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Food News

World Health Organization drops its high-profile endorsement of the EAT-Lancet diet

The New Food Economy | Posted on April 18, 2019

the World Health Organization (WHO), the arm of the United Nations charged with monitoring global health, has dropped its endorsement of the EAT-Lancet Commission’s planetary health diet—a much-ballyhooed, well-publicized attempt at saving the planet through the food we eat.Gian Lorenzo Cornado, Italy’s ambassador to the United Nations, questioned the diet’s impact on public health. The ambassador stated that radical, drastic limitations on animal livestock production—the commission’s primary recommendation—would cause economic hardship in developing countries. In a press release, the “permanent mission,” as the office is known, also suggested the report was not sufficiently independent, and aimed for nothing less than the “total elimination of the freedom of choice” by consumers.


Del Taco launching meatless tacos with Beyond Meat

Biz Journals | Posted on April 18, 2019

Del Taco Restaurants Inc. is teaming with Beyond Meat to add meatless tacos to its 580 locations beginning April 25. Lake Forest, California-based Del Taco (Nasdaq: TACO) said the launch makes it the first national Mexican fast food chain to offer plant-based meat on its menu The nationwide launch of the new menu item dubbed, Beyond Tacos, comes after Del Taco tested it in selected cities.


Will Hormel suit outcome signal end of ‘natural’ label?

Watt Ag Net (free registration required) | Posted on April 18, 2019

The overuse of labels on meat and poultry products has been the topic of many discussions, and the consensus reached in most of those discussions I have heard is many of those labels are meaningless. Now, the judicial system agrees.On April 8, the Superior Court of the District of Columbia dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), that accused Hormel Foods of being deceptive through the use of the word “natural,” Bloomberg News reported.ALDF argued that products from animals that have been treated with antibiotics or have been raised indoors, are not “naturally” raised by most consumers perceptions.But according to the court, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) allows the use of the word “natural” as long the product carrying the label contains no artificial ingredients and has been minimally processed, and therefore, the Hormel products in question like the Natural Choice pork products, do meet the criteria to legally carry the “natural label.”


USDA, EPA, and FDA Unveil Strategy to Reduce Food Waste

FDA | Posted on April 11, 2019

As part of the Trump Administration’s Winning on Reducing Food Waste Month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the release of a federal interagency strategy to address food waste. The agencies held an event at EPA headquarters to hear from state, local and community leaders and other stakeholders on how all levels of government can work together to reduce food waste.


Do happier cows make for happier consumers?

Edairy News | Posted on April 11, 2019

Today’s consumers and especially many young consumers have a desire to know more about the products they buy, including food products. Driven by an increased awareness of and empathy toward the care of production animals, products aimed at enhancing the quality of food and/or improving the quality of life on farm animals are becoming more common. This is evident in the increased prevalence of marketing of organic, non-GMO foods, cage-free eggs, free-range chicken and the reduction of use of hormones in dairy production.


Consumer opinions not swayed by JAMA egg study

Watt Ag Net (free registration required) | Posted on April 11, 2019

To better understand consumer awareness and the impact of news, such as the recently reported-on Journal of the American Medical Association study about the potential health impact of consuming eggs, the American Egg Board conducted an omnibus survey. The JAMA study was released on March 15. As part of the study, researchers examined the relationship between the consumption of eggs and heart disease.  The study concluded that increased egg consumption is directly related to heart disease and death. “The researchers found that eating just three to four eggs per week was tied to a 6 percent higher risk of heart disease, and an 8 percent risk of dying from any cause.” As part of the study, researchers examined the relationship between the consumption of eggs and heart disease.  The study concluded that increased egg consumption is directly related to heart disease and death.“The researchers found that eating just three to four eggs per week was tied to a 6 percent higher risk of heart disease, and an 8 percent risk of dying from any cause.” “Overall, the news Americans have seen about eggs in the media has not had a negative impact on their perception of eggs, with 56 percent saying it had no impact, 27 percent saying it had a positive impact and 17 percent saying it had a negative impact,” the AEB said. The 17 percent that were negatively impacted by the news were not considered to be regular egg eaters.


Can the world quench China’s bottomless thirst for milk?

The Guardian | Posted on April 4, 2019

China’s leaders have championed milk as the emblem of a modern, affluent society – but their radical plan to triple the nation’s consumption will have a huge environmental cost.As China opened up to the market in the 1980s, after Mao’s death, dried milk powder began appearing in small shops where you could buy it with state-issued coupons. Jian’s parents bought it for him because they thought it would make him stronger. “It was expensive, I didn’t like it, I was intolerant, but we persuaded ourselves it was the food of the future,” he said. “You have to understand the psychology here – there is a sense in China that we have been humiliated ever since the opium wars, but that now we are no longer going to be humiliated by foreign powers.”


Gene-edited plants aid food security, researchers say

Cosmos | Posted on April 4, 2019

With renewed attention to implementation and regulation, new plant breeding technologies such as gene editing could make an important contribution to global food security, say a group of plant geneticists and economists. The authors, from several institutions including the University of Liege, Belgium, and the National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Pakistan, catalogue several new technologies to edit genes of plant crops that they suggest “may allay fears associated with GM crops”.Because direct gene editing doesn’t involve transferring DNA across species – which creates transgenic crops – the paper, published in the journal Science, suggests the new methods could reduce regulatory costs and accelerate innovation.The technologies include CRISPR-Cas systems: targeted techniques to alter sections of DNA by cutting and replacing specific genes. These represent “an effective suite of applications and molecular tools to precisely and efficiently alter the genome in a user-defined manner,” write Belgium’s Syed Shan-e-Ali Zaidi and colleagues.


Food Waste Is a Major Problem. Confusing Date Labels Are Making It Worse.

Pew Trust | Posted on April 4, 2019

Rummaging through your refrigerator, you come across a jar of mayonnaise labeled “BEST IF USED BY 06/10/19.” If it’s mid-July, are you risking illness by slathering it on your sandwich and eating it? It’s hard to say.Massachusetts and New Jersey are considering measures to clear up the confusion, following a California law that went into effect earlier this year. Several other states also are looking at labeling bills, as anti-food waste groups advocate for clearer signs to indicate when food is okay to eat, even if it’s not the freshest.A bill that would establish federal standards for the labels, first introduced in 2016, has gone nowhere in Congress. Meanwhile, 43 states have their own rules, but they vary widely. Most limit labeling requirements to certain items, such as milk or shellfish. Some states prohibit the sale of past-date foods, and about half restrict donations of them. And the seven states without any laws leave it up to manufacturers.The result: confusion for retailers and consumers, who throw out tons of food that is perfectly safe to eat.


More Than 750,000 Could Lose Food Stamps Under Trump Administration Proposal

NPR | Posted on April 2, 2019

Three-quarters of a million people would likely lose their food stamps later this year under a new proposal by the Trump administration. The goal is to encourage able-bodied adults to go to work and get off government aid. But opponents predict people would go hungry instead, if the rule goes into effect. A public comment period has so far drawn more than 28,000 comments overwhelmingly against the proposed rule.Those affected by the proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits are known as able-bodied adults without dependents, or ABAWDs. There were close to 4 million adults in this category receiving food stamps in 2016. About three-quarters of them did not work, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It's part of a broader effort by the administration to impose tighter work requirements on recipients of government aid, such as housing vouchers and Medicaid. A federal judge last week blocked two states, Arkansas and Kentucky, from implementing the Medicaid work rule, calling it "arbitrary and capricious."Others here are struggling with other barriers, such as homelessness, mental illness and drug addiction. Some already work, but not enough to meet the 20-hour-a-week threshold. One man says he has a janitorial job at the Baltimore Orioles' stadium, but only when the baseball team is in town. In the winter, he relies on food stamps.Others here are struggling with other barriers, such as homelessness, mental illness and drug addiction. Some already work, but not enough to meet the 20-hour-a-week threshold. One man says he has a janitorial job at the Baltimore Orioles' stadium, but only when the baseball team is in town. In the winter, he relies on food stamps.


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