February, 02 2009, 01:54pm EDT
PA Gov. Urged to Ignore Findings of Trans Fat Panel
Rendell, Assembly Urged to Phase Out Artificial Trans Fat
WASHINGTON
Health advocates are urging Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and the
state's General Assembly to ignore a report from a task force on trans
fat that recommended against a legislative phase-out of the harmful
food ingredient. The Washington-based Center for Science in the Public Interest says the state should instead adopt legislation requiring restaurants to phase out artificial trans fat-the heart-attack-inducing fat that comes from partially hydrogenated oil.
Restaurants
can easily replace artificial fat with heart-healthy soybean, canola,
or other vegetable oils, or, in certain baked goods, with solid fats
such as butter, palm oil, or lard, according to the group. Artificial
trans fat has already been successfully phased out in New York City and similar measures have been enacted in the state of California, the cities of Boston and Philadelphia,
and other jurisdictions. In those places and in supermarket aisles,
foods that have been reformulated without partially hydrogenated oil
almost always end up lower in saturated fat as well. In the rare event
that saturated fat replaces trans fat gram for gram, that would still
be an improvement, albeit a small one, according to CSPI.
"The report of this task force might have been credible were
it written ten years ago, when the science on trans fat was less
certain and the supplies of alternative oils less abundant," said CSPI
executive director Michael F. Jacobson. "But it ignores the example of
New York City, whose prohibition on using partially hydrogenated oils
has proven so successful. Philadelphia restaurants have already emptied
its deep fryers of partially hydrogenated oil, as required by that
city's law."
Though most major restaurant chains have already eliminated
artificial trans fat, many smaller chains and independent restaurants
and bakeries still market foods with trans fat. A statewide phase-out
would require those companies to make the switch also.
Besides several government representatives, the task force
included one representative from the Tasty Baking Company, two
representatives from the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association, three
representatives from Sweet Street Desserts, Inc., and other
representatives from Utz potato chips and the food service giant
Aramark. Two of the members, including the chairman, work for the Penn
State Center for Food Innovation, which describes itself as a "unique,
cooperative research venture between food industry and academia," and
which counts among its numerous "corporate members" Hershey Foods, the
convenience store chain Sheetz, Cargill, Dairy Queen, Nestle, Sysco,
and others.
"Though several government employees were on the panel, its
recommendations almost certainly would have been supportive of public
health had bakeries, restaurant lobbyists, and other food industry
officials not been so overly represented," said Jacobson. "The line-up
reads more like the attendees list for a trade show than an objective
task force."
The task force said in its report that the materials to
educate restaurants about a legislative ban could be costly. But it
simultaneously relayed the offer of the Center for Food Innovation to
provide educational materials to restaurants and the public about trans
fat. "Such materials could be easily modified to educate the food
industry if trans fat were banned, or the state simply could have
adapted New York City's materials," wrote Jacobson in a letter to
Governor Rendell.
Since 1971, the Center for Science in the Public Interest has been a strong advocate for nutrition and health, food safety, alcohol policy, and sound science.
LATEST NEWS
Biden Rollback on EVs Would Be 'Monumental Failure,' Say Critics
"The world is on fire," said one campaigner. "We need the Biden administration to maintain strong emissions rules that are one of the biggest extinguishers."
Feb 20, 2024
Green groups this week are responding with alarm to reporting that President Joe Biden's administration plans to relax the pace at which manufacturers must boost electric vehicle sales "in a concession to automakers and labor unions" as he seeks reelection on the heels of the hottest year in human history.
"A decision by President Biden to roll back the scale of his planned transition to EVs would be a monumental failure of his administration and of industry to take action toward a fossil-free future," Public Citizen's Chelsea Hodgkins said Monday. "President Biden isn't leaning into his full power to accelerate government action on one of the most effective strategies for preventing climate chaos—electrifying transport. In scaling back his ambition, he is kowtowing to the auto industry's propaganda."
Under the tailpipe emissions proposal unveiled last April, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) projected that EVs could account for 67% of all new light-duty vehicle sales by model year 2032. Citing three unnamed sources, The New York Timesreported Saturday that officials finalizing the plan are adjusting it "so that electric vehicle sales would increase more gradually through 2030 but then would have to sharply rise."
The reporting comes after the Democratic president last month secured the crucial endorsement of the United Auto Workers, which followed a monthslong delay partly related to EV policy and came despite criticism from the UAW and residents of Michigan—the heart of the U.S. auto manufacturing industry—about Biden backing Israel's devastating war on the Gaza Strip.
Ali Zaidi, Biden's senior climate adviser, "declined to discuss the details of the final regulation" and a UAW spokesperson "declined multiple requests to interview" union president Shawn Fain, according to the Times.
Others suggested Biden's concession may be worth it to beat former President Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee. David Victor, co-director of the Deep Decarbonization Initiative at the University of California, San Diego, told the newspaper that "you have more emissions for a few years but you raise the odds that the rule will stick."
However, Hodgkins argued that "with climate change fast accelerating, this is no time to capitulate to corporate demands."
The campaigner continued:
For decades, Big Auto has employed the same playbook as Big Oil to delay and prevent progress on rules that would clean our air, fight climate change, and save lives. Study after study, including the administration's own annual reporting, shows that the technology to reduce emissions and electrify fleets is not only available, but it will save automakers money in compliance fees and consumers money on fueling and overall costs. Yet, decades of the auto industry dragging its feet to take action means that it is further behind the curve.
Automakers have had decades to drive forward the transition to electric vehicles. They have failed time and again. The only factor that will usher in the needed transition to electric vehicles is firm and specific government requirements. Consumers will embrace electric vehicles when automakers make them the attractive option—which they will only do when the government requires them to do so.
"There's still time for the Biden administration to avoid this epic error and recommit to science-backed actions it has started," she stressed. "The world is on fire. We need the Biden administration to maintain strong emissions rules that are one of the biggest extinguishers."
Sierra Club executive director Ben Jealous similarly pressured the administration in a Tuesday statement, arguing that "strong EPA vehicle standards are essential to protecting clean air for communities across the country."
"Lobbying by auto manufacturers to stall the transition to electric vehicles could have severe consequences: Millions of Americans breathing deadly car pollution, suffering from the impacts of climate change, and spending too much on volatile gas prices," Jealous warned. "Enough excuses from the auto industry."
"Automakers have had more than enough time to prepare for the EV transition, and funding from the Inflation Reduction Act is rolling out the infrastructure necessary to support it," he added. "We can and must have union-made clean vehicles. We urge the EPA to remain steadfast in finalizing a strong rule that will improve public health and protect our future."
While Biden campaigned as a clear climate-friendly alternative to Trump in 2020, the Democrat has come under fire during his presidency for various decisions—including supporting certain oil and gas projects, continuing fossil fuel lease sales, skipping last year's United Nations summit, and declining to declare a national climate emergency.
Nearly two dozen Sunrise Movement campaigners were arrested at the president's campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware last week and the youth-led climate group held dozens of actions across the country on Monday, warning that "Biden can either follow the lead of the young people who helped elect him in 2020 and declare a climate emergency or he's going to lose in November; backing a genocide and giving up our last chance to avert the worst of the climate crisis will be his legacy."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Chicago Joins 'Historic Wave of Lawsuits' Against Big Oil
The city alleges the industry "funded, conceived, planned, and carried out a sustained and widespread campaign of denial and disinformation about the existence of climate change and their products' contribution to it."
Feb 20, 2024
Chicago on Tuesday joined the growing list of U.S. cities and states suing Big Oil for lying to the public about how burning fossil fuels causes and exacerbates the climate emergency.
The administration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a progressive Democrat, filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell, ConocoPhillips, Phillips 66, and the industry lobby American Petroleum Institute, which "funded, conceived, planned, and carried out a sustained and widespread campaign of denial and disinformation about the existence of climate change and their products' contribution to it."
"The climate change impacts that Chicago has faced and will continue to face—including more frequent and intense storms, flooding, droughts, extreme heat events, and shoreline erosion—are felt throughout every part of the city and disproportionately in low-income communities," the suit contends.
In a statement, Johnson said that "there is no justice without accountability."
"From the unprecedented poor air quality that we experienced last summer to the basement floodings that our residents on the West Side experienced, the consequences of this crisis are severe, as are the costs of surviving them," he added. "That is why we are seeking to hold these defendants accountable."
Climate campaigners welcomed the lawsuit.
"Big Oil has lied to the American people for decades about the catastrophic climate risks of their products, and now Chicago and communities across the country are rightfully insisting they pay for the damage they've caused," Center for Climate Integrity president Richard Wiles said in a statement.
"With Chicago, the nation's third largest city, joining the fray, there is no doubt that we are witnessing a historic wave of lawsuits that could finally hold Big Oil accountable for the climate crisis they knowingly caused," he added.
Chicago joins eight U.S. states plus the District of Columbia and numerous municipalities across the country that have sued to hold Big Oil accountable for deceiving the public about its role in the climate emergency.
"To date, eight federal appeals courts and dozens of federal district courts have unanimously ruled against the fossil fuel industry's arguments to prevent these lawsuits from moving forward in state courts," noted the Center for Climate Integrity. "In 2023, the U.S. Justice Department added its support for the communities. The U.S. Supreme Court has denied Big Oil petitions to consider the industry's appeals of those lower court rulings three separate times, most recently in January."
Angela Tovar, Chicago's chief sustainability officer, told the Chicago Sun-Times that "the fossil fuel industry should be able to pay for the damage they've caused."
"We have to see accountability for the climate crisis," she added.
Keep ReadingShow Less
After Gaza Cease-Fire Veto, Biden to Attend Fundraiser at Home of Pro-Israel Billionaire
"The American Muslim community is running out of words to describe our feelings about the Biden administration's support for the Gaza genocide," said one advocate.
Feb 20, 2024
Hours after his ambassador to the United Nations vetoed the third cease-fire resolution to be proposed at the U.N. Security Council since Israel began its U.S.-backed bombardment of Gaza in October, President Joe Biden was scheduled to attend a high-dollar fundraiser at the home of an influential pro-Israel billionaire on Tuesday.
Tickets for the event hosted in Los Angeles by media mogul Haim Saban started at $3,300 and cost as much as $250,000. Other exclusive fundraising events for Biden, who is seeking reelection in November, have been disrupted in recent months by protesters demanding that the U.S. end its support for Israel, which has killed more than 29,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October.
Co-hosts of the fundraiser include attorney Cliff and Leslie Gilbert-Lurie, whose own event in November was marked by demands for a cease-fire from people in a crowd as Vice President Kamala Harris spoke. Demonstrators also displayed fake blood at the Gilbert-Luries' home.
Nicole Mutchnik, a vice chair of the Anti-Defamation League, is also a co-host of Tuesday's event. Mutchnik's staunchly pro-Israel organization has frequently accused pro-Palestinian rights groups of anti-Jewish sentiment, equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism.
Jewish-led Palestinian rights group IfNotNow pointed out that Saban has been quoted as suggesting the U.S. should "scrutinize" Muslims "to get them to admit they are or they're not terrorists."
On Monday, the group led a vigil outside the Los Angeles residence of the vice president.
"We are sitting shiva with grief for all those who've been killed, Palestinian and Israeli, and begging the Biden-Harris administration to end it," said IfNotNow.
Ahead of Saban's fundraiser, fresh outrage erupted among Palestinian rights advocates after U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield vetoed Algeria's resolution for a cease-fire.
"The American Muslim community is running out of words to describe our feelings about the Biden administration's support for the Gaza genocide," said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "The latest U.S. veto of a U.N. cease-fire resolution is shameful. President Biden should stop acting like [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu's defense lawyer and start acting like the president of the United States."
"We call on the American people to continue expressing their opposition to the Biden administration's support for the Israeli government's war crimes by contacting the White House and their elected officials and calling on them to demand a cease-fire, access to humanitarian aid, and the pursuit of a just, lasting peace," Awad added.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular