Posts by Ali Savino
Today is Food Safety Day!
Published July 29, 2009 @ 10:25AM PT
Ali Savino runs the food site www.GastroNomalies.com.
From Congressional Quarterly, the House is scheduled to vote today on this (no link, subscription required):
Food Safety — HR 2749, Food Safety Enhancement Act, is scheduled for House consideration today under suspension of the rules. The bill overhauls food safety regulations for farms and food processing facilities, requiring more frequent inspections at food facilities and giving the FDA authority to impose criminal and civil penalties. The measure generally exempts farms from registration requirements and fees, although the bill does establish new regulations for the farming practices for fresh produce. The FDA would have authority to impose mandatory quarantines on geographic areas which are concluded to be the source of contaminated food posing a serious threat to humans or animals. The House will take up a version of the bill that has been modified as a result of talks between leaders of the Energy and Commerce and Agriculture committees to address concerns of agricultural interests about the role of the FDA in regulating farm activities. The compromise bill was released this morning.
Real Healthcare Reform Starts with Healthy Food
Published July 28, 2009 @ 12:49PM PT
Yesterday there was the startling report that 10% of all healthcare costs are due to obesity. That totals up to more than $147 billion a year. Considering that the current healtcare bills that are winding their way through Congress are wearing price tags in the $1 - $1.5 trillion range, it is clear that obesity is playing a large role in the spiraling costs.
While so many politicians wax poetic about keeping down costs, a sugar tax has been roundly panned as a non-starter. This is not surprising. As with tobacco, often public sentiment lags behind actual data. America still has a culture that believes that if you're fat, well it's your own damn fault:
Being poor in 21-st century America doesn’t mean not having enough to eat, but often it means being part of a culture where fattening, processed foods are not only relatively cheap and convenient, but socially acceptable. It also means having the kind of job that often isn’t all that rewarding, and you really just need to unwind after work instead of stopping at Whole Foods and whipping yourself up a nice tofu stir-fry.
This, perhaps, is what Bingaman really wants the USCO-OP ( United States Council on Overweight and Obesity Prevention) to change. Because let’s be honest: poor people know that green chile cheeseburgers will make them fatter than steamed salmon will, and they know that doing an hour of exercise will make them fitter than watching an hour of television. They know these things, but often they’ve had a long, hard day at work and they’re tired and hungry and just want to be left alone with their remote control and their burger and their Dr. Pepper.
This attitude is what is going to hold us back from really doing something obesity. Yes, people should exercise, but that's not the whole story. We also live in a society where children drink more soda than milk and soda is one third the price of milk. Until the cost of food reflects the ill side-effects, people will still reach for the green chile cheeseburger, which btw costs one fourth the price of the steamed salmon. And elitists who don't realize that should really shut their traps and not tell poor people how to eat.
So we have an attitude problem. Which is going to be a huge hurdle to clear. One the other side though, is greener pastures. Turns out that countries like Great Britain are already experimenting with sugar taxes. While we won't know for years what are the potential health affects, we do know it has the potential to raise some serious dough:
And here's the payoff: Conservatively estimated, a 10% tax levied on foods that would be defined as "less healthy" by a national standard adopted recently in Great Britain could yield $240 billion in its first five years and $522 billion over 10 years of implementation -- if it were to begin in October 2010. If lawmakers instituted a program of tax subsidies to encourage the purchase of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, the added revenue would still be $356 billion over 10 years.
Denny's Going the Way of Philip Morris
Published July 27, 2009 @ 10:28AM PT
Ali Savino runs the food site www.GastroNomalies.com.
Late last week, Center for Science in the Public Interest announced they were filing a lawsuit against Denny's on behalf of a New Jersey man. The suit alleges that Denny's endangered its customers by not disclosing the astronomically high amount of sodium in their food:
The suit contends that many of the meals at Denny’s contain more in the one meal than is recommended for an entire day. An example is Denny’s double cheeseburger which contains 3,880 milligrams. The lawsuit is asking the court to order to order Denny's to list the sodium content of its food on the menu.
Another meal heavy in sodium is the Meat Lover's Scramble which contains 5,690 milligrams. This meal includes eggs scrambled with cheese,, bacon, diced ham and sausage that comes with more meat on the side plus hash browns and pancakes.
The recommended daily allowance of sodium is 2300 milligrams. For those at risk of heart disease and hypertension, the acceptable level drops to 1500 milligrams. The Meat Lover's Scramble has 2 and 1/2 days worth of sodium in one sitting. Of course, Denny's is taking one out of the McDonald's playbook, calling the suit ridiculous and frivolous. McDonald's has been sued more than once going back as far as 10 years for causing health problems in their diners, and so far McDonald's has managed to win in the courts:
NEW YORK (CNN) - A lawsuit alleging food from McDonald's restaurants is responsible for making people obese got thrown out by a federal judge Wednesday.
The landmark legal action was the first of its kind against a fast-food chain to make its way into a U.S. courtroom.
McDonald's spokesman Walt Riker said that common sense had prevailed in the suit. "We said from the beginning that this was a frivolous lawsuit. Today's ruling confirms that fact."
The Denny's lawsuit will be a very hard case to make. However, as the Obama campaign has shown, its important to take a long ball strategy to public perception. The long history of tobacco litigation is instructive here.
The first tobacco lawsuits were filed in the 1950s, but almost always failed. The tobacco companies argued that the harmful effects of smoking had been recognized for decades; people choose to smoke and so are personally responsible if they suffer ill effects. Slate: A Tobacco Lawsuit Primer (April 25, 2000)
In the late 1990s, plaintiffs began introducing scientific documentation of the chemical dependency generated by smoking—and proof that the tobacco companies were well aware of its addictive properties. Slate: A Tobacco Lawsuit Primer (April 25, 2000) The first successful tobacco lawsuit was awarded in February 2000, when a California jury ordered Philip Morris to pay $51.5 million to a California smoker with inoperable lung cancer. Slate: A Tobacco Lawsuit Primer (April 25, 2000)
