Posts Tagged ‘junk food’
Posted on Monday, January 20th, 2014 by Michele Simon
The Grocery Manufacturers Association may soon be coming to your state capital. Take note of their rap sheet before you let them in the door.
In secret documents that I uncovered in November, the Grocery Manufacturers Association (aka food industry lobbyists) laid out its five-point plan for opposing the labeling of foods containing genetically-modified organisms or GMOs. First on the list: “To oppose all state efforts that would impose mandatory labels” including state legislation. With more than 20 states having introduced state bills to require GMO labeling, the junk food lobby has its work cut out for it. But they’ve wasted no time as the 2014 legislative session gets underway, starting with targeting the New Hampshire capital.
Continue reading →
Posted in Big Food, Food Policy, Food Safety, Industry Tactics | Tagged: Big Food, California Prop 37, FDA, GMO labeling, GMOs, Grocery Manufacturers Association, I-522, junk food | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (1) |
Posted on Monday, December 16th, 2013 by Michele Simon
by Michele Simon and Cara Wilking
Looking back at 2013, while the food movement made progress in certain areas (such as school food and GMO labeling), when it comes to exploitative food marketing to children meaningful change remains elusive. Let’s Move director and White House chef Sam Kass recently acknowledged the obvious when he said this issue was “really tough” given how much money is at stake for industry.
All we seem to hear from the major food corporations about marketing to children are self-serving promises and announcements of future changes. As public health lawyers, that got us wondering, who’s making sure even these minimal commitments are being kept? The question is worth exploring if we want to actually improve children’s diets—not just create positive PR buzz for Big Food. With reports of adults ever-deteriorating eating habits in 2013 coupled with appalling teen heart health, the health stakes are too high to just wait for the food industry to do the right thing.
Continue reading →
Posted in Big Food, Child Nutrition, Food Law, Food Policy, Industry Tactics, Marketing to Children, Public Health | Tagged: advertising regulation, Big Food, child nutrition, childhood obesity, fast food, junk food, Let's Move, targeted marketing | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (0) |
Posted on Tuesday, October 22nd, 2013 by Michele Simon
“This is the largest amount of money ever concealed in an election,” says Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, as tobacco-style tactics by likes of PepsiCo and Nestle are revealed in Washington State’s lawsuit against the Grocery Manufacturers Association over GMO labeling fight.
Just a few weeks ago, attorneys for the No on 522 campaign were feeling rather smug when a lawsuit filed against them by a group called “Moms for Labeling” was dismissed. As I wrote last week, consumer class action attorney Knoll Lowney sued the No on 522 and the Washington DC-based Grocery Manufactures Association (lobbyists for major food corporations) for not disclosing the donors behind GMA’s $7 million-plus donation to stop I-522, which would require genetically-engineered foods to be labeled. The judge threw out that case on a technicality.
But then, Big Food’s arrogance got the best of them.
Continue reading →
Posted in Big Food, Food Policy, Food Safety, Industry Tactics | Tagged: Big Food, California Prop 37, Coca-Cola, GMO labeling, GMOs, Grocery Manufacturers Association, I-522, junk food, PepsiCo | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (10) |
Posted on Monday, July 22nd, 2013 by Michele Simon
Nutrition Facts for Land O Lakes “Fresh Buttery Taste” Spread
Serving Size: 1 tbsp (14g)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 70
Calories from Fat 70
Total Fat 8 g 12%
Saturated Fat 2 g 10%
Trans Fat 0 g
Ingredients: Liquid Soybean Oil, Water, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Buttermilk*, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Contains Less Than 2% of Salt, Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil, Cream*, Distilled Monoglycerides, Soy Lecithin, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Lactic Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Vitamin A Palmitate, Beta Carotene (Color).
Short Answer: Because FDA says it’s OK to lie to you.
Labeling is one of the more complex areas of food law, full of statutes, regulations, exemptions, and exceptions. In 1990, Congress updated food labeling law with the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, which gave the Food and Drug Administration authority to require specific types of nutrition labels on most food products. The handy Nutrition Facts panel you see on foods today displaying calorie, carbohydrate, fat, protein, and other nutrient amounts is the result of FDA implementing this law.
Continue reading →
Posted in Ask a Food Lawyer, Food Policy | Tagged: deceptive health claims, FDA, junk food, nutrition labeling | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (5) |
Posted on Wednesday, July 10th, 2013 by Michele Simon
By Michele Simon and Andrew Kimbrell
You may have noticed the impressive grassroots movement gathering steam lately over the labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods. Recently, Connecticut became the first state in the nation to enact a law to require such labels, and 26 other states have introduced similar bills this year. Millions of Americans are demanding more transparency in the food supply and our elected officials are finally responding, after decades of work by groups like Center for Food Safety. But one advocacy group, Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), often seen as a leader in nutrition policy, stands virtually alone in its continued opposition to labeling GE foods. This stance is troubling and confusing given how outspoken CSPI has been for decades on food labeling and consumer information.
Read rest at Center for Food Safety.
Posted in Big Food, Food Law, Food Policy, Food Safety | Tagged: California Prop 37, Center for Food Safety, CSPI, FDA, GMO labeling, GMOs, I-522, junk food, Monsanto | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (2) |
Posted on Wednesday, June 12th, 2013 by Michele Simon
In what is becoming an all too familiar sight, the major food corporations recently teamed up with the First Lady’s Partnership for a Healthier America to announce their latest PR attempt to look like they are helping Americans eat healthier. A group calling itself the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, led by the CEO of PepsiCo–the nation’s largest junk food and sugary beverage pusher–claims to have delivered on its promise made in 2010 (a commitment, get it?) to reduce calories “in the marketplace” by 1.5 trillion. They further claim to have exceeded this goal, and all this a full three years ahead of schedule. The quotes by all involved were practically giddy.
Continue reading →
Posted in Big Food, Food Policy, Industry Tactics | Tagged: Big Food, Big Soda, calories, deceptive health claims, junk food, Let's Move, PepsiCo, public relations | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (2) |
Posted on Wednesday, May 29th, 2013 by Michele Simon
Last week at McDonald’s annual shareholder’s meeting, CEO Don Thompson got caught off-guard when a team of 15 advocates, led by Corporate Accountability International, descended upon corporate headquarters to question the fast food leader’s relentless exploitation of children and communities of color.
Read rest at Corporate Accountability International ….
Posted in Big Food, Child Nutrition, Industry Tactics, Marketing to Children | Tagged: child nutrition, childhood obesity, fast food, junk food, McDonald's, nutrition labeling, targeted marketing | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (2) |
Posted on Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 by Michele Simon
Last week, after I declared my refusal to watch the HBO series, “Weight of the Nation,” Marlene Schwartz, of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity (a group featured in the program) politely suggested that I give all four episodes a chance before I criticize. I did. It was even worse than I feared.
Continue reading →
Posted in Big Food, Child Nutrition, Public Health | Tagged: American Beverage Association, Center for Science in the Public Interest, junk food, obesity, soda taxes, Weight of the Nation | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (6) |
Posted on Sunday, February 19th, 2012 by Michele Simon
When I ask people to name the largest food company in America, most don’t realize the answer is PepsiCo. You may just think soft drinks when you hear the name, but PepsiCo actually owns a dizzying array of food and beverage brands across five massive divisions: Pepsi-Cola, Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Tropicana, and Quaker Oats. As I recently told CNBC for their documentary, Pepsi’s Challenge, perhaps the leading maker of sugary drinks and salty snacks should bear some responsibility for America’s bad eating habits.
Continue reading →
Posted in Big Food, Child Nutrition, Public Health | Tagged: Big Food, junk food, PepsiCo, public health | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (6) |
