Proposed Free Speech About Science Act of 2010

Peter M. Jaensch, in his blog post Proposed Food Labeling Changes May be Hard for Pharmaceuticals to Swallow,  provides a snapshot introduced H.R. 4913 – the Free Speech About Science Act of 2010, which would amend the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) to expand disease and health-related claims in the labeling of some foods and dietary supplements. The bill would also add a new subsection to FD&C Act to permit certain claims "to diagnose, mitigate, treat, cure, or prevent a specific disease or class of diseases" in labeling for dietary supplements. These changes, Jaensch notes, "would permit food and dietary supplement manufacturers to make claims similar to those typically made for drug products, without subjecting them to the same degree of oversight or requiring the same depth of scientific analysis."

FDA Webinar on FDA's Inspection Process

On Thursday, March 25, 2010, at 2:00 p.m. ET, FDA experts will host a 30-minute online session and invite questions from the public on how FDA conducts inspections. For more information: Upcoming Webinar on FDA's Inspection Process

Workshop: Taking Charge - Strategies for Success in Academia

This free workshop from the Graduate School is presented by Dr. Greg Lambeth from the University of Illinois. For graduate students, postdocs and new faculty interested in developing strategies to become more effective in managing multiple projects.  Friday, April 16, 2010, 9:00am to Noon, Room 6 Student Services Building.  Registration is required. To register e-mail gradwrsp@msu.edu with your name, department, e-mail address, and the name/date of the workshop.  Space is limited.  Participants should bring a pencil or pen to the workshops.

Public Health Consequences of Climate Change Funding Opportunity

CDC’s Global Climate Change Program in the National Center for Environmental Health has announced a funding opportunity to build the capacity of state health departments, U.S. Territories, and Native American Tribal Health agencies to address the public health consequences of climate change and its implications on human health. The award is entitled “Developing Public Health Capacity and Adaptations to Reduce Human Health Effects of Climate Change” (CDC-RFA-EH10-1006); applications must be received by April 19, 2010. For more information, please visit here.

 

 

Soda Tax and Health

The March issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine features "Food Price and Diet and Health Outcomes: 20 Years of the CARDIA Study" by Kiyah J. Duffey and others. The authors’ findings suggest that policies which increase the price of sugary drinks, like a soda tax, may influence Americans to eat a healthier diet. To download the article, please visit here.

 

Public Health Law Seminars

In partnership with the American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics (ASMLE), the Public Health Law Association (PHLA) is offering a series of “Virtual Seminars” beginning March 16.  These free, brief seminars, conducted via teleconference and lasting no more than 30 minutes, will provide public health lawyers, practitioners, students, and others an opportunity to learn about and discuss emerging public health law issues with select experts in the field. For more information, please visit here.

 

 

Michael Pollan at Wharton Center for Performing Arts at Michigan State University

Michael Pollan at Wharton Center for Performing Arts at Michigan State University April 12.

Seminar : "Feeding the People and Maintaining the Planet" April 22

 “Feeding the People and Maintaining the Planet:  Meeting the Challenges by 2050.”

Jason Clay, Senior Vice President, World Wildlife Fund

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Reception @ 5:00 pm; Seminar from 5:30 – 6:45 pm

147 Communication Arts Building, Michigan State University

RSVP, Jennifer Patterson at patter34@anr.msu.edu by THURSDAY April 15.

We live on a finite planet. WWF’s Living Planet Index suggests that we are currently at 1.3 planets, exceeding the Earth’s carrying capacity. By almost any measure, producing food has the largest impact of any human activity. Most estimates suggest that we will need to produce twice as many calories on the same amount of land we use today if we want to maintain biodiversity and ecosystem functions. We know that what may be sustainable with 6.7 billion people will not be sustainable with 9 billion people, and that no single strategy will be sufficient to address this issue. WWF is implementing a strategy with the 100 global companies that are the most important in changing the way we produce 15 key commodities. We help companies and producers align incentives throughout supply chains to ensure long-term partnerships. WWF has identified 10 “food wedges” that will allow us to produce enough food for all and still have a living planet. These strategies focus on genetics, target crops, better practices, rehabilitation of degraded land, technology, property rights, waste and post harvest losses, overconsumption, and carbon. These strategies will allow us to increase food production while simultaneously reducing its footprint.

Seminar: Conversation about our food future, Monday March 29

Why Animal Agriculture Needs Technology

 Mr. Jeffrey N. Simmons

 Monday, March 29, 2010,

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon

 1240 Anthony Hall (H. Allen Tucker Seminar Room)

Note: Seating is limited to 90 individuals.
Please RSVP with Faye Watson (cotton@msu.edu or call 517-353-3174).

To learn more about the seminar topic, see Mr. Simmons’ white paper on the importance of technology to feed the world @ http://www.dairycast.com/food-economics-and-consumer-choice. Mr. Simmons is President of Elanco Animal Health.  Elanco is a global, innovation-driven company that develops and markets products to improve animal health and protein production in more than 75 countries. Elanco employs more than 2,300 people worldwide, with offices in more than 40 countries, and is a division of Eli Lilly and Company, a leading global pharmaceutical corporation.

Seminar: A conversation about our food future, Tuesday April 6

Size Matters: Why We Love to Hate  “Big Food” 

Charlie Arnot, Founder, CMA

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

 Reception @ 5:00 pm

Seminar from 5:30 – 6:45 pm

 1345 Engineering Building, Michigan State University

 RSVP, Jennifer Patterson at patter34@anr.msu.edu by Thursday April 1.

 Consumers and food system critics are raising important questions about whether today’s food system is worthy of their trust.  A public generationally and geographically removed from farming is no longer confident that those involved in food production share their values.  The voices questioning food system practices are growing in number, volume, and impact.  In this session, Charlie Arnot will explore why we love to hate “big food” and provide a unique perspective on creating support for a food system that is the ethical choice for people, animals, and the planet.

Conference on consumer and regulatory acceptance of functional foods

An US and EU Conference entitled "Consumer and Regulatory Acceptance of Functional Foods: Implications for Innovation" will be held in Fermoy Co. Cork, Ireland on March 12th 2010. The schedule for the event is available here.  Registration details are available here.