Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
“American adults and children now consume a third of their calories at restaurants and nutrition and health experts say that rising caloric consumption and growing portion sizes are causes of obesity,” said Harkin.Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) has introduced legislation to extend the nutrition labeling requirements first instituted by the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) in 1990 to food sold through restaurants and vending machines. The legislation will require restaurants operating with 20 or more locations to disclose the number of calories; grams of saturated fat; grams of trans fat; and milligrams of sodium on menus. Restaurants, at which Americans eat a growing number of their meals, were excluded from the National Labeling Education Act.
Earlier this week, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors gave preliminary approval to a city ordinance that would require chain restaurants to begin labeling their menus with health information. A similar effort is also underway in the Iowa State Senate. Companion legislation exists in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“American adults and children now consume a third of their calories at restaurants and nutrition and health experts say that rising caloric consumption and growing portion sizes are causes of obesity,” said Harkin. “However, restaurants were excluded from the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act. Consumers say that they would like nutrition information provided when they order their food at restaurants, yet, while they have good nutrition information in supermarkets, at restaurants they can only guess.”
Poor nutrition is a significant contributor to poor health among millions of Americans. Rates of type 2 diabetes have risen rapidly in recent years as have rates of overweight and obesity. According to the Institute of Medicine, since 1963, obesity rates have quadrupled among older children ages 6 to 11 years, and tripled for adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19. Overweight people have an increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancers and other illnesses.
“There is no single solution to the complex problem of poor nutrition and diet-related disease, but we must start taking meaningful steps to address this growing problem by giving people the tools necessary to consume healthier diets,” continued Harkin. “The legislation that we are introducing today will extend nutrition labeling beyond packaged foods to include foods at chain restaurants with 20 or more locations, as well as food in vending machines. This common-sense idea will give consumers a needed tool to make wiser choices and live healthier lives.”
In introducing the bill, Harkin noted that The Menu Education and Labeling Act or MEAL Act would now be known as the Metzenbaum MEAL Act in honor of former Senator Howard M. Metzenbaum from Ohio, who passed away this week. One of his great achievements in the Senate is that he was the author of and the driving force behind the Nutrition Education Labeling Act, which first established nutrition labeling for packaged foods.
Harkin has been a Congressional leader in promoting nutrition and health promotion in our schools, workplaces and communities. He is the author of a pilot program to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to children in public schools, and is the chief sponsor of legislation to establish healthier nutrition standards in schools nationwide. These are among a larger package of initiatives Harkin offered earlier this year to address rising rates of obesity and promote wellness among children and adults.
- Summary of Harkin’s MEAL Act follows -
MENU EDUCATION AND LABELING (MEAL) ACT
Introduced by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA)
BACKGROUND
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