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More supermarkets shun “pink slime”

Supermarket chains Kroger Co. and Stop & Shop announced Thursday that they would no longer sell beef that includes an additive with the unappetizing “pink slime.” Federal regulators say the ammonia-treated filler, known in the industry as “lean, finely textured beef,” meets food safety standards. But critics say the product could be unsafe and is an unappetizing example of industrialized food production.

25 Mar 2012

The health law officially turns two -- now what?

Supporters are marking the health law's second birthday today even as questions swirl about whether it will get to celebrate a third. Meanwhile, media outlets examine where implementation stands and what is yet to come.

23 Mar 2012

The 13th EMBL/EMBO Science and Society conference

Why is the living world so diverse; that is, what forces and processes led to the evolution and proliferation of so many species? The dynamics that allow interacting species to coexist in an ecosystem simultaneously influence the productivity, nutrient dynamics and stability of that ecosystem.

23 Mar 2012

UNC experts aim to solve water problems around the globe

Water experts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are among the key members of a new initiative announced Thursday by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that aims to solve water problems around the globe.

23 Mar 2012

Free public lecture to discuss impact of human populations on environment

Most of our serious problems in the world today can be traced back to the impact of human populations on the environment. With each person requiring energy, space and resources to survive, the stress on the planet of the world population, currently estimated to be seven billion, is enormous.

21 Mar 2012

Court rules in favor of graphic labels on cigarette packages

An appeals court ruled on Monday that the government’s planned graphic warnings on cigarette packages was legal and didn’t violate the free speech rights of tobacco companies.

20 Mar 2012

NZ campaigners hope for and work towards a smoke-free world

New Zealand anti-smoking groups want to see the world become smoke free by 2040. Delegates from our National Tobacco Control Working Group are heading to Singapore next week to submit a proposal to the World Conference on Tobacco or Health. The New Zealand delegation wants tobacco removed from trade agreements, and treated the same as the likes of arms, ammunition and asbestos.

19 Mar 2012

U.S. to launch graphic anti-smoking warnings

The United States Government is starting a major new effort to cut the country's smoking rate by showing graphic images of people who have sustained life-altering health problems after smoking for years.

18 Mar 2012

Homeopathy could soon be declared “baseless and unethical” in Australia

Homeopathy is a branch of alternative medicine based on the principles of “like-cures-like” and “ultra-dilutions”. The first principle says substances that can cause symptoms can be used in diluted form to treat the same symptom in an illness, and the second says the more dilute a substance is, the more potent it is.

14 Mar 2012

Bioethicist calls on Congress to protect physicians in war zones

Greater leadership is needed from the U.S. government to protect physicians and health facilities from increased attacks in armed conflict zones like Syria, experts told members of Congress in a special briefing today.

8 Mar 2012

U.S. Farm Bill has global implications for food security

In this ONE Blog post, Jennifer Wynn, an intern with ONE's policy team, reports on a recent panel discussion held at George Washington University that examined the U.S. Farm Bill and its implications for global hunger and food security.

7 Mar 2012

Dutch mobile euthanasia units stir controversy

Controversy has been stirred by a system of mobile euthanasia units that will travel around the country to respond to the wishes of sick people who wish to end their lives in the Netherlands.

4 Mar 2012

Packaged meats to carry nutrition labels like other food products

Starting this Thursday nutrition labels found on almost all packaged foods can be found for ground meat and poultry as well. Forty of the most popular whole, raw cuts or meat and poultry, such as chicken breast or steak, also will have nutritional information either on the package labels or on display at the store, under a new Department of Agriculture rule. The department's Food Safety and Inspection Service has required nutrition labeling since 1993 for products that are not raw or that contain more than one ingredient.

2 Mar 2012

Aid agencies must implement long-term solutions in Horn of Africa to 'banish hunger'

With each of the three droughts in the Horn of Africa over the last decade, "the international community agreed that long-term measures were needed to prevent another tragedy. But each time, when the rains finally came, the world's good intentions melted away," Jose Graziano de Silva, director-general of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) writes in a Project Syndicate opinion piece.

2 Mar 2012

Cancer cons preying on hope, SBS Dateline

Mexico’s border with America is clustered with clinics providing unusual treatments for cancer - alternatives to conventional medicine that claim to offer a complete cure, even for the terminally ill, in return for tens of thousands of dollars.

1 Mar 2012

Judge overrules proposed graphic cigarette labels

A Washington judge overruled the federal mandate requiring tobacco companies to place graphic images on their products warning of the dangers of smoking. The judge said the requirements were a violation of free speech.

1 Mar 2012

Project uses remote sensing to track and predict impact of climate change

Scientists from the University of Maryland and Beijing Normal University are partnering to track and predict the impact of climate change internationally.

29 Feb 2012

Healthcare Coalition of Texas, Champion Energy Services enter preferred electricity pricing agreement

Scott Fordham, president and chief executive officer, announced that Champion Energy Services has partnered with Healthcare Coalition of Texas (HCT), headquartered in Plano, Texas, to offer their members (which represents 62,000 employees and 9,000 medical staff) preferred pricing for residential electricity throughout the state of Texas.

27 Feb 2012

UH GCSW to host Houston, Leading America's Future round table discussion

The University of Houston (UH) Graduate College of Social Work (GCSW) will host, "Houston, Leading America's Future," a round table discussion addressing what can be done today to ensure the success of Houston's multicultural society at 4 p.m., Friday, Feb. 24 at the UH GCSW building, Room 102.

24 Feb 2012

Eating invasive plant pre-adapts bluetongue lizards against cane toad poisons

An invasive plant may have saved an iconic Australian lizard species from death at the hands of toxic cane toads, according to research published in the March issue of The American Naturalist. It's an interesting case of one invasive species preparing local predators for the arrival of another, says Richard Shine, a biologist at the University of Sydney who led the research.

23 Feb 2012