Health

US Made Little Progress on Food Safety in 2008

CHICAGO - Efforts to improve food safety in the United States "plateaued" in 2008, exposing the need for an overhaul of the nation's food safety system, government health officials said Thursday.

Despite efforts to improve food safety in recent years, the number of foodborne infections remained steady in 2008 compared with the past three years, suggesting fundamental problems are not being solved.

Posted in consumer watch, food, Health

Pfizer to Pay £50m After Deaths of Nigerian Children in Drug Trial Experiment

A divorce case was all that passed for excitement at Richard P Altschuler's "kinda small" lawyer's office in West Haven, Connecticut, when the phone rang nine years ago. On the other end of the line, a world away in the heat of Nigeria, was Etigwe Uwo, a young lawyer with "an incredible story about Pfizer". The Lagos attorney was going to take on the largest pharmaceutical company in the world in an unprecedented class action pitting African parents against an American corporate giant. And he needed help.

Posted in bigpharma, children, Equality/Justice, Health, healthcare, Human Rights, nigeria

Witches, Condoms and the Pope

Get in line in that processional,
Step into that small confessional,
There, the guy who’s got religion’ll
Tell you if your sin’s original. . . .
— Tom Lehrer, The Vatican Rag

He’s batting 50-50 which isn’t bad for most people. If you’re infallible, however, it’s not the sort of thing you’d brag about the next time you talk to your Father. The witches kept him from batting a zero.

Posted in Health

Admiral Says War Veterans Will Suffer for Years

NEW YORK - Homelessness, family strains and psychological problems among returning veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars will persist in the U.S. for generations to come, the top U.S. military officer said Thursday.

"This is not a 10-year problem. It is a 50- or 60- or 70-year problem," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a lunchtime audience at the Hudson Union Society, a group that promotes nonpartisan debate.

Mullen said he was particularly disturbed by the emergence of homelessness as a problem among war veterans.

Posted in Health, homelessness, veterans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 2, 2009
11:52 AM

CONTACT: Environmental Working Group (EWG)
EWG Public Affairs, (202) 667-6982

CDC: Rocket Fuel Chemical in Most Powdered Infant Formula

Infants Exposed to Unsafe Levels of Thyroid Toxin

WASHINGTON - April 2 - Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have found that 15 brands of powdered infant formula are contaminated with perchlorate, a rocket fuel component detected in drinking water in 28 states and territories. The two most contaminated brands, made from cow's milk, accounted for 87 percent of the U.S. powdered formula market in 2000, the scientists said.

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The mission of the Environmental Working Group (EWG) is to use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment. EWG is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded in 1993 by Ken Cook and Richard Wiles.

Environmental Working Group (EWG) Links:

Posted in children, consumer watch, Health

Study: Range of Pharmaceuticals in Fish Across US

Fish caught near wastewater treatment plants serving five major U.S. cities had residues of pharmaceuticals in them, including medicines used to treat high cholesterol, allergies, high blood pressure, bipolar disorder and depression, researchers reported Wednesday.

Findings from this first nationwide study of human drugs in fish tissue have prompted the Environmental Protection Agency to significantly expand similar ongoing research to more than 150 different locations.

Posted in Health, water quality

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2009
8:22 AM

CONTACT: Consumers Union
Jean Halloran, 914.378.2457
Naomi Starkman, 917.539.3924 (cell)

CU: House Hearing on Industry Role in Salmonella Outbreak Underscores Need for Comprehensive, Annual Food Inspections

Cannot Rely on Paid-for Third-Party Safety Reviews

YONKERS, N.Y. - March 19 - The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing today on the role of industry in protecting the nation's food supply underscores the need for regular, comprehensive food inspections, according to Consumers Union (CU), nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports. CU urges Congress to overhaul the nation's food safety laws and to mandate annual inspections of food processing facilities.

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Consumers Union (CU) is an expert, independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves.

Posted in consumer watch, Health

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2009
1:54 PM

CONTACT: Food & Water Watch

Elanor Starmer or Erin Greenfield (202) 683-2500

Food & Water Watch Supports California Legislation Banning Overuse of Antibiotics in Livestock

Consumer Group Warns of Devastating Human Health Effects from Common Agricultural Practice at Senate Food and Agriculture Committee Hearing

WASHINGTON - March 17 - Food & Water Watch, a national consumer advocacy organization, today testified before California’s Senate Food and Agriculture Committee in support of Senator Dean Florez’s legislation to ban “nontherapeutic” uses of antibiotics in livestock production by 2015. The abuse of antibiotics in livestock production to boost the animals’ growth and keep illness from spreading has led to an increase of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can cause longer and more severe foodborne illness infections, according to research compiled by Food & Water Watch.

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Food & Water Watch is a nonprofit consumer organization that works to ensure clean water and safe food. We challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and by transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink.

Food & Water Watch Links:

Posted in agriculture, Food/Water, Health

Gazans Struggle for Clean Drinking Water

RAMALLAH - As environmental experts, NGOs and government officials gather in Istanbul this week to attend the Fifth World Water Forum, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has drawn attention to the critical water situation in Gaza.

"ICRC teams are repairing water and sewage systems in Gaza that were badly damaged during the three-week Israeli military operation in January," the ICRC says in a media release.

Posted in Health, Human Rights, water, Israel/Palestine

The Face of Pot Politics: Why Don Haumant - and Some Legislators - Want Minnesota to Legalize Medical Marijuana

"Statistically, I'm supposed to be dead," says Don Haumant, 57, as he sits in his Minneapolis living room, the winter light coming in through half-closed shades.

The one-bedroom apartment is decorated with period furniture - "You might be comfortable on a mission chair," he offers a guest - and flourishes of 1950s and Hollywood memorabilia. Above the couch is a photograph of MGM's studio players from Tinseltown's golden era. Clark Gable anchors the shot.

Posted in Health, medical marijuana, Politics