Last week, Great Britain’s Department of Health and Social Care announced sweeping plans to combat obesity by “empowering adults and children to live healthier lives.” “Many people have tried to lose weight but struggle in the face of endless prompts to eat—on TV and on the high (main) street,” the health department announcement states. “In […]
America’s meat supply has been hammered by the COVID-19 outbreaks occurring at many of the nation’s largest meat-processing plants. Pressure on the meat supply means consumer prices have spiked. The nation’s small and mid-sized farmers and ranchers can help address shortages, but they first need better access both to small-scale slaughter and processing facilities and […]
Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a blueprint for improving the safety of the foods the agency regulates. The approach, dubbed the “New Era of Smarter Food Safety,” while light on details, “outlines the approach FDA will take over the next decade to usher in the New Era of Smarter Food […]
Of all the deregulatory efforts undertaken during the pandemic, the loosening of state and local alcohol regulations has been perhaps the most noticeable, welcome, and widespread to date. Take to-go cocktails. At least 30 states have moved to allow to-go alcohol sales by bars and restaurants temporarily during the pandemic. Many jurisdictions have also relaxed […]
A Chicago nonprofit that works on behalf of the city’s young adults sued the city this week. The lawsuit was filed by Chicago Freedom School (CFS)—an acclaimed nonprofit that provides support and educational programs for young Chicagoans—against the city, three police officers, and the Chicago Department for Business Affairs & Consumer Protection. CFS alleges Chicago […]
Late Tuesday night, dozens of customers lined up outside a popular bar in Toronto. At midnight, the bar opened its doors, welcoming drinkers into its open-air patio for the first time in months after mandatory closures meant to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Given America’s close cultural, economic, and geographic links to Canada, and the fact […]
Six Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee have asked Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Purdue to relax U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) enforcement of some meat inspection rules due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has sickened and killed employees and USDA inspectors who work inside some of the largest U.S. meat processing plants. In a […]
As federal, state, and local governments respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, some are loosening rules to ensure consumers can get adequate sustenance. Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) temporarily relaxed food-labeling rules to allow some companies to sell things that are not labeled for individual sale. That […]
The police in New York City will stop overseeing and ticketing street food vendors, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this week. Responsibility for enforcing mobile vending rules will reside with other departments, including health, sanitation, and parks. This is an overdue and welcome move. Police have made life hell for decades for vendors in the […]
Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it was relaxing food ingredient labeling rules due to ingredient shortages associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The move is intended to benefit food manufacturers, grocers, and consumers. I think it will do just that. Practically, the flexibility around “minor formulation changes” will allow food makers […]
