Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
As the anti-fast food documentary "Super Size Me" hits theaters, McDonald's is fighting back. "We're responding aggressively because the film is a gross misrepresentation," said a company spokesperson. Helping defend McDonald's are "global nutritionist" Cathy Kapica and the corporate-funded American Council on Science and Health.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
A grand jury report on groundwater contamination in Escambia County, Florida, has been released charging that local, state and federal agencies responsible for protecting the environment and public health all failed to inform the public about industrial contamination of the county's water supply, with the Conoco oil company among the area's leading polluters.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
The British medical journal The Lancet published a review of "six published and six unpublished trials" studying antidepressant use by children that concluded that, in most cases, "the risks exceeded the benefits." More disturbingly, the review found evidence that pharmaceutical companies "had been aware of problems but did not reveal them." In a memo leaked last month from GlaxoSmithKline, the company w
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"While U.S.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
As McDonald's unveiled its latest marketing ploy - healthier menu options, including "Go Active!" Adult Happy Meals - one free enterprise and "personal freedom" activist is trying to prove that the fast food giant's current menu isn't so bad.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
Leslie Green at Stapleton Communications has a bachelor's degree in Marketing Communications from California Polytechnic State University, which must be where she learned how to stonewall reporters while still sounding upbeat. A detailed new investigative report charges her client, AXT Inc., with poisoning its workers with gallium arsenide, a potent carcinogen used to make semiconductors.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
"Industry officials are expressing grave concern that a growing alliance between environmentalists and patient advocacy groups to link exposure to harmful pollution with chronic diseases and life-long disabilities could add credibility to activists' calls for stricter environmental requirements," Inside EPA reports.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote next week on a "cheeseburger bill." The bill -- the Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act (HR 339) -- would bar lawsuits against fast-food outlets accused of causing obesity.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"Pharmaceutical makers have already found a major loophole in the Food and Drug Administration's new draft guidelines for direct-to-consumer advertising," reports Advertising Age. The guidelines were meant to clarify risk information and increase "disease awareness" spots, those not touting any particular drug.
Submitted by John Stauber on
"The Food and Drug Administration is looking to hire a PR firm to help it celebrate its 100th anniversary on June 30, 2006," O'Dwyer's PR writes. "It is looking for a campaign based on the 'Protecting and Advancing America's Health' theme. The PR firm is to use the campaign to celebrate the FDA's accomplishments and further its 'mission to promote and protect the public health for future generations.'" Before FDA knocks itself over patting itself on the back with its tax-subsidized PR campaign, let's look a little harder at its record versus its mythology.
Center for Media and Democracy (CMD)
520 University Ave, Ste 305 • Madison, WI 53703 • (608) 260-9713
CMD is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit.
© 1993-2024