Category «Food and Nutrition»

How Close Are the Planet’s Climate Tipping Points?

The New York Times – article and visualizations [unpaywalled]: “Earth’s warming could trigger sweeping changes in the natural world that would be hard, if not impossible, to reverse. Right now, every moment of every day, we humans are reconfiguring Earth’s climate bit by bit. Hotter summers and wetter storms. Higher seas and fiercer wildfires. The …

Subjects: Climate Change, Economy, Environmental Law, Food and Nutrition, Poverty

Greedflation Report

“U.S. Sen. Bob Casey released his latest “greedflation” report on Wednesday, and this time it takes aim at popular streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and more. This time, Casey is highlighting what he calls “streamflation,” which happens when streaming platforms hike their profits by charging higher prices, despite offering less content and …

Subjects: E-Commerce, Economy, Financial System, Food and Nutrition, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research

The olive oil wars

EDJNet – The European Data Journalism Network: “Italy convinced the world that it was the king of liquid gold by selling Spanish oil, but now Spain has appropriated ‘Made in Italy’. With 283 million olive trees, Spain dominates the global olive oil market: in the 2021/22 season, the last one before drought destroyed its harvest, …

Subjects: Economy, Food and Nutrition

Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet standing Commission

“The 2024 update of the Lancet Commission on dementia provides new hopeful evidence about dementia prevention, intervention, and care. As people live longer, the number of people who live with dementia continues to rise, even as the age-specific incidence decreases in high-income countries, emphasising the need to identify and implement prevention approaches. We have summarised …

Subjects: Food and Nutrition, Health Care, Medicine

Why, Exactly, are Ultraprocessed Foods so Hard to Resist?

The New York Times [unpaywalled] – “This Study is Trying to Find Out….Ultraprocessed foods encompass a large range of foods and drinks that are made using methods and ingredients you wouldn’t typically use or find in a home kitchen. Sodas, processed meats and flavored yogurts are part of this category, as are most breakfast cereals, …

Subjects: Economy, Food and Nutrition, Health Care, Marketing

Here’s how extreme climate is driving inflation

“TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — In today’s Climate Classroom, we will be speaking to William S. Becker, a writer for The Hill, a Nexstar-owned property on climate inflation, better known by its new name “climateflation.” No doubt it’s a new term to most, but it’s very real and it’s already hitting us in the wallet— think …

Subjects: Climate Change, Economy, Environmental Law, Food and Nutrition, Housing

FDA Pulls Food Additive in Citrus Sodas Over Health Risks

Gizmodo: “A problematic ingredient in some soft drinks is now officially being taken off the market. The Food and Drug Administration has revoked its authorization that allows brominated vegetable oil (BVO) to be used in food, following recent research suggesting that it could potentially harm people’s thyroid health. BVO is vegetable oil that’s been modified …

Subjects: Courts, Food and Nutrition, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research

Going plastic-free is nearly impossible. These people are trying anyway.

Washington Post:  The global trend of Plastic Free July offers ideas on how to cut back on plastic use at home. “…According to the Plastic Free Foundation, the nonprofit that Prince-Ruiz founded, 89 million people in 190 countries pledged to reduce their plastic use during July last year. The countries with the most participants are …

Subjects: Environmental Law, Food and Nutrition

Global warming and heat extremes to enhance inflationary pressures

Kotz, M., Kuik, F., Lis, E. et al. Global warming and heat extremes to enhance inflationary pressures. Commun Earth Environ 5, 116 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-01173-x – “Climate impacts on economic productivity indicate that climate change may threaten price stability. Here we apply fixed-effects regressions to over 27,000 observations of monthly consumer price indices worldwide to quantify the …

Subjects: Climate Change, Economy, Food and Nutrition

10 Times as Much of This Toxic Pesticide Could End Up on Your Tomatoes and Celery Under a New EPA Proposal

ProPublica: “When you bite into a piece of celery, there’s a fair chance that it will be coated with a thin film of a toxic pesticide called acephate. The bug killer — also used on tomatoes, cranberries, Brussels sprouts and other fruits and vegetables — belongs to a class of compounds linked to autism, hyperactivity …

Subjects: Food and Nutrition, Government Documents, Legal Research