The Investor Environmental Health Network has issued a report urging federal regulators to change shareholder reporting requirements to close loopholes that are allowing corporations to use nanotechnologies without disclosing their potential long-term risks to investors. Titled “Bridging the Credibility Gap, Eight Corporate Liability Accounting Loopholes That Regulators Must Close,” the report explores two case studies, asbestos and nanotechnology, to show how Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules allow companies to underreport or fail to report product risks and liabilities until after they have become targets of litigation and may be on the verge of bankruptcy. The network describes itself as an organization that encourages companies through dialogue and shareholder resolutions “to adopt policies to continually and systematically reduce and eliminate the toxic chemicals in their products.” Its members and advisory panel include groups such as the As You Sow Foundation, Sierra Club Mutual Funds, Friends of the Earth, and Campaign for…
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The American Medical Association (AMA) has reportedly voted against a policy that would describe obesity as a disability, citing concerns over patient care and litigation. In particular, some AMA members noted that a disability designation might curb the willingness of physicians to openly discuss weight issues with their patients. “If obesity is designated as a disability, physicians could be sued or reprimanded for discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act if a patient takes offense at the physician discussing obesity,” stated the resolution adopted at AMA’s recent annual meeting. See The Associated Press and ABC News, June 18, 2009. Meanwhile, the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) has issued a statement calling for a continued discussion around this topic, urging physicians to take a proactive approach to obesity with their patients. “The determination of obesity should be based on scientific and medical factual data and not fear of litigation,” OAC said in…
A new documentary titled Food, Inc. apparently paints a vivid picture of the foods Americans eat–from bigger-breasted chickens fattened artificially to new strains of deadly E. coli bacteria, to a food supply controlled by a handful of corporations. The filmmakers claim these purported dangers create harmful effects on public health, the environment, and worker and animal rights. Robert Kenner, the movie’s director, reportedly called it a “horror film,” and told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on June 9, 2009, “If you visit feed lots, as I have, you lose your appetite for certain kinds of food. Some people are in denial. But, increasingly, people are curious to know the story about their food.” Food industry trade associations, however, have countered the movie’s claims by creating a number of websites, including one led by the American Meat Institute called SafeFoodInc.com., and a campaign that promotes the U.S. food industry as safe, abundant…
Commuters and visitors in Washington, D.C., metro stations are being asked, “Who’s Hogging Our Antibiotics?” in a new ad campaign featuring pigs in a trough. The series of ads by the Pew Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming is apparently part of the project’s national effort to end what it claims is the misuse of antibiotics in food animal production. The campaign asserts that up to 70 percent of human antibiotics are fed to factory-farm animals that aren’t sick, a practice leading medical groups allege promotes development of deadly strains of drug-resistant bacteria that can spread to humans. “Human antibiotics are routinely misused on industrial farms to compensate for crowded, stressful and unsanitary conditions,” said Laura Rogers, a project director with the Pew Health Group. “The way we are raising our food animals is putting human health at risk.” Versions of the ads will also reportedly appear soon online…
Known as outsourcing’s “third wave,” the trend among wealthy nations to buy farmland in developing countries is reportedly raising concerns among those dealing with issues like world hunger and water shortages. When the price of staples like wheat, rice and corn skyrocketed in recent years, food exporting countries, faced with food riots, restricted their exports to limit price increases in their own countries. That led wealthy food importing nations to begin investing in significant land acquisitions or leases on terms not necessarily advantageous to their targets. The food grown on these farms is all sent to the wealthy nations owning them, while the host countries continue to be threatened by hunger and malnutrition. Host governments apparently claim that they are giving up land that is vacant or owned by the state, but empty land may actually be grazing land or farmed under arrangements recognized by local custom but not by…
The director of nutrition at the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), a non-profit “consumer education consortium,” recently wrote a letter to the editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer responding to an opinion piece authored by John Banzhaf, an anti-tobacco crusader and law school professor who in recent years has turned his attention to obesity-related issues. Banzhaf suggested on May 15, 2009, that the key to lowering the cost of health care is to “directly attack the major preventable causes” of chronic illness: “smoking and obesity.” He claimed that, at no cost to taxpayers, rates of obesity could be reduced by (i) charging the obese more for their health insurance; (ii) requiring restaurant chains to post the calorie and fat content of their offerings; (iii) mandating health warnings in fast food outlets; (iv) prohibiting deceptive food advertising, especially promotions targeted to children; (v) changing food subsidies to support “healthier…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has targeted a number of restaurants in its Xtreme Eating 2009 report, which also singles out four plates as particularly high in calories, fat and sodium. The public watchdog has lambasted chain establishments for making “already bad foods even worse,” claiming that some appetizers rival entrée-sized portions in terms of daily dietary intake. The report names Applebee’s Quesadilla Burger, Chili’s Big Mouth Bites, Cheesecake Factory’s Chicken and Biscuits, and Red Lobster’s Ultimate Fondue among the dishes that purportedly contribute to “America’s epidemic of obesity and diet-related disease.” Pledging to make its “Xtreme Eating Awards” an annual affair, CSPI has backed legislation pending before the U.S. Congress that would introduce menu labeling laws similar to ones enacted in Nashville, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, California, and Massachusetts. “Ultimately, Americans bear personal responsibility for their dining choices,” stated CSPI director Margo Wootan in…
The National Cancer Institute has awarded a $2.7 million grant to Northeastern University Law School for a five-year project led by anti-tobacco advocate Professor Richard Daynard. “Our goal is to examine how the tobacco industry has used personal responsibility rhetoric to influence courts, legislatures, regulatory agencies and public opinion, and to see to what extent the food and beverage industries have made use of similar strategies,” Daynard said in a press release. “If the burden for addressing the harm is left with the consumer rather than the manufacturer, the manufacturer benefits – often at the expense of public health.” See Northeastern University Press Release, May 28, 2009.
German officials are reportedly considering banning high-energy drink Red Bull Cola® after a food safety institute in North-Rhine Westphalia found traces of cocaine in the beverages. While the levels found did not pose a health threat, cocaine’s presence in a product requires special licensing. German authorities in two states have reportedly ordered retailers to stop selling the beverage. The product’s manufacturer reportedly admitted that it contains de-cocainized extract of coca leaf, but said the leaf “is used worldwide in foods as a natural flavoring.” The drink, which also contains caffeine, vitamins and sugar, is apparently popular in bars where it is often mixed with vodka. Hong Kong officials also found traces of cocaine in the beverage a few days after Taiwanese authorities reportedly confiscated some 18,000 cases of the product. The drink has been removed from the shelves of major supermarkets in Hong Kong, and its commissioner for narcotics is…
The Food Safety Research Consortium (FSRC) has released a report titled Strong Partnerships for Safer Food: An Agenda for Strengthening State and Local Roles in the Nation’s Food Safety System, which recommends the creation of an “integrated food safety system that operates as a full partnership among federal, state and local agencies.” A collaboration among diverse research institutions, FSRC aims to develop “analytical and decision tools for devising research, regulatory, and educational interventions and making resource allocation decisions” related to food safety reform. This latest project involved the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services in partnership with the Association of Food and Drug Officials, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, and National Association of County and City Health Officials. In addition to detailing the strengths and weakness of the current system, the report makes 19 recommendations designed to support the state and local agencies that…
