health
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The soda wars heat up — and the possibilities are thrilling
To read the news, it would look like soda taxes are just around the corner. First, President Obama mildly suggested in an interview in Men’s Health that soda taxes were worth some consideration. Then Obamafoodorama broke the news of Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent’s reaction to said soda tax: “I have never seen it work where […]
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Pollan says health-care reform will fail unless we change the way we eat
Michael PollanNPR’s Guy Raz: What if health care is overhauled and it doesn’t change the American diet in any way? Michael Pollan: We’ll go broke. If we don’t get a handle on these health care costs, the new system or the old system, we’ll go broke. And that’s why I think that really food is […]
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Ask Umbra on sex … chicken sex, that is
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, Vegans don’t eat eggs because it’s an animal product like honey and milk and also because of how animals are treated. However, does eating an egg kill a baby chick that could have had a life? I am a vegetarian and people often argue that the eggs […]
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Climate change policy as prescription for British health care?
Will tackling climate change make us healthier — and save the NHS? Since Michael Moore pumped up Britain’s National Health Service in Sicko, there’s been a fair amount of debate on both sides of the Atlantic as to whether this iconic brand represents a model for other health-care systems in the world, or an unsustainable […]
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Health-care reform through green-colored glasses
President Barack Obama addresses a joint session of Congress Wednesday nightWhitehouse.gov With a summer of incendiary rhetoric and fabricated charges by the right-wing dominating the media headlines, President Obama took to the bully pulpit to sell his plan for what is now being called “Health Insurance Reform” rather than health care reform. President Obama and […]
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Big Food’s ‘Smart Choices’ label raises eyebrows at the FDA
“Smart Choice”–where’s the hole in this logic?Zanastardust/FlickrYou don’t need to be a nutritionist with an advanced degree to know that Froot Loops only qualifies as a “Smart Choice” on Planet Kellogg’s. But as the NYT told us over the weekend, if you are a nutritionist at a prestigious university’s nutrition school, you just might think […]
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EPA’s failure to publicize drinking water data prompts rethinking in agency, Congress
This story was written by Danielle Ivory. There is some evidence that Congress — and the Environmental Protection Agency — are rethinking their policies on a commonly used weed-killer after disclosures that the EPA failed to notify the public about high levels of the herbicide in drinking water. As the Investigative Fund revealed last week, […]
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Should I suck it up and buy vinyl windows?
Not my window. But this is how they feel sometimes.TottoBG via flickrOnce upon a time, I was full of unswayable romantic notions about old houses. Then I bought one. I’ll refrain from going into too much detail about the quirks of our house, and of course I’m grateful to have a roof over our heads. […]
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NYC warns residents: “Don’t Drink Yourself Fat”
While the evidence continues to mount that taxes alone aren’t enough to significantly reduce junk food consumption, the political prospects for passing a federal soda tax appears to be dim. Well, New York City has decided that if they can’t tax your soda, they’ll go after your appetite instead. …New York City’s public health officials […]