Food Policy
Posted on Wednesday, June 11th, 2014 by Michele Simon
The United States is in the midst of a public health epidemic due to poor diet. While much of the focus has been on obvious culprits such as sugary soft drinks and fast food, dairy foods often get a pass. The dairy industry, propped up by government, has convinced us of the health benefits of milk and other dairy products. But the context of how people consume dairy matters.
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Posted in Big Food, Child Nutrition, Food Policy, Industry Tactics, Marketing to Children, Public Health | Tagged: child nutrition, childhood obesity, dairy, deceptive health claims, junk food, school food policy, USDA | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (79) |
Posted on Sunday, April 27th, 2014 by Michele Simon
Today I am releasing a new report with Friends of the Earth, to bring attention to the dire situation of declining bee populations caused by pesticides. You can find the report here, and read a summary below.
If you like to eat, then you should care about what’s happening to bees. Did you know that two-thirds of our food crops require pollination – the very foods that we rely on for healthy eating – such as apples, berries, and almonds, just to name a few. That’s why the serious declines in bee populations are getting more attention, with entire campaigns devoted to saving bees.
A strong and growing body of evidence points to exposure to a class of neurotoxic pesticides called neonicotinoids—the fastest-growing and most widely used class of synthetic pesticides—as a key contributing factor to bee declines.
The European Union banned the three most widely used neonicotinoids, based on strong science indicating that neonics can kill bees outright and make them more vulnerable to pests, pathogens, and other stressors. Enter the corporate spin doctors.
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Posted in Big Food, Food Policy, Industry Tactics | Tagged: bees, Big Food, food safety, lobbying, Monsanto, pesticides | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (6) |
Posted on Friday, April 25th, 2014 by Michele Simon
Today, on behalf of Corporate Accountability International and in collaboration with the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, I submitted the following comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture regarding its proposal to require schools to only allow marketing for those foods allowed under the agency’s “Smart Snacks” nutrition guidelines. (See also the excellent comments submitted by Public Health Advocacy Institute on junk food products created for schools.)
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Posted in Child Nutrition, Food Policy | Tagged: advertising regulation, child nutrition, childhood obesity, Corporate Accountability International, junk food, USDA | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (0) |
Posted on Saturday, April 19th, 2014 by Michele Simon
Last month, an unusual scuffle played out between two federal agencies over a controversial proposal by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to increase the speed of kill lines for poultry in slaughterhouses. But with testing from Consumer Reports last year revealing that 97 percent of raw chicken breasts purchased at retailers are contaminated with harmful bacteria, and with poultry workers already suffering from numerous job-related injuries, advocacy groups are vigorously opposed to the idea. The rule would also reduce the number of USDA inspectors required to ensure food safety, transferring some of that responsibility to the chicken and turkey companies themselves. But as one former inspector (who worked both for the USDA and the chicken industry) warned, plant workers are not properly trained for inspection, and they are too scared for their jobs to speak up. That’s why groups such as Food and Water Watch are taking out newspaper ads calling the proposal the “Filthy Chicken Rule.” Read rest at Al Jazeera America …
Posted in Big Food, Food Policy, Food Safety, Industry Tactics, Labor, Public Health | | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (0) |
Posted on Thursday, March 20th, 2014 by Michele Simon
The food and beverage giant’s new sweetener causes confusion with claims of FDA approval
For years, the processed-food industry has searched in vain for a low-calorie sweetener that actually tastes good, let alone one that retains the flavor profile of the underlying product. In 2010, the food and beverage giant PepsiCo formed an agreement with the flavor company Senomyx to “focus on the discovery, development and commercialization of sweet enhancers and natural high-potency sweeteners.” That partnership appears to be paying off; there is tremendous profit potential for both companies, given the recent dips in soda sales. Which makes the deceptive nature of a recent press release that much more troubling. Read rest at Al Jazeera America …
Posted in Big Food, Food Law, Food Policy, Food Safety, Industry Tactics | Tagged: Big Food, Big Soda, Center for Food Safety, FDA, food safety, junk food, soda, soft drinks | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (0) |
Posted on Wednesday, February 26th, 2014 by Michele Simon
Ballot measure could become first sugary drink tax in California
Earlier this month, lawmakers in San Francisco introduced a bill that would tax sugary beverages at two cents per ounce, thereby setting off the latest big fight with Big Soda. The estimated $31 million in annual revenue would go to local health programs. Voters will decide the measure’s fate in November, with a two-thirds majority being required to pass.
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Posted in Big Food, Food Policy, Industry Tactics, Public Health | Tagged: Big Food, Big Soda, Coca-Cola, junk food, PepsiCo, soda, soda taxes, soft drinks, trade groups | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (3) |
Posted on Friday, February 14th, 2014 by Michele Simon
By focusing on marketing, Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign won’t save our children’s health
Michelle Obama is probably the most popular first lady in recent memory, with approval ratings embarrassingly higher than her husband’s, at least in 2012. She is the picture of health, speaks openly about the challenges of raising two daughters and feeding them right and uses her platform to call attention to the country’s childhood obesity crisis through her Let’s Move program. And yet, with all this going for her, even she cannot make a serious dent in the problem of how food and media corporations are targeting children with junk-food advertising. Read rest at Al Jazeera America ….
Posted in Big Food, Child Nutrition, Food Policy, Industry Tactics, Marketing to Children | Tagged: Big Food, child nutrition, childhood obesity, fast food, junk food, Let's Move, McDonald's, Obama, voluntary self-regulation | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (0) |
Posted on Thursday, February 13th, 2014 by Michele Simon
By Michele Simon and Saru Jayaraman
Food movement leaders tend to stick to their specific issues, whether it’s advocating for healthy food, fighting for workers’ rights or curbing marketing to children. For each of these issues, there are numerous food corporations that need to change. But there is one organization that conveniently provides us with one giant target for all of them: the National Restaurant Association.
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Posted in Big Food, Food Policy, Food Safety, Industry Tactics, Labor, Marketing to Children, Public Health | Tagged: animal rights, Big Food, Corporate Accountability International, Darden, food safety, junk food, labor, McDonald's, nutrition labeling, Rick Berman, workers, workers rights | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (3) |
The East Coast has been getting most of the attention lately on the state by state effort to label genetically-engineered food. 
