Four items about pet food politics

I. DOJ, FDA take raw pet food company to court.  This one comes from Phyllis Entis of eFoodAlert.  She writes: "I thought this might interest you. Last Friday, the DOJ filed a Complaint against Arrow Reliance Inc. (Darwin’s Natural Pet Products) and its owner, Gary Tashjian." The Complaint seeks to block Darwin's from selling adulterated drugs; it argues that Darwin's raw pet foods are adulterated because they:

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Concentration in agriculture: a big problem getting bigger

I was interested to see this report.  Here's why this matters: As can be seen, concentration across all six sectors remains high. Five of them – seeds, pesticides, machinery, animal pharma and pig genetics – meet the definition of an oligopoly, in which four companies control more than 40% of a market. So too does the global market for phosphate fertilisers.

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A national scandal: millions of U.S. workers rely on Medicaid and SNAP

The Government Accountability Office reports: Federal Social Safety Net Programs: Millions of Workers, Including Many Employed by Large Employers, Continue to Rely on Medicaid and SNAP. To learn more about the working adults who used these programs in 2024, we analyzed employment data from 11 states and Census data. We found: About two-thirds worked full time Most worked for private sector employers…

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Industry-funded study of the week: dog food

Thanks to Phyllis Entis of eFoodAlert.com for this one. The Study: Minimally processed, human-grade diet alters canine epigenetic ageing: Results from a pilot study. Aimee Chen, Wei Guo, Janina A. Krumbeck, Dan Su, Vincent Michels, Xiaojing Yang.  First published: 05 August 2026.  Results: Dogs fed with MPHGF diet  exhibited a significant reduction in delta age, decreasing from 2.75 to 1.80 years over 6 months (p = 0.02), indicating a trend of slowed epigenetic ageing.

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Online: Center for Food as Medicine & Longevity

A conversation with Charles Platkin at 12:30 p.m. on  The Wisdom of 90 Years: Dr. Marion Nestle on Food and Living Your Best Life.  Registration is here.

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Weekend good news (at least in part): global hunger reduced!

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released its annual report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI). From the press release The good news Global hunger declined for a third consecutive year in 2025, demonstrating that progress is possible. The not-so-good news However, the improvements remain fragile, unevenly distributed and insufficient to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

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Pet food safety and other issues: a short roundup

As is my wont, I collect items about pet food. Safety The CDC's web page on pet food safety makes three main points: Pet food and treats can sometimes be contaminated with germs that make people and pets sick. CDC does not recommend feeding raw pet food or treats to dogs and cats. Talk to a veterinarian for advice on how to maintain a safe and healthy diet for your pet.

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Online

Information and registration is here.

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FDA’s new rules on produce safety

I'll say this again.  No, Cyclospora is not a food industry conspiracy to keep people from eating real foods.  It is a serious illness that has put plenty of people in hospitals and killed at least two. At Monday's MAHA press conference (see yesterday's post), the FDA announced: Finally, though not part of today's announcement, with respect to microbiological food safety, FDA will be publishing tomorrow a final guidance document titled "Guide to Minimize Biological Hazards in ready-to-eat fresh-cut produce." This final guidance is intended to help manufacturers and processors of fresh-cut produce comply with applicable FDA requirements and 21 CFR Part 117 titles current good manufacturing practices, hazard analysis, and risk-based prevention controls for human food.

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Closing the GRAS loophole? It’s about time, but is that all?

RFK Jr held a press conference yesterday to celebrate "the biggest news in food reform in modern history"---requiring food manufacturers to notify the FDA when they are introducing a new food additive they want considered Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS). This wasn't already required?  No, it was not.  This gap is the long-troubling "GRAS loophole." Here's what the press release says (

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An industry-funded study with a rare negative result!

I keep saying that I can often tell who funded a study from its title, and if I know the funder I can often predict the result.  But sometimes I'm wrong.  This is one of those times. The study:  Effects of Short-Term Broccoli Powder Supplementation on Acute Oxidative Stress and Recovery Following a Metabolically Demanding Exercise Session. Cesanelli L, Venckunas T, Minderis P, Maconyte V, Stasiulis A, Snieckus A, Mickevicius M, Mickeviciene D, Kamandulis S. 

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Weekend reading: Sustainable Development Goals progress (or lack thereof)

I am totally for the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2015, they set targets for the betterment of global populations, to be achieved by 2030. The targets were ambitious from the get go, but it's a global tragedy that so little has been achieved.  Here's the summary. This report is especially thoughtful, not surprising given its authors.  They would like the report cited as:

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The hyper-marketing of protein, continued

Most people who eat enough calories get more than enough of the protein they need, so the current protein craze---putting pea, whey, and tofu into everything---doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It does sell products though. It's hard to choose from among the most entertaining protein-supplemented products. Coffee? Protein water? Pop-Tarts? But this remains my current favorite.

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Porto: Honorary Degree

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Corte Madera: Book Passage

I'm talking about the book at Book Passage in Corte Madera at 11:00 a.m.  Details to come.

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MAHA’s one achievement so far: voluntary elimination of artificial food colors

RFK Jr's Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) made many promises, most of them still in the works.  But one seems to be well on the way to being achieved.  Under MAHA pressure, some companies agreed to voluntarily remove petroleum-based food colors by the end of 2027. I went to the Target in Ithaca, NY last week and could not fine a single kids' cereal containing the dyes Red 40, Yellow 5 and 6, and Blue 1.

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Update on the Cyclospora outbreak: What to do?

States have reported upwards of 20,000 cases of Cyclospora-caused explosive diarrhea, some of them--but by no means all---traced to lettuce grown by Taylor Farms in Mexico and shipped to Taco Bell and, apparently, lots of other places. The best way to keep track of all this---and it is a lot to keep track of---is to read food poisoning lawyer Bill Marler's blog…

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Funding effect study of the week: Red Bull

The Examination has released an investigative report in its new "Behind the Buzz" series: "Is it safe to drink Red Bull and vodka? Dubious research tied to the company has shaped energy drink policy. The company paid scientists whose studies largely found that mixing energy drinks and alcohol isn’t harmful, contrary to most research." The studies backed by Red Bull have been nearly unanimous in their message: Consuming energy drinks and alcohol together is no more harmful than drinking alcohol alone.

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Online: Food Tank

I will be discussing Sugar Coated at 1:00 p.m. ET.  The link to the conversation is here.

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Weekend reading: What the Trump administration has done to SNAP—and to grocery stores

One Year Later: How H.R. 1's SNAP Policy Changes Are Reverberating Across the Food System CSPI ad GFI frame this report in an interesting way, as a tale of two distinct, and sometimes at cross-purposes, Trump administration food agendas. The first, reflected in Project 2025 and H.R. 1, represents an economic agenda focused on reducing federal spending on food assistance, shifting costs to states, and tightening eligibility so fewer people can access programs.

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Annals of food marketing: weird, wonderful, and profitable

[First, a correction to yesterday's post about peptides.  Peptides are injected, not consumed orally.  Therefore, they are not regulated as supplements.  I should have made this clear.  Sorry.] I've been collecting examples of new foods coming on the market or already here, all of which raise the question: Do we need this? Salmon from spirulina? Israeli food tech company commercializes seafood alternative…

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What will the FDA do about peptides?

Last week, MAHA proudly announced that the FDA Panel appointed by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr had approved 6 of 7 Peptides over the objections of FDA scientists. The vote is a win for HHS Secretary Kennedy and MAHA, opening a path for compounding pharmacies to prepare BPC-157, TB-500 and four other popular peptides by prescription." The vote was close:

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The Cyclospora outbreak: an everyone-is-at-fault system failure: “LettuceGate”

I am outraged by the Cyclospora outbreak.  It has sickened thousands of people so far, and made some of them very sick. Cyclospora is different from other foodborne pathogens.  It comes from human waste and cannot be removed by washing (although that helps some) or killed by chlorine.  It can only be removed by microfiltration or killed by heat or, maybe, ultra-violet radiation.

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Industry-funded study of the week: Ashwagandha supplements

Here's how I learned about this one: KSM-66 ashwagandha may support cognition and sleep in children: Supplementation with KSM-66 ashwagandha root extract in gummy form for eight weeks is well tolerated and may enhance cognitive performance and sleep quality in children between the ages of 6 and 12, according to new research.... Read more One look and I immediately wanted to know: Who paid for this?

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Sugar Coated: Now Available for Pre-Order (at a discount!)

I walked into Autumn Leaves Books in Ithaca last week to talk to them about my event there on September 12, and was surprised and delighted to see my forthcoming book with Lisa Sutherland---for the first time! Its official publication date is September 8. If you pre-order it through UC Press, you get a 30% discount. Use promo code UCPSAVE30.

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Big Food vs. The People: lawsuits against public health measures

A Lighthouse-led international cooperative investigation has produced Big Food vs. The People, a detailed account of how food and beverage companies are filing lawsuits to block public health measures that might induce people to stop buying their products. In public, the world’s biggest and richest food companies such as Coca Cola, PepsiCola, and Mondelez say they want to be part of the solution.

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A special thank you to readers for comments on “Setting the Record Straight: Calley Means”s

My post last week, Setting the record straight: Calley Means, generated many comments and correspondence, for which I am most grateful. I especially want to thank writers who produced their own pieces on this incident. Robyn O’Brien on Substack:  The Tobacco Industry Playbook is Being Run Against the Woman Who Wrote the Book On It. Jessica Knurick on…

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Call for letters of support: Childhood Diabetes Reduction Act

I received this request from Thomas Eagen, Senior Health Policy Advisor, Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) Committee: I am reaching out with big news: Senator Sanders bill, the Childhood Diabetes Reduction Act, is scheduled to be marked-up in the HELP Committee next Wednesday July 22! ...,. this legislation would require strong front-of-package warning labels on junk food and restricts companies from using child-directed ads for these products.

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Weekend playing: food trade around the world

Someone sent me this new interactive site. from Our World in Data: How does food get traded around the world?  It's fun and useful. Scroll down the page until you come to the impossibly complicated chart on global maize trade in 2023.  Ignore it. Above it are places where you can type in the product you want to look at, and the country that imports or exports it.

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You think food prices are rising? They are!

If you, as I am, are shocked by the cost of groceries, we now have the data.  The Economist has been tracking food prices, in this case for a Fourth of July barbecue. Its "unappetizing conclusion"--- Across the 25 cities in our sample, the basket now costs an average of $81, 12% more than a year ago, the fastest annual increase in a decade ....

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