Hat tip to MADGE for pointing out the fact that the Food Labelling Law & Policy Review March 2010 Issues Consultation Paper seems to suggest that it would be acceptable for the general public and individual consumers/shoppers to be deliberately kept in the dark concerning certain food ingredients and/or preparation processes: Read more »

Anyone who has been following the fortunes of biotech companies associated with genetically modified seed will recall Monsanto & Co's oft repeated claim that it's really in the business of feeding the world and not the simple pursuit of profit.

Once more in 2010 this monopolisitic multinational's actions give lie to the PR spin, as it is discovered trying to assert royalty rights over Cefetra's imported animal feed product made from GMO Roundup-ready soybean and accusing this company and others of infringing its patent.
The ruling mentioned below appears to be an interim opinion with the court's final ruling expected sometime later in the year.
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Margo Saunders, a public health policy consultant in Canberra, reports on a recent public lecture by a senior Kellogg Company executive, John Bryant:

“Thanks to the power of pervasive advertising, the Kellogg’s cereal mascots Tony the Tiger (Frosted Flakes – ‘They’re g-r-r-reat!’) and Snap, Crackle and Pop (Rice Krispies) were as much a part of an American childhood as Roy Rogers (who appeared in commercials for a Kellogg’s competitor).

But Kellogg’s has not exactly had an easy time of it in Australia lately, with the company attracting criticism from CHOICE and Parents Jury for poor nutritional content and misleading advertising, and facing legal action in the United States for various product claims (see here, and here). Read more »

According to both common sense and the American Academy of Pediatrics, there are two truths about hot dogs which neither science nor industry can afford to ignore: kids love hot dogs, and hot dogs are the perfect size and shape for a child to choke on. To wit: "If you were to take the best engineers in the world and asked them to design a perfect plug for a child's airway, you couldn't do better than a hot dog," one AAP doctor said.

As such, the hot dog is in need of a redesign. So the folks at Fast Company took a look at California design house RKS's quest to cook up a completely rethought hot dog, and they did it using a design tool that is decidedly child-approved: the Play-Doh Fun Factory. Read more »

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