The University of Arkansas School of Law has announced that it will be accepting applications for graduate studies in agricultural law beginning in fall 2009. The nine-month course, billed as the only one of its kind in the nation, covers a range of issues from farm to fork, including labeling law, food policy, sustainability, biotechnology, international trade, and environmental issues. Additional information about the program is available at http://law.uark.edu/llm. The university also hosts a related blog. See Food Law Prof Blog, October 29, 2008.
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Nielsen’s Consumer Insight Magazine reports that rising rates of obesity in the United States can be attributed not only to increasing calorie consumption and less exercise, but also to “pure demographics.” According to the report, “The population is older than ever before and Americans tend to be fatter when older. Women are heavier, and because they live longer than men, they make up a higher share of the older population. Lastly, Hispanics—the fastest growing immigrant group in the U.S.—tend to have higher obesity rates.” The report, titled “A Widening Market: The Obese Consumer in the U.S.,” also notes that the average American consumes 15-20 more pounds of fat each year than he did 100 years ago. As to assessing responsibility for weight gain, more than 80 percent of consumers admit they are to blame, about the same as those agreeing in 2006 that weight gain is attributable to eating too…
Several of the nation’s largest food and beverage companies have reportedly agreed to market their products under a common nutritional standard and logo designed to lessen consumer confusion at the supermarket. The “Smart Choices Program” allows participating manufacturers to display a “check mark” logo alongside calorie and serving size information on the front of products that meet specific nutritional thresholds set by a coalition of scientists, retailers and industry experts and based on federal dietary recommendations. These products cannot exceed the program’s limits for total fats, saturated fats, added sugars, or sodium. In addition, they must contain several “nutrients to encourage” that include calcium, potassium, fiber, magnesium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E. Fruits and vegetables, whole grain, and low- or no-fat dairy products are also eligible for the marketing claim. “It’s simple, it’s easy-to-use, it’s consensus based, it’s science based,” said one spokesperson for Unilever PLC. “We would hope…
A rancher in eastern Washington has reportedly sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in federal court, seeking changes to its country-of-origin labeling (COOL) rules for beef products. According to a news source, Easterday Ranches claims that the regulations are adding to costs for the U.S. beef industry and consumers. Apparently, cattle born in other countries must be segregated from domestic animals and cannot be slaughtered on the same day; extensive records must be kept and buyers must keep the meat separate in processing plants. Easterday’s president reportedly claims that commercial buyers are paying far less per head for Canadian or Mexican cattle, and there is no premium price being paid for U.S. cattle. He also contends that the regulations do nothing for food safety and contradict the North American Free Trade Act. See Tri-City Herald and meatingplace.com, October 28, 2008.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have announced a November 4, 2008, public meeting to consider agenda items coming before the 17th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS). Slated for November 24-28 in Cebu, Philippines, the Codex session will address (i) the proposed draft “Principles and Guidelines for the Conduct of Foreign On-Site Audits and Inspections;” (ii) the proposed draft “General Model Health Certificate;” and (iii) the annex to the “Guidelines for Design, Production, Insurance and Use of Generic Official Certificates.” In addition, the committee will discuss “the need for guidance for national food inspection systems, the need for further guidance on traceability and product tracing, and the development of guidance on the prevention of international contamination of food,” according to USDA. Codex was formed in 1963 by the United Nations, the Food and…
A subcommittee of FDA’s Science Board has released its peer review of the agency’s draft assessment of bisphenol A (or BPA) for use in food contact applications. The FDA’s draft assessment concluded, on the basis of industry-funded studies, that “an adequate margin of safety exists for BPA at current levels of exposure from food contact uses.” Further information about the draft assessment appears in issue 272 of this Update. According to the peer review, scheduled to be reviewed by FDA’s Science Board on October 31, 2008, the FDA properly focused on dietary exposures to children, “because they are likely to have both greater exposures and susceptibility than adults as a function of food consumption patterns, metabolism, vulnerability of developing systems and other factors.” The peer review then criticizes the agency’s assessment for its lack of “an adequate number of infant formula samples” and reliance “on mean values rather than accounting…
A recent study has reportedly concluded that normal dietary exposure to acrylamide does not increase the risk of developing gastrointestinal cancers. J. G. F. Hogervorst, et al., “Dietary Acrylamide Intake Is Not Associated with Gastrointestinal Cancer Risk,” Journal of Nutrition, November 2008. Earlier studies have linked high doses of acrylamide, a chemical byproduct of high-temperature cooking processes, to cancer in laboratory animals. Researchers from Maastricht University analyzed data from 5,000 people enrolled in the Netherlands Cohort Study, concluding that the daily average acrylamide intake for all participants was 21.7 milligrams. During the 13-year follow-up, the authors determined that cases of colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, and esophageal cancers were not associated with acrylamide consumption. In addition, they noted that obesity and age appeared to be risk factors for these diseases. “Overall, acrylamide intake was not associated with colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, and esophageal cancer, but some subgroups deserve further attention,” the authors were…
The non-profit consumer organization Food & Water Watch has released a report, “Dairy 101,” that discusses how the dairy industry has moved from thousands of relatively small producers across the nation to fewer, industrial-scale facilities concentrated in a few states. According to the report, this development is not good for the environment or for cows, which “are crowded into high-density feedlots with no access to grass and milked in round-the-clock shifts,” and are also not good for consumers, who do not know where their dairy products come from and whether the cows have been treated with antibiotics or growth hormones. The report also contends that pricing formulas and decreasing government support have provided family farmers with less income, while increasing prices for consumers. The report concludes by recommending that (i) anti-competitive behavior in the dairy market be ended, (ii) dairy farmers be provided with a fair wage, (iii) industrial dairies be…
The Soil Association, a British environmental group dedicated to sustainable, organic farming, has released a report, titled “Land of the GM-Free? How the American public are starting to turn against GM food,” that contends American consumers, farmers and politicians are losing their enthusiasm for genetically modified (GM) crops. Thus, “it is not surprising that the GM industry has scaled up its efforts to find a new market in the EU.” The report specifically addresses how “genetically engineered bovine growth hormone” and GM crops such as rice, wheat and alfalfa are facing opposition from consumers and others in the United States in the form of lawsuits and regulatory pressures. According to the report, “The Irish Republic, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are all committed to GM-free policies. This has left just the present English government ministers on an increasingly lonely and desperate pro-GM quest, as consumers in their main pro-GM ally,…
According to news sources, the United Nations released a report October 22, 2008, calling on China to overhaul its system of food-safety regulation. The World Health Organization’s top food-safety official claimed that the country’s recent tainted-milk scandal was a result of individuals who “exploited weaknesses” in the regulatory system, which is “dispersed” among too many agencies and governmental levels. The U.N. urged the government to streamline its laws, make them tougher and regulate food products from farm to fork. A local spokesperson said that the U.N. stood ready to work closely with Chinese officials on reforming the law. The report apparently urges the Chinese government to shift more responsibility to food companies by requiring them to institute risk-management programs that can be audited by government inspectors. Released just as the standing committee of the National People’s Congress was preparing to discuss the draft of a new food-safety law that will,…
