Hundreds of farmers reportedly attended one in a continuing series of Department of Justice (DOJ) hearings on antitrust issues in agriculture. The focus of the meeting held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison was on the dairy industry. According to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the number of dairy farms has fallen from 111,000 in 2000 to 65,000 today. Farm consolidation and voluntary retirement are reportedly responsible for some of the losses, but most are purportedly due to farmers forced out of business by high costs and the low prices they receive for dairy products. Some of the dairy farmers who spoke during the June 25, 2010, meeting reportedly complained about how prices are set for dairy products by mercantile exchanges; others pointed to the largest dairy companies as the source of reductions in competition. A spokesperson for a cooperatives trade association was quoted as saying, “There are five people who…
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A forthcoming Judgment and Decision Making study has reportedly suggested that consumers underestimate the calorie content of foods deemed “organic.” According to media reports, University of Michigan researchers found that students presented with identical food choices were more likely to describe the option labeled “organic” as having fewer calories than the “conventional” product. Participants also expressed greater leniency toward a fictional dieter if she selected an organic dessert over a non-organic one. “These findings suggest that ‘organic’ claims may not only foster lower calorie estimates and higher consumption intentions, but they may also convey that one has already made great progress toward one’s weight loss goal,” one researcher was quoted as saying. See LiveScience.com, June 24, 2010.
A recent study has reportedly linked a 35 percent tax on sugar-sweetened beverages to a 26-percent reduction in sales over a four-week period. Jason Block, et al., “Point-of-Purchase and Education Intervention to Reduce Consumption of Sugary Soft Drinks,” American Journal of Public Health, June 2010. Harvard University researchers apparently imposed the equivalent of a penny-per-ounce tax on all sodas and sweetened beverages sold in the Brigham and Women’s Hospital cafeteria. They also examined the effects of a stand-alone health education campaign and one implemented in conjunction with the 45-cent tax. Their findings allegedly demonstrated that as the cost for sugar-sweetened beverages rose, (i) demand for these beverages declined; (ii) sales of coffee and diet soda increased; and (iii) consumers did not replace sugar-sweetened beverages with juices or other sugary snacks, “such as cakes and cookies.” When combined with the educational program, the tax resulted in an extra “18 percent decline…
Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has published a study purportedly showing that children “significantly preferred” snack foods branded with popular cartoon characters. Christina Roberto, et al., “Influence of Licensed Characters on Children’s Taste and Snack Preferences,” Pediatrics, June 2010. Researchers apparently asked 40 children between 4 and 6 years old to sample three identical pairs of graham crackers, gummy fruit snacks and carrots “presented either with or without popular cartoon characters on the package.” The children described whether the two items in each pair tasted the same or whether one tasted better, and then selected “which of the food items they would prefer to eat for a snack.” The results purportedly indicated that participants not only preferred the taste of the branded foods, but that the majority “selected the food item with a licensed character on it for their snack.” The influence of cartoon characters also…
This recent blog entry claims that author and activist Michael Pollan has publicly renounced his five-ingredient rule—“to eat only foods that list five or fewer ingredients”—because of “the ‘jiu-jitsu’ employed by the food industry whenever someone offers sound advice.” According to Big Money contributor Dan Mitchell, some marketers have capitalized on this widely disseminated “food rule” by explicitly advertising their products as containing five or fewer pronounceable components. As Pollan apparently says of one popular ice cream maker, “You know how many [ingredients] they had before they went to five? Five!” Mitchell likewise decries these tactics as indicative of a greater marketing trend, one which implies, for example, that “real cane sugar” is healthier than high-fructose corn syrup. “Pollan says that in the face of the food industry’s superior fighting skills, he decided it was ‘hopeless’ to try to communicate simple rules for avoiding the terrible foods the industry foists…
A website that specializes in geek gear has reportedly drawn the ire of the National Pork Board (NPB), which apparently sent the company a cease-and-desist letter for marketing unicorn pâté as “the other white meat.” ThinkGeek.com offered the fake product as an April Fool’s prank, but later received a 12-page legal missive claiming that advertisements for “Radiant Farms Canned Unicorn Meat” infringed and diluted the board’s trademark rights. “Laughs aside, the attorneys were doing their work that they do to protect the trademark,” an NPB spokesperson was quoted as saying. Rather than oppose the cease-and-desist warning, ThinkGeek.com has since issued a public apology to NPB on the company blog. “It was never our intention to cause a national crisis and misguide American citizens regarding the differences between the pig and the unicorn,” stated Geeknet, Inc., CEO Scott Kaufman in a June 21, 2010, press release. “In fact, ThinkGeek’s canned unicorn…
Several environmental, health and women’s organizations have called on the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to consider “all relevant studies” on bisphenol A (BPA) as the safety watchdog prepares to present its opinion on the chemical next month. Signed by approximately 20 scientific experts and 40 non-governmental organizations, the June 23, 2010, letter states that “any objective and comprehensive review of the scientific literature will lead to the conclusion that action is necessary to reduce the levels of BPA exposure, particularly in groups at highest risk, namely young infants and pregnant mothers.” Drafted by Breast Cancer UK and University of Missouri-Columbia Biological Sciences Professor Frederick vom Saal, the letter claims that EFSA relied on a “few flawed studies” to declare BPA safe in prior risk assessments. “Many scientific studies are now calling into question the safety of BPA,” maintains the letter, which cites a body of recent research that includes bio-monitoring…
The former manager of an Iowa-based kosher meatpacking plant that was raided by immigration authorities in 2008 has reportedly been sentenced to 27 years for financial fraud and ordered to pay $27 million in restitution. While the initial case against Sholom Rubashkin involved the hiring of hundreds of illegal immigrant workers, prosecutors apparently changed their focus to his alleged mishandling of loans that led to bank losses of $26 million. The presiding federal judge reportedly released a 52-page memorandum in advance of the sentencing hearing to explain her decision. The sentence, two years longer than requested by prosecutors, has generated controversy given the relatively lighter sentences meted out to corporate officials responsible for greater frauds in recent years. Six former U.S. attorneys general submitted a letter to the judge supporting a lighter prison term. Rubashkin’s lawyers have indicated that they will appeal the sentence. See The New York Times, June…
A number of Minnesota-based apple growers have filed a complaint against the regents of the University of Minnesota and others claiming that exclusive and limited licensing agreements pertaining to the cultivation and sale of a new apple variety violate federal and state competition and restraint of trade laws. Aamodt Apple Farm, Inc. v. Regents, U. Minn., No. __ (Minn. Dist. Ct., Hennepin Cty., filed June 16, 2010). According to the complaint, the SweeTango®, a cross between the Honeycrisp™ and Zestar!™ varieties, was developed with the use of state funding through the university’s apple-breeding program. One grower allegedly has an exclusive license to grow the apple and may license others to grow it on its behalf. The agreements allegedly limit the number of trees that can be planted and where and how the apples can be sold. The plaintiffs allege unreasonable restraint of trade in commerce; establishment, maintenance and use of a…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has notified McDonald’s Corp. that it intends to sue the company within 30 days if it does not immediately stop using toys to market its Happy Meals® to young children. The letter characterizes the practice as “illegal, because marketing to kids under eight is (1) inherently deceptive, because young kids are not developmentally advanced enough to understand the persuasive intent of marketing; and (2) unfair to parents, because marketing to children undermines parental authority and interferes with their ability to raise healthy children.” The June 22, 2010, letter claims that McDonald’s has violated the consumer protection laws of California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, and the District of Columbia. According to CSPI, each of the 24 Happy Meals® food combinations is 26 percent higher on average in calories than a reasonable lunch and contains more saturated fat, sodium and sugar than a…
