By Tom Neltner On March 12, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be leading the U.S. delegation in the Netherlands proposing that the Codex Alimentarius Commission adopt a maximum lead limit of 40 parts per billion (ppb) in grape juice. The current limit, set by Codex in the 1980s, is 50 ppb. While it’s […]
By Jamie Henn Let’s talk for a moment about how the climate movement is going to fight back in 2018. But first, a public service announcement. This Jan. 31, movement leaders like the one-and-only Bernie Sanders, 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben, Rev. Lennox Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus, Jacqueline Patterson of the NAACP, and more, […]
By Sarah Reinhardt In May of 2017, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue moved to make school meals great again by issuing a proclamation in support of more lenient school nutrition standards. Specifically, the proposed rule permits the continued use of whole grain waivers, which exempt certain products from meeting whole grain standards; freezes current sodium limits […]
Kimbal Musk’s nonprofit organization, The Kitchen Community, is expanding into a new, national nonprofit called Big Green, to build hundreds of outdoor Learning Garden classrooms across America. Learning Gardens teach children an understanding of food, healthy eating and garden skills through experiential learning and garden-based education that tie into existing school curriculum, such as math, […]
By Farron Cousins The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking aim at two rules designed to prevent exposure to toxic chemicals by workers under the age of 18. The agency has filed notices with the federal register of its intent to either tweak or outright eliminate these protections for underage workers. The first rule […]
The troubling news about the presence of asbestos in children’s makeup is just the latest example of the deadly fiber contaminating imported products marketed toward children, said Environmental Working Group (EWG). The national retail chain Claire’s, which sells jewelry, makeup and other items targeted toward young girls and children, recently announced it was recalling a […]
By Clara Chaisson Air pollution isn’t pretty. Worldwide, it’s linked to stroke, heart disease, respiratory problems, low birth weight and millions of premature deaths annually. In the world’s most polluted cities, the particles can be so dense that they obscure the sky and stain everything from clothes to windowpanes. Graviky Labs, an India-based start-up that […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced its revised school meal rules, in words that would make George Orwell proud: The U.S. Department of Agriculture today [Nov. 29] provided local food service professionals the flexibility they need to serve wholesome, nutritious, and tasty meals in schools across the nation. The new School Meal Flexibility Rule […]
By Bill Walker The phaseout of a hazardous chemical formerly used to make Teflon has likely prevented thousands of low-weight births in the U.S. each year, saving billions of dollars in health care costs, according to a new study from researchers at New York University. The overall number of American babies born underweight has been […]