Marion Nestle, the author of Food Politics, recently got a reminder that food is indeed political, right up to the nation’s highest office. On November 30, the first lady made a speech in which she announced that her Let’s Move campaign (on childhood obesity) would have a renewed focus on physical fitness, to combat “the crisis of inactivity that we see among our kids.”
On Friday November 4, I am giving a keynote address at Chapman University School of Law in Orange, California. The day-long symposium is called: Food Fight! The Legal Debate Over The Obesity Epidemic, Food Labeling, And The Government’s Involvement In What You Eat and will be webcast live.
On Monday, November 7, I am giving two talks at the 15th annual conference of the Community Food Security Coalition, in Oakland, California. I will participate in a panel on “Walmart and Corporate Social Responsibility: An Inherent Contradiction?” But even if you’re not attending the conference, you can come to a free workshop I am leading with Paula Arnquist of Corporate Accountability International on “Fighting back: Corporate Lobbying and Interference in Food Policy.” And who knows, maybe we will take the workshop over to Occupy Oakland.
On Thursday, November 10, I am giving a guest lecture at University of California, Berkeley on the politics of food. Also, on November 10 at 9pm I will appear in a documentary on CNBC called, “Pepsi’s Challenge.” You can watch a preview clip of my interview here.
Fall seems to be the season for conferences so I am busy flying around the country to spread cheerful stories of corporate propaganda. If you live anywhere near these event venues, hope you can attend.
National Conference on Innovation
October 2 in Dayton, Ohio. Keynote address on food politics.
New York Alcohol Policy Summit
October 6 in Syracuse, New York. Plenary talk on intersection between food and alcohol politics.
Food Day at University of California, Berkeley
October 24, at U.C. Berkeley campus, welcome remarks.
National Conference to End Factory Farming
October 28 in Washington, DC. Farm bill panel.
American Public Health Association Annual Meeting
October 31 in Washington, DC. Case study on removing alcoholic energy drinks from the market.
If you use Wesson brand cooking oils, you may be able to join a class action against food giant ConAgra for deceptively marketing the products as natural. These days it’s hard to walk down a supermarket aisle without bumping into a food product that claims to be “all-natural.” If you’ve ever wondered how even some junk food products can claim this moniker (witness: Cheetos Natural Puff White Cheddar Cheese Flavored Snacks – doesn’t that sound like it came from your garden?) the answer is simple if illogical: the Food and Drug Administration has not defined the term natural. Read rest at Food Safety News.
Here is a nice interview of me by syndicated columnist Charles Stuart Platkin.
Last week, I didn’t really have much to say about the replacement of USDA’s infamous food pyramid with the new plate image, which is why I was happy to cross-post Andy Bellatti’s take, which I obviously agree with. But this week a couple of media outlets asked for my opinion, and it should come as no surprise that I do actually have one, in particular in response to the many other reactions.
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.
