Subject: Consumer Protection

• Funkhouser Recall Petition Is Flawed

  January 30, 2008

• Daily Briefs: Yael Unleashed, the Gouging of Prices, Hippie Wind Farm SARS

  May 22, 2008

• McDonald's and fast food in the future

  Wired Magazine is going beyond predictions for 2009 and 2010. They're looking at five years out and making mock-ups of what they think things will look like in 2013.One of the products they believe will significantly change in 2013 is McDonald's Happy Meal. Here's the current version: Here is the Happy Meal from six years ago:

  January 8, 2009

• The FTC Hates Whole Foods

  The confusing sign outside the grocery store at 43rd and Main says it's a Wild Oats but it's actually a Whole Foods. But if the Federal Trade Commission gets its way, it could be a Wild Oats again after all. After years of legal wrangling over antitrust allegations, Whole Foods was allowed to buy out its biggest competitor, Wild Oats, in 2007. After millions were spent merging the two chains over these past two years, the FTC is now trying to halt the merger. To recap: The two companies complete

  January 15, 2009

• Change.org -- really?

  This morning, Change.org -- the "social action site where you can 1) learn about causes, 2) connect to good people and nonprofits and 3) take action" -- presented its Winners of the Ideas for Change in America Competition. (There was supposed to be a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., though last time I checked, I didn't see any video footage or transcripts.)Anyway, taking its cue from the new president -- Change.org quotes Barack Obama saying "I will open the doors

  January 16, 2009

• Best Used Music Selection

  October 18, 2001

• Three Dog's treats are safe

  Barf Blog has a post about an elderly Georgian dog (Ozzie) being one of the salmonella outbreak's casualties. While the owner believes the bacteria was passed from peanut butter crackers meant for humans, plenty of doggie treats use peanut butter as an ingredient. The FDA says throw this dog food away. "Product recalls now include some pet food products that contain peanut paste that was made by [Peanut Corporation of America] PCA. While the risk of animals contracting salmonellosis is minimal,

  January 28, 2009

• Best Bird Bath

  October 17, 2002

• Salmonella scare: a personal story

  You'd think with all the blogging Fat City's done about the peanut butter scare, I'd be smart enough to avoid tainted products. I'm not. In a combination of irony and schadenfreude, I clicked on Slate's article about what to do if you've eaten a salmonella-tainted product only to see a picture of a Clif bar, something I eat nearly daily. Clif Bars make excellent meal replacements or afternoon snacks. I particularly like the chocolate chip peanut crunch which just happens to be one of the Clif ba

  February 2, 2009

• The government still beating down Whole Foods

  Flickr: CompujerameyWhen I was in Whole Foods two days ago picking up a King Cake, I ran into a cooking classmate of mine who is a chef at the grocery store. I asked what was going on with the Whole Foods-Wild Oats-FTC thing. Sadly, my classmate wasn't sure of anything (or if he was, wouldn't divulge) but said he heard something about settling the case.    Sure enough, last week Whole Foods CEO John Mackey told an audience at Yale that the company was close to an agreement with the Fed

  February 19, 2009

• The Life and Times and In the Pines

  December 30, 2004

• Whole Foods says screw it. Agrees to FTC's demands.

  I hope I don't have to write the word "FTC" for a long time, now that the governmental organization that's been out to get that devious Whole Foods company has won. Sort of. No one's really a winner here.Whole Foods, which has publicly regretted taking over rival Wild Oats, agreed to give up use of the name and sell some former Wild Oats stores. Kansas City had two Wild Oats before Whole Foods bought them. The store at 6621 w.119th Street will remain Whole Foods, while the 4301 Main location, wh

  March 9, 2009

• The newest nut crisis: pistachio panic?

  Flickr: Lolo_ Many radio and TV broadcasts this morning led with this story: a major recall of roasted pistachios because of fears of potential salmonella contimation. The good news: No illnesses have been reported, thus far, due to a reported salmonella strain discovered during routine tests by Kraft at a California food processing plant. But the peanut crisis, earlier this year, has food manufacturers going nuts over the possibility of potential lawsuits. The tainted peanut problem that

  March 31, 2009

• Pistachios recalled

  Flickr: Molly AliAnother day. Another nut recalled by the FDA. Yesterday the FDA said it was recalling pistachio products from the California-based Setton Pistachio. The company has issued what is so far a voluntary recall but it could get ugly quick. From the FDA: "Because the pistachios were used as ingredients in a variety of foods, it is likely this recall will impact many products. In addition, the investigation at the company is ongoing and may lead to additional pistachio product recalls.

  April 1, 2009

• Consumers Union, 29 groups ask Sebelius to veto hormone milk bill

  Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports and Consumerist, has sent a long letter to Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius regarding Kansas House Bill 2121. Twenty-nine groups involved in agricultural and food production added their signatures to a copy and sent it as well. Flickr: LauraThe letters have to do with milk labeling. HB 2121 would require producers who say their cows were not treated with rBGT, rBST or other hormones to add this disclaimer: "The Food and Drug Administration has deter

  April 14, 2009

• Chihuahua In the Coal Mine

  February 5, 2009

• The Beast

  September 18, 2008

• Wreck Broker

  "Hi, Folks" Bob has a secret under his hood.

  May 4, 2006

• Blessed Are the Moneymakers

  April 28, 2005

• He Speaketh

  Bryan Brown decides to talk.

  May 15, 2003

• Porter Hall Tennessee

  Saturday, January 11, at Davey's Uptown.

  January 9, 2003

• Home Is Where the Card Is

  David W. Zabawa went to prison for credit card scams. Now he has a whole new idea.

  April 26, 2001

• Running on Empty

  Gas station dealers find Big Oil blocking the way in their struggles against extinction (Part 2 of 2).

  November 2, 2000

• Metric

  June 11, 2009

• Lawsuit wants warning labels on hot dogs

  After buck night at The K, a lot of people wish hot dogs came with warnings. And if the Cancer Project in New Jersey gets its wish, hot dog packaging would come with the following label: "Warning: Consuming hot dogs and other processed meats increases the risk of cancer."  The nonprofit vegan advocacy organization filed a lawsuit yesterday asking the Essex County superior court to issue a judgment requiring companies selling hot dogs in New Jersey to put a warning label on every package

  July 23, 2009

• Breakfast Buffet: Thursday, August 27

  Spaghetti tacos are apparently better than you might imagine. [Cooking With Carrie]A guide to which beers to bring to your fantasy football drafts and a suggestion for how to avoid drafting drunk. [KC Beer Blog]A list of the off-menu items at fast food and quick serve chains, including Starbucks and Jamba Juice. [LA Weekly]Nestle Toll House returns to the shelves with a new warning not to consume raw cookie dough following the earlier voluntary recall this year for E. coli. [Yum Sugar] 

  August 27, 2009

• Green onion recall

  ​Another week, another produce recall. Iceless green onions have been voluntarily recalled by two California-based produce shipping companies after testing positive for traces of salmonella during a routine U.S. Department of Agriculture test. Both Steinbeck Country Produce and Ocean Mist Farms have recalled specific product lots that originated with an onion farm in Mexicali, Mexico, and were supplied by Circle Produce in Calexico, California. Steinbeck, which recalled 3,360 cartons, distribu

  September 10, 2009

• A closer look at beef inspection

  ​Ground beef is one of the few foods that can make me uneasy because I can't divorce the delicious joy of eating burgers from the very real fear of E.Coli contamination. While the odds suggest that a severe infection or death are highly unlikely, our current food safety system makes me weigh the benefits and risks in the same way I'd check to see whether a bungee cord operator really cares about whether I'm strapped in tightly.  This results in a binge-dieting-like approach to burger cons

  October 6, 2009