Showing posts with label Food packaging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food packaging. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Conservatives Smash Keurig Machines In Social Media Uproar

Over the weekend, CNBC reported on five companies that halted all advertisements of their products on Fox News’ Sean Hannity show. These companies included:


  • 23 and Me

  • Eloquii

  • Keurig

  • Nature’s Bounty

  • Realtor.com

The story began last Thursday, with the sexual allegations against Roy Moore, the Alabama senate candidate who, The WaPo reported that day, made sexual advances towards four teenagers when he was in his early 30s. As of today, there is even a fifth women accusing Moore of sexual misconduct.


After the story broke on Thursday, Fox host Sean Hannity came out and asked his audience to give Moore the benefit of the doubt. According to NYTimes,








Mr. Hannity, describing those actions on his radio show while speaking with a co-host, Lynda McLaughlin, seemed to justify Mr. Moore’s reported conduct by calling one of the encounters “consensual.”



Hours later "On his television show, Mr. Hannity said that the statement “was absolutely wrong” and that he “misspoke.” He then brought up the possibility of accusers lying for money, or for political purposes."


The following day, Angelo Carusone, President of Media Matters, a ‘politically progressive media watchdog’ that monitors “conservative misinformation in the U.S. media” said this to Keurig:



On Saturday, Keurig responded by saying “we worked with our media partner and FOX news to stop our ad from airing during the Sean Hannity Show”.



What happened next was a firestorm on social media that swept across the United States late Saturday into Sunday. The bulk of the trend #BoycottKeurig exploded on Sunday, as many conservatives who have boycotted the NFL because of kneeling problems, decided they had to urgently get involved in the latest bitter debate splitting America. We start with ‘Snoop Baily’ who smashed the living hell out of Keurig with a driver.





To keep it short, this is what it looks like when a sizable chunk of the US decides to go "Office Space":



For a while, Hannity played along with the trend empowering it to grow through his enormous social media network as conservatives were called to action to smash Keurig machines. As the day closed, he then told his audience that he was buying 500 coffee makers to give away on Monday.



On Monday, however, the Krush The Keurig fun ended when Hannity told his audience to stop smashing the Coffee machines, after Keurig CEO apologizes for ‘taking sides’…



Moore"s sexual allegations aside, which have yet to be rejected or confirmed, what is more concerning is the blind willingness of substantial portions of the population to succumb to instant mobilization through social media and or a media figure(s), to collectively work as a unit in completing tasks, in this case the destruction of one"s own property. Ironically, something tells us that for Keurig the news that its machines were being "Office Spaced" across the nation, was music to the CEO"s ears (think replacement value), not to mention the unprecedented media exposure as virtually everyone spent the day talking about the incident (think unlimited advertising).



There"s more: as The Atlantic writes, "in destroying Keurig machines also clearly aligns these people with a global environmentalist movement. In 2015, the “Kill the K-Cup” campaign took hold among those concerned about the net waste of so many pods. A Canadian advocate encouraged people to publicly abandon the machines."








Now America finds itself in the midst of hordes of angry people with clubs who will soon be going through caffeine withdrawal. They could go to Starbucks, though the chain has also been condemned and boycotted by some isolationist conservatives, since earlier this year it promised to hire 10,000 refugees in response to President Trump’s executive order barring them from the country.



Meanwhile, always eager to ride on the latest social media trend, corporate America has promptly noticed the events over the past 72 hours, and it is guaranteed that many more companies will follow in Keurig"s activist footsteps. Who knows: the resultant breaking and smashing of various "resistance" products may just end up being the CapEx spark that the US economy so desperately needs...









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Tuesday, August 1, 2017

15 Million Americans may be Drinking Water Contaminated with PFCs

More than 15 million Americans across 27 states may have drinking water contaminated with perfluorochemicals (PFCs) that are used to make non-stick cookware and other products, according to a report published in June 2017. [1]


PFCs have been linked to cancer, thyroid disease, and weakened immune systems. What’s more, prenatal exposure to the chemicals has been linked to low birthweight and future obesity. Even small amounts in drinking water are considered a public health threat.

Research by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and Northeastern University in Boston reveals that drinking water has been polluted with perfluorochemicals from more than 4 dozen industrial and military sources from Maine to California. [2]


In a press release, managing editor of the EWG Bill Walker said:


“It’s remarkable that the richest country on earth can’t guarantee its citizens that their drinking water is completely safe and has no long-term health implications.” [1]


Although the CDC has found perfluorocarbons in the bodies of virtually all Americans and knows that mothers can pass the chemicals to their babies through the umbilical cord, there are currently no federal health regulations for the chemicals in drinking water. [2]


The last time a drinking water contaminant was added to the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Act was 25 years ago. [1]



Two types of PFCs, called PFOA and PFOS, have waterproof and non-stick properties, making them used in the production of cookware, outdoor clothing, food packaging, and firefighting foam. DuPont formerly used the chemicals to make its Teflon non-stick cookware, and PFCs were formerly an ingredient in 3M’s Scotchgard.

Perfluorochemicals were phased out in the U.S. after it was revealed that both companies spent decades covering up the health risks of the substances. [2]


U.S. chemical manufacturers replaced PFOA and PFOS with a different type of PFC that is molecularly different. However, it was not adequately tested for safety before going on the market. The few studies that do exist indicate they’re not much safer than older PFCs.


EWG and the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute at Northeaster collaborated to create an interactive map that, EWG says, “combines federal drinking water data and information on all publicly documented cases of PFAS pollution from manufacturing plants, military air bases, civilian airports and fire training sites.”


Sources:


[1] Time


[2] Environmental Working Group


Storable Food

About Julie Fidler:


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Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.

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Monday, July 31, 2017

FDA Urged to Investigate Hazards of Chemical Phthalates in Food Packaging

Senator Chuck Schumer from New York issued a letter to FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb on July 30, 2017, calling on the health regulator to launch a study into the consequences of using phthalates in food packaging. [1]


Earlier in July, a study revealed that boxed macaroni and cheese contain phthalates, including Kraft Mac & Cheese. Phthalates are a group of endocrine-disrupting additives in plastics, used to make them soft and flexible.


Phthalates also lurk in fast food packaging, such as burger wrappers, soda cups, and fry cartons. In addition, they are found in beauty and cosmetic products, as well as in other consumer and industrial products.


Source: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Studies have linked phthalates to:


  • Various cancers

  • Human reproduction and developmental problems

  • Damage to the male reproductive system

  • Birth defects

  • Behavioral problems in children

  • Miscarriages

  • Premature birth

  • Respiratory issues in children with bronchial obstruction, such as asthma. [2]

Schumer noted in his letter to Gottlieb that federal regulators have already banned 6 types of phthalates often found in “children’s toys and other child care products, like those to facilitate sleeping, feeding, sucking or teething.” [1]


He went on:


“To think that we have all this data on phthalate chemicals from doctors, scientists, health experts and other industries just sitting around, frozen like a beef patty and begging for the FDA to take it to the next appropriate level of scrutiny is worrisome for the consumer.




The studies are clear: the link between these chemicals does have an impact on the body, and not a very good one. That is why I am asking the FDA to launch a formal investigation into the fast food products that wrap our burgers or subs, hold our drinks and contain our leftovers.”


In the letter, Schumer included citations from studies published by the CDC and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), as well as others showing that phthalates may cause thyroid and insulin problems in kids. Past research has also indicated that Americans who eat a lot of fast food have higher levels of phthalates in their bodies than those who rarely hit fast-food joints.


Source: Natural Resources Defense Council

Schumer wrote in the letter to Gottlieb:


“Consumers are not giving these everyday packaging products a second thought. They assume they are safe — and they should be, especially when their reach extends to millions upon millions of Americans.


The agency must now take a closer look at these products for the sake of consumers and their everyday health.” [3]


Sources:


[1] Newsday


[2] Environmental Working Group


[3] New York Daily News


Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health


Natural Resources Defense Council


Storable Food

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