From the monthly archives:

May 2006

Steve_L sends news of the US government’s latest efforts to protect consumers from themselves, also known as protecting fisheries from health advocacy groups. A California law requiring tuna companies to place mercury warning labels on their cans has been overturned. What’s more, the decision appears to have been made in part due to new legislation passed in March which would prevent states from requiring food warnings that go beyond federal law. There are already a number of stupid labeling regulations on the books, like the one that prevents milk from being marked as growth-hormone free (because there’s officially no difference, and it makes the Monsanto-produced milk look inferior), and if this law goes ahead (39 attorneys general have come out against the bill), I’m sure we can expect many more, with states powerless to oppose them. Link.

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Newfoundland fishermen turn to mink

by Jason on May 31, 2006

Dave Noisy reports that Newfoundland, Canada fishermen are increasingly turning to a new line of work as fish stocks continue to mysteriously drop: mink farming. I somehow doubt that they’ll be able to make claims of environmental stewardship like they do with the seal hunt in this one… The number of pelts produced in the province has doubled in the last year (to 200,000). People living under harsh economic conditions may make some choices with different priorities than you or I would, and I’m not excusing them for their actions, but I have zero sympathy for the root of the problem – stupid consumers whose selfish actions have caused the price of mink pelts to double in the past five years. Link.

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Slaughterhouse worker shot after cow dodges bullet

May 31, 2006

sparkalina sends word of a shooting at an Idaho slaughterhouse. To be accurate, there are likely hundreds of shootings at this place every day, since that’s how they kill their cows, but in this case, the cow moved and a co-worker took the bullet in the chest. The victim is in serious condition, [...]

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More on India’s vegetarian housing thing

May 30, 2006

jellybones sent in an update on India’s controversial housing policies, where landlords are often insisting on renting out flats to vegetarians. We’ve talked about this before, and I don’t know if it’s as widespread as the media has been hyping it to be lately, but I sure would like to live in a vegan [...]

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Here’s another antibiotic resistance story. Do we get it yet?

May 30, 2006

Dave Noisy sent in another study showing the link between antibiotics in food animals and antibiotic resistance in humans. This one came from Australia, where antibiotic use is restricted more than it is in some other countries. A survey of hospital patients there showed a 2 percent resistance rate to the drug ciprofloxacin, [...]

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Oil from pig manure update

May 30, 2006

sparkalina sent in an updated look at the fuel industry’s struggle to provide alternatives to gasoline and crude oil in the wake of rising prices and rumours of a limit to the supply hidden in the planet. Scientists have been developing new techniques to convert pig manure into fuel for lower costs, and while [...]

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Happy dupe day! A new look at vat meat

May 30, 2006

Happy dupe day! Today we’re going to post a few stories that we may have talked about in the past, but that are making the rounds again. Longtime readers may remember the earlier stories, but some of them were first posted several years ago, and it might be time for a fresh look, [...]

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I think it’s time for a caption contest

May 29, 2006

Is it time for a caption contest? Well, let me ask you this: after looking at the link that I stole from Shawn, don’t you think that it’s time for a caption contest? Link.

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Cattle ranchers! Drug smugglers! Drug smuggling cattle ranchers!

May 29, 2006

Wanna know who’s largely responsible for deforestation in Guatemala’s rain forest? As Steve_L reports, it’s cattle ranchers and drug smugglers, and, just so you don’t think I’m using a funny coincidence to bash ranchers, we’ve also got reports of drug smuggling cattle ranchers. At least 7 percent of the world’s plant and animal [...]

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Homework: Ask Netflix to drop dogfighting from their catalog

May 29, 2006

sparkalina sent in the following request: “Please ask vpers (especially Netflix users) to write into the Netflix. Ask them to withdraw “Street Heat: Hood Fights Vol. 2″ from their catalog. This film features an “up-close and personal view of the madness inside the dog pit” and glorifies dog fighting, which is an illegal practice [...]

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