"ban" news and stories

The UK's Soil Association has just put forward a proposal to exclude any foods imported by air from using the "organic" label on their products. In theory, the proposal is based around the "food miles" theory, which states that the nearer to the point of sale that food is grown, the better for the environment it is. The theory assumes that emissions from airplanes and long-haul trucks will be greater than any of the pollutants that result from shorter journeys. There are many situations in which the theory does hold up, but by and large, it has been debunked, so even though it is given as the primary reason for this suggested policy change, the real motivation is simply money.

The demand for organics is very high. Stores can charge more for organics, as can growers. By effectively prohibiting imports in a country where the farmland is so limited (compared to some other countries, such as New Zealand, Chile and the US), the Soil Association is simply driving high prices even higher. Such a move may support local farms, but unless their production is able to match demand, consumers are really going to feel the effects of a change like this one.

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Even before Chowhound became a part of the Chow network, users frequently had problems with deletions. Controversial posts and less than glowing reviews of certain restaurants were deleted without explanation and some users found that their posts were deleted with a high frequency, regardless of the topic. Since the message board is a public forum, it is perfectly appropriate for moderators to remove offensive content, but when non-offensive reviews of "off the table restaurants" and other posts relevant to the website were taken down without explanation, many users grew frustrated. The problems persist with the new Chowhound, leaving many former contributors to head to different, more open minded, websites.

It appears that Eater is one such site because they have just offered to post anything that has been inexplicably removed from the Chowhound site. They are able to do this because the "offending" posts are not removed from the Chowhound feed as quickly as they are from the site, so there is a window of time where it is possible to retrieve the posts. Of course, you will have to contact the staff to let them know if your post was stricken, but it will be interesting to see what types of pieces are selected for removal.

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In India, the government is a little less subtle than other governments about their desire to prevent consumers from being exposed to products they deem to be unhealthy. New York, for example, is trying to get restaurants to list their calorie counts on their menus so that people can make an informed decision and choose (hopefully) the lower calorie item. Delhi , on the other hand, has decided to ask for schools and universities to ban sodas, citing sodas as an unhealthy form of junk food.

Coke, in a statement, said that the amount of Coke sold at universities and schools was very small and that they have been supporting campaigns that promote active lifestyles and sporting events in India.

Following India's attempt to get Coke and Pepsi to turn over their recipes to the government earlier this year, it is hard to believe that this is not a health-related move as much as a symbolic political one, trying to get back at the companies after their efforts were unsuccessful. This is especially true when you consider that "the country [has]some of the worst infant and maternal mortality rates in the world" and some of the most extreme poverty.

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Soon, New York City might not be the only place in the country with a ban on trans-fats in restaurants. The Washington State Board of Health and Public Health commended the NY Board of Health and said that the ban "is a step in the right direction and is boosting awareness of the ingredient's link to heart disease and stroke." They will spend the next several months conducting their own studies to see whether or not to follow suit and ban the use of trans fats in the state.

The biggest issue holding them back from making the decision at this point is whether or not a change could drive small companies out of business. The National Restaurant Association has raised concerns in the past over whether the demand for trans-fat free oils will meet the growing demand, saying that the deadlines imposed by the NY Board of Health could cause restaurant owners, especially small ones, to pay a premium for the oils just to meet them, while larger restaurants will have the clout to work out more equitable deals with suppliers.

Many Seattle restaurants and smaller chains have already shifted to trans-fat free products, or are in the process of doing so. They say that it is an important issue to their customer base and they want to make them happy. The fact that these changes are already taking place could encourage the Board of Health to move forward with the issue.

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It's official. New York City has become the first in the nation to ban the use trans-fats at restaurants. The members of the Board of Health voted unanimously for the ban and heath advocates are already applauding the decision. Restaurants will have until July 2007 to switch to trans-fat free frying oils - meaning that all french fries in the city, as well as other fried foods will have to be trans-fat free by that time - and will have until July 2008 to remove all trans-fats from their food.

Trans-fats, which have been called "chemical abominations" by some health officials, are known to raise bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol, changes which can contribute to an increased risk of heart disease. According to FDA estimates, "the average American eats 4.7 pounds of trans fats each year" in spite of the reductions that food processors have made with their use. They are favored in the restaurant and food processing industries because they are easy to work with, have a long shelf life and can increase the shelf life of foods that use them.

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