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Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Food

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    Environmental Battle Brews in New York over Natural Gas Drilling

    Last week, government regulators opened the door to natural gas drilling inside the Marcellus Shale watershed, which supplies drinking water to some 15 million people, including nine million New Yorkers. Stretching from New York to Kentucky, the shale is believed to hold some of the world’s largest deposits of natural gas. Proponents say the drilling will boost the nation’s economic recovery and reduce dependence on foreign oil. But...
    Oct 06, 2009 | Story

  • NYT Investigation Exposes Severity of Nationwide Water Contamination; Corporations Violated Clean Water Act Over 500,000 Times in Last Five Years

    A major investigation by the New York Times has found that chemical companies have violated the Clean Water Act more than 500,000 times in the last five years. Most of the violations have gone unpunished, with state regulators taking significant action in just three percent of all cases. An estimated one in ten Americans has been exposed to drinking water that has dangerous chemicals or falls short of federal standards. We speak with Charles Duhigg,...
    Sep 14, 2009 | Story

  • "Spin the Bottle" - Expose Raises Alarming Questions About Fiji Water's Ties to Military Junta, Environmental Record and Impact on Fijians

    Fiji Water is America’s leading imported water and the bottled water of choice among the rich and famous. President Obama was photographed drinking Fiji on election night, and Mary J. Blige demands ten bottles before concerts. But a new expose in Mother Jones magazine raises alarming questions about Fiji Water’s ties to Fiji’s military dictatorship, the company’s environmental record and its impact on the residents of Fiji....
    Sep 03, 2009 | Story

  • Fracking and the Environment: Natural Gas Drilling, Hydraulic Fracturing and Water Contamination

    Gas drilling companies such as Halliburton say the gas drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," is safe, but opponents contend it pollutes groundwater with dangerous substances. Now, new evidence has emerged possibly linking natural gas drilling to groundwater contamination. ProPublica journalist Abrahm Lustgarten reports federal officials in Wyoming have found that at least three water wells contain chemicals...
    Sep 03, 2009 | Story

  • EPA Fails to Inform Public About Weed Killer in Drinking Water, Huffington Post Investigation Reveals

    An investigation by the Huffington Post reveals the Environmental Protection Agency knew that one of the country’s most widely used herbicides exceeds federal safety limits in four states but failed to inform residents of the associated dangers. The Huffington Post discovered that the EPA has been collecting data that shows people are drinking water laced with high levels of a weed killer known as atrazine but did not publish the data. [includes...
    Aug 25, 2009 | Story

  • Former FDA Commissioner David Kessler: "The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite"

    A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that the direct medical costs of obesity total about $147 billion a year. That amounts to nine percent of all US medical costs. It’s also over $50 billion more than the annual spending on cancer. In the midst of this national focus on obesity, today we’ll speak to David Kessler, who has spent the last seven years trying to understand how the food industry has changed...
    Aug 03, 2009 | Story

  • "Bacon as a Weapon of Mass Destruction"

    From the McDonald’s McGriddle to Wendy’s "Baconator" to "baconnaise" to bacon-infused vodka, bacon has become a ubiquitous ingredient in many diets in this era of extreme food combinations. Arun Gupta of The Indypendent writes, "Behind the proliferation of bacon offerings is a confluence of government policy, factory farming, the boom in fast food and manipulation of consumer taste that has turned bacon into a...
    Aug 03, 2009 | Story

  • "Omnivore's Dilemma" Author Michael Pollan's New Advice on Buying Food: "Don't Buy Any Food You've Ever Seen Advertised"

    Michael Pollan is one of the nation’s leading writers and thinkers in this country on the issue of food. He is author of several books about food, including The Botany of Desire, The Omnivore’s Dilemma and his latest, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. In light of what he calls the processed food industry’s co-option of "sustainability" and its vast spending on marketing, Pollan advises to be wary of any food...
    May 14, 2009 | Story

  • Food Safety: Georgia Plant Knowingly Shipped Contaminated Peanuts; Study Links Corn Syrup to Toxic Mercury

    We look at two stories on food safety. The FDA has
    issued one of the largest food recalls in history after eight people died of salmonella poisoning. A Georgia peanut plant knowingly shipped products contaminated with salmonella on a dozen occasions over the past two years. And a pair of new studies has revealed traces of toxic mercury can be found in many popular food items containing high-fructose corn syrup. The sweetener has become a widely...
    Jan 29, 2009 | Story

  • World Food Day a Reminder of a Global Crisis Further Sidelined by Campaign Frenzy, Financial Woes

    As the financial crisis dominates the attention of the news media and the presidential campaign, a global food crisis continues to affect millions of people around the world. Last night, a group of farmers and food policy experts gathered in New York for an event to mark World Food Day. We speak to Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System, and Ben Burkett, president of the National Family Farm Coalition....
    Oct 17, 2008 | Story