proverbialwisdom
proverbialwisdom's JournalHistorical perspective.
Food Industry Ditches Trans Fats, Kids' Cholesterol Levels Drop
By Tom Philpott
Tue Aug. 21, 2012 3:00 AM PDT
"0 grams trans fats." That promise appears prominently on packaging for that classic American junk food, the Lay's Potato Chip. McDonald's iconic French fries? Trans-fat free—as are its Chicken McNuggets.
It wasn't always thus. As recently as 2006, journalist Nina Teicholz could report that consuming a large order of McDonald's fries and McNuggets in one sitting meant taking in nearly 10 grams of trans fats, a "substance considered so unhealthy that the National Academy of Sciences concluded, in 2002, that the only safe amount of trans fats in the diet is zero."
Trans fats are made through a process known as partial hydrogenation—basically, when you add hydrogen to ordinary vegetable oil, it becomes solid at room temperature, making it a cheap substitute for butter.
According to Teicholz, probably the journalist most responsible for exposing the ill effects of the once-ubiquitous, now-scarce substance, "A daily intake of five grams of trans fats increases the risk of contracting heart disease 4 percent to 28 percent."
<>
Teicholz reported trans-fat production was dominated by agribusiness giants Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, and Bunge. These companies ran a trade group called the Institute of Shortening and Edible Oils (ISEO), which "for decades" worked "behind the scenes to squelch bad news about trans fats." Teicholz reported:
As far back as 1968, the ISEO was mentioned in an internal memo written by the medical director of the American Heart Association: According to the memo, the ISEO objected to the AHA’s intention to include a warning about trans fats in its dietary guidelines; subsequently, the AHA took it out.
And the food industry, too, actively sought to repress research showing trans fats' ill effects. According to Teicholz, independent-minded scientists examining the topic had to "deal with the tidal wave of industry pressure unleashed against them at meetings, conferences, and events. Their papers were rebutted with unusual ferocity, and their research funding was scarce." The pressures came from the industry's highest levels:
Dr. Thomas Applewhite and Dr. J. Edward Hunter, industry scientists employed, respectively, by Kraft and Procter & Gamble (which held the original U.S. patent for trans fats), were the principal forces behind this criticism. Given that they worked for two food giants, the potential for bias was apparent, but their ability to fund research (as well as their own encyclopedic knowledge of the field) meant they could exercise considerable influence.
With independent science about its health effects virtually nil, trans fats took on a healthy sheen, promoted by a food industry that was happy to have found a cheap replacement for butter that also worked well in deep frying. By the '70s, "margarine manufacturers used the slogan 'Healthy for Your Heart' and marketed the product like a drug to doctors," Teicholz reported.
Meanwhile, damage to public health was severe. Teicholz cited Harvard epidemiologist Walter Willett, who reckoned that "of the half million Americans who die prematurely each year from heart disease—the leading cause of death in this country—at least 30,000 are killed by trans fats."
The breaking point came in 2002, when a panel convened by the National Academy of Sciences produced a scathing report on the effect of trans fats. Spurred by the NAS document, the FDA had little choice but to move on labeling, which it began to require in 2006. Then came bans on using trans fats in restaurants in New York City, Philadelphia, and California. The drop in trans fat consumption was swift—a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that trans-fat levels in the blood of white adults plunged by 58 percent between 2000 to 2009. (The fats the industry has seized upon to replace trans fats, palm oil and interesterificated vegetable oil, may present their own problems, both to health and the environment, but that is a topic for another post.)
Although a long time in coming, the melting away of trans fats in the American diet shows that progress can be made—that when independent science can cut through industry-induced fog, and when regulators are compelled to do their job—the American diet can improve. But as the Journal of the American Medical Association article shows, things are still dire. Kids' cholesterol levels are coming down, the article notes, but obesity and overweight levels remain stubbornly high.
That unhappy fact, I think, stems from another practice the food industry picked up in the late '70s—adding massive amounts of empty sweeteners to processed food. As the journalist Gary Taubes has shown, the food industry has largely managed to bury a growing body of research on the harms of that habit.
Recommended comment: birdmechanical @ 09:41 AM yesterday.
From: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=205713
RECOMMENDED, K&R.
NEW Poll Finds Widespread Support for GMO Labeling As New Hampshire House Committee Prepares to Vote
Source: Food Democracy Now!
November 5, 2013
90 Percent of NH Voters Favor Their Right-to-Know
CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE — As voters in Washington hand in their ballots today to determine the fate of GMO labeling in their state, the issue of labeling genetically modified organisms or GMOs, as they’re commonly known, is heating up in New Hampshire. This Thursday, the New Hampshire House Environment and Agriculture committee will vote on a similar bill, HB 660, to require GMO labeling in the Granite state.
Consumer support for GMO labeling in the U.S. is wildly popular, according to the recent political opinion survey of New Hampshire registered voters on GMO food labeling conducted by The Mellman Group on behalf of Food Democracy Now!, a grassroots movement of more than 650,000 farmers and citizens dedicated to creating a more sustainable future for farmers and the environment.
According to pollster Mark Mellman, “The survey found nearly all Democrats (93%), Independents (89%) and Republicans (90%) in the state of New Hampshire agree that they have the right to know whether their food contains GMOs."
VIEW THE STUDY HERE: https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.fooddemocracynow.org/images/Food_Democracy_Now_Mellman_Group_NH_GMO_poll.pdf
“These statewide polling results are absolutely consistent with national polling data showing that an overwhelming majority of citizens want the right to know what is in our foods. When is the last time that 90% of NH citizens agreed on anything?”, said Gary Hirshberg, Founder of Stonyfield Farm and Chairman and Founding Partner of Just Label It. “The only question now is whether our citizen legislators will support individual citizens rights over those of a handful of chemical corporations who are trying to protect their profits.”
Read more: http://fooddemocracynow.org/blog/2013/nov/5/new_poll_finds_90_percent_NH_voters_loveGMO_labels/
Washington GMO labeling initiative losing, but not done.
Source: POLITICO
By JENNY HOPKINSON | 11/6/13 1:58 AM EST Updated: 11/6/13 9:47 AM EST
Washington state’s GMO labeling measure appears to be going down in defeat, early results show.
With slightly less than a million votes counted, the current tally on Ballot Initiative 522, which would require the labeling of foods that contain genetically modified organisms, show those opposed leading by about 536,000 (54.8 percent) to 442,000 (45.2 percent). The figures represent about a quarter of the state’s 3.9 million registered voters, so more votes are on the way.
The delay in the final vote total is due to the fact that Washington is a mail-in ballot state, and it will count any ballots postmarked by Nov. 5, even if those ballots arrive at the end of the week. As a result, the tally on election night often only reflects about 60 percent of the votes that ultimately will be received, according to Brian Zylstra, a spokesman for Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State.
If that holds true in this election, with 997,566 ballots counted on election night, another 665,044 could be in the mail.
Elizabeth Larter, spokeswoman for the “Yes on I-522” campaign tells POLITICO that given the spread out returns, the campaign remains optimistic that the final results will support the measure.
“Usually with Washington State campaigns, it tends to be that the more conservative vote tends to come in earlier … so we knew going into tonight that we would either be down or it would be very close,” Larter said. Voters in King County — the state’s most populous and home to Seattle — who have supported the measure in polling, tend to mail their ballots at the last minute, and so election results often “take a couple of days to catch up.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/washington-state-gmo-labeling-initiative-2013-elections-99442.html#ixzz2jtpGAzVF
Fast-food experts analyze 5,427 kids' meals -- only 33 are healthful
Source: Los Angeles Times
By Karen Kaplan
November 5, 2013, 1:23 p.m.
It’s not often that the so-called food cops have kind words for the fast-food industry, but there are a few of them in a new report on the offerings from restaurants such as McDonald’s, KFC and Taco Bell -- and how they are marketed to kids.
Analysts from the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity – a leading proponent of efforts to remove sugary drinks from schools and impose a sin tax on sodas, among other initiatives – analyzed the menu offerings from 18 fast-food chains. They considered all the possible combinations of main dishes, sides and drinks – for a total of 5,427 possible meals.
Eleven out of 12 of the restaurants with kids' meals had at least one option for a side dish that the Rudd Center considered “healthy,” such as sliced apples, bananas, fruit cups, applesauce, green beans, corn or salads (yes, there are three types of salads for kids at Panera Bread). In addition, more than three-quarters of the restaurants offered a healthy drink choice, usually unflavored milk, 100% juice or bottled water.
<>
That’s about where the praise ended. Among the 5,427 possible meals that could be served to children, only 33 met the recommended nutrition guidelines set by the Institute of Medicine. We’ll save you the trouble of doing the math – that works out to less than 1% of offerings.
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-fast-food-kids-meals-20131105,0,2460434.story#axzz2joDa4Nv9
Excellent article here, FYI.
PRINT HEADLINE: For some who are sexually abused as children, it is possible to heal and thrive
Kathleen O'Brien/The Star-Ledger By Kathleen O'Brien/The Star-Ledger (p 25)
on November 05, 2013 at 7:00 AM, updated November 05, 2013 at 7:19AM
"We turn it around, so they can say, ‘If I can handle that, I can handle anything,’ " Deblinger said.
When Penn State University announced it would be paying $59.7 million to more than two dozen victims of child sex abuser Jerry Sandusky last week, its president expressed hope the action would be "another step forward in the healing process."
But how can that healing process happen? And what are its chances of success?
<>
For some who are sexually abused as children, it is possible to heal and thrive.
Yet their ranks include a pantheon of successful singers, poets, athletes and authors. They are as varied as Oprah and former Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey; Axl Rose and Johannes Brahms; Rita Hayworth and Tyler Perry, Sugar Ray Leonard and Queen Elizabeth I.
<>
Soon after the Sandusky scandal broke, entertainer Tyler Perry wrote an open letter about his abuse as a child to the 11-year-old victim who first went to police: "I want you to know you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s not your fault. Please know that you were chosen by a monster. You didn’t choose him. You didn’t ask for it, and most of all, you didn’t deserve it." See: http://mag.newsweek.com/2011/11/27/tyler-perry-s-open-letter-to-penn-state-11-year-old.html
<>
Press Release here.
Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
[centerleft]FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE[/centerleft][right]
Monday, November 4, 2013[/right]
[center]Johnson & Johnson to Pay More Than $2.2 Billion
to Resolve Criminal and Civil Investigations
Allegations Include Off-label Marketing and Kickbacks to Doctors and Pharmacists[/center]
WASHINGTON - Global health care giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and its subsidiaries will pay more than $2.2 billion to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from allegations relating to the prescription drugs Risperdal, Invega and Natrecor, including promotion for uses not approved as safe and effective by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and payment of kickbacks to physicians and to the nation’s largest long-term care pharmacy provider. The global resolution is one of the largest health care fraud settlements in U.S. history, including criminal fines and forfeiture totaling $485 million and civil settlements with the federal government and states totaling $1.72 billion.
“The conduct at issue in this case jeopardized the health and safety of patients and damaged the public trust,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “This multibillion-dollar resolution demonstrates the Justice Department’s firm commitment to preventing and combating all forms of health care fraud. And it proves our determination to hold accountable any corporation that breaks the law and enriches its bottom line at the expense of the American people.”
<>
Coordinated Investigative Effort Spans Federal and State Law Enforcement
This resolution marks the culmination of an extensive, coordinated investigation by federal and state law enforcement partners that is the hallmark of the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which fosters government collaborations to fight fraud. Announced in May 2009 by Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the HEAT initiative has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation.
The criminal cases against Janssen and Scios were handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Northern District of California and the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch. The civil settlements were handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Northern District of California and the District of Massachusetts and the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch. Assistance was provided by the HHS Office of Counsel to the Inspector General, Office of the General Counsel-CMS Division, the FDA’s Office of Chief Counsel and the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units.
This matter was investigated by HHS-OIG, the Department of Defense’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, the Office of Personnel Management’s Office of Inspector General, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Labor, TRICARE Program Integrity, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Office of the Inspector General and the FBI.
One of the most powerful tools in the fight against Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $16.7 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $11.9 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
<>
Court documents related to today’s settlement can be viewed online at http://www.justice.gov/opa/jj-pc-docs.html
Yesterday, c-span 3, TPP lobbying.
MUST CLICK LINK TO SEE VIDEO (01:36:43):
Commerce Dept.: SelectUSA Investment Summit (right-click to copy direct link)
International Trade Summit Promotes Investing in the U.S.
WASHINGTON, DC
Friday, November 1, 2013
Top administration officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, kick off the second day of the SelectUSA 2013 Investment Summit, hosted by the Commerce Department, International Trade Administration and SelectUSA.
The morning events feature a speech by Secretary of State Kerry on the benefits of investing in the U.S. and a plenary discussion on the value of U.S. free-trade agreements, moderated by New York Times columnist David Brooks.
The SelectUSA Summit is the first-of-its-kind trade conference, bringing together international businesses and investors with economic development organizations from around the country.
Updated: Friday at 10:27am (ET)
Stop, I will, after reposting this essential update which you appear to have missed.
FYI, Professor John Walker-Smith is widely regarded as the co-founder of pediatric gastroenterology as an independent field with Dr. Allan Walker of Harvard Medical School.
MMR doctor wins High Court appeal
Press Association, Tuesday March 6 2012
Professor John Walker-Smith appealed against the General Medical Council's (GMC) determination that he was guilty of serious professional misconduct. His fight for his reputation was supported by the parents of many children with autism and bowel disease seen by him at the Royal Free Hospital, north London, up to his retirement in 2001.
Mr Justice Mitting, sitting at London's High Court, ruled the GMC decision "cannot stand". He quashed the finding of professional misconduct and the striking-off.
Calling for changes in the way GMC fitness to practise panel hearings are conducted in the future, the judge said of the flawed handling of Prof Walker-Smith's case: "It would be a misfortune if this were to happen again."
<...>
In a written ruling, the judge made it clear the judgment was the end of the case, and the GMC did not intend to appeal.
Senior Author of MMR Paper, John Walker-Smith, Wins Appeal
Written by The Canary Party
Wednesday, 07 March 2012 16:13
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s co-author on controversial Lancet “MMR paper” completely exonerated of all charges of professional misconduct
World renowned pediatric gastroenterologist Prof. John Walker-Smith won his appeal today against the United Kingdom’s General Medical Council regulatory board that had ruled against both him and Andrew Wakefield for their roles in the 1998 Lancet MMR paper, which raised questions about a link to autism. The complete victory means that Walker-Smith has been returned to the status of a fully licensed physician in the UK, although he had already retired in 2001 — six years before the GMC trial even began.
Justice John Mitting ruled on the appeal by Walker-Smith, saying that the GMC “panel’s determination cannot stand. I therefore quash it.” He said that its conclusions were based on “inadequate and superficial reasoning and, in a number of instances, a wrong conclusion.” The verdict restores Walker-Smith’s name to the medical register and his reputation to the medical community. This conclusion is not surprising, as the GMC trial had no actual complainants, no harm came to the children who were studied, and parents supported Walker-Smith and Wakefield through the trial, reporting that their children had medically benefited from the treatment they received at the Royal Free Hospital.
While John Walker-Smith received funding to appeal the GMC decision from his insurance carrier, his co-author Andrew Wakefield did not — and was therefore unable to mount an appeal in the high court.
<...>
Today, almost 14 years after the paper was published, the high court determined that John Walker-Smith was innocent of the wrongdoing alleged by the GMC. Judge Mitting reported that the GMC, “on the basis of sensible instructions, does not invite me to remit it to a fresh Fitness to Practice panel for redetermination. The end result is that the finding of serious professional misconduct and the sanction of erasure are both quashed.”
More at link.
Profile Information
Member since: Wed Feb 10, 2010, 01:12 PMNumber of posts: 4,959
