Tag Archives: health

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Contamination and no recalls … Urge recall and launch real reform!


Policy and Action from Consumer Reports

Foster Farms won’t budge. With nearly 300 sick so far, and antibiotic resistant salmonella strains linked back to particular Foster Farms processing plants, it’s time for a recall.

More than that, it’s long past time our nation’s food producers stop overusing antibiotics on food animals — a practice that makes our life-saving drugs less effective at fighting deadly bacteria.

Despite the government shutdown, we’ll get you heard on this important health issue! Send a message now, and we will get it into the right hands at USDA and FDA.

Demand an immediate recall and new rules for antibiotic use!

When antibiotic resistant strains make people sick, industry reminds us to cook the food more. Wipe everything with bleach. While these precautions certainly help, they don’t address the underlying problem.

Our nation’s meat and chicken industry relies heavily on the overuse of antibiotics to speed growth and help animals survive filthy, crowded conditions. Overuse spurs the emergence of antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’ on both the farm and in our communities.

That’s why we’re also asking that FDA finally take a strong stand for reduced antibiotic use in agriculture. The current outbreak should serve as a warning. Let’s make real progress before the antibiotics we need for human health no longer work.

Send your message now. We’ll get it to the right people, even with the shutdown.

And don’t forget — get rid of this chicken. Learn how to tell whether you have it in your house or if it’s for sale at your store.. Then forward this email to friends and family so they can check their fridge and join our movement to save our nation’s antibiotics for human health.

Sincerely,
Meg Bohne, NotInMyFood.org,
A project of Consumers Union, Policy and Action from Consumer Reports

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Could this happen to you?


Imagine that complications from your pregnancy put your health at risk and when you arrive at the hospital you suddenly find out that they can refuse to help you.

This horrific reality has happened to many women, and it will happen again. If your local hospital is religiously affiliated — or if it employs doctors or nurses who have religious objections to providing needed medical care — it could even happen to you.

Tell the Department of Health: Women in Washington deserve better.

Within the next two years, more than 50 percent of hospital admissions in Washington may be to Catholic institutions that restrict patient access to medication and procedures. These religiously affiliated hospitals allow religious doctrine, rather than proven medical best practices, to dictate the kind of care and procedures pregnant women and patients can receive. In these hospitals, patient care and medical standards often run a distant second to religious doctrine. As a result, women’s health can suffer, and lives can be at risk and all the while women continue to seek care at these hospitals with no idea.

You can change this. The Washington Department of Health is asking for comments on proposed changes to hospital disclosure policies.

Submit your comment today to ensure that hospitals in Washington fully inform their patients about the reproductive health services they do and do not provide.

Many women seeking care at these hospitals may not realize that the hospitals deny care for women and patients in emergency situations, including:

  • Prohibiting prompt, medically indicated treatment of miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy, even if the woman’s life and health is at risk.
  • Refusing   to inform a couple about their contraceptive options, including sterilization, even though a pregnancy could threaten the women’s health or life.
  • Requiring patients in persistent vegetative states to be kept on feeding tubes even when a patient has specifically indicated that a feeding tube is something he or she would never want.

This is a growing problem in Washington. Women cannot wait until they are in dire need of services to be informed of their care. Please take action right now — the comment period closes at midnight on November 26.

Thanks for keeping it personal,

Thao Nguyen
Campaign Director
This Is Personal
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Union of Concerned Scientists


Top 10 Food Facts

Share your favorite science-based fact to show your support for a healthier food and farm system in honor of Food Day!

 

 

ACTION ALERT This Food Day, Share the Facts
Today is Food Day! To celebrate, I’m sharing a list of my “Top 10” favorite facts from recent UCS reports, including our brand new report, The Healthy Farmland Diet.
The Healthy Farmland Diet is the first economic analysis of its kind to show how increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables would not only be healthier for our bodies, but also healthier for the environment and local economies. This report also demonstrates how modest government investments can remove obstacles standing in the way for consumers and farmers to reach this goal.
So tell me: what’s your favorite science-based food fact? Use the links below to share it on Twitter to show your support of a healthier food and farm system! You can also share all 10 facts on Facebook or by forwarding this email.
1. Healthy farms=win-win-win for health/wellbeing of people, economies & natural resources we all depend onj.mp/1c0h1ib #FoodDay2013 Tweet this
2. Sales of locally grown food now total $5 BILLION/year. j.mp/1eNiV7u #FoodDay2013 Tweet this
3. Modest public investments in ~500 farmers markets/year could create >13K jobs over 5 years. j.mp/1aHULHx#FoodDay2013 Tweet this
4. Got (organic) milk? #Organic dairies = better for environment, consumer health & regional economies.j.mp/1aa5xLI #FoodDay2013 Tweet this
5. Shifting policy from supporting junk food to fruits/veg could save $17B in health costs. j.mp/HjDc8I#FoodDay2013 Tweet this
6. Burger with a side of…pills? j.mp/HjDuwq >70% of antibiotics sold in US are used in animal agriculture. #FoodDay2013 Tweet this
7. Only 2% of US cropland is devoted to fruit/veg. Time for smarter gov’t policies. j.mp/HdWQDK #FoodDay2013 Tweet this
8. If Americans ate fruit/veg according to @myplate, US production of fruit/veg would increase by 88%.j.mp/HdWQDK #FoodDay2013 Tweet this
9. Just 1 more serving of fruits/vegetables could save >30K lives/yr. j.mp/HjDc8I #FoodDay2013 Tweet this
10. Scientists have shown that cover crops can reduce nitrogen groundwater pollution by 40-70% j.mp/1c0h1ib#FoodDay2013 Tweet this
As you can see, we’ve got the facts on our side AND we’re making progress because of it. Just last week, wedelivered a petition from more than 18,000 UCS supporters to House leadership urging them to proceed with the Farm Bill. They listened, and the Farm Bill process is now moving ahead. Moreover, President Obama listed the Farm Bill as one of his three near-term priorities.
With all of this, we’ve got a lot to be excited about—and a lot of work to do. Join us, and this Food Day, share your favorite fact now for a healthier food and farm system!

Sincerely, Ashley Elles Ashley Elles National Field Organizer Food & Environment Program Union of Concerned Scientists
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Union of Concerned Scientists ~~ Today, is Food Day!


Union of Concerned Scientists

Today is Food Day!

To celebrate, I’m sharing a list of my “Top 10” favorite facts from recent UCS reports, including our brand new report, The Healthy Farmland Diet. The Healthy Farmland Diet is the first economic analysis of its kind to show how increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables would not only be healthier for our bodies, but also healthier for the environment and local economies. This report also demonstrates how modest government investments can remove obstacles standing in the way for consumers and farmers to reach this goal. So tell me: what’s your favorite science-based food fact? Use the links below to share it on Twitter to show your support of a healthier food and farm system! You can also share all 10 facts on Facebook or by forwarding this email.

Top 10 Food Facts

Share your favorite science-based fact to show your support for a healthier food and farm system in honor of Food Day!

1. Healthy farms=win-win-win for health/wellbeing of people, economies & natural resources we all depend onj.mp/1c0h1ib #FoodDay2013 Tweet this

2. Sales of locally grown food now total $5 BILLION/year. j.mp/1eNiV7u #FoodDay2013 Tweet this

3. Modest public investments in ~500 farmers markets/year could create >13K jobs over 5 years. j.mp/1aHULHx#FoodDay2013 Tweet this

4. Got (organic) milk? #Organic dairies = better for environment, consumer health & regional economies.j.mp/1aa5xLI #FoodDay2013 Tweet this

5. Shifting policy from supporting junk food to fruits/veg could save $17B in health costs. j.mp/HjDc8I#FoodDay2013 Tweet this

6. Burger with a side of…pills? j.mp/HjDuwq >70% of antibiotics sold in US are used in animal agriculture. #FoodDay2013 Tweet this

7. Only 2% of US cropland is devoted to fruit/veg. Time for smarter gov’t policies. j.mp/HdWQDK #FoodDay2013 Tweet this

8. If Americans ate fruit/veg according to @myplate, US production of fruit/veg would increase by 88%.j.mp/HdWQDK #FoodDay2013 Tweet this

9. Just 1 more serving of fruits/vegetables could save >30K lives/yr. j.mp/HjDc8I #FoodDay2013 Tweet this

10. Scientists have shown that cover crops can reduce nitrogen groundwater pollution by 40-70% j.mp/1c0h1ib#FoodDay2013 Tweet this As you can see, we’ve got the facts on our side AND we’re making progress because of it. Just last week, wedelivered a petition from more than 18,000 UCS supporters to House leadership urging them to proceed with the Farm Bill. They listened, and the Farm Bill process is now moving ahead. Moreover, President Obama listed the Farm Bill as one of his three near-term priorities. With all of this, we’ve got a lot to be excited about—and a lot of work to do. Join us, and this Food Day, share your favorite fact now for a healthier food and farm system!

Sincerely, Ashley Elles Ashley Elles National Field Organizer Food & Environment Program Union of Concerned Scientists