The Fringe News: Chew News

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Tuesday, November 22, 2016

McDonald’s Shareholders Push for Global Chain-Wide Antibiotic Removal

The Congregation of Benedictine Sisters of Boerne, Texas, members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, and a McDonald’s shareholder, is calling on the fast food chain to make removing antibiotics from its supply chain a priority.

While McDonald’s has already begun to source antibiotic-free chicken for products served in the U.S., the shareholder group says the chain needs to make the same commitment to all of its animal products—not just in the U.S., but across the planet—in order to help reduce the antibiotic resistant epidemic.

According to Reuters, more than 20 percent of McDonald’s shareholders recently voted similarly in another proposal. And the Sisters are hopeful that their proposal will be voted on in 2017.

“More than 70 percent of medically important antibiotics in the United States are sold for livestock use,” reports Reuters. “Scientists have warned that the routine use of antibiotics to promote growth and prevent illness in healthy farms animals contributes to the rise of dangerous, antibiotic-resistant ‘superbug’ infections, which kill at least 23,000 Americans each year and pose a significant threat to global health.”

The World Health Organization continues to urge world leaders to take antibiotic resistance seriously and to find ways to remove them from the food supply in order to protect people from antibiotic-resistant infections.

McDonald’s told Reuters it continues “to engage with key experts, including some who serve as advisors to the World Health Organization (WHO), to advance progress across the industry.”

According to McDonald’s, under current policies, it works with suppliers in providing guidance and systems to help ensure antibiotic-free compliance.

Antibiotics are routinely given to livestock animals as a preventative against diseases and infections common in dense factory farms. But they’re also given because they increase animal size and weight in a short period of time, allowing producers to push animals to market more quickly, thus increasing profits.

Find Jill on Twitter and Instagram

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Jill Ettinger

Jill Ettinger is a Los Angeles-based journalist and editor focused on the global food system and how it intersects with our cultural traditions, diet preferences, health, and politics. She is the senior editor for sister websites OrganicAuthority.com and EcoSalon.com, and works as a research associate and editor with the Cornucopia Institute, the organic industry watchdog group. Jill has been featured in The Huffington Post, MTV, Reality Sandwich, and Eat Drink Better. Twitter @jillettinger | www.jillettinger.com.

Friday, November 18, 2016

Chicago Just Passed a Soda Tax Affecting More than 5 Million People

Cook County, Illinois, the county that encompasses the city of Chicago, approved a penny-per-ounce soda tax on Thursday by vote of the governing council.

Cook County’s population of 5.2 million means that this soda tax affects the largest number of people of any similar tax in the nation.

Similar taxes were passed by ballot measure in San Francisco, Oakland, and Albany, Calif., as well as in Boulder, Colorado last Tuesday. Boulder’s soda tax is the most expensive of the three, with a two-cents-per-ounce tariff on sugary beverages.

“There is a huge body of economics research demonstrating that for most food and beverage products, increasing the price leads to a reduction in consumption,” Michael Siegel, a professor at the Boston University School of Public Health, told Mother Jones.

“Soda taxes are now on the policy agenda, and I think we will only see an increase in such policies over time,” he continued.

Cook County joins Philadelphia as one of only two places in the nation where such a tax was passed by vote of the governing council as opposed to ballot measure.

Bloomberg News has reported that since 2009, there have been more than 40 attempts to enact similar soda taxes in cities across the nation. While many, such as New York’s attempt in 2010, were voted down, a positive trend began in November 2014 with the landslide vote in favor of Berkeley’s soda tax.

“This is an astonishing repudiation of Big Soda,” Jim Krieger, MD, MPH, the executive director of Healthy Food America, told Forbes. “For too long, the big soda companies got away with putting profits over their customers’ health.”

Similar soda taxes have also been passed in Mexico, in 2014, and in England, where a sugar tax was passed on sugary beverages and snacks sold in hospitals in January.

In October, the World Heath Organization published a recommendation that internal governments tax sugary drinks at 20 percent in a report entitled “Fiscal Policies for Diet and Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases.”

Emily Monaco

Emily Monaco is an American writer based in Paris. She is particularly interested in the ways in which the stories of one person, one ingredient, one tradition can illustrate differences and similarities in international food culture. Her work has been published in the Wall Street Journal, Paste Magazine, and Serious Eats. Twitter: @emiglia | www.emilymmonaco.com.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

UN Blasts Junk Food Industry as Major Human Rights Issue

In a major blow to the processed and fast food industry, in a statement earlier this week, the United Nations called the ubiquity of junk food a human rights concern.

“Within the human rights framework, states are obliged to ensure effective measures to regulate the food industry, ensure that nutrition policymaking spaces are free from private sector influence and implement comprehensive policies that combat malnutrition in all its forms,” Hilal Elver, the U.N.’s special representative on the right to food, said on Tuesday.

Elver says the widespread rise in production of processed foods, along with looser trade regulations has led to a flooded global market filled with, “cheap, nutrient-poor foods that force poor people to choose between economic viability and nutrition, effectively violating their right to adequate food,” reports CBS.

Current nutrient deficiencies around the globe are higher among those with access to junk food than among those living in hunger. There are more than two billion people suffering from micro-nutrient deficiencies around the world, with about 600 million of those clinically obese people, compared with 800 million people battling a chronic lack of food.

“The first step is to recognize nutrition as an essential component of the human right to adequate food, reinforced by monitoring accountability and transparency,” Elver said.

The UN representative says the international community is not keeping up pledges to meet nutrition targets, leading to the widespread malnutrition epidemic.

Among the culprits most at fault and most easily corrected are marketing efforts for junk and processed food companies, says Elver, who also urged governments to move away from industrialized food system and instead, notes CBS “embrace more sustainable systems based on ecological balance.”

Find Jill on Twitter and Instagram

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Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Iconic Soap Company Steps Up for Animal Welfare Issues

Dr. Bronner’s, the leading brand of natural soaps known for its iconic labels and “All-One” philosophy as well as a commitment to numerous social and political causes, has pledged more than $500,000 this year to support animal advocacy and animal welfare efforts, the company announced this week.

Funding has gone to animal advocacy organizations that focus specifically on reducing the suffering of farm animals, as well as supporting education efforts and more sustainable food options.

“As a dedicated vegan, I’m proud that my family is committing resources over the long-term to take on the terrible plight of farm animals and to promote more compassionate and sustainable dietary choices,” David Bronner, Cosmic Engagement Officer of Dr. Bronner’s, said in a statement. “One doesn’t have to be vegan to want to reduce the incredible suffering of animals in factory farms and to lower overall meat consumption,” Bronner adds.

According to Dr. Bronner’s, vegetarian advocacy and animal welfare are core focuses for the company, which has also been outspoken in its support of GMO labeling, legalizing hemp farming, drug policy reform, and fair trade.

The Plant Based Food Association and the Good Food Institute are two of the organizations receiving funding from Dr. Bronner’s.

“Dr. Bronner’s gave The Good Food Institute the support we needed out of the gate, while we were still proving concept and before we’d even officially launched the organization, and that gave us the momentum and the confidence we needed to accelerate,” Bruce Friedrich, Executive Director of The Good Food Institute (GFI), said in a statement. “One especially great thing about Dr. Bronner’s support is that the Dr. Bronner’s team act as partners to GFI—they are helping us to think through our strategy as well as the technologies we’re supporting and how they can be as ethical as possible, and they’re joining us in all aspects of our work on behalf of a food system with integrity. We appreciate their financial support, of course, and we also treasure their moral and strategic partnership,” said Friedrich.

The Plant Based Food Association, which also launched this year, is the first trade organization representing the leading producers of plant-based alternatives to traditional meat, eggs, and dairy products.

“We are proud and grateful to have the support of Dr. Bronner’s,” said Michele Simon, Executive Director of Plant Based Foods Association. “Not many donors are willing to take a chance on a new organization, but our missions are clearly aligned, which makes for an exciting partnership,” she noted.
“Having such a strong industry leader as Dr. Bronner’s an early supporter gave us the momentum we needed to reach out to other potential members and sponsors.”

Bronner’s also lent its support to the YES on 3 Campaign in Massachusetts, poised to end the controversial confinement of veal calves, egg-laying hens, and pigs in that state.

“Dr. Bronner’s is a powerful ally in helping wage and win the YES on 3 ballot campaign in Massachusetts. If passed, this will be the most important farm animal protection law in the nation, requiring that all the eggs, veal, and pork sold in the state come from cage-free sources,” said Paul Shapiro, Vice President of Farm Animal Protection at the Humane Society of the United States. “In these ballot campaigns, being right is never enough; we have to have the resources needed to win. And Dr. Bronner’s is a big part of helping make history in Massachusetts with Question 3.”

Other recipients include the forthcoming film version of Jonathan Safran Foer’s book, “Eating Animals”; and organizations including The Humane League, Mercy for Animals, Factory Farming Awareness Coalition, PETA, Our Hen House, Gentle Barn, Poplar Spring and Vine Sanctuary in the United States, as well as the international work of Sea Shepherd and Compassion in World Farming.

“Looking forward, Dr. Bronner’s is particularly keen to help power and coordinate the animal welfare and regenerative organic movements, in their common aim to end the horribly cruel and unsustainable factory farming of animals, fed by monoculture deserts of carbon and water-intensive grain,” adds Bronner. “One-third of the Earth’s land surface is covered in arable farm and range land. Regenerative practices can restore soil health and organic matter relatively quickly, and coupled with a global commitment to eating much less but much more humane and sustainably raised animal products, can also significantly mitigate climate change.”

Find Jill on Twitter and Instagram

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Monday, October 24, 2016

GMO Safety Myth Challenged by New GMO Fact Check Website

The Alliance for Natural Heath USA has released an expanded GMO Fact Check website in response to the biotech industry’s misinformation campaign regarding GMO safety.

The expanded website, released just in time for the second half of Non-GMO Month, refutes many of the common misconceptions about genetically modified organisms with informative articles, amusing yet factual videos, and blog posts.

Image via GMO Fact Check website

“Industry giants like Monsanto and Bayer are essentially buying scientists, and are spending untold sums in propaganda and advertising trying to convince the public that GMOs are necessary and safe,” explained ANH-USA Executive and Legal Director Gretchen DuBeau. “However, the scientific literature simply does not support their contentions. GMOs are unnecessary, unsafe, virtually unregulated, and have the potential to destroy our entire agricultural system. Our GMO Fact Check campaign combats the exaggerations, misrepresentations, and outright falsehoods of biotech’s public relations blitz.”

Image care of GMO Fact Check

The website points to evidence suggesting that GMO crops have cross-contaminated with conventional and organic crops, despite claims from the biotech industry that GMO crops can coexist with naturally raised crops.

“Given that this technology has the potential to contaminate non-GMO crops,” DuBeau said, “we are nearing a point of no return in dealing with GMOs in the food supply. Consumers must have access to accurate information about this technology which, contrary to industry claims, has not been shown to be safe. In fact, animal studies show that GMO crops are causing endocrine system disruptions, birth defects, and even sterility.”

The information provided by this website is even more important given the flexibility of the GMO labeling law that was passed earlier this year. This law requires labeling of some – but not all – genetically modified ingredients.

“Biotech companies want to convince people that GMOs will save the world,” DuBeau continued, “but this simply isn’t the case—and we have the proof. ANH-USA believes that informed consumers should have the choice to avoid GMOs if they wish, but the new ‘labeling’ law, coupled with Monsanto’s vast disinformation campaign, makes that increasingly difficult.”

The Alliance for Natural Health USA is part of an international organization devoted to sustainable healthcare through good science.

Emily Monaco

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Thousands of Farmers and Consumers Demanding USDA Organic Program Overhaul

USDA Receives 5,000 Letters Demanding Organic Program Overhaul

In an effort to protect the integrity and critical function of the National Organic Program (NOP), food and farm policy research group, the Cornucopia Institute, has delivered more than 5,000 letters from concerned farmers and consumers to the USDA urging it to take immediate action.

The Wisconsin-based group has been vocal about its criticism of the NOP and the governance of the National Organic Standards Board, which makes recommendations for the USDA organic program. In recent years, Cornucopia has suggested that corporate interests are influencing policymaking for the organic label and mismanagement of the program is threatening organic farmers and the nation’s organic food supply. It’s also been highly critical of Deputy Administrator, Miles McEvoy, who oversees the program.

The group says the current USDA management, led by McEvoy, is weakening the NOP by failing to enforce fraud and alleged violations of organic regulations as they pertain to numerous issues, including animal agriculture. Cornucopia has been particularly critical of Horizon Organic, the leading producer or organic dairy products in North America, for its use of conventional factory farm style animal housing and providing questionable access to outdoors for its animals, despite NOP regulations forbidding such practices.

The group also points to several other issues, including allowing hydroponic farming—foods grown without organic soil—to utilize the USDA organic label; a “flood” of organic imports from China, India, Central America, and the former Soviet Bloc states, which the group says is hurting U.S. organic farmers; hindering the Sunset review process of non-organic materials the group says are often allowed because of pressures by special interest groups; and what Cornucopia calls a violation of the Organic Foods Production Act, improper governance of the USDA and NOP by its own staff.

“We want organics to live up to the true meaning envisioned by the founders of this movement,” Mark Kastel, Cornucopia’s Senior Farm Policy Analyst, said in a statement. “For both organic farmers and organic consumers, that means sound environmental stewardship, humane animal husbandry, wholesome and nutritious food derived from excellent soil fertility, and economic justice for those who produce our food. The USDA needs to act to preserve consumer trust in the organic label.”

The Cornucopia Institute also notes that Consumer Reports, the leading nonprofit conducting unbiased product reviews, recently downgraded the USDA organic label’s credibility in large part due to issues brought to light by the watchdog group.

“The corporations that are part of the Organic Trade Association, like Driscoll’s, General Mills (Cascadian Farms, Muir Glenn, Annie’s), WhiteWave (Horizon, Silk, Earthbound Farms, Wallaby) and Clif Bar, have the power to trade the credibility of the organic seal for short-term profit,” says Kastel. “The USDA needs to step in and protect the public.”

Find Jill on Twitter and Instagram

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Jill Ettinger

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

PepsiCo Sets Significant Health and Environmental Targets

PepsiCo Sets Significant Health and Environmental Targets It’s going to take nearly a decade, but PepsiCo, the second largest food and beverage company in the world, is going to reduce sugar, salt, and fat in all of its beverages and snack products.

With a 2025 deadline, the company says it’s making the changes to all of its product lines including Pepsi, Gatorade (which recently launched an organic version) Quaker oatmeal products, and Lay’s potato chips. The move is in efforts to respond to the “needs of society”—most specifically the increasing demand for cleaner foods and beverages.

“To succeed in today’s volatile and changing world, corporations must do three things exceedingly well: focus on delivering strong financial performance, do it in a way that is sustainable over time and be responsive to the needs of society,” PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi said in a statement. “The first ten years of PepsiCo’s Performance with Purpose journey have demonstrated what is possible when a company does well by also doing good. We have created significant shareholder value, while taking important steps to address environmental, health and social priorities all around the world.”

Among its goals, PepsiCo says it’s targeting a maximum of 100-calories per 12-ounces coming from added sugars in at least two-thirds of its beverages. Currently, it’s about forty percent—a 12-ounce can of Pepsi-Cola contains 150 calories, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The move follows 2020 targets set by the company in 2009.

“Added sugars rose 4% between 2006 and 2015, compared with the company’s 25% reduction target for 2020,” reports the Wall Street Journal. “PepsiCo has cut sodium by 12% and saturated fat by 3% over the same period. It said in 2009 it wanted to cut sodium and saturated fat by 25% and 15%, respectively.”

Like other food and beverage companies, PepsiCo has recently seen an increase in cleaner products known as “everyday nutrition”—those that boast whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

“PepsiCo’s journey is far from complete,” said Nooyi, “and our new goals are designed to build on our progress and broaden our efforts.”

In addition to the product reformulations, PepsiCo also announced environmental targets that include improved water usage, food waste management, and a 20 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

PepsiCo joins other leading food and beverage companies reformulating products, sourcing cleaner ingredients, and setting sustainability targets, including McDonald’s, Nestlé, and Coca-Cola.

Find Jill on Twitter and Instagram

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Monday, October 17, 2016

Nearly One-Third of Americans are Unaware of Their Food Waste Contributions, Survey Shows

Many Americans are unaware of their contributions to the worldwide food waste epidemic, according to a new survey by the International Food Information Council. While food is also wasted at the production and retail level, the USDA estimates that at the consumer level, the average family of four discards about $1,500 worth of food each year.

Although 47 percent of Americans report not consuming leftovers after having cooked at home, according to the IFIC survey, 30 percent of Americans claim that they “don’t create any food waste.”

“It’s highly unlikely that one-third of Americans play no role whatsoever in food waste,” said IFIC Foundation CEO Joseph Clayton. “We all need to be mindful of the ways we contribute to food waste and what we can do about it.”

Nineteen percent of Americans claim that they contribute to food waste by forgetting about perishable food until it’s too late, according to the survey, and 17 percent buy too much fresh or perishable food.

The researchers noted that people who throw food away in these cases may in fact be wasting perfectly edible food items.

“In developed countries, consumers are often confused by the various product date labels such as ‘sell by,’ ‘use by,’ ‘best before,’ ‘expires on,’ and others, so they throw out food that is still safe to eat,” Clayton said. “This presents an opportunity to help people understand what these labels mean.”

Eight percent of Americans also admit to cooking big meals and throwing out the leftovers, while seven percent aren’t cleaning their plates.

The majority of Americans also claim, however, that they are taking steps to reduce their contributions to waste; 58 percent report taking home leftovers from restaurants to consume later.

Some estimates show that up to half of all of the two billion tons of food produced on the planet is wasted today. Americans are responsible for approximately 133 billion pounds of this total, or nearly 300 kilograms per person per year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Emily Monaco

Thursday, October 13, 2016

U.S. Dairy Farmers are Leading the Global Food Waste Epidemic

Food waste is practically a four-letter word these days. But that hasn’t stopped U.S. dairy farmers from dumping tens of millions of gallons of milk this year—some 66 Olympic swimming pools worth–as dairy prices continue to drop.

The “excess” milk is reportedly the most that’s been wasted in nearly two decades; and the USDA also just committed to purchase $20 million worth of cheddar cheese excess as dairy prices have plunged 36 percent since 2014.

U.S. dairy and meat farmers expanded production beginning in 2014 because of global shortages. But now, as commodity prices continue to drop, farmers are left with more milk products than they can sell.

“The USDA wants to demonstrate that it’s there for dairy,” Marion Bozic, an economist at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul, told the Chicago Tribune.

And the dairy industry is scrambling to find more uses for dairy in everything from subsidized school lunches to fast processed foods.

“Dairy Management Inc., a de facto marketing firm that is paid for by America’s 43,000 dairy farmers, has invested tens of millions of dollars in the past year to develop new milk-heavy menu items with McDonald’s Corp., Yum Brands Inc.’s Taco Bell, Domino’s Pizza Inc. and about 10 other companies it calls ‘dairy partners,’ ” explains the Wall Street Journal.

But it’s still not enough. Some farmers say the cost to transport raw milk is even too costly right now, so they’re just dumping it.

If there’s a worst kind of wasted food, it’s wasted animal products. Nevermind that animals raised for food make the ultimate sacrifice—especially dairy cows–but animal agriculture is also highly damaging to the environment, unsustainable, and incredibly dangerous for farm and slaughterhouse workers. Add to that the increasing demand for plant-based alternatives to meat, eggs, and dairy– the dairy alternatives market alone is expected to surpass $35 billion by 2024–and the future appears to be even more unstable for America’s livestock farmers.

Find Jill on Twitter and Instagram

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image via USDA