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2011: A Year to Remember (and Forget!)

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It wasn’t until I started compiling stories for this post that I realized just how much had taken place this year on issues of food, agriculture, and nutrition. While by no means a definitive list, I think it covers the most substantial events.

So, if you’ve been spelunking in Antarctica for the past twelve months — or just want a short trip down memory lane — let’s review 2011, the year where:

  • The Food Safety Modernization Act — passed on December 22, 2010 — was signed into law by President Obama on January 4. It certainly had good intentions (mainly to appoint more resources to issues of foodborne illness), but many couldn’t help but wonder: “with what money?”.
  • The United States Government Accountability Office expressed what many nutrition and public health advocates had been thinking for years in their report titled: “FDA Needs to Reassess Its Approach to Protecting Consumers from False or Misleading Claims”.
  • The Nutrition Keys were unveiled by the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food Marketing Institute. Hailed as a way to support Michelle Obama’s goal of “solving childhood obesity within a generation”, this voluntary Front of Package labeling scheme was nothing more than a lazy “cut and paste” job from what was already displayed on the Nutrition Facts label.
  • The 2010 Dietary Guidelines were unveiled, marking the first time Uncle Sam went on record with such basic concepts as “fill up half your plate with fruits and vegetables” and “enjoy your food”. Snark aside, it at least urged Americans to “drink water instead of sugary drinks”.
  • The Beef Checkoff Program and the American Heart Association became BFFs. Here’s hoping for a dramatic fallout!
  • The Environmental Working Group called attention to a group of studies which showed “a connection between prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides and diminished IQs in children between the ages of 6 and 9″.
  • AGree — “a collaborative initiative of nine of the world’s leading foundations [that] seeks to engage a variety of stakeholders in a dialogue that leads to positive and fair U.S. policy change” — was formed. As is my modus operandis with these sorts of developments, I turned to Marion Nestle for insight.
  • The Los Angeles Unified School District banned “flavored milks” (which I believe should instead be referred to as “sweetened milks”). On my wish list for 2012: hundreds of more counties will follow suit, and Registered Dietitians will cease the starry-eyed chocolate milk worship.
  • The Environmental Working Group released “The Meat Eaters’ Guide to Climate Change and Health”. Among the conclusions: lamb, beef, cheese, pork, and farm-raised salmon are the biggest environmental “no-no”s, pasture-raised and organic eggs are a better pick than chicken or turkey, and organic milk has a carbon footprint similar to that of beans, legumes, and vegetables. Of course, a diet low in — or free of — animal products is the best way to go.
  • A federal class action lawsuit was filed against Wesson (owned by ConAgra) for deceptively marketing its genetically modified oils as ‘natural’.
  • To the delight of shareholders, Campbell’s announced it was increasing sodium levels in its lower-sodium soups.
  • Sam Kass — White House chef and Senior Policy Advisor for the White House’s Healthy Food Initiatives — gave a keynote speech at the 6th Biennial Childhood Obesity Conference, where he unabashedly declared his allegiance to Big Food, claiming childhood obesity “will not be solved unless we really work with and involve the private sector”. He also defended the soda industry. Way to push for brave new policies and a paradigm shift!
  • Subway took healthwashing to a new level, fortifying its highly processed breads with calcium and vitamin D. I wasn’t impressed, to say the least.
  • The USDA “rejected New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s [2010] proposal to bar New York City’s food stamp users from buying soda and other sugary drinks with them”.
  • The Nutrition Keys took on a new identity: Facts Up Front. That reminds me — did you know that “meaningless” and “inconsequential” can be used interchangeably?
  • Denmark imposed the world first’s “fat tax”, aimed at curbing intake of saturated fats (I would have preferred they tackle omega-6 loaded oils like corn and cottonseed). A sugar tax is apparently in the works.
  • The Center for Science in the Public Interest revived its annual Food Day event after a 34-year hiatus. It encouraged Americans to “eat real” and was a rousing success.
  • The seemingly endless lawsuit between Big Sugar and the Corn Refiners Association over renaming high fructose corn syrup as “corn sugar” inched forward. While we await a final decision, Americans would be better off curbing their intake of added sweeteners, regardless of their moniker.
  • A 28-state Listeria cantaloupe outbreak — “the most deadly in the United States in 100 years” — came to a close. Final tally: 146 illnesses and 30 deaths.
  • McDonald’s shares rose to record highs. Don’t worry, we have that ultra powerful jumping-jack antidote, remember? And, as Sam Kass assured us earlier in the year, we need McDonald’s and other food industry giants to help us reclaim children’s health. Eat your GMOs and run along now!

Whew.

Let’s see what 2012 has in store. Well, we already know one thing coming down the pike — McDonald’s ‘farm to fork” greenwashing campaign. Happy New Year?

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