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Autism Lawsuit Filed Over Toxic Metals in Gerber, Sprout and Walmart Baby Food Products
Walmart, Beech-Nut and Gerber face a product liability lawsuit alleging that a child’s autism diagnosis was caused by mercury, lead and arsenic in baby food products sold by the companies in recent years.
The complaint was filed by Robin Maglinti last month in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, pursuing damages for herself and her minor child, identified with the initials K.M., who developed autism after consuming Gerber, Sprout and Walmart baby food that has been found to contain high levels of toxic metals.
In 2021, a U.S. Congressional report ignited a firestorm of concerns over dangerous levels of lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury found in a number of different popular baby foods, and nearly two years later reports suggest that toxic metals in baby food remain a pervasive problem, with high levels still found in popular brands sold by Gerber, Plum Organics, Sprout, Walmart and others.
Manufacturers of products found to contain high levels of these heavy metals already face hundreds of toxic baby food lawsuits, involving similar allegations that children developed autism spectrum disorders (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) and other side effects.
Illinois Wants to Ban Food Chemicals Found in Candy, Soda
Illinois lawmakers are pushing to ban potentially harmful food chemicals. “This is going to happen. We are taking the lead here in Illinois,” said Illinois State Senator Willie Preston (D-Chicago.) A clear message from lawmakers who want to crack down on potentially harmful chemical additives.
“You can’t eat this stuff in Europe. You can’t eat this stuff in Japan, but we just jam it down our kids’ throats here in the United States of America. And that’s not ok,” said Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias.
They’re targeting five specific chemicals: Brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, red dye no. 3 and titanium dioxide. These chemicals can be found in candy, soda, and other ultra-processed foods. Officials said all of these additives have been linked to serious health problems.
If the Illinois Food Safety Act passes, it will go into effect on January 1st, 2027. The reason for the delayed date is to give food suppliers a chance to remove these substances.
Meat and Dairy Industry Giants Hold the Plant Power Behind Many Vegan Brands
In collaboration with Charis Davis, MA student in development studies at SOAS University of London, I researched the ownership structure and marketing strategies of several plant-based food companies. We found that many brands that are celebrated for sustainable plant-based food production are owned by giant meat and dairy companies implicated in allegations of large-scale environmental destruction.
Take Vivera, a pioneer in plant-based food. The Dutch company produces a wide range of vegetarian and vegan food, such as vegan hot dogs, plant salmon fillets, Tex Mex strips and vegan steak. The Vivera website suggests that consumers should buy vegan products to “make a huge difference for human health and the wellbeing of the planet” and states that “you can improve the world with every bite you take by eating plant-based foods.”
However, Vivera’s online marketing and product packaging do not highlight to consumers that it is owned by JBS, the world’s largest meat producer. Every day JBS’s global operations slaughter 8.7 million birds, 92,600 hogs and 42,700 head of cattle, according to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, a U.S.-based thinktank.
JBS’s purchase of Vivera in 2021 does not signify a move away from meat. Shortly after acquiring the plant-based food company, it announced plans to invest U.S.$130 million in two of its U.S. beef processing plants, to increase cattle slaughtering capacity by around 300,000 a year. JBS is the biggest purchaser of cattle from the Amazon, and therefore a major contributor to deforestation.
New Study: Caffeine in Energy Drinks Can Lead to Insomnia and Other Sleep-Related Issues
Downing energy drinks could make it harder for you to fall asleep — and make it more likely your sleep will be disturbed.
A new study of university students in Norway found a disturbing side effect of drinking energy drinks to stay alert during the day and evening. Those who drank energy drinks daily slept about a half hour less each night, compared to those who didn’t drink energy drinks or had them only occasionally, the researchers report in the current issue of the BMJ Open Medical Journal.
Those who regularly drank energy drinks also took longer to fall asleep and daily energy drink consumers were more likely to have insomnia than those who drank the drinks occasionally or not at all, according to the study conducted by researchers at sites including the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and the University of Oslo, Norway.
Even those who had 1 to 3 energy drinks per month were at risk for more sleep problems, the researchers said.
Indiana Farm to Become First in the Nation to Adopt New Beef Standard
Fischer Farms in Saint Anthony, Indiana, has seen a lot of operational changes since its inception during the Civil War.
The farm, owned and operated by Joseph Fischer and family for six generations, decided in 2004 to switch from conventional beef production to a process requiring fewer antibiotics. From there, they began to use regenerative ag processes such as installing ponds that naturally filter and conserve the farm’s water supply, capturing excess carbon by using no-till methods and planting vegetation year-round, and even reducing cows’ methane production by feeding them kelp.
The Fischers have recently been in contact with the Antibiotic Resistance Action Center at George Washington University. Antibiotic Resistance Action Center representative Kathy Lawrence said Fischer Farms will be the first adopters in the nation of their Certified Responsible Antibiotic Use, or CRAU, Standard for beef.
The Antibiotic Resistance Action Center said the standard aims to create a sort of middle ground in the beef industry. On the cheaper, more available end, some producers overuse antibiotics to make up for unsanitary and overcrowded living conditions. Alternatively, purely organic and antibiotic-free beef is in low supply and often comes at a higher cost to consumers.
Does Your Bottled Water Contain Nanoplastics?
Using a hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) imaging platform, researchers were able to detect single nanoparticle plastics smaller than 100 nanometers (nm) more accurately than before.
Researchers were able to identify seven types of plastic particles and count concentrations that ranged from 110,000 to 370,000 particles per 1 liter of water, far higher than the estimate in 2018 that found an average of 325 microplastic particles per bottle.
While the featured study found plastic nanoparticles in bottled water at volumes far higher than anticipated, plastic water bottles are not the only source of plastic that we can consume.
Microplastics from artificial clothing fibers, microbeads in personal care products, and plastics that break down from fishing nets, plastic bags, and biosolids spread on cropland have created a nightmare for the environment, particularly the oceans, waterways, and marine and bird life.
Minnesota Company Sells World’s First Regenerative Organic Vanilla Extract. What Does That Mean?
From a warehouse near the Minnesota state fairgrounds, Andy Kubiak loaded the world’s first and only regenerative organic certified crop of vanilla beans into the back of a Honda CRV.
After driving the cargo east to a small facility near the St. Croix River in Lakeland, the company he runs with his wife, Sara, transformed the beans into another first and only, a batch of regenerative organic certified (ROC) vanilla extract.
Last year, Vanilla Bean Project joined a small but growing group of brands to achieve the certification, seen as the pinnacle of sustainable agriculture. That meant partnering with a supplier in Indonesia, Aliet Green, that has met stringent standards of soil management and farmer well-being.
Regenerative organic uses USDA Organic (no synthetic fertilizers or genetic modification) as the baseline but adds in fair trade, carbon concerns and an emphasis on human and animal welfare.
European Farmers Block French Roads and Head to Brussels to Protest Wages and Bureaucratic Meddling
A surge in agricultural protests from the streets of Berlin to the flanks of the Pyrenees reached the European Union’s headquarters on Wednesday where farmers decried everything from petty bureaucratic meddling to the scourge of bankruptcy and worse.
With the political visibility of farming and food going to the heart and origins of the EU, the volatile sector could turn into a burning issue before the June 6-9 European Parliament election, pitting traditional political groups on the defensive against populist and far-right parties sensing an opportunity.
In a sign that the protest movement was expanding in France, roadblocks were spreading in many regions, coming a day after a farmer and her daughter died when a car crashed into a protest barricade in the southwest. The protests are the first major challenge for newly appointed Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who took office two weeks ago.
