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Ultra-Processed Foods Need Tobacco-Style Warnings, Says Scientist
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are displacing healthy diets “all over the world” despite growing evidence of the risks they pose and should be sold with tobacco-style warnings, according to the nutritional scientist who first coined the term.
Prof Carlos Monteiro of the University of São Paulo will highlight the increasing danger UPFs present to children and adults at the International Congress on Obesity this week.
“UPFs are increasing their share in and domination of global diets, despite the risk they represent to health in terms of increasing the risk of multiple chronic diseases,” Monteiro told the Guardian ahead of the conference in São Paulo.
The stark warning comes amid rapidly rising global consumption of UPFs such as cereals, protein bars, fizzy drinks, ready meals and fast food.
Michigan Launches First Effort of Its Kind to Detect Silent Bird Flu Infections in Farmworkers
Michigan has led the nation in making inroads with its farmers as it has worked to contain the spread of H5N1 bird flu infections in dairy cows. Now the state’s health authorities are trying to do the same in looking for undetected infections among farmworkers.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is working with an undisclosed number of farms to try to assess the risk to workers of becoming infected with the virus, which has spread to at least 25 farms in the state in the past three months.
Until recently, Michigan led the list of states with detected outbreaks in herds. But it hasn’t confirmed a new infected herd since June 7, and Idaho has since overtaken Michigan as the state with the most affected herds. Nationally there have been confirmed infections in 130 herds across 12 states since the outbreak in cows was first confirmed on March 25.
What’s Driving Avian Influenza Virus Evolution? Human Food Systems — What We Do Next Really Matters
The demand for cheap sources of animal protein has driven the selection of fast-growing meat chickens and layer hens that produce increased numbers of eggs per year. This has resulted in a range of unintended consequences, potentially playing a role in the H5N1 outbreak in dairy cattle we’re facing today.
While our attention is currently focused on the avian influenza virus and its pandemic potential, it’s important we mention that the emergence of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus recently reported in wildlife and dairy cattle has a long story.
The current spread of the HPAI H5N1 virus in dairy cattle in the U.S. will have been facilitated by the large herd sizes, regular movement of animals and fomites between production facilities, and the lack of genetic heterogeneity in the U.S. Holstein-Friesian national herd, with 9 million cows descending genetically from two sires.
The increasing amount and spread of avian influenza virus is concerning and does increase the likelihood of an influenza pandemic, which had already been predicted in early 2000 during the large-scale H5N1 outbreaks in poultry populations. The challenge of reducing pandemic risk by preventing viral spillover between animals and humans is the focus of the Lancet-PPATS Commission on Prevention of Viral Spillover. The commission is working to identify interventions that both reduce pandemic risk and contribute positively to food security and biodiversity gains, thereby delivering multiple returns on investment in these challenging economic times.
USDA Confirms More H5N1 Detections in Dairy Herds and Cats
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed H5N1 avian influenza in three more dairy herds, two in Colorado and one in Iowa, raising its number of affected herds to 129 in 12 states.
In related developments, Iowa yesterday became the latest state to announce new testing requirements for dairy cattle participating in state exhibitions and fairs. The order goes into effect on July 1.
APHIS today added reports of nine more H5N1 detections in mammals across four states, of which five were domestic cats. The infected cats were from Minnesota (Kandiyohi County) and Texas (Hartley County). Other detections involved raccoons from Michigan and New Mexico, a striped skunk for New Mexico, and a red fox from Minnesota.
FDA Warns Maker of Sara Lee and Entenmann’s Not to Claim Foods Contain Allergens When They Don’t
Federal food safety regulators said Tuesday that they have warned a top U.S. bakery to stop using labels that say its products contain potentially dangerous allergens when they don’t.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors found that Bimbo Bakeries USA — which includes brands such as Sara Lee, Oroweat, Thomas’, Entenmann’s and Ball Park buns and rolls — listed ingredients such as sesame or tree nuts on labels even when they weren’t in the foods.
Bimbo, a Mexico City-based food giant, bills its U.S. operations as the largest commercial baking company in the country. In an email, company officials said they “take their role in protecting consumers with allergen sensitivities very seriously” and that they are corresponding with the FDA to resolve the issue.
Lab-Grown ‘Piggy Sooy’ Abomination Shows It’s Time to Produce Your Own Food
Mad scientist Dr. Pretorius toasts Baron Frankenstein in “The Bride of Frankenstein” with the words, “To a new world of gods and monsters!” That world is coming true in the realm of food. We live among lab-grown meat, eggless eggs, and hamburgers and even ice cream made of vegetable matter. And now we have taken the next step.
In a piece published in “The American Mind,” anonymous Twitter user and author Raw Egg Nationalist (REN) reports that startup company Moolec has created what it calls “piggy sooy.” But this is no riff of a sweet love ballad from the ’50s. “Piggy sooy” is a laboratory chimera of soybean and pig.
This is not simply a “what if” experiment confined to a laboratory. Moolec fully intends to sell its “piggy sooy” to general (human) consumers. The Department of Agriculture has already given its blessing. The patent has been handed out. And that isn’t all.
In other words, there may come a time in the future when the common soybean is no longer available, only “piggy sooy.” You will eat the pig-plant, and you will be happy!
Op-Ed: PFAS Contamination Endangers Farmers’ Health — a New Federal Program Would Empower Them to Address the Crisis
When dozens of Maine farmers discovered high levels of PFAS in their soil and water, our state’s agricultural community found itself on the verge of crisis. These “forever chemicals” pose a grave risk to our food supply and to the farmers and their families working on contaminated land.
It was clear that we needed solutions, and fast. Farmers, advocates and leaders from across the state came together to develop a statewide response to PFAS contamination. Today, Maine is the first state to launch an emergency relief fund for impacted farmers and ban the use of sludge-based fertilizers that contain these dangerous chemicals. Our state’s response has reversed a hopeless situation for so many: of the 59 farms where PFAS was initially discovered, nearly all were able to weather a safe transition with this safety net in place. Now Congress is considering a federal program modeled after Maine’s emergency relief fund. The Relief for Farmers Hit With PFAS Act would authorize grants for states to provide financial assistance to affected farmers, expand monitoring and testing, remediate PFAS, or even help farmers relocate.
Without adequate monitoring, farmers not only risk financial ruin but irreversible damage to their health. When PFAS seeps into a farm’s land and water, exposure poses serious health risks for anyone drinking contaminated water or consuming contaminated products, including kidney cancer, liver disease, thyroid disorders and autoimmune disorders. It’s still too early to predict the exact long-term outcomes, but we know it’s only a matter of time until research catches up to reality. One farmer we work with recently reported blood levels of PFAS at 3,500 parts per billion — 175 times the level that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine says poses a serious risk — after years of drinking contaminated water on his farm. The previous owner of the farmland died of a cancer that we now believe may have been PFAS-linked.
General Mills Sees Tepid Annual Profit, Posts Q4 Sales Decline as Demand Falters
Cheerios cereal maker General Mills (GIS.N) forecast annual profit below estimates on Wednesday and posted a bigger-than-expected drop in quarterly sales hurt by lower demand for its snack bars and pet food, as well as higher input costs.
The company also expects annual dollar value growth in its businesses to be below its long-term projections, pushing its shares down by about 5% before the bell.
The Minneapolis, Minnesota-based company has struggled with lower volumes and retailers cutting down on inventory while facing ongoing competition from lower-priced private labels that have been eating into its market share.
