food and nutrition

This piece originally appeared in the Washington Times.

Soy reduces sperm count! Or at least, that's what all the papers would be saying today if soy were an industrial chemical (like one of the three phthalates just banned by Congress).

A study published in the journal Human Reproduction, found that eating a half serving a day of soy-rich foods such as tofu, tempeh, and soy milk could be enough to significantly lower a man's sperm count.

Reports by Reuters and others on the study emphasized scientists' cautions that while studies in animals have linked...

Killer hot dogs, the air conditioning in your car, cellphones, you will never leave the house if fear merchants like Natural Resources Defense Council have their way with your science education - and your wallet.

Fortunately, John Tierney at the New York Times is here to help and he asked American Council on Science and Health for help in itemizing the things that $200 million behemoths like NRDC want you to be worried about - but needn't be.

MORNING DISPATCH 7/25/08: Rep. Barton, Dr. Miller, Tomatoes, HIV, Meat, and Candy

Honorary seat at the table goes to Representative Joe Barton
We would like to offer a seat at the ACSH breakfast table to Rep. Joe Barton for his sensible statements opposing a phthalate ban. In an op-ed in the Dallas Morning News, he writes, "Not only does this proposal [to ban phthalates] mischaracterize the science, it also retroactively studies the facts, assumes the safety of alternatives, and categorically exposes the makers to bankrupting lawsuits. In short, it is not good policy or a policy I...

From time to time, the Organic Center publishes State of the Science Reviews. These reviews provide some useful information, but, as you might expect from an organization supported by the Organic Trade Association, large food companies and their CEO's, the information is usually spun in favor of organic food.

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This letter first appeared in the Los Angeles Times on July 28, 2008:

Re: "Panel OKs fast-food curbs," July 23

Obesity and its resultant health complications, especially diabetes, are indeed a challenging public health problem in our nation. But banning so-called fast-food restaurants from specific zones will not ameliorate the problem.

People will walk a few extra blocks to get the products they crave, especially in today's cost-conscious environment. Eliminating Big Macs and their ilk won't bring in supermarkets and...

Using the untimely death of former White House press secretary Tony Snow from colon cancer as an example, the animal rights activists misleadingly called the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) imply that such a fate awaits children who are fed hot dogs as part of school lunches.

In an egregious attempt to frighten parents, PCRM today warned that allowing children to eat processed meats such as hot dogs or baloney would set them up for cancer later in life.

Although cloaked as concern for children's health, this warning is simply part of PCRM's animal rights agenda to promote their view that we should all become vegans (we've...

For coffee and tea drinkers, choosing a sweetener pink, blue, or yellow packet? became more complicated with the introduction this month of TruvÃa, billed as "Nature's Calorie-Free Sweetener" and that has made a splashy debut at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan.

New York Sun came to ACSH for some evidence-based insight, cutting through hyped sweetness.

This article first appeared on July 22, 2008 in the New York Post:

City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden apparently didn't notice the scandalous revelations about City Council "member items" earlier this year -- at least, it hasn't stopped him from jumping feet first into his own no-accountability giveaway.

His department is giving away 30,000 taxpayer-funded $2 coupons this month as part of its Health Bucks program -- and says it may hand out "significantly more" later this summer.

Getting people to...

New York, NY -- July 21, 2008. The latest attempt by proponents of organic agriculture to prove that organically grown crops are nutritionally superior to conventional ones has failed, according to Joseph D. Rosen, Ph.D., emeritus professor of Food Toxicology at Rutgers University and a scientific advisor to the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH).

Dr. Rosen analyzed a pro-organic report by Charles Benbrook and colleagues at the Organic Trade Association's Organic Center and found the data had been selectively chosen and presented to "prove" the desired point. Dr. Rosen's report, Claims of Organic Food's Nutritional Superiority: A Critical Review,...

For many years milk marketers have provided consumers with a plethora of choices -- regular, reduced fat, low fat, nonfat, lactose-reduced, etc., etc. All such products have something real to offer. Unfortunately, for the past few years many have decided to add labeling that their milk comes from cows that "were not treated with rBST" (recombinant bovine somatotropin). Implicit in such labeling is the idea that milk from such cows is in some way different, indeed better, than milk from rBST-treated animals -- even though this isn't true. A new study demonstrates clearly, however, that milk is milk -- no matter if the cows are treated with rBST or if they are only exposed to the BST that they make themselves...