A federal court in the District of Columbia has dismissed claims that the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) violates a number of federal and state laws, including a religious freedom statute and constitutional protections. Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund v. Vilsack, No. 08-1546 (D.D.C., decided July 23, 2009). Dubbed in the press as the “mark of the beast” lawsuit, the complaint, brought by farmers “who raise livestock in a sustainable manner,” contends that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) coerced Michigan’s Department of Agriculture to adopt uniform NAIS requirements that threaten their way of life by gathering information into a national database against their wills and in violation of their religious beliefs. Among the complainants are Amish farmers who apparently believe (i) they have been given dominion and control over animals, and that control has now been given to state and federal agencies; (ii) they are not permitted to take the NAIS…
Category Archives Issue
The Nanotechnology Standards Panel of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) will meet September 9, 2009, in Chicago. The meeting will be held during the Nanobusiness Alliance Conference. The panel has been working to develop nanotechnology-related standards involving nomenclature/terminology; materials properties; and testing, measurement and characterization procedures. ANSI’s efforts are in support of international nanotechnology standards initiatives and could result in federal regulation. Nanomaterials are used in hundreds of products including food packaging.
The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Science Board has scheduled an August 17, 2009, public meeting to review the agency’s continuing assessment of the packaging chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in FDA-regulated products and discuss plans to increase research reviews at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CSFAN). See Federal Register, July 28, 2009.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) hosted a “Weight of the Nation” conference July 27-29, 2009, in Washington, D.C., to explore ways of tackling the nation’s escalating rates of obesity. Treating obesity-related conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis reportedly costs some $147 billion annually. Speakers at the inaugural event included CDC Director Thomas Frieden, who was quoted as saying that taxing sugary drinks at $.01 per ounce could produce $100 billion to $200 billion over the next decade. “Anything that decreases the availability and increases the cost is likely to be effective. The challenge, I think, is a political one of getting that approved,” he said. Frieden further asserted that average American adults are 23 pounds overweight, consume 250 more calories daily than 10 years ago and that about 120 of those calories are from sugary beverages. In a related development, CDC issued a report on…
By a 283-142 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the “Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009” (H.R. 2749). The day before its passage, the measure failed to garner the two-thirds majority vote needed to approve legislation submitted under “suspension of the rules,” which would not have allowed any floor amendments. The second submission, on July 30, 2009, needed only a simple majority vote, which was handily achieved. According to news sources, farm-state lawmakers were able to insert several last-minute changes that would exempt some growers from the new farming standards and restrict recordkeeping requirements for livestock farmers. The pork industry apparently kept some proposed restrictions on antibiotic use out of the final bill. Heralded by some as an historic moment for food safety, the bill would provide for more frequent inspections of processing plants and would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to order the…
“Whether anything will be done – or even can be done – to stem the global tide of obesity is, at this point, an open question,” writes New Yorker columnist Elizabeth Kolbert in her review of several “weight-gain books” that examine the causes and course of this recent phenomenon. The theories under consideration include those put forth in the following publications: (i) The Evolution of Obesity (Michael Power and Jay Schulkin), (ii) The Fattening of America (Eric Finkelstein and Laurie Zuckerman); (iii) The End of Overeating (David Kessler); (iv) Fat Land (Greg Critser); (v) Mindless Eating (Brian Wansink); (vi) The Fat Studies Reader (New York University); and (vii) Globesity (Francis Delpeuch, Benard Maire, Emmanuel Monnier, and Michelle Holdsworth). According to the article, these books each offer a unique perspective on the obesity “epidemic,” chalking up the increasing waistline to a variety of factors as divergent as evolution, corporate manipulation, cheaper calories,…
The Cancer Project, a vegan advocacy group affiliated with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), has reportedly filed a putative consumer fraud class action on behalf of three New Jersey residents that seeks to require cancer-risk labels on hot dogs and other processed meats. Filed July 22, 2009, in New Jersey Superior Court, the complaint names as defendants the parent companies of several hot dog manufacturers, including Kraft Foods Inc., Sara Lee Corp. and Nathan’s Famous Inc. The suit seeks damages for the named plaintiffs and declaratory relief under the Consumer Fraud Act for the proposed class. The Cancer Project has contended that processed meats contain human carcinogens like nitrites and N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), basing its claim on a recent meta-analysis by the American Institute for Cancer Research that purportedly associates the daily consumption of processed meat with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. “Just as tobacco causes lung cancer,…
A consumer supported by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has reportedly filed a putative class action in New Jersey Superior Court, alleging that meals he purchased at Denny’s® restaurants contained “alarmingly large and undisclosed amounts of sodium.” DeBenedetto v. Denny’s Corp., No. ___ (N.J. Super. Ct., filed July 23, 2009). At issue are menu items such as Moons Over My Hammy, Spicy Buffalo Chicken Melt and Meat Lover’s Scramble, which purportedly contain sodium levels that exceed the daily recommended limit of 1,500 mg. According to the complaint, “Denny’s menu deceptively presents various items as single meals to be consumed by one individual without disclosing that they contain substantially more sodium (in some case two or three times more) than the maximum recommended amount for all meals consumed by an individual during the day.” The class action “seeks to compel Denny’s restaurants to disclose on menus the…
A trade group representing bottled water producers, distributors and suppliers has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Eco Canteen Inc., a stainless steel bottle manufacturer, “for engaging in a deliberate scare campaign to mislead and deceive the public” about the purported health and environmental risks associated with plastic bottle use. Int'l Bottled Water Ass'n v. Eco Canteen Inc., 09-299 (W.D.N.C., filed July 22, 2009). According to the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), Eco Canteen has made several false and misleading claims about both single-serve and reusable plastic bottles that included likening these products to poison and linking them to breast and prostate cancer. This “viral” marketing campaign was allegedly designed “to be picked up and disseminated by third parties” despite IBWA’s repeated requests for corrective action. The complaint also notes that the defendant “purposefully matches images of single-serve recyclable plastic bottles with its claims relating to an organic compound…
The Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee of the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental and Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has reportedly asked OEHHA to further investigate the potential developmental and reproductive health effects of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA). The committee voted against placing BPA on the state’s Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to the state to cause reproductive toxicity in a meeting held July 15, 2009. According to a July 23 notice, the committee now seeks information regarding (i) “possible increased susceptibility for developmental toxicity from bisphenol A in subpopulations, for example in those with poor nutritional status for certain nutrients such as folic acid”; (ii) “evidence that bisphenol A exposures in utero or pre-conception may lead to precancerous lesions and eventually cancers (e.g., breast and prostate)”; (iii) “evidence for bisphenol A-induced developmental- or reproductive-related neurobehavioral effects, as these endpoints are further studied”; (iv) “evidence for…
