Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court accepted an appeal filed by a 75-year-old small time farmer named Vernon Hugh Bowman. Bowman, who grows wheat and corn along with soybeans on 300 acres of land he inherited from his father, bought … Continue reading →

According to the Guardian’s Anna Brones, the United States recently implemented a blockade on mimolette, the brightly colored orange cheese that traditionally comes from Lille, an industrial city in northern France near the Belgian border. Because mites are introduced to … Continue reading →

When Birke Baehr was 8-years-old he read a post online over his mother’s shoulder about mercury being in HFCS-high fructose corn syrup. Birke writes that when he started looking into “this thing about HFCS I just got more and more … Continue reading →

Doug Hornig and Alex Daley with Casey Research comment on how the World Bank’s Ismail Serageldin put it so succinctly: “The wars of the 21st century will be fought over water.” With that revelation in mind, the 68-year-old Nestlé chair … Continue reading →

It’s been almost three decades since Adair Grain Inc.’s West Fertilizer Company, the scene of a deadly explosion last week in Texas, was inspected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. According to its online database, OSHA last inspected the … Continue reading →

The pork and beef industries are renaming more than 350 cuts of meat in order to lure more consumers to outdoor grills this summer. According to the USDA, the supply of pork and beef hit a record high for the … Continue reading →

Palm oil is used by manufacturers in the production of food, body products, cleaning agents, soap, and makeup. Most pre-packaged snack foods made by large corporate-giants such as Nestle contain palm oil. But Rolf Skar, a senior forest campaigner with … Continue reading →

Whitson’s Culinary Group, a New York-based school food service contractor that supplies 80 schools in New England with lunch meals, denied 25 children lunch at Coelho Middle School even if they had five cents of debt on their pre-paid lunch … Continue reading →

Despite strong opposition from consumer groups, President Barack Obama has signed H.R. 933 into law, which contained the Monsanto Protection Act. Food Democracy Now collected signatures from more than 250,000 Americans urging Obama to veto the bill, and points out … Continue reading →

Starbucks has purchased its first coffee farm on 600 acres of land in Costa Rica. Besides harvesting their own beans, the company claims it will convert the farm to a global agronomy research and development center, and research the leaf … Continue reading →

Since 1974, Kinder Surprise Eggs have combined the sale of a chocolate egg with a surprise toy inside. But Kinder Eggs are not sold in the United States, because the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act prohibits embedding “non-nutritive … Continue reading →

Since a state judge in Manhattan struck down New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s rule capping soda sizes, lawmakers in Mississippi have passed a law prohibiting counties and towns from enacting rules that require calorie counts to be posted, that … Continue reading →

As a result of savvy marketing, Whole Foods Market has successfully achieved brand recognition as a health food store without really even being one. Sure, Whole Foods sells some organic food, but they also have been known to sell unregulated … Continue reading →

Since Democrats and Republicans continue finger pointing, and have failed to make a deal, the 2011 law requiring budget cuts goes into effect today. The House of Representatives has adjourned, and most members of the Senate have gone home. All … Continue reading →

In a recent article by Washington, DC based journalist Will Potter, author of Green Is the New Red, which documents corporate attempts to silence activists, Potter discusses how Big Ag lobbyists are pushing for new state-level laws to prevent consumers … Continue reading →

Seaboard Foods, the No. 3 U.S. pork producer based in Kansas, and supplier to Walmart, was forced to drop its claim of using “The most humane practices throughout the animal’s life.” The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) filed … Continue reading →

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has threatened to furlough all U.S. meat inspectors for two weeks because of automatic spending cuts scheduled for March 1. The federal agency has said it would give at least 30 days’ notice to employees. And … Continue reading →

Drinking alcohol in excess has impaired the judgment and decision making of many, but the following list of absurd drinking laws have presumably been legislated by solemn and sober lawmakers we assume are clear-thinking, responsible adults empowered to govern. 10) … Continue reading →

In 2011, U.S. legislators blocked a proposal to improve the nutritional quality of the nation’s school lunches. The proposed changes included more fruits and vegetables, and an end to the absurdity of permitting tomato paste on pizzas to be classified … Continue reading →

When it comes to blogging and taxes, “Taxgirl” — who has two graduate degrees and an internship at the Internal Revenue Service — sums it up nicely: while blogging is relatively new to the tax scene, the law is the … Continue reading →

Yalumba, Australia’s oldest family owned winery, has moved to cut ties from the National Rifle Association after it was disclosed that it was one of 20 Australian producers sold on the group’s wine club. The Herald Sun reports the privately … Continue reading →

Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, has created a guerrilla marketing campaign to spawn needed reform in campaign finance, and extract money out of politics. The Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, opened … Continue reading →

Unlike the United States, Great Britain has utilized socialized healthcare for years. Supporters claim one of the main reasons for implementing UK’s socialized healthcare was to battle rising healthcare costs. But as Americans are about to discover under similar circumstances … Continue reading →

As AltHealth’s Nick Meyer points out, virtually all of America’s corn supply is GMO, and corn is present in many packaged foods — even most bourbon is made with GM corn. According to the USDA, almost 90% of the corn … Continue reading →

The Food and Drug Administration released its Environmental Assessment (EA) report for genetically modified (GM) salmon developed by AquaBounty Technologies. This is one of the last steps for the first transgenic animal to be considered for federal approval, with an … Continue reading →

In a recent Slate article, Frederick Kaufman, author of “Bet the Farm: How Food Stopped Being Food,” questions the efficacy of current strategies employed in opposing biotech companies like Monsanto. Kaufman suggests initiatives such as California’s Proposition 37, which would … Continue reading →

Maryn McKenna, journalist and the author of SUPERBUG and BEATING BACK THE DEVIL, reports on the deliberate actions by the FDA to suppress critical information on farm antibiotic use. The FDA refuses to compel companies to disclose data that would … Continue reading →

Tyree Johnson is employed at not one but two Chicago area McDonald’s. Johnson scrubs himself with a bar of soap in a McDonald’s bathroom and puts on deodorant because hygiene and appearance are part of his annual compensation reviews. Bloomberg’s … Continue reading →

Last July, Common Dreams reported that the Gates Foundation awarded a $10 million grant to develop genetically modified (GM) crops for use in sub-Saharan Africa. The grant is for the John Innes Centre, a research center involved in the biological … Continue reading →

In addition to the various foods that may contribute to cancer — alcohol, red and/or processed meats, and soft drinks like Coca-Cola and Pepsi — another cancer risk often overlooked comes from chemical additives used in food colorants and packaging … Continue reading →

Sarah Palin recently told People Magazine she is working on a new fitness and wellbeing book with her family. “Our family is writing a book on fitness and self-discipline focusing on where we get our energy and balance as we … Continue reading →

As we’ve previously chronicled, from fish imported from China raised on human waste, to plastic rice, China is endlessly plagued by horrendous food scandals. In a recent report regarding Chinese food exports to Europe in the Global Edition of the … Continue reading →

According to the Food and Drug Administration, in the last four years, 13 deaths have been reported associated with 5-Hour Energy drinks. Last month, the FDA received five fatality filings related to another popular energy drink, Monster Energy. A summary … Continue reading →

When a couple of foreign tourists stopped at one of Rome’s most famous landmarks, sat down and casually enjoyed sandwiches, two officers with Rome’s municipal police force waved their hands. “Stefano, look! There’s another eater,” one officer said to another … Continue reading →

Last week, small business owners devastated by Sandy who attended a standing-room-only meeting in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, told New York City officials they weren’t interested in loans. “Most of us are deeply overextended as it is,” said … Continue reading →

The French president, François Hollande, who defeated the incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy in the spring of this year, is attempting to impose an increase of 160% in beer taxes to help fund social programs. France, along with Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, … Continue reading →

Superstorm Sandy has decimated some small restaurants and businesses on the East Coast. As The Wall Street Journal’s Emily Maltby points out, for business owners faced with physical damage and lost profit, recovery may be long and arduous. Maltby shares 5 comprehensive … Continue reading →

“Top Chef” judge Tom Colicchio, founding member of Food Policy Action, a coalition of food policy and environmental groups, announced a new initiative to grade lawmakers on their food votes with a Food Scorecard. Food Policy Action explains that the … Continue reading →

According to findings released in the New England Journal of Medicine, the higher a country’s chocolate consumption, the more Nobel laureates it produces per capita. According to Reuters, the Swiss lead, followed by the Swedes and the Danes, with the … Continue reading →

The increase in global trade has elevated the potential for food fraud, food safety, health fears, and raises concerns over quality control, damage to a company’s reputation and subsequent lost revenue. We live in a world where food is exported … Continue reading →