US & EU Agree: No Time for Public Health, We’ve Got Corporate Interests at Stake Here!
A just leaked draft food trade agreement leaves no question that, as between both the US and Europe, “public health is losing out to corporate interests in a big way.” According to the experts at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), the documents show that public health and food safety are at risk while the public remains clueless.The obscure Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement (see it in the news any time lately?) addresses important ...
What’s New in Fancy Food: NYC 2014
From 3D sugar printed cake toppings to extra-spicy everything, the NYC 2014 Fancy Food show brought the largest assembly of specialty food producers ever to the Big Apple. We ate our way through aisles and aisles of products, risking poundage and snack overload to find what we think are some of the coolest products out there. Here's a sampling.Spicy was clearly in with several companies combining extra hot peppers (think habaneros, ghost peppers and the like) with chocolate, popcorn, ...
Wake Up, Consumers. Is Nanotech the New GMO?
No question, consciousness around genetic modification of our food supply has skyrocketed in the last few years. It wasn't that long ago when advocate and teacher Marion Nestle virtually gave up trying to wake up consumers and now, in 2014, there has been a groundswell of consumer and activist interest in ensuring that we at least know about (if not stop) genetic manipulation of our food through unnatural means (food where “genetic material has been altered in a way that does not occur ...
Life Goes Better With Coke… More Quickly Anyway
Nice to see Michelle Obama taking up the good fight against fat (unhealthy) kids. Sadly, the same day the media carried this story, we also see that Coca-cola posted strong profits on emerging market sales, including a 29% increase in China and significant increases in India and Latin America. Despite new evidence that shows just how dangerous these products are (pancreatic cancer anyone?), not just because they are sugary and can make us fat, soft drink and junk food companies ...
Who’s Your Daddy? Kellogg’s and Kids
Amidst the uproar regarding Michael Phelps alleged pot-smoking, let's not miss a larger point. See, since Kellogg's claims it is really looking out for kids, you know, that "role model" stuff, isn't it fair game to look at how Kellogg's itself looks after kids (and us adults for that matter)?This is the very company that pushed the FDA in the mid-80s into changing the way it regulates food, essentially allowing the company to manipulate its cereal health claims to imply that its products ...
Influence Peddlers and What We Eat
The Washington Post, reporting all things politico, had a story today about our new Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, formerly Iowa governor. Apparently, he's trying to reassure worried food policy activists, Michael Pollan among them, who think it's going to be agribusiness as usual. Certainly in these times, with accusations of sleeping regulators who allow (even effectively condone) fraud and influence peddlers running amok (isn't that their job?), it's a real worry.The fundamental problem here, ...
This Food’s Crap… Now Gimme More!
The goal of food companies is to sell you more. It has been called the "Eat More" message, and it has permeated our society and affected all who adopt and pursue it. Side effects of this strategy include obesity (anyone see those Belly Fat ads? Mmm mm good), chronic health problems, immune disorders, and vulnerabilities in places we never knew we had. The relentless Eat More message has become More Mess for all of us.How has this happened? Let's just say, these interesting economic times we ...
A Look At Our Plate — Don’t Look and You’ll See Better
As Marion Nestle, food educator, nutritionist and author, reminds us in her wonderful books, we live in an environment where businesses and marketers are focused on having us eat more of their high profit foods. Let's not forget, all along the food chain, food business, like other businesses, is motivated by the desire for profits... not our health and well-being.As if it weren't obvious by our almost universal uncertainty about what's right and what's wrong to eat (should we give up bread? ...
Are You Thirsty? Honest Tea? Honestly!
In an issue of Organic Processing, an organic industry trade mag published this fall (yes, odd as it seems, it is an industry), Seth Goldman, the President of Honest Tea (over $27 million in U.S. sales last year) defended his decision to partner with Coca-Cola. He explains that he can still do good, do even more... that his company can still walk the walk on integrity and values. Maybe.Putting aside any issues with the Coca-Cola Company (for another day, that is, because we sure got 'em), ...
