Posts Tagged ‘food safety’
Posted on Sunday, April 27th, 2014 by Michele Simon
Today I am releasing a new report with Friends of the Earth, to bring attention to the dire situation of declining bee populations caused by pesticides. You can find the report here, and read a summary below.
If you like to eat, then you should care about what’s happening to bees. Did you know that two-thirds of our food crops require pollination – the very foods that we rely on for healthy eating – such as apples, berries, and almonds, just to name a few. That’s why the serious declines in bee populations are getting more attention, with entire campaigns devoted to saving bees.
A strong and growing body of evidence points to exposure to a class of neurotoxic pesticides called neonicotinoids—the fastest-growing and most widely used class of synthetic pesticides—as a key contributing factor to bee declines.
The European Union banned the three most widely used neonicotinoids, based on strong science indicating that neonics can kill bees outright and make them more vulnerable to pests, pathogens, and other stressors. Enter the corporate spin doctors.
Continue reading →
Posted in Big Food, Food Policy, Industry Tactics | Tagged: bees, Big Food, food safety, lobbying, Monsanto, pesticides | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (6) |
Posted on Thursday, March 20th, 2014 by Michele Simon
The food and beverage giant’s new sweetener causes confusion with claims of FDA approval
For years, the processed-food industry has searched in vain for a low-calorie sweetener that actually tastes good, let alone one that retains the flavor profile of the underlying product. In 2010, the food and beverage giant PepsiCo formed an agreement with the flavor company Senomyx to “focus on the discovery, development and commercialization of sweet enhancers and natural high-potency sweeteners.” That partnership appears to be paying off; there is tremendous profit potential for both companies, given the recent dips in soda sales. Which makes the deceptive nature of a recent press release that much more troubling. Read rest at Al Jazeera America …
Posted in Big Food, Food Law, Food Policy, Food Safety, Industry Tactics | Tagged: Big Food, Big Soda, Center for Food Safety, FDA, food safety, junk food, soda, soft drinks | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (0) |
Posted on Thursday, February 13th, 2014 by Michele Simon
By Michele Simon and Saru Jayaraman
Food movement leaders tend to stick to their specific issues, whether it’s advocating for healthy food, fighting for workers’ rights or curbing marketing to children. For each of these issues, there are numerous food corporations that need to change. But there is one organization that conveniently provides us with one giant target for all of them: the National Restaurant Association.
Continue reading →
Posted in Big Food, Food Policy, Food Safety, Industry Tactics, Labor, Marketing to Children, Public Health | Tagged: animal rights, Big Food, Corporate Accountability International, Darden, food safety, junk food, labor, McDonald's, nutrition labeling, Rick Berman, workers, workers rights | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (3) |
Posted on Wednesday, December 4th, 2013 by Michele Simon
When President Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) into law in January 2011, it was considered a long-fought, but significant and bipartisan victory to update the Food and Drug Administration’s authority and oversight of the food supply. While much of the wrangling over the language of the law was made public, through media coverage of Congressional hearings for example, the ensuing industry influence over implementation of the law has been subject to far less public scrutiny (with the exception of FDA’s unlawful delay of FSMA’s critical implementing regulations, which Center for Food Safety has successfully sued over.
Continue reading →
Posted in Big Food, Food Policy, Food Safety, Industry Tactics | Tagged: Big Food, Center for Food Safety, FDA, food safety, lobbying, Obama, trade groups | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (1) |
Posted on Thursday, November 7th, 2013 by Michele Simon
Internal documents from the Grocery Manufacturers Association reveal height of corporate chutzpah. Industry’s solution to GMO labeling is to: “Pursue statutory federal preemption which does not include a labeling requirement.”
With the disappointing results now in from I-522, the initiative in Washington State that would have required labeling of genetically-engineered food (aka GMOs), the looming question is, what’s next? At least for the junk food lobby, that answer in painfully clear: stop this state-level movement at any cost. In today’s New York Times, Stephanie Strom reports on the dirty details contained in industry documents that I obtained from the Washington State attorney general’s office in the wake of a lawsuit brought against the Grocery Manufacturers Association for illegally concealing donors to the No on 522 campaign.
Continue reading →
Posted in Big Food, Food Law, Food Policy, Food Safety, Industry Tactics | Tagged: Big Food, California Prop 37, FDA, food safety, GMO labeling, GMOs, I-522, Monsanto | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (38) |
Posted on Wednesday, August 7th, 2013 by Michele Simon
While the food movement has been gaining steam in recent years, tangible policy wins have been sparse due to by powerful industry lobbying. One significant victory that appears within reach is the labeling of genetically engineered foods. The narrow loss last fall of Proposition 37 in California has inspired 26 other states to propose similar measures, including Washington, the only state with a ballot measure in November’s election.
Continue reading →
Posted in Big Food, Food Policy, Industry Tactics | Tagged: Big Food, California Prop 37, FDA, food safety, GMO labeling, GMOs, I-522, Monsanto | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (22) |
Posted on Tuesday, June 11th, 2013 by Michele Simon
It seems hardly a week goes by without another foodborne illness outbreak. This time, in frozen organic berries, proving once again that even the health-conscious are not immune from getting sick. Although you wouldn’t know it from the packaging, the contaminated fruit came from overseas, raising several questions such as: Can we trust the USDA organic seal on imported food? I address this and other issues about our globalized food system in my latest article for Center for Food Safety, which you can read on their site here.
Posted in Food Policy, Food Safety, Public Health | Tagged: FDA, food safety, organic, outbreak, USDA | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (0) |
Posted on Tuesday, June 4th, 2013 by Michele Simon
Connecticut Makes History as First State to Pass GE Food Labeling Law
This week, Connecticut won the honor of becoming the first state to pass a law requiring genetically-engineered foods to be labeled. (The governor has indicated he will sign.) It was really only a matter of time. The disappointing defeat of Prop 37 last fall in California (thanks to a massive industry disinformation campaign) sparked a national movement that has resulted in labeling bills getting introduced in about half the states.
But how did the small state of Connecticut make this happen?
Continue reading →
Posted in Big Food, Food Policy, Food Safety | Tagged: agriculture policy, California Prop 37, food safety, GMO labeling, GMOs, Monsanto | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (10) |
Posted on Thursday, May 23rd, 2013 by Michele Simon
In March, when I first wrote about how the biotech rider—called the Monsanto Protection Act by its vocal opponents—undercut the constitutional concept of separation of powers, it seemed hardly anyone (other than the usual advocacy groups) was paying attention. But then a lot of people got mad, really mad.
Within a few short weeks the issue exploded in the mainstream media, with the surest sign the issue had hit the big time being (what else?) coverage by The Daily Show (hilariously entitled, “You Stuck What Where?”). Another indication was outrage even from a Tea Party blogger.
Continue reading →
Posted in Big Food, Food Policy, Food Safety, Industry Tactics | Tagged: agriculture policy, Big Food, Congress, farm bill, FDA, food safety, GMO labeling, GMOs, lobbying, Obama, USDA | Michele on Google+ | View/Add Comments (17) |
