Sweetner products tax examined

December 5, 2011

Economists examine sweetner products tax

A 'sin tax' applied to sweetened goods on store shelves is not the most efficient, effective method of lowering caloric intake from sweet food and would be more disruptive to consumers than necessary, according to Iowa State University research.

With a national debate taking shape about the possibility of a national tax on foods with high sweetener content, ISU economists have examined how such a tax would best be applied.

Rather than assessing a tax on these sugary goods as they are taken through the grocery store checkout lines, the research shows that a better way is to tax the food processers on the amount of caloric sweeteners, such as corn syrup and sugar added in processing before the product hits the shelves.

The economists, John Beghin and Helen Jensen, both professors in the Department of Economics, are quick to point out that they are not advocating for or against any tax, but simply researching how and where a possible sweetener tax would be most effective.

Climate sensitivity to CO2 less severe

A new study released Nov. 24 by Oregon State University suggests that the rate of global warming from doubling the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide may be less than the most dire estimates of some previous studies and, in fact, may be less severe than projected by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in a report from 2007.

Authors of the new study, which was funded by the National Science Foundation's Paleoclimate Program and published online in the journal Science, pointed out that global warming is real and that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide will have multiple serious effects.

However, they said the most Draconian projections of temperature increases from the doubling of carbon dioxide are unlikely.

"Many previous climate sensitivity studies have looked at the past only from 1850 through today and have not fully integrated paleoclimate data, especially on a global scale," said Andreas Schmittner, lead author and an associate professor in Oregon State's College of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences. "When you reconstruct sea and land surface temperatures from the peak of the last Ice Age 21,000 years ago -- which is referred to as the Last Glacial Maximum -- and compare it with climate model simulations of that period, you get a much different picture.

"If these paleoclimatic constraints apply to the future, as predicted by our model, the results imply less probability of extreme climatic change than previously thought," Schmittner added.

Novel flu virus appears

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has confirmed human cases of infection with a swine-origin influenza virus that carries the M gene from the 2009 H1N1 virus.

So far, CDC said there have been seven cases of this flu strain -- H3N2 -- since July, compared to 28 human cases of H3N2 without the 2009 M gene since 2005.

All seven of these novel cases had direct contact with swine.

Last week, the Iowa Department of Public Health reported an additional three cases of the novel H3N2 flu strain in children that had contact with each other but not with swine.

According to the Iowa officials and CDC, all cases have been mild, and patients have fully recovered.

CDC noted that the acquisition of the M gene "likely occurred as a result of swine being co-infected with" swine H3N2 and human H1N1 from the 2009 outbreak.

In Our Opinion...

A new weapon to fight E. coli infections?

By Richard Raymond

A study published in the December issue of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy has some of the meat world buzzing today. Although in the very early developmental stages, it appears we may finally have a new weapon in the pharmaceutical pipeline for health care providers to use to treat persons sickened by E coli O157:H7.

A novel antibacterial protein named Avidocidin that targets E coli O157 has been tested in animal models and showed significant reduction in diarrhea compared to placebo. The lead author for the article is Dean Scholl, Ph.D., who collaborated with AvidBiotics, the developer, and Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School.

Analysis of colon tissue also showed less severe inflammation in Avidocidin treated subjects compared to placebo treated or untreated subjects.

This is great news for many reasons.

Read more

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How heavy is too heavy?

By Andy Vance

I am a big guy. At 6 ft.-2 in. tall and weighing in at just more than 300 lb., my dimensions are more akin to those of a collegiate football player than a professional writer.

In fact, I was a lineman in my middle and high school football days. I was always a big kid; one teammate's affectionate nickname for me was Biggun'.

It's tough to be a big kid. I'll never forget the day when my seventh-grade French teacher decided that the best way to teach us the metric system was to have us climb on the scales, and yes, even in kilograms, I was the heaviest kid in the class.

After losing nearly 75 lb. in the past two years, I've taken quite an interest in food and fitness. I write on the subject frequently for my blog, here and at BeefProducer.com. The intersection of my professional passion for agriculture and my personal passion for physical health and well-being have led me to focus more and more on how we think and act when it comes to what we eat and how we expend that energy.

Ohio made national news recently when officials in Cuyahoga County took an eight-year-old boy from his family because he was severely overweight. Tipping the scales at more than 200 lb., the child is clearly on a path that will most likely end in significant health problems, be it diabetes, high cholesterol or mobility difficulties.

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Some food 'additives' are meant for good

By Mark Klaus

Some foods are evil, which is essentially the opinion some consumers have today.

If a food's ingredients are not labeled as "natural," these consumers think it's somehow harmful.

While some additives get the "evil" label, others may be a blessing in disguise for many.

India is currently promoting a "tool" that promises to protect the health many of its residents. For fans of consuming and promoting "all-natural" foods, I'm sorry to inform you that India's tool involves adding a "non-natural" ingredient to a staple in most people's diets not just in India but worldwide.

Iodized salt is most likely taken for granted in America, yet in India and other developing countries, adding iodine to salt is just now getting the spotlight.

Paper defends sodium nitrite

A new paper examining the use of sodium nitrite in cured and processed meats concludes that nitrite is essential for the safety of these meat products, that cured meats account for only a very small part of human nitrite intake and that emerging science has identified many health benefits of nitrites.

The paper was co-authored by Drs. Andrew Milkowski and Jeff Sindelar at the University of Wisconsin department of animal science and was released by the American Meat Science Assn. (AMSA).

AMSA commissioned the paper "to bring clarity" to the discussion in the meat industry and with policy-makers and consumers surrounding the use of sodium nitrite in cured and processed meat and poultry products, according to an announcement about the report.

Curing meats with nitrite has been done, essentially, for thousands of years to effectively preserve meats and produce nutritious and safe products, according to the paper.

Food & Farm

with Ray Bowman

Food & Farm is dedicated to providing fact-based information about your food and those that produce it.

A new study released Nov. 24 by Oregon State University suggests that the rate of global warming from doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide may be less than the most dire estimates of some previous studies. Dr. Andreas Scmittner of OSU joins us.

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An undercover video from Mercy for Animals reeked economic havoc for Sparboe Farms. Poultry grower Jan Hoadley shares her observations about the video.

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We're getting into the holiday spirit and talk Tannenbaum with Rick Dungy of the National Christmas Tree Association.
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White paper covers antibiotic use in food animals

Antibiotic use in food animal production is the focus of a white paper released recently by the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA). The white paper is a summary of information delivered by 13 human and animal health speakers and symposium participants at "Antibiotic Use in Food Animals: A Dialogue for Common Purpose," which was held Oct. 26-27 in Chicago, Ill.

The paper provides science-based information regarding the use of antibiotics in food animal production, human health implications relative to antibiotic use and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in livestock, NIAA said, adding that a significant portion of the paper addresses the controversial topic of antimicrobial resistance.

The white paper, as well as the symposium speakers' presentations with synchronized audio, can be accessed online at

www.animalagriculture.org

Group accuses Sparboe of false advertising

Mercy for Animals, the animal rights and vegetarian organization that last week released undercover video exposing animal abuse at egg producer Sparboe Farms has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission that the company has violated U.S. advertising laws.

Specifically, Mercy for Animals said Sparboe has falsely promoted its eggs as being from hens housed and treated at high levels of animal welfare, which the video clearly showed is "patently untrue and blatant false advertising."

The video, which was released through various ABC news programs, was called "disturbing" and "unacceptable" by several Sparboe customers, including McDonald's Corp. and Target Corp., which dropped the company as an egg supplier, and by the American Veterinary Medical Assn.

Sparboe, the fifth-largest commercial egg producer in the U.S., is the egg production business of Sparboe Companies LLC in Litchfield, Minn.

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