July 18, 2011, Blog Scientific American |Christie Wilcox
Ten years ago, Certified Organic didn’t exist in the United States. Yet in 2010, a mere eight years after USDA’s regulations officially went into effect, organic foods and beverages made $26.7 billion. In the past year or two, certified organic sales have jumped to about $52 billion worldwide despite the fact that organic foods cost up to three times as much as those produced by conventional methods. More and more, people are shelling out their hard-earned cash for what they believe are the …

July 20, 2011, Boston Globe, Kay Lazar
Posted calorie counts in chain restaurants are often inaccurate, and weight-conscious consumers who select soups and salads are especially likely to be served heftier dishes than advertised, according to a new study from Boston researchers.
Their analysis of a wide assortment of items from 42 national fast-food and sit-down restaurant chains found that nearly 1 in 5 samples, when measured in a laboratory, were at least 100 calories over the amounts listed on the restaurants’ websites.
The team also identified many items that contained fewer calories …

July 14, 2011, New York Times, William Neuman
Are Goldfish crackers junk food?
Under proposed new nutritional guidelines, the federal government says yes, and it does not want food like the crackers advertised to children because they contain too much saturated fat and salt and are made from white flour.
But food makers say the fish-shaped treats, made by Campbell Soup’s Pepperidge Farm division, belong on a list of healthful foods that are fine to market to children.
The seeming tempest in a fishbowl is typical of a growing tug of war as government …

FTC advertising guidelines encourage advertisers to promote healthy foods to kids, as well as limit fat and sugar in order to combat childhood obesity. Food, beverage and advertising industry reps say doing so could mean job loss for many.
[Are job losses more important than the health of our nation? LS]
Los Angeles Times, July 8, 2011
Advertisers and food and beverage industry officials called the governments new guidelines for advertising directed toward children a “reckless” maneuver in light of todays fragile economy.After Congress asked the Federal Trade Commission, along with three …

June 22, 2011, April Fulton, NPR
For some of us, the regular trudge to the grocery store is a trial all by itself. But consumers trying to make healthier choices are often left scratching their heads in wonder at the sheer volume of food products with claims about less fat and more whole grain.
When first mom and food maven Michelle Obama called for some clearer guidance last year, the food industry proposed a simple, front-of-package label called Nutrition Keys. It has boxes with information on saturated fat, salt, sugar and calories, …

June 21, 2011, ABC News, by Dan Harris and Maggy Patrick
David Allison is a renowned scientist who runs an obesity research center at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. He has a 108-page resume and was honored at the White House.
But even though study after study have shown soda to be a significant contributor to America’s staggering obesity crisis, he says there is too little “solid evidence.”
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control last week warned teenagers to cut down on their soda consumption, citing studies that show soda contributes to …

June 15, 2011, WebMD, Denise Mann
A child’s risk for becoming overweight or obese does not seem to increase when fast food establishments and stores are located near school grounds, a new study finds.
“Unhealthful food choices are ubiquitous and consequently stores selling these food items near schools have no significant effect on student obesity,” researchers led by David E. Harris, PhD, of the University of Southern Maine in Portland say in the July/August 2011 Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.
Researchers compared the weight and height of 552 students from 11 high …

TakePart.com, Megan Bedard, February 11, 2011
They can’t erase years of creating double chins with their famous double arches, but McDonald’s CEO Mike Roberts and Chief of Operations Mike Donahue are finally doing national cuisine a favor: they’re starting ahealthy fast food restaurant chain.
To make it work, the execs are pairing up with entrepreneur Stephen Sidwell and former personal chef to Oprah Winfrey and two-time James Beard Foundation Award winner Art Smith.
The new restaurant—planned to be one of 250 within the next five years—will open in Palo Alto with the name LYFE Kitchen, an …

February 1, 2011, by Liesbeth Smit
The new USDA American Dietary Guidelines are released. While the general public and scientists were anxiously waiting which major topics would be addressed, it turns out we should all eat much less sodium and added sugar. This would mean we are not supposed to eat most breakfast cereals, and ban sugary drinks (and juices) and canned soups. They even point out that we should eat REAL FOODS, that means foods that are not procesessed, packaged and to which other nutrients are added.

One thing that is …

CSPI, November 9, 2010
The controversial practice of using toys to market unhealthy fast-food meals to children was dealt another blow today by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. By a vote of 8 to 3, the board gave final approval to a measure sponsored by Supervisor Eric Mar that requires meals sold with toys not to exceed ceilings for calories, fat, sugar, and sodium, and to contain a half a cup of fruit and at least three-quarters of a cup of vegetables.
“That’s good news for San Francisco’s parents and children,” …