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Danish Lawmakers Scrap Controversial 'Fat Tax' - WSJ.com

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 11:07:10 -0500

Danish Lawmakers Scrap Controversial 'Fat Tax' - WSJ.com:

Denmark’s situation is a bit more akin to a city taxing “fat” than anything else. Cophenhagen is connected to Malmo, Sweden by a bridge and the country shares a border with Germany. So it’s hard to enforce. That said, taxing fatty *ingredients* is different — and maybe Europe (and the US) would do better to look at those kinds of taxes. They act more like value added taxes — which hit producers directly. You’ll get companies changing formulations since they are unlikely to start smuggling in contraband ingredients across the border.

Study Results Linking Diet Soda To Cancer Fall Into The 'Gray Zone' Of Science : Shots - Health News : NPR

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 15:01:57 -0400

Study Results Linking Diet Soda To Cancer Fall Into The 'Gray Zone' Of Science : Shots - Health News : NPR:

“Despite the study’s limitations, Willett and several other researchers not involved with the study say the findings were significant enough to warrant further research.”

Inside the Monsanto Information War

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 10:11:37 -0400

Inside the Monsanto Information War:

Must read piece on the fights over GMO science and how industry is able to work the refs….

Flame retardant 'Firemaster 550,' used in infant-products, is an endocrine disruptor

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:26:00 -0400

Flame retardant 'Firemaster 550,' used in infant-products, is an endocrine disruptor:

This is how the industry rolls. Replace a bad chemical with one that hasn’t been studied. This stuff was sold for four years before researchers could figure out what it did. Is this anyway to run toxic chemical safety regulation?

"Blumberg says that fructose itself is an obesogen. “Crystalline fructose doesn’t exist..."

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 09:09:14 -0500

“Blumberg says that fructose itself is an obesogen. “Crystalline fructose doesn’t exist in nature, we’re making that,” he says. “Fructose is not a food. People think fructose comes from fruit but it doesn’t. The fructose that we eat is synthesized. Yes, it’s derived from food. But cyanide is derived from food, too. Would you call it a food?””

- What’s Really Making Us Fat? - Kristin Wartman - Health - The Atlantic

Dunkin' aims at China with pork donuts, LeBron James | Reuters

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:40:53 -0500

Dunkin' aims at China with pork donuts, LeBron James | Reuters:

First the bacon shake. Now pork donuts from Dunkin’. In China, anyway.

E15 may be cleared for commercial sales by summer, advocates say

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:40:41 -0500

E15 may be cleared for commercial sales by summer, advocates say:

EPA pushed this through quietly last Friday. My guess is no gas stations outside of the Corn Belt will sell this stuff.

USDA Blog » Good Food for All People: Food Hubs at Work in Philadelphia

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:40:22 -0500

USDA Blog » Good Food for All People: Food Hubs at Work in Philadelphia:

Cool!

Recently, I was asked to talk about food hub distribution models as part of a video about Common Market, a food hub serving the Philadelphia area. This opportunity gave me the chance to discuss the challenges we face in connecting farmers in rural areas with consumers in urban communities, and how food hub models can help us redefine the way food gets to our tables.

A food hub model like the one being used in Philadelphia can work to everyone’s advantage, using the community as a whole to make the system viable. By leveraging the buying power of schools, hospitals, elderly care centers and corner markets to create consistent demand, you can then harness the growing power of local farms to create consistent supply.

Josh Fox led away in handcuffs from hearing - Talia Buford - POLITICO.com

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:18:32 -0500

Josh Fox led away in handcuffs from hearing - Talia Buford - POLITICO.com:

[Note that a Dem on the committee tried to allow the filmmaker to film the hearing…]

Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Josh Fox was led away in handcuffs from a House Science Committee hearing Wednesday morning after refusing to pack up his camera.

Fox was led out by Capitol Police shortly after 10 a.m., before the hearing could be gaveled into order. The “Gasland” director was attempting to film the hearing looking into EPA’s investigation of potential water contamination from natural gas drilling in Pavillion, Wyo.

How to Get High on Soil - Pagan Kennedy - Health - The Atlantic

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:01:10 -0500

How to Get High on Soil - Pagan Kennedy - Health - The Atlantic:

Well, that’s interesting.

I’m holding a bowl of dirt up to my nose, in hopes of getting high on the fumes of my backyard compost pile. The microbe that I’m after today is M. vaccae, a living creature that acts like a mind-altering drug once it enters the human body. It has been shown to boost the levels of serotonin and norepinephrine circulating in the systems of both humans and mice. In other words, it works in much the same manner as antidepressant pills. And yes, it is possible to dose yourself by simply breathing in the smell of good dirt.

Bottom Line - Dispute over drug in feed limiting US meat exports

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:38:46 -0500

Bottom Line - Dispute over drug in feed limiting US meat exports:

A drug used to keep pigs lean and boost their growth is jeopardizing the nation’s exports of what once was known as “the other white meat.”

The drug, ractopamine hydrochloride, is fed to pigs and other animals right up until slaughter and minute traces have been found in meat. The European Union, China, Taiwan and many others have banned its use, citing concerns about its effect on human health, limiting U.S. meat exports to key markets.

Although few Americans outside of the livestock industry have ever heard of ractopamine, the feed additive is controversial. Fed to an estimated 60 to 80 percent of pigs in the United States, it has sickened or killed more of them than any other livestock drug on the market, an investigation of Food and Drug Administration records shows. Cattle and turkeys have also suffered high numbers of illnesses from the drug.

No, the Thames isn’t about to freeze over - The Washington Post

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:36:54 -0500

No, the Thames isn’t about to freeze over - The Washington Post:

The Daily Mail in Britain tends to be terrific for news of the weird — who can forget its exposé on the girl who ate nothing but chicken McNuggets for 15 years? — and terrible for science reporting. Case in point: Their latest story on how the world is about to enter a mini-ice age.

A fishing boat on the Thames River in front of Coryton oil refinery on Jan. 22. (Matthew Lloyd/Boomberg)

The piece cites recent research from the UK Met Office on how solar activity is set to decrease in the coming years — which, in turn, will cool the planet. That’s technically true, but the decrease in solar activity won’tbe enough to counteract the warming effects of all the greenhouse-gas pollution we’re putting into the air. How do we know? Just ask the UK Met Office. In a post refuting the Daily Mail, the climate research center notesthat greenhouse gases are on pace to warm the planet 2.5°C over the next 90 years. At most, the decrease in solar activity is expected to cool the planet by about 0.13°C. The math here is simple: 2.5°C minus 0.13°C equals 2.37°C. That’s not an ice age. That’s the Earth getting hotter.

Dallas Plant Investigated For Dumping Pig Blood Into Trinity River « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:32:35 -0500

Dallas Plant Investigated For Dumping Pig Blood Into Trinity River « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth:

That’s awful.

Federal, state, and local authorities say a Dallas meat-packing company is under criminal investigation for possibly illegally dumping pig blood into a creek that leads to the Trinity River.

"Patrick is proposing to raise $260 million in new revenues to balance next year’s budget, including..."

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:29:01 -0500

“Patrick is proposing to raise $260 million in new revenues to balance next year’s budget, including $62.5 million by increasing the tax on a pack of cigarettes by 50 cents to $3.01 to help pay for court-mandated subsidized health care for legal immigrants who qualify. Patrick also wants to raise $61.5 million for public health services by imposing the 6.25 percent sales tax on candy and soda.”

- Gov. Deval Patrick’s budget proposal to include $10 million for education in 24 cities | masslive.com

What If Antibiotics Stop Working? Cataclysm - Forbes

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:39:02 -0500

What If Antibiotics Stop Working? Cataclysm - Forbes:

Gulp.

The age of antibiotics may be coming to a close, and one of humankind’s greatest adversaries could once again have the upper hand. In the EU, about 25,000 patients die every year from infection with bacteria that are resistant to all the drugs we have to fight them, while in the US some antibiotic-resistant infections cause more deaths than HIV/AIDS, Parkinson’s disease, emphysema, and homicide combined. Meanwhile, the R&D pipelines for new classes of antibiotics are running dry.

Honeybee problem nearing a ‘critical point’ | Grist

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:43:50 -0500

Honeybee problem nearing a ‘critical point’ | Grist:

“We are inching our way toward a critical tipping point,” said Steve Ellis, secretary of the National Honey Bee Advisory Board (NHBAB) and a beekeeper for 35 years. Last year he had so many abnormal bee die-offs that he’ll qualify for disaster relief from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

In addition to continued reports of CCD — a still somewhat mysterious phenomenon in which entire bee colonies literally disappear, alien-abduction style, leaving not even their dead bodies behind — bee populations are suffering poor health in general, and experiencing shorter life spans and diminished vitality. And while parasites, pathogens, and habitat loss can deal blows to bee health, research increasingly points to pesticides as the primary culprit.

“In the industry we believe pesticides play an important role in what’s going on,” said Dave Hackenberg, co-chair of the NHBAB and a beekeeper in Pennsylvania.

Of particular concern is a group of pesticides, chemically similar to nicotine, called neonicotinoids(neonics for short), and one in particular called clothianidin. Instead of being sprayed, neonics are used to treat seeds, so that they’re absorbed by the plant’s vascular system, and then end up attacking the central nervous systems of bees that come to collect pollen. Virtually all of today’s genetically engineered Bt corn is treated with neonics. The chemical industry alleges that bees don’t like to collect corn pollen, but new research shows that not only do bees indeed forage in corn, but they also have multiple other routes of exposure to neonics.

Wear 'Em, Chuck 'Em, Float 'Em: 10 Things To Do With Twinkies : The Salt : NPR

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:50:37 -0500

Wear 'Em, Chuck 'Em, Float 'Em: 10 Things To Do With Twinkies : The Salt : NPR:

If you too want to experience more of the joy of Twinkies, but don’t want to eat them, here are some ideas:

[My fave]

Fracking’s Future in the U.S. Comes Down to Upcoming New York State Decisions | Observations, Scientific American Blog Network

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:28:14 -0500

Fracking’s Future in the U.S. Comes Down to Upcoming New York State Decisions | Observations, Scientific American Blog Network:

New York State is the key battleground that will determine the future of fracking in the U.S., and January 11, 2012, is a turning point. The date ends the public comment period on proposed state regulations that will govern the process: drilling into deep Marcellus shales, fracturing the rock with water and chemicals to release natural gas, and disposing of the resulting wastewater that flows back up the well with the gas. When the comment period opened back in September, few industry or government leaders anticipated the massive antifracking movement that would arise, which has galvanized resistance in states nationwide.

"Last year, Fox and Smith started writing “Drink Water” on the decks of their snowboards alongside..."

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:22:52 -0500

“Last year, Fox and Smith started writing “Drink Water” on the decks of their snowboards alongside their sponsorship logos. It was, their Web site explains, “a friendly reminder to drink water.” Shortly after, Fox and Smith started selling stickers, jackets, T-shirts and sweatshirts with the Drink Water design. Their campaign for water in favor of energy drinks was under way. “It all stemmed from when Austin was approached by a company,” Fox said of their aversion to the flood of energy drinks into snowboarding. “We began talking about how we should do something more positive than just be downers about something we don’t agree with.” Despite the popularity of energy drinks, Fox and Smith are emerging as a collective voice eschewing them.”

- Pro-Water in Snowboarding Culture Heavy on Energy Drinks - NYTimes.com

"The U.S. Agriculture Department announced Monday it will close nearly 260 offices nationwide, a move..."

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:56:20 -0500

“

The U.S. Agriculture Department announced Monday it will close nearly 260 offices nationwide, a move that won praise for cutting costs but raised concerns about the possible effect on food safety.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the goal was to save $150 million a year in the agency’s $145 billion budget. About $90 million had already been saved by reducing travel and supplies, and the closures were expected to save another $60 million, he said.

”

- Closing of 259 USDA Offices Raises Safety Concerns - ABC News