Posts Tagged ‘lobbying’
Posted on Thursday, February 7th, 2013 by Michele Simon
My mother, Florence Peloquin, still lives in the same (wonderful) apartment where I grew up in New York City in Peter Cooper Village. She sent me the following recent email exchange with the office of her local representative, Council Member Daniel R. Garodnick, in response to this New York Times article exposing Coke and Pepsi political donations. (See if you can spot the resemblance.)
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Posted in Big Food, Food Policy, Industry Tactics, Public Health | Tagged: Coca-Cola, lobbying, PepsiCo | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (0) |
Posted on Monday, February 4th, 2013 by Michele Simon
Recent reports of secret meetings among industry reps and the Food and Drug Adminstration over GMO labeling piqued my interest, mostly because this critical aspect was missing: any effort to label GE foods at the federal level could bring the current grassroots movement to a grinding halt by preventing any stronger local laws from ever being enacted. But I am getting ahead of myself.
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Posted in Big Food, Food Law, Food Policy, Industry Tactics, Public Health | Tagged: FDA, GMO labeling, GMOs, law, lobbying, nutrition labeling | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (30) |
Posted on Wednesday, January 9th, 2013 by Michele Simon
Alcohol policy doesn’t get nearly as much attention as it should. Federal estimates are that excessive alcohol consumption costs us $223 billion a year, not to mention the 79,000 deaths nationally. And yet on the rare occasion a political leader tries to even talk about the need to stem the tide of alcohol-related harm, all hell can break loose. This is true especially in New York, where the governor can be found hosting summits pledging to help promote beer and wine produced in the state. No wonder that New York State, at a mere 30 cents per gallon, has one of the lowest rates of wine excise taxes in the nation and at only 14 cents a gallon, one of the lowest on beer.
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Posted in Alcohol Policy, Public Health | Tagged: alcohol taxes, lobbying | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (0) |
Posted on Wednesday, November 7th, 2012 by Michele Simon
California’s Proposition 37, which would have required labeling of GMO foods, died a painful death last night. Despite polling in mid-September showing an overwhelming lead, the measure lost by 53 to 47 percent, which is relatively close considering the No side’s tactics.
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Posted in Big Food, Food Law, Industry Tactics | Tagged: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Council on Science and Health, California Prop 37, FDA, GMO labeling, GMOs, lobbying | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (126) |
Posted on Thursday, October 11th, 2012 by Michele Simon
This year’s American Public Health Association Annual Meeting is in San Francisco, from October 27-31. (I live in that other city by the bay, Oakland.) The event draws about 13,000 public health professionals each year. I am honored to have been asked to participate in three stellar panels, so if you’re attending or can drop in for the day, please come say hello. (Check the printed program for room locations.)
Panel 1: Monday, October 29, 2012: 10:30 – 12:00
3167.0: Snack Food and Beverage Industry and Global Noncommunicable Chronic Disease
My talk: Case study of industry lobbying on junk food marketing to children
(Additional panelists include Marion Nestle and Jennifer Pomeranz from the Rudd Center.)
Panel 2: Monday, October 29, 2012: 12:30 -2:00
3205.0: Public Health Harms from Legal Products: Challenges of Countering Industry Influence in Alcohol, Tobacco, Prescription Drugs, and Food in the US
My talk: Food stamps, follow the money: Are corporations profiting from hungry Americans
Panel 3: Wednesday, October 31, 2012: 12:30 -2:00
5181.0: Food, Fairness and Health II: Occupy Agriculture – Corporate Power, Equity and the Food System
My talk: Understanding food industry lobbying and countering corporate tactics
Posted in Child Nutrition, Public Health | Tagged: American Public Health Association, food stamps, lobbying, SNAP | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (2) |
Posted on Monday, August 13th, 2012 by Michele Simon
Last week I wrote about why PepsiCo was the largest food maker to donate money to the “No on 37” campaign, to oppose a California initiative that would require foods containing GMOs to be labeled. New campaign finance reports show just how much hiding the truth is worth. The largest contributions are from biotech giants Dupont Pioneer ($2M) and Bayer Cropscience ($1M). Other contributions include $500K each from Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestle, General Mills, and ConAgra. Read this press release from the Yes on 37 campaign for the complete run-down on this latest investment in secrecy from Big Food.
Posted in Big Food | Tagged: Big Food, California Prop 37, Coca-Cola, ConAgra, General Mills, GMO labeling, lobbying, Nestle, PepsiCo | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (1) |
Posted on Friday, May 11th, 2012 by Michele Simon
Institute of Medicine Gives Big Food Another Deadline – or else!
This week, the nation’s top public health experts gathered at a much-trumpeted obesity conference hosted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called Weight of the Nation. (A quick glance at the agenda reveals nothing that would even begin to challenge the food industry.)
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Posted in Child Nutrition, Marketing to Children, Public Health | Tagged: Big Food, Center for Food Safety, Center for Science in the Public Interest, lobbying, obesity, targeted marketing, voluntary self-regulation, Weight of the Nation | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (2) |
Posted on Saturday, December 17th, 2011 by Michele Simon
Last month, when Congress declared pizza a vegetable, it was hard to believe things could get much worse. But never underestimate politicians’ ability to put corporate interests ahead of children’s health. In the massive budget bill just passed, Congress stuck in language to require the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a cost/benefit analysis before finalizing a report that would provide the food industry with science-based nutrition guidelines for marketing to children. Experts from four federal agencies put heads together, and for the past two years have tried to complete its charge (which ironically, came from Congress in the first place) amidst powerful industry push-back.
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Posted in Big Food, Child Nutrition, Food Policy, Industry Tactics, Marketing to Children | Tagged: advertising regulation, Congress, junk food, lobbying, nutrition labeling, Obama, politics, school food policy, targeted marketing, voluntary self-regulation | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (31) |
