Study: New GM Soybean Oil and Non-GMO Are Terrible Compared to This Oil

Heather Callaghan

Unfortunately, many Americans simply skim headlines. They might even share information based solely on headlines. And it's almost like both the media and research communities know this when they choose a headline. Especially when they choose headlines that have a deliberately opposite meaning than the content therein.

When this writer came across headlines that suggested a new genetically engineered soybean oil was healthier to humans than conventional soybean oil - she just had to bite and see what is the newest GMO claim.

"How healthy is genetically modified soybean oil?" one asks innocently. Another says GE soybean oils is slightly healthier than conventional implying that both are a part of a complete breakfast.

Idiocracy: Food Packaging Should Have Traffic Light Labels?

Heather Callaghan

The main character in the movie Idiocracy goes to the hospital of the future and tries to tell the clerk about his problem. She apathetically scans her finger over a bunch of picture buttons that indicate a medical problem - she doesn't have to think. Imagine if everything was even further reduced from Idiocracy into nothing but basic colors and shapes. It would almost be like shopping with Big Bird as your guide.

"Should food products be labeled with traffic light symbols to make health-related information on ingredients easier to understand?"

Apparently, this very topic has been up for debate...according to researchers at the University of Bonn. This writer would like to show you that this is really only yet another study that benefits Big Food, not the obesity-ridden consumer.

Breaking Bread: Student Punished for Sharing Lunch

KRCR TV News

Heather Callaghan

Lunch police: No sharing allowed!

Here we have a school that has a policy, not with safety in mind - only as an afterthought - but one that hinges on strict adherence to said policy. Two students were given two different school-prepared lunches. One of the lunches was obviously inadequate, so the classmate gave of his own plate - and was met with detention.

The problem this writer has with it is the use of zero tolerance force in the lunch room of all places. And when trauma and guilt are inflicted on a student who would otherwise be praised for having a mature character - by acting on the very collectivist principles heavily taught in school - why, this is just too hard to swallow....

Food Matters: Are You Fed Up?

Heather Callaghan

But what will you do about it?

The movie documentary FED UP may not have played at theaters near you - but very recently, it was made available on DVD and online. The tagline is: "It's time to get real about food." But will viewers really be empowered to do that when they watch?

Are you interested in seeing it? The trailer is below.

This writer cannot align herself completely with the views and messages of the movie since it hasn't been viewed yet.

(And I have suspicions about its ultimate message...)

Study Proposes Outrageous Solution In Lieu of Family Dinners

"It's been great kids - gotta go!"

Heather Callaghan

It's true - magazines, television and other popular media increasingly urge families to return to the kitchen, stressing the importance of home-cooked meals and family dinners for both physical health and emotional strength.

It's almost like a sick joke to finally push for things that are so out of reach for the average family. Especially after decades of culture creation eroding family life away, and an economy deeper in the toilet than ever before. So what could researchers have to offer? But first...

Foodist "extraordinaire" Michael Pollan wowed audiences with this obvious gem - that the average family spends four minutes in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner. And oh, what could they possibly be eating with a four-minute cleanup, with nary enough time to wash pots and pans? I didn't get swept away by his Chomsky-esque observations. I first heard about him for his standing up for the Food Safety Modernization Act a few years ago - a sweeping power giveaway to the FDA à la global Codex guidelines. It will do the opposite of keeping food affordable, safe or local.

So one must ask himself - how helpful are these astute observations?

McDonald's Stands By Meat Supplier Amid Shanghai Food Scandal

Heather Callaghan

One of the latest food scares has rocked Shanghai, China and the restaurant chains serving patrons there. Recent revelations have also rocked trust in the processed food system. A TV report on Sunday showed workers at a branch of Shanghai Husi Food Co Ltd, owned by Illinois-based OSI Group, using expired meats and those that had fallen on the floor. 

Yesterday, five people connected to the company were arrested and detained by Shanghai police. Yum Brands Inc which owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut have cut ties with the company. Starbucks pulled away too, after having to recall its apple-chicken panini sandwiches from its Chinese chains. Hong Kong has just banned importation of OSI's products.

But this food system issue has implications for the U.S. as well. 

Michigan Dept of Agri Forces Farmer to Dump 248 Gallons of Organic Milk and Break 1200 Free Range Eggs

Daisy Luther

While Americans in the nearby city of Detroit face life in third world conditions, unable to even afford running water, the state of Michigan decided to direct its resources towards cracking down on a small food co-op in Standish for having the utter audacity to provide milk, butter, cream and eggs to people who bought shares in the organic dairy.

The Michigan Department of Agriculture must be so proud of their deeds, after they forced Joe and Brenda Golimbieski, the owners of  Hill High Dairy and Jenny Samuelson, the owner of My Family Co-op, to dump out 248 gallons of milk, to break 100 dozen eggs, and to destroy an undisclosed amount of fresh cream, butter and cheese.

Supreme Court Decides: Anything You Don't Say Can and Will be Used Against You

Daisy Luther

Everyone knows that when building a police state, it’s vital to strike a few Constitutional rights off the books. Now, we can add the right to remain silent to the graveyard of the American justice system.  

How can you expect the people to be properly subjugated with all those pesky freedoms that the Bill of Rights blathers on about?

The would-be totalitarians can chalk up another victory, because the Supreme Court has made the decision that if you opt to remain silent, that silence can (and will) be used against you in a court of law.

Is the USDA Governing Our Taste Buds?

David Katz, M.D.
Huffington Post

The New York Times has done a fine job pointing out the fishy thing about cheese: The same federal authorities charged with reducing its consumption to help fight the obesity epidemic, are directly involved in promoting its sales. In short, an entity called "Dairy Management" helped Domino's Pizza out of a slump by encouraging cheesier pies. Leaving aside questions about the need for an outside consultant to tell you people like cheese, the main issue is this: Dairy Management is a creation of, and accountable to, the USDA.

The very same USDA responsible for taking advice from a group of scientists, and turning it into the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In fact, the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans are if anything overdue, and presumably imminent -- if not, they are destined to be the 2011 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Fans of Michael Pollan, who has long advocated for a food bill to replace our farm bill, and/or ofMarion Nestle, who spilled the beans on food politics long ago will likely find this matter no great surprise. But it clearly is of great concern that the pinnacle of public policy related to diet is directly involved in selling pizza.

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McDonald's and PepsiCo to help write UK health policy

Guardian Exclusive: Department of Health putting fast food companies at heart of policy on obesity, alcohol and diet-related disease

Felicity Lawrence
Guardian

The Department of Health is putting the fast food companies McDonald'sand KFC and processed food and drink manufacturers such as PepsiCo, Kellogg's, Unilever, Mars and Diageoat the heart of writing government policy on obesity, alcohol and diet-related disease, the Guardian has learned.

In an overhaul of public health, said by campaign groups to be the equivalent of handing smoking policy over to the tobacco industry, health secretary Andrew Lansley has set up five "responsibility deal" networks with business, co-chaired by ministers, to come up with policies. Some of these are expected to be used in the public health white paper due in the next month.

The groups are dominated by food and alcohol industry members, who have been invited to suggest measures to tackle public health crises. Working alongside them are public interest health and consumer groups including Which?, Cancer Research UK and the Faculty of Public Health. The alcohol responsibility deal network is chaired by the head of the lobby group the Wine and Spirit Trade Association. The food network to tackle diet and health problems includes processed food manufacturers, fast food companies, and Compass, the catering company famously pilloried by Jamie Oliver for its school menus of turkey twizzlers. The food deal's sub-group on calories is chaired by PepsiCo, owner of Walkers crisps.

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The Left Right Paradigm is Over: It's You vs. the Corporations

Barry Ritholtz

Every generation or so, a major secular shift takes place that shakes up the existing paradigm. It happens in industry, finance, literature, sports, manufacturing, technology, entertainment, travel, communication, etc.

I would like to discuss the paradigm shift that is occurring in politics.

For a long time, American politics has been defined by a Left/Right dynamic. It was Liberals versus Conservatives on a variety of issues. Pro-Life versus Pro-Choice, Tax Cuts vs. More Spending, Pro-War vs Peaceniks, Environmental Protections vs. Economic Growth, Pro-Union vs. Union-Free, Gay Marriage vs. Family Values, School Choice vs. Public Schools, Regulation vs. Free Markets.

The new dynamic, however, has moved past the old Left Right paradigm. We now live in an era defined by increasing Corporate influence and authority over the individual. These two “interest groups” – I can barely suppress snorting derisively over that phrase – have been on a headlong collision course for decades, which came to a head with the financial collapse and bailouts. Where there is massive concentrations of wealth and influence, there will be abuse of power.  The Individual has been supplanted in the political process nearly entirely by corporate money, legislative influence, campaign contributions, even free speech rights.

This may not be a brilliant insight, but it is surely an overlooked one. It is now an Individual vs. Corporate debate – and the Humans are losing.

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Celente Says Populists Will Break False Left Right Paradigm

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