Archive for May, 2011

Industry’s Charade of Advertising Self-Regulation

Every so often in my work at Marin Institute, we get a complaint from someone about an alcohol advertisement they’ve seen in their community they think shouldn’t be there. Most of the time, they’re right. In the role of industry watchdog, I’ve taken on the responsibility to report such complaints to the industry directly to get the ads removed as soon as possible.

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In the War against Big Food, Money and Messaging Trump Science (guest post by Nancy Huehnergarth)

My colleague, Nancy Huehnergarth, is executive director of the New York State Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Alliance, aka NYSHEPA. More importantly, she is a tireless public health advocate who truly understands that we are in a political fight against Big Food. I am pleased to cross-post her critical call-to-action, originally posted on her own blog. It’s dedicated to anyone who has ever written a fact sheet and wondered why it didn’t carry the day. (Information on NYSHEPA. Follow Nancy on Twitter.)

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How E. coli became a household word – Poisoned, a book review

For most of us working in food policy, it’s hard to remember a time when food outbreaks of bugs like E. coli didn’t happen pretty much weekly. But reading the new book Poisoned by Jeff Benedict made me realize that bacteria-contaminated hamburgers are a relatively recent phenomenon; a striking reminder of how our food system has gone very, very wrong.

Given that the Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak happened back in 1993, it seems odd that no one has written a book about it before. But it’s just as well, because Benedict’s style is tailor made to the task. His detailed and heart-wrenching story-telling makes the 18-year wait well worthwhile.

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