Information about the Aspen Ideas Festival is here. I am scheduled for a session, The American Wellness Paradox, currently scheduled from 11:00-11:50 a.m., at the East Lawn Tent. This will be a discussion with senior HHS policy advisor, Calley Means. Here’s the blurb on it: “Americans are spending more than ever on healthcare, supplements, wellness trends, and “clean eating,” yet rates of chronic disease and metabolic illness continue to climb. As skepticism fuels the rise of movements like MAHA, debates over what Americans should eat have become deeply cultural, political, and economic. Two influential voices with sharply different perspectives on nutrition and food science explore how food systems, farming practices, consumer culture, and the wellness industry collided to create one of the defining public health debates of our time.”
by Marion Nestle
May
8
2009
Will Congress ever confirm the FDA Commissioner?
According to the Associated Press, Margaret Hamburg “breezed through” her Senate confirmation hearing yesterday. Great news, and I was pleased to hear that she thinks food safety is a top priority. So what’s the hold up? Everybody – even Senator Ted Kennedy – knows food safety is in crisis and needs strong leadership to get the system under control. Why can’t Congress approve her appointment right away and send her off to work? Don’t you think something is seriously wrong with a political system that holds food safety hostage to partisan politics? Let Congress know you want action in this area! Tell them to approve this appointment now!
