The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has apparently resurrected a program that tracks pesticide use on food crops. USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) conducts pesticide-use surveys, which reportedly provide the only free, publicly available data on the agricultural chemicals applied to crops. Government agencies, environmental groups and academic scientists use the data to evaluate the human health and environmental risks posed by pesticides, and compare the amount of pesticides applied to genetically engineered (GE) versus conventional crops. The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and other groups recently spearheaded a letter-writing campaign urging USDA to restore the program. NASS plans to gather data on pesticide applications to fruit and nut crops in fall 2009. If Congress approves the full funding specified in President Barack Obama’s (D) 2010 budget, the agency will resume data collection for vegetables, major row crops and pesticides applied to crops after harvest. See Food & Environment…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has called on Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to reverse a policy adopted during the Bush administration that precludes states from using federal nutrition education funds to discourage the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. In a June 12, 2009, letter, CSPI Executive Director Michael Jacobson, Director of Legal Affairs Bruce Silverglade and Senior Staff Attorney Ilene Ringel Heller take issue with a 2003 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) memorandum telling state officials that they could not use Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds to disparage or criticize any food. It was apparently issued after Maine launched an ad campaign encouraging residents to reduce their soda consumption. According to CSPI, this policy has been continued under the new administration, appearing in recent SNAP education guidance materials that state, “SNAP-Ed funds may not be used to convey negative written, visual, or verbal expressions about specific foods,…
The National Restaurant Association (NRA) and the Center for the Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) have reportedly expressed support for a bipartisan compromise on menu-labeling legislation that would require chain establishments with 20 or more outlets nationwide to provide nutrition information on menus or menu boards. The revamped legislation apparently combines elements of the Menu Education and Labeling (MEAL) Act, sponsored by Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), and the Labeling Education and Nutrition (LEAN) Act, sponsored by Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Ala.). The new bill would also exempt small businesses, as well as waive the labeling requirements for custom orders, temporary specials and items like condiments that are not listed on menu boards. In addition, a separate provision would entail “the disclosure of calories for food items on vending machines owned by individuals operating 20 or more vending machines,” according to a June 10, 2009, press release…
Reusable grocery bags and packages can apparently contain a high level of bacteria, yeast, mold, and coliform that can pose a significant food safety risk because of cross contamination, claims a new microbiological study funded by the Environment and Plastics Industry Council (EPIC). The study, reportedly the first of its kind in North America, looked at whether reusable grocery bags become an active bacterial growth habitat and breeding ground for yeast and mold after persistent use. Richard Summerbell, former chief of Medical Mycology for the Ontario Ministry of Health and research director of an environmental microbiology lab in Toronto called Sporometrics, was commissioned to evaluate the findings of the EPIC study. He claimed that swab testing of a scientifically meaningful sample of both single-use and reusable grocery bags by two independent laboratories found unacceptable levels of bacteria in the reusable bags, with some bags having detectable levels of fecal intestinal…
A Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) study has reportedly found that “participants who drank for a week from polycarbonate bottles, the popular, hard-plastic drinking bottles and baby bottles, showed a two-thirds increase in their urine of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA).” Jenny L. Carwile, et al., “Use of Polycarbonate Bottles and Urinary Bisphenol A Concentrations,” Environmental Health Perspectives, May 12, 2009. HSPH researchers followed 77 participants who first minimized their BPA exposure for a week, then drank all cold beverages out of plastic polycarbonate bottles for seven days, during which time their “urinary BPA concentrations increased 69 percent.” According to the study authors, their work is the first to show that BPA leached from plastic bottles can result in “a corresponding increase in urinary BPA concentrations in humans.” The study also forbid washing the bottles in dishwashers or putting hot liquids in them, as “heating has been shown to…
“Diacetyl-linked jury verdicts of tens of millions of dollars for injured flavoring workers and diagnoses of lung damage in at least three popcorn-loving consumers forced popcorn packers and other food processors to stop using the chemical butter-flavoring two years ago,” writes investigative journalist Andrew Schneider in a May 28, 2009, article examining claims that possible diacetyl replacements– starter distillate and diacetyl trimmer–still include the “lung-destroying chemical.” According to Andrew Schneider Investigates, scientists with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have published a book, titled Advances in Food and Nutrition Research, that suggests these diacetyl alternatives pose an even greater health risk because they penetrate “the deepest parts of the lung.” Starter distillate is reportedly a product of milk fermentation that contains up to 4 percent diacetyl, while the diacetyl trimmer contains three diacetyl molecules. “The wording here (no added diacetyl) is telling,” said co-author Kathleen Kreiss, who…
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.
