The World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity (ECHO) has issued a January 25, 2016, report that recommends, among other things, a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), context-specific dietary guidelines, and “interpretive” front-of-pack labeling. Taking “a life-course approach” that focuses on what it describes as an obesogenic environment, the report urges WHO, member governments and non-state actors to implement specific action items designed to (i) promote intake of healthy foods and reduce intake of unhealthy foods and SSBs among children; (ii) promote physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviors; (iii) provide guidance on preconception and antenatal care to reduce the risk of childhood obesity; (iv) support healthy diet, sleep and physical activity during childhood; (v) promote healthy school environments, health and nutrition literacy; and (vi) provide family-based lifestyle weight management services. In particular, ECHO singles out food and beverage marketing as “a major issue demanding change that will protect…
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The Access to Nutrition Foundation has released its second Access to Nutrition Index® (ATNI), which ranks the 22 largest food and beverage companies on their “contributions to tackling obesity and undernutrition.” According to a concurrent press release, “The 2016 Index concluded that, while some companies have taken positive steps since the last Index, the industry as a whole is moving far too slowly. Scored out of ten on their nutrition-related commitments, practices and levels of disclosure, no company achieved a score of more than 6.4.” Supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust and Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, the 2016 Global Index ranks companies in the following areas: (i) governance, including whether the company has a corporate nutrition strategy; (ii) product formulation and nutrient profiling systems; (iii) efforts to make healthier products accessible to consumers via pricing and distribution; (iv) compliance with marketing practices and policies geared toward general…
Pacific Standard has profiled Cristin Kearns, a former dentist who has partnered with journalist Gary Taubes and researcher Stanton Glantz to fight sugar-industry influence on the U.S. government’s standards for health and dental care using similar tactics as those Glantz used against cigarette manufacturers in the 1990s. Now a researcher working for Glantz at the University of California, San Francisco, Kearns first became interested in the subject after reading a government-published handout at a dental conference with suggested advice for diabetic patients, including “’[i]ncrease fiber, reduce fat, reduce salt, reduce calories,’ and it didn’t say anything about reducing sugar,” she told the magazine. Kearns has since reportedly tried to identify where the sugar industry has influenced nutritional science through privately funded studies or roles in policy discussions. “Maybe, for some creative attorney down the road, some of [Kearns’] research or research like that could help in crafting discovery requests,” a…
“Cancer and Diet: The Latest on Processed Meats, Fats and More” is the title of a January 15, 2016, live forum hosted by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Webcast faculty, including Harvard Professors Walter Willett and Frank Hu, will discuss the World Health Organization’s classification of processed meat as a “Group 1” carcinogen and the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, among other topics. Willett and Hu were quoted in a January 8 Time article about the role of food industry influence on the new guidelines. Issue 589
New York University Professor Marion Nestle has penned an opinion article in the January 2016 edition of JAMA Internal Medicine criticizing industry-backed food studies. Pointing to research reviews posted on her Food Politics blog, Nestle alleges that 70 out of 76 industry-funded studies published between March and October 2015 “reported results favorable to the sponsor’s interest.” “In the studies I collected, companies or trade associations promoting soft drinks, dairy foods, eggs, breakfast cereals, pork, beef, soy products, dietary supplements, juices, cranberries, nuts, and chocolates supported the study itself, the investigators, or both,” she said in the commentary. “These studies all found significant health benefits or lack of harm from consuming the foods investigated, results that can be useful for deflecting criticism of a company or promoting its products.” Based on her findings, Nestle urges journals to consider whether submitted work promotes public health or food marketing. “Journal editors should ensure…
A new Cornucopia Institute report examines four methods of organic egg production—pasture-based with mobile housing, “pasture raised” using fixed housing with access to adjacent pastures, fixed housing with minimum outdoor access and industrial scale. Titled “Scrambled Eggs: Separating Factory Farm Egg Production from Authentic Organic Agriculture,” the analysis also discusses animal welfare standards and evaluates animal welfare labels. An accompanying “scorecard” rates various brands of eggs based on 28 criteria, showcasing the “true heroes, including national and local producers that are supplying ethically-produced organic eggs and are worthy of consumer support.” See Cornucopia News Release, December 15, 2015.
“Climate Change: Health and Disease Threats” is the focus of an upcoming live webcast from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health slated for December 16, 2015. According to promotional materials for the program, health impacts have not featured prominently in international climate change discussions. “Yet, droughts, floods, heat waves, and air pollution related to climate change produce rippling effects that impact food production, infectious disease spread, chronic illnesses, and more.” The event was planned in conjunction with The GroundTruth Project. Issue 587
The Center for Food Safety and the Seikatsu Club Consumers Cooperative have joined to jointly decry the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) recent determination that genetically engineered (GE) salmon produced by AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. is as safe to eat as conventional salmon and will have little effect on the environment. At the time of FDA’s announcement, the Center for Food Safety vowed to file a lawsuit against the agency. “FDA’s decision to approve this GE salmon was irresponsible and unlawful and it will have global repercussions,” said George Kimbrell, a Center for Food Safety attorney. “We are honored to join with our colleagues in Japan in opposing GE fish and the Aquabounty salmon. Together, we will work to stop its expansion in order to preserve our native fisheries and protect the markets so many depend on around the world.” According to the consumer groups, Japan imported $2 billion worth…
The University of Connecticut’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity has conducted a study assessing public support for policies and laws that would prohibit discrimination based on weight. Rebecca M. Puhl, et al., “Potential Policies and Laws to Prohibit Weight Discrimination: Public Views from 4 Countries,” The Milbank Quarterly, December 2015. In an online survey, the researchers questioned 2,866 adults in the United States, Canada, Australia and Iceland about their opinions on several policy measures related to weight discrimination, including (i) “adding body weight to existing civil rights statutes,” (ii) “extending disability protections to persons with obesity,” and (iii) “instituting legal measures to prohibit employers from discriminating against employees because of body weight.” The propositions with the most support referred to protection of employees from discriminatory practices in hiring and wage determinations. A majority of respondents in the United States and Canada supported the inclusion of weight discrimination in…
A new report from Cornucopia Institute, a “non-profit food/farm policy research group,” contends the “pet food industry is no different than leading marketers of processed human food when it comes to cheap substitutes and false health claims.” Titled “Decoding Pet Food: Adulteration, Toxic Ingredients, and the Best Choices for Your Companion Animals,” the report is accompanied by a product buying guide. See Cornucopia Institute News Release, November 18, 2015. Issue 585
