain its prohibition on growing genetically modified (GM) corn sold by Monsanto, despite a Council of State court ruling reversing the moratorium on the ground that it had little legal basis. The ban on MON810 corn has been in effect in France since February 2008 and was extended in 2012. The July 29, 2013, court ruling was the second to overturn the ban—the first ruling, in 2011, was also ignored by former President Nicolas Sarkozy. While Monsanto was not a party, it said in response to the verdict, “The decision by the Conseil d’État is welcome support for a science- and evidence-based approach to GM crop policy in France and the EU. The decision confirms that farmers throughout the EU should have the right to use seeds that European authorities have approved for use throughout the…
New York City has filed an appeal from an intermediate appellate court ruling finding that the city Board of Health exceeded its authority by adopting a regulation restricting the size of sugar-sweetened soft drinks sold in certain venues. N.Y. Statewide Coal. of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce v. NYC Dep’t of Health & Mental Hygiene, No. ___ (N.Y., appeal filed August 2, 2013). Details about the intermediate appellate court decision appear in Issue 492 of this Update. According to the city’s motion for leave to appeal, the Court of Appeals erred in (i) applying separation-of-powers doctrine to a local administrative agency; the city argues that municipalities determine their governmental structure and often create bodies with overlapping powers; (ii) ruling that the Board of Health lacks legislative powers when it derives its authority from charters explicitly recognizing those powers, and case law has defined the board as “the sole legislative authority within the City…
