Global Justice Now, a NGO based in the UK released a report on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), criticizing it on a number of reasons and questioning their overall positive contribution to society. The report relies solely on publicly available data and statements from experts and insiders of relevant fields. They criticize the BMGF for the following, prime reasons: Lack of democratic accountability and oversight despite being the 12th largest development aid donor Extensive support for an intensified role of multinational corporations worldwide Extensive support for GM research, including financing for GM PR Extensive support for intellectual property…
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Michael Moss on the extraordinary science of addictive junk food
In this editorial for the New York Times Magazine, Michael Moss discusses the “Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food”. He begins the article, which derives from his current book “Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us,” by describing a fateful afternoon when the CEOs from all the major corporations in the junk food industry gathered to be warned about their significant role in the American obesity epidemic. The article also features interviews with former and current junk food industry insiders, PR professionals and other experts who helped or continue to help create, market and sell the most addictive,…
The true costs of cell phones
A recent study by James Roberts, professor of marketing at Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business, claims that “cell phone and instant messaging addictions are driven by materialism and impulsiveness and can be compared to consumption pathologies like compulsive buying and credit card misuse.” The study, which was published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions, suggests that cell phones are also eroding our personal relationships. The published article can be found here (with paid subscription). In addition to these interpersonal effects of cell phone use, there are other social costs to consider, such as the effects it is having on education and classroom instruction, a…
On most metrics, the US is a dog
The provocative title of this post is not an opinion but a quote from a recent book by Howard Steven Friedman, a statistician and health economist for the United Nations and an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. The book, entitled “The Measure of a Nation,” compares the US’ standings on a variety of metrics concerning health, safety, education, democracy and income equality to those of 13 carefully chosen competitor OECD nations: Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Portugal, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain and the UK, all of whom have populations of at least ten…
Business with a conscience
Every corporation, now matter how socially or environmentally destructive, presents itself as doing something good for consumers, for communities, for the species, or even the planet. Monsanto, for instance, claims to be all about “improving lives” (though notice they don’t say whose lives) and about “meeting the needs of today while preserving the planet for tomorrow.” This overt corporate public relations bullshit (I know that you know that I don’t believe this but I’m going to pretend I do because that’s how I make a lot of money) has led to such profound cynicism that reasonable people have to wonder…
The meat-free diet catches on in Korea
Anyone familiar with traditional Korean food will find it hard to understand why modern Koreans ever switched to the “standard american diet” (SAD), for much of the traditional diet is amazingly good food, both from a gastronomical and a health perspective. And the traditional Korean diet just so happens to involve very little meat. The good news though, as this Yonhap News article points out, is that the return to a vegetarian diet is quickly catching on in Korea. This will be interesting to watch, because when social change happens in Korea, it really happens quickly.
Nature deficit disorder
The BBC News website has an interesting article on something called “nature deficit disorder.” The author claims that the term was coined in 2005 by author Richard Louv, who argued that the human cost of “alienation from nature” was measured in “diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses”. The author also asserts that: Evidence suggests the problem is worse in the UK than other parts of Europe, and may help explain poor UK rankings in childhood satisfaction surveys. That children in the UK and many other advanced industrialized countries are having…
Dying in 21st century (TED lecture by Peter Saul)
This talk was given by Peter Saul at the independently organized TED event in Newy, Australia. The original description reads: Peter Saul is Senior Intensivist in the adult and paediatric ICU at John Hunter Hospital, and Director of Intensive Care at Newcastle Private Hospital. Having trained in Cambridge, London, Sydney and Harvard, he came to Newcastle to help start up the new ICU at John Hunter, and never left. He has been accused of being an “ethicist”, which he tries to deny, but does admit to having been Head of Discipline for Medical Ethics at Newcastle University in the past,…
Finally some good news for the cows
A long-term study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health and published recently in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that eating red meat of any type in any amount significantly increases the risk of premature death. While a subscription to the journal is required to access it online, one can read about the study in this article from the L.A. Times. The news article also links to the chart copied below, which presents the findings of this study in graphic form. As the chart shows, the study found that adding a small serving of red meat to one’s daily…
What public relations can do for human excrement
Most of us are taught from an early age that human shit is taboo–it should neither be touched nor touched upon in polite conversation. Consequently, most people probably don’t think much about what happens to their shit after they flush it down the toilet. But perhaps they should, and perhaps this taboo around shit needs to be abandoned, for there are people, businesses, entire industries working in dark corners of the waste economy finding clever ways to sell you your own shit. How is this possible? Why would anyone want to buy it? Good questions and very much related to…
Coronary Capitalism (by Kenneth Rogoff)
FRANKFURT – A systematic and broad failure of regulation is the elephant in the room when it comes to reforming today’s Western capitalism. Yes, much has been said about the unhealthy political-regulatory-financial dynamic that led to the global economy’s heart attack in 2008 (initiating what Carmen Reinhart and I call “The Second Great Contraction”). But is the problem unique to the financial industry, or does it exemplify a deeper flaw in Western capitalism? Consider the food industry, particularly its sometimes-malign influence on nutrition and health. Obesity rates are soaring around the entire world, though, among large countries, the problem is perhaps…
Cancer rates rising
Many people wonder whether cancer rates are really rising and, if so, whether this is due to an actual increase in the incidence of cancer or whether it is due rather to an increase in the availability and efficiency of methods for detecting cancer. According to this article from the BBC, commenting on data recently released by Cancer Research UK, there has definitely been an increase in cancer rates in the UK that go beyond what could be explained by better methods of detection. The CRUK says that the increase is due, not only to better screening, but also to…
Free Market Health Care: True Stories (by Michael Parenti)
I recently wrote an article about my personal experiences in dealing with the medical system while undergoing surgery (“Free Market Medicine: A Personal Account”). In response, a number of readers sent me accounts of their own experiences trying to get well in America. Health care in this country is hailed by conservative boosters as “the best medical system in the world.” It certainly is the most expensive, most profitable, and most complicated system in the world, leaving millions of Americans in shock. None of the people who wrote to me had anything positive to say about the U.S. health system.…
The future of meat
Over at Gizmodo there is a brief article entitled “The Future of Farming is Brain-Dead Chickens?” about a provocative art project created by an architecture student at the Royal College of Art. The project is described as follows: Architecture student André Ford has presented a very radical solution to increase the efficiency and humaneness in raising poultry. Under his plan, birds would have their frontal cortexes surgically severed, rendering the animals permanently unconscious with no zero sensory input while maintaining their lower brain functions—breathing and such—so that they continue to grow. The form and function of a chicken plant would change…
Run for your life
The YouTube video posted below contains a brief presentation by Dr. Mike Evans about the importance of exercise for overall health. He cites a number of studies showing dramatic reductions in various diseases among those who engage in even modest amounts of exercise. The basic message of the presentation is that if you want to avoid the major chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, or cancer, the single biggest thing you can do it get off your butt and move for at least 30 minutes a day. Hence the title of his lecture: “23 and 1/2 hours” However,…
Cancer and economic development
The World Cancer Research Foundation has published a ranking of countries in terms of cancer rates. The list, and a brief discussion of it, can be found in this article published in the Guardian. Interestingly, the top twenty positions on the list are dominated by OECD nations and the full list suggests a fairly strong correlation between cancer rates and a country’s level of economic development: in general (and with few exceptions, such as Singapore), the greater the level of economic development in a country, the higher the incidence of cancer in the population. There is already an abundance of…
The wonderful world of advertising
In order to appreciate the toxic nature of advertising and its corrosive effect on society, it is instructive to look to some ads from the past. Yes it’s Coke for the wee baby, television for the toddler, beer for the nursing mother, second-hand smoke for the mistress, kitchen appliances for the sniveling wife, a pack of doctor-approved Camels for the health-conscious smoker, and a hand gun for the self-sacrificing husband (who must be looking for a quick way out of this nightmare).
Supreme Court might legalize medical patents
On the 7th December, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that raises a fundamental question of whether a physician can infringe a patent merely by using scientific research to inform her treatment decisions. ars technica covered the matter quite well: Prometheus (the company responsible for the particular case) claims much more than its specific testing process. It claims a physician administering thiopurine to a patient can infringe its patent merely by being aware of the scientific correlation disclosed in the patent—even if the doctor doesn’t act on the patent’s recommendations. The extraordinary claim prompted a broad coalition…
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CO2 emissions drop, but natural gas won’t save us
Last month, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a drop in U.S. carbon emissions to a 20 year low, basically matching the carbon emissions of 1992. The media’s coverage of this report was brief and rather one-sided. Here are a few representative samples: Kevin Begos from the Associated Press: Many of the world’s leading climate scientists didn’t see the drop coming, in large part because it happened as a result of market forces rather than direct government action against carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere. While conservation efforts, the lagging economy and greater use of renewable…
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