Consumer

Arrest of Four Near Hog Farm Tests Utah's "Ag Gag" Law [1]

One way to deal with bad press is to make it illegal. Exposés of inhumane conditions at feedlots and slaughterhouses are being made illegal by state legislatures that pass "ag gag" laws. Now a case in Utah is challenging whether industrial agriculture's claims of secrecy trump the eating public's right to know. Image: Sows in 7'x2' Smithfield Foods gestation crates. By Humane Society of the US [CC], 2010. [2]

SEJ Publication Types:

WatchDog TipSheet [3]

Topics on the Beat:

Activism [4]

Agriculture [5]

Consumer [6]

Health [7]

Journalism & Media [8]

Laws & Regulations [9]

Pollution [10]

Region:

Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [11]

Northwest (OR WA) [12]

Visibility:

Public [13]

Read more about Arrest of Four Near Hog Farm Tests Utah's "Ag Gag" Law [1]

BPA Alternative Disrupts Normal Brain-Cell Growth, Tied To Hyperactivity: Study [14]

"In a groundbreaking study, researchers have shown why a chemical once thought to be a safe alternative to bisphenol-A, which was abandoned by manufacturers of baby bottles and sippy cups after a public outcry, might itself be more harmful than BPA."

Chemicals [15]

Consumer [6]

Environmental Health [16]

Public [13]

National (U.S.) [17]

Source: Wash Post [18], 01/13/2015

Read more about BPA Alternative Disrupts Normal Brain-Cell Growth, Tied To Hyperactivity: Study [14]

"New York City To Ban Use Of Plastic Foam Containers" [19]

"New York City will become the largest city in the country to ban restaurants from using plastic foam containers, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday."

Chemicals [15]

Consumer [6]

Environmental Health [16]

Food [20]

Public [13]

Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [21]

Source: Huffington Post [22], 01/09/2015

Read more about "New York City To Ban Use Of Plastic Foam Containers" [19]

Decades of Petrochemical Industry Documents on Hiding Toxicity in Online Archive [23]

The Center for Public Integrity, Columbia University, and City University of New York have just published some 20,000 pages of hitherto unpublished letters, e-mails, presentations, and meeting minutes from the oil and chemical industries in a public database, called "Exposed: Decades of Denial on Poisons."

SEJ Publication Types:

WatchDog TipSheet [3]

Topics on the Beat:

Chemicals [15]

Consumer [6]

Energy & Fuel [24]

Health [7]

Pollution [10]

Visibility:

Public [13]

Read more about Decades of Petrochemical Industry Documents on Hiding Toxicity in Online Archive [23]

Ohio Utilities Seek To Keep Reasons for Public "Bailout" Secret from Public [25]

Three major electric utilities want the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to make ratepayers pay for aging and unprofitable coal and nuclear generation plants in that state. But the ratepayers — the utilities claim — aren't entitled to know whether they might be ripped off.

SEJ Publication Types:

WatchDog TipSheet [3]

Topics on the Beat:

Consumer [6]

Economy & Business [26]

Energy & Fuel [24]

Nuclear Power & Radiation [27]

Region:

Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [28]

Visibility:

Public [13]

Read more about Ohio Utilities Seek To Keep Reasons for Public "Bailout" Secret from Public [25]

"Aluminum Dreams: The Making of Light Modernity" [29]

SEJ Publication Types:

BookShelf [30]

Topics on the Beat:

Consumer [6]

Environmental Health [16]

Natural Resources [31]

People & Population [32]

Technology [33]

Water & Oceans [34]

Visibility:

Public [13]

Read more about "Aluminum Dreams: The Making of Light Modernity" [29]

"That Takeout Coffee Cup May Be Messing With Your Hormones" [35]

"A new study suggests that whole classes of BPA-free plastics—including the kind in styrofoam—release estrogenic chemicals."

Chemicals [15]

Consumer [6]

Environmental Health [16]

Public [13]

National (U.S.) [17]

Source: , 12/02/2014

Read more about "That Takeout Coffee Cup May Be Messing With Your Hormones" [35]

More Backyard Pesticides Show Up in California Watersheds: Report [36]

"Levels of a type of pesticide commonly used in backyard gardens and on farms have increased in urban and rural watersheds in California, the state said in a report released Wednesday."

Chemicals [15]

Consumer [6]

Pollution [10]

Water & Oceans [34]

Public [13]

California [37]

Source: Reuters [38], 11/21/2014

Read more about More Backyard Pesticides Show Up in California Watersheds: Report [36]

"Survey: Shrimp in US Rife With Murky Labeling" [39]

"Consumers around the nation can't be sure what kind of shrimp they're buying if they simply look at the label or menu at supermarkets, grocers and restaurants, an advocacy group says."

Consumer [6]

Fish & Fisheries [40]

Public [13]

National (U.S.) [17]

Source: AP [41], 10/30/2014

Read more about "Survey: Shrimp in US Rife With Murky Labeling" [39]

"The Secret Chemicals in Perfume Are About To Be Unbottled" [42]

"SC Johnson will be the first large company to disclose all fragrance ingredients in products. Could this be the end of trade-secret protection for the fragrance industry? "

Chemicals [15]

Consumer [6]

Environmental Health [16]

Public [13]

National (U.S.) [17]

Source: Guardian [43], 10/16/2014

Read more about "The Secret Chemicals in Perfume Are About To Be Unbottled" [42]

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