The Huffington Post, Michelle Locke, July 15, 2010
It’s not hard to figure out that stocking school vending machines with sugary sodas and salty, fatty snacks is a bad idea. Replacing those culinary culprits with something more nutritious is tougher.
But a growing number of school districts around the country are trying anyway.
“I can’t say enough for what it does for the kids to have the junk out of the machines,” says Patricia Gray, who as former principal of San Francisco’s Balboa High School oversaw a switch to healthier snacks.
“It was …

The Guardian, Randeep Ganesh, July 7 2010
Beer companies, confectionery firms and crisp-makers will be asked to fund the government’s advertising campaign to persuade people to switch to a healthier lifestyle and, in return, will not face new legislation outlawing excessively fatty, sugary and salty food, the health secretary, Andrew Lansley, announced today.
In a move condemned by campaigners as the government “rolling over on their backs in front of the food lobby”, Lansley told a conference of public health experts that he wanted a new partnership with food and drink …

Los Angeles Times, David Lazarus, June 29, 2010
What to do about the obesity epidemic? Here’s a thought: Substitute “tobacco” for “junk food.” That provides a pretty clear road map about what government authorities should be doing to safeguard public health.
Unfortunately, officials are instead just reheating the same old leftovers.
Dietary guidelines issued recently by the U.S. Department of Agriculture basically say Americans need to ease up on the salt, sugar and saturated fats, and instead eat more fruits and veggies.
This is the same advice given by the department three decades ago. …

The Economist, June 17, 2010 Share

FAST-FOOD firms have to be a thick-skinned bunch. Health experts regularly lambast them for peddling food that makes people fat. Critics even complain that McDonald’s, whose golden arches symbolise calorie excess, should not have been allowed to sponsor the World Cup. These are things fast-food firms have learnt to cope with and to deflect. But not perhaps for much longer. The burger business faces more pressure from regulators at a time when it is already adapting strategies in response to shifts in the global …

Los Angeles Times, Sharon Bernstein, June 23, 2010
Weeks after a Silicon Valley county in California became the first in the nation to ban toys from McDonald’s Happy Meals and other food promotions aimed at children, a public health watchdog group called on the fast food giant to remove the playthings from all its meal packages.
Citing toys aimed at promoting the latest “Shrek” movie, the Center for Science in the Public Interest said that the plastic promotions lure children into McDonald’s restaurants where they are then likely to order food that …

Telegraph.co.uk Rebecca Smith, June 21, 2010

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) says that unhealthy foods have wreaked a “terrible toll of ill health” on the nation and placed a “substantial” strain on the economy.

For the first time, the organisation publishes landmark guidance on how to prevent the “huge number of unnecessary deaths” from conditions such as heart disease that are linked to the consumption of ready meals and processed food.
It calls for sweeping changes to food production and government policy to encourage lifestyle changes, and to reduce significantly the amount of …

CNN, Sarah Klein, April 15, 2010
The fast-food industry has long been under fire for selling high-fat, high-calorie meals that have been linked to weight gain and diabetes, but the financial health of the industry continues to attract investors — including some of the leading insurance companies in the U.S., a new study reports.
According to Harvard Medical School researchers, 11 large companies that offer life, disability, or health insurance owned about $1.9 billion in stock in the five largest fast-food companies as of June 2009.
The fast-food companies included McDonald’s, Burger King, …

Associated Press, April 10, 2010
First came boneless wings. Now KFC wants you to chow down on a sandwich that uses (what else?) chicken for the bun.
The KFC Double Down, which launches Monday, is essentially a sandwich with two chicken filets taking the place of bread slices. In between are two pieces of bacon, melted slices of Monterey Jack and Pepper Jack cheese and a zesty sauce.
How much will it cost? About $5 and 540 calories (460 for the grilled version), putting it on caloric par with fast-food standards like the …

The Boston Globe, February 13, 2010
WHEN SODA companies applaud the latest campaign to fight obesity, you know there is much more to the story.

In launching a new White House initiative against obesity called “Let’s Move,’’ First Lady Michelle Obama this week said, “Our kids didn’t do this to themselves. Our kids don’t decide what’s served to them at school or whether there’s time for gym or recess. Our kids don’t choose to make food products with tons of sugar and sodium in super-sized portions, and then to have those products …

Chains are resorting to giveaways or less-than-$1 menu items. And they’re getting smarter about engineering lower-priced but still-profitable items, though some say the cheaper food tastes that way.

Before the recession, Andrew Puzder, who heads the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s burger chains, liked to joke about how sharp-priced competitors were “giving food away.”
As the recession deepened and the number of 79-cent taco and 99-cent hamburger offers exploded, Puzder realized it was “no longer a joke; they are giving food away.”

Literally.

On Monday, KFC gave away a free piece of its new grilled chicken just …