Looming North Korean famine, and then some...

A Triangular Shadow of a Large Volcano 

*Dead fish spotted near site of Bohai Bay oil spill: "The incident which was said to have happened around June 10 only came to light on June 21 after stories were posted online Conoco and its Chinese partner CNOOC Ltd had not spoken about the spill until last Friday after it had hit the headlines."

*Contaminated river water causing fish deaths in Moradabad: "Dozens of dead fish were noticed by local residents, and they said this is a regular practice. "Most of the times it happens that the contaminated water, mixed with the toxic chemicals, become detrimental to aquatic animals, and it is dangerous for us as well," said Gopal Sharma, a local"
*Industries lobby against voluntary nutrition guidelines for food marketed to kids: "Core members of the coalition — including General Mills, Kellogg, PepsiCo and Time Warner — spent $6.6 million on lobbying in the first quarter of this year, disclosure records show. Overall, records show, the coalition’s main members have spent nearly $60 million on lobbying since the start of the Obama administration.
One of the main players is media giant Viacom. It owns the Nickelodeon television network, whose animated characters — including Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants — are featured prominently on food products marketed to children. Viacom’s corporate parent spent nearly $1 million a month on lobbying in the first three months of this year, mostly on media and technology issues."
*Netizens shed light on looming North Korean famine: "Scattered accounts across various social networks piece together a patchwork picture of life inside authoritarian-ruled North Korea where, it seems, the threat of a massive famine looms large over its citizens.With the obvious absence of state reports on hunger affecting North Koreans, social media sites such as Reddit and Storify have become platforms of discussion and information disemmination regarding the impending famine."

*Sir David Frost was paid £57,000 by shadowy management consultancy to boost Gaddafi's image "They were part of the U.S.-based consultancy’s effort to ‘enhance the profile of Libya and Muammar Gaddafi’ between 2006 and 2009 and create an international image of the dictator as ‘a thinker and intellectual’."

*Crisis? What crisis? As Europe wrestled with Greek bailout, Governor of Bank of England spent six days at Wimbledon: "He was there on its first day, Monday June 20, alongside guests including the Duke of Kent, Sir Terry Wogan and Sir Jackie Stewart.
In the early afternoon, as the International Monetary Fund warned that if Europe failed to tackle the Greek crisis it could cause a second global financial meltdown, Sir Mervyn saw first-round victories for Nadal and Murray."

Info is free, spread it!

15 Food Companies That Serve You 'Wood'

( Wood pulp, or cellulose, in processed food report updated with the addition of Pepsi,Kellogg and Weight Watchers International.)
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Are you getting what you pay for on your plate?
The recent class-action lawsuit brought against Taco Bell raised questions about the quality of food many Americans eat each day.
Chief among those concerns is the use of cellulose (read: wood pulp), an extender whose use in a roster of food products, from crackers and ice creams to puddings and baked goods, is now being exposed. What you're actually paying for -- and consuming -- may be surprising.
Cellulose is virgin wood pulp that has been processed and manufactured to different lengths for functionality, though use of it and its variant forms (cellulose gum, powdered cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, etc.) is deemed safe for human consumption, according to the FDA, which regulates most food industry products. The government agency sets no limit on the amount of cellulose that can be used in food products meant for human consumption. The USDA, which regulates meats, has set a limit of 3.5% on the use of cellulose, since fiber in meat products cannot be recognized nutritionally.
"As commodity prices continue to rally and the cost of imported materials impacts earnings, we expect to see increasing use of surrogate products within food items. Cellulose is certainly in higher demand and we expect this to continue," Michael A. Yoshikami, chief investment strategist at YCMNet Advisors, told TheStreet.
Manufacturers use cellulose in food as an extender, providing structure and reducing breakage, said Dan Inman, director of research and development at J. Rettenmaier USA, a company that supplies "organic" cellulose fibers for use in a variety of processed foods and meats meant for human and pet consumption, as well as for plastics, cleaning detergents, welding electrodes, pet litter, automotive brake pads, glue and reinforcing compounds, construction materials, roof coating, asphalt and even emulsion paints, among many other products.
Cellulose adds fiber to the food, which is good for people who do not get the recommended daily intake of fiber in their diets, Inman said. It also extends the shelf life of processed foods. Plus, cellulose's water-absorbing properties can mimic fat, he said, allowing consumers to reduce their fat intake.
Perhaps most important to food processors is that cellulose is cheaper, he added, because "the fiber and water combination is less expensive than most other ingredients in the [food] product."
Indeed, food producers save as much as 30% in ingredient costs by opting for cellulose as a filler or binder in processed foods, according to a source close to the processed food industry who spoke with TheStreet on the condition of anonymity.
Inman said that in his 30 years in the food science business, he's seen "an amazing leap in terms of the applications of cellulose fiber and what you can do with it." He said powdered cellulose has a bad reputation but that more of his customers are converting from things like oat or sugar cane fibers to cellulose because it is "snow white in color, bland and easy to work with."
Most surprising, said Inman, is that he's been able to remove as much as 50% of the fat from some cookies, biscuits, cakes and brownies by replacing it with powdered cellulose -- but still end up with a very similar product in terms of taste and appearance.
"We're only limited by our own imagination," Inman toldTheStreet. "I would never have dreamed I could successfully put 18% fiber in a loaf of bread two years ago."
He said cellulose is common in processed foods, often labeled as reduced-fat or high-fiber -- products like breads, pancakes, crackers, pizza crusts, muffins, scrambled eggs, mashed potato mixes, and even cheesecake. Inman himself keeps a box of Wheat Thins Fiber Selects crackers, manufactured by Kraft Foods(KFT_)' Nabisco brand, at his desk, and snacks on them daily, clearly unmoved by the use of wood pulp in its ingredients.
"Most consumers would be shocked to find these types of filler products are used as substitutes for items that they believe are more pure," Yoshikami said. "We would expect increased disclosure to follow increased use of cellulose and other filler products as the practice increases in frequency."
To that end, TheStreet rounded up a list of popular foods that use cellulose. It's by no means an exhaustive list, and we suggest consumers read food labels carefully. Still, click through the slideshow to find out if your favorite foods contain the "all-natural" wood pulp...
(Please note the following lists are not exhaustive. Some companies list all ingredients on their Web sites. Other items were found in a local grocery store near TheStreet's headquarters on Wall Street in New York City.)
From: www.thestreet.com

Info is free, spread it!