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At this point, American food manufacturers and regulators alike should be embarrassed that we're feeding kids foods with chemicals that have such a powerfully disruptive impact on children's behavior
Europe requires child food dye warnings Jul 20, 2010
These chains don't promote moderation. They practice caloric extremism, and they're helping make modern-day Americans become the most obese people ever to walk the Earth
Consumer Corner: New buzz is on portion control for the diet conscious Jun 06, 2010
I hope this move emboldens the Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture, which should immediately pull the plug on partially hydrogenated oil and set reasonable limits on sodium levels in different categories of packaged foods
First lady and Walmart team on nutrition Jan 20, 2011
These ingredients are safe -- only a small amount of partially hydrogenated oil is used -- but it's a stretch to call any of them 'natural,
Ben & Jerry's: Not all ingredients natural Aug 13, 2010
If food companies cut packages of ginger snaps or Hamburger Helper in half, what now takes two trucks to ship would only take one
Group urges crackdown on 'slack fill' Apr 07, 2010
Michael F. Jacobson (b. 1943), who holds a Ph.D. in microbiology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, co-founded the Center for Science in the Public Interest in 1971, along with two fellow scientists he met while working at the Center for the Study of Responsive Law. When his colleagues left CSPI in 1977, Jacobson served as executive director. Today, Jacobson sits as secretary on the board of directors of the organization. He has been a national leader in the movement to require nutrition labels on all foods and most beverages to help consumers make informed decisions about what to consume. It was Jacobson who coined the now widely used phrases "junk food" and "empty calorie".
Jacobson sits on the National Council of the Great American Meatout, an annual event sponsored by Farm Animal Rights Movement, that encourages people to "kick the meat habit" for a day. Jacobson and his organization have criticized a wide variety of foods and beverages as unhealthful. He and CSPI frequently use colorful terms to emphasize their opposition to certain foods, for instance referring to fettuccine alfredo as a "heart attack on a plate."
"Soda is the quintessential junk food—just sugar calories and no nutrients," says Jacobson. "Americans are drowning in soda pop—teenagers, in particular. The average teenage boy is consuming two cans of soda pop a day." Jacobson proposes several warning labels, including "Drinking (non-diet) soft drinks contributes to obesity and tooth decay," and "Consider switching to diet soda, water, or skim milk." He once asked a CBS News reporter: "Obesity is an epidemic. One-third of youths already are overweight or obese. Are we just going to sit around and do nothing? Or should we do something—a modest, sensible step of putting a health message on cans and bottles?"