Mark Bittman – Overlawyered

Food stories of the year

Walter Olson — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 05:15:41 +0000

Baylen Linnekin asked several food policy wonks what they thought were last year’s and next year’s biggest food stories, and here is part of my reply:

The troubles at Chipotle (whose food I like and buy, despite its dumb anti-GMO stance) brought home two points: local and handmade and every other good thing bring real tradeoffs, and food hazards aren’t just the result of moral laxity fixable by replacing “them” with educated idealists like “us.”

I also predicted that food commentator Mark Bittman, often criticized in this space, would find few takers for his notion of carding kids who want to buy a Coke. Read the whole thing here, and unrelatedly, if you are interested in food issues, check out this Russ Roberts interview with outstanding food scholar Rachel Laudan (earlier).

Tags: food safety, Mark Bittman, restaurants, soft drinks, WO writings

Food stories of the year is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Paternalist interventions of the Times

Walter Olson — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 05:22:35 +0000

Well-known New York Times food and opinion writer wants to card teens buying a Dr Pepper. [Liz Crain Lucky Peach interview with Mark Bittman, who has made many appearances in these columns]

Tags: Mark Bittman, nanny state, soft drinks

Paternalist interventions of the Times is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

A historian indicts “food Luddism”

Walter Olson — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 04:15:13 +0000

Don’t miss what Rachel Laudan has to say about the deprecation of industrially produced food in favor of all that is thought to be artisanal, local, seasonal, traditional, and natural. It’s full of policy implications and makes a super-useful gloss on the work of writers like Michael Pollan and Mark Bittman. [Jacobin] She’s also interviewed at shorter length by Todd Kliman at Washingtonian.

Tags: eat drink and be merry, food safety, Mark Bittman

A historian indicts “food Luddism” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

The petty tyranny of the FDA’s coming trans fat ban

Walter Olson — Thu, 21 May 2015 04:15:19 +0000

Don’t count on donuts, frozen pizza, coffee creamers, or canned cinnamon rolls to go on tasting the same — and don’t count on the federal government to respect your choices in the matter [Peter Suderman, earlier] And of course it was public health advocates and the federal government who helped push foodmakers into the use of trans fats in the first place. Some choices do remain to you in the realm of food, so say yes to Mark Bittman’s red lentil dal, no to his politics [Julie Kelly and Jeff Stier, Forbes]

Tags: eat drink and be merry, FDA, Mark Bittman, nanny state, public health, trans-fats

The petty tyranny of the FDA’s coming trans fat ban is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Federal Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee updates guidelines

Walter Olson — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 12:13:32 +0000

571 pages of urgings from the federal Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, so much to disagree with [Elizabeth Harrington, Washington Free Beacon (obesity “interventionists” at workplaces, initiatives to limit advertising and time spent looking at screens); Glenn Lammi; Julie Gunlock; Paul C. (“Chip”) Knappenberger, Cato (environmental impacts of food production)]

More: “Strategies are needed to encourage the U.S. population to drink water when they are thirsty.” [from the report, quoted approvingly (naturally) by NYT’s Mark Bittman, via James Taranto] And Baylen Linnekin: “Consumers can also have their say through April 8. Open your mouth before the DGAC shuts it for you.”

Tags: advertising, eat drink and be merry, Mark Bittman, obesity

Federal Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee updates guidelines is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Food roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 25 Nov 2014 05:05:06 +0000

Hashtag #ThanksMichelleObama trends on Twitter after high schoolers tweet it with pics of unappetizing lunch trays, provoking “shut up and eat what’s put in front of you” reactions from some who support the new federally prescribed rules. Maybe better to listen instead? [Kevin Cirilli, The Hill, Rachel Zarrell, BuzzFeed]
“After suing a small California company for calling its eggless product ‘Just Mayo,’ Hellmann’s maker Unilever tweaked references on its websites to products that aren’t exactly mayonnaise either.” [AP/Tulsa World]
Mark Bittman/Michael Pollan scheme for national food policy? Send it back to the kitchen, please [Elizabeth Nolan Brown]
Johnny Appleseed, substance abuse enabler [Natasha Geiling, Smithsonian]
One factor behind drive for new GMO non-browning potato: legal pressure against acrylamide, naturally forming browning component, by way of Calif. Prop 65 lawsuits and regulations [Guardian, New York Times]
Costly, fussy, coercive: Minneapolis micromanages convenience food sales [Baylen Linnekin]
No, FSMA isn’t worth the damage it’s doing to food variety and smaller producers [same]

Tags: acrylamide, advertising, alcohol, FSMA, Mark Bittman, Minnesota, school lunch

Food roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

No Coke ads on the scoreboard: Nanny’s new regs

Walter Olson — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 15:22:57 +0000

“Even pictures of food [at schools] have to have the federal government’s stamp of approval.” [Scott Shackford, Reason]

P.S. Speaking of marketing and paternalism, here’s Ann Althouse on the latest horrible Mark Bittman column.

Tags: advertising, Mark Bittman, nanny state, obesity, schools, soft drinks

No Coke ads on the scoreboard: Nanny’s new regs is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Food roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 04:05:22 +0000

Colony collapse disorder, the honeybee ailment, was expected to have a dire effect on U.S. agriculture. Market-driven adjustments have helped prevent that [Walter Thurman, PERC]
Adieu, Mimolette? Feds may be readying crackdown on imports of artisanal cheeses [Baylen Linnekin] “Food Safety Modernization Act Far More Costly Than Supporters Claimed” [Hans Bader, earlier here, here]
“There may be no hotter topic in law schools right now than food law and policy” [Harvard Law School, quoted by Baylen Linnekin] New book, haven’t seen yet: Jayson Lusk, “The Food Police: A Well-Fed Manifesto About the Politics of Your Plate” [Amazon]
Further thoughts on hot coffee injuries and lawsuits [Ted Frank]
The gain in plains is mainly due to grains: residents of mountains and high-altitude areas have less obesity [Edible Geography] Restaurant labeling: per one study, “some evidence that males ordered more calories when labels were present” [Tim Carney] NYT’s Mark Bittman endorses tax on prepared food [SmarterTimes] “Michael Poppins: When the nanny acquired a police force” [Mark Steyn, NR on Mayor Bloomberg]
Who’s demonizing Demon Rum these days, together with Wicked Wine and Baleful Beer? Check out an “alcohol policy” conference [Angela Logomasini, Open Market] Scottish government lobbies itself to be more prohibitionist [Christopher Snowdon]
Bill filed by Rep Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) would cut off taxpayer funding of food-bashing propaganda [Michelle Minton; earlier here, etc.]

Tags: alcohol, FSMA, hot coffee, Mark Bittman, Michael Bloomberg, obesity, restaurants

Food roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Mark Bittman’s sugar correction

Walter Olson — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 18:12:27 +0000

“That is quite a correction in today’s Times to Mark Bittman’s column the other day about sugar and diabetes,” notes Ira Stoll. Bittman’s column began with the striking opener “Sugar is indeed toxic” and went on to promote a far-reaching regulatory crackdown on sweetened foods. But it soon came under sustained attack from various commentators (more) for misstating recent findings about the health effects of sugar in the diet; it’s true that sugar intake tends to cause obesity and obesity itself causes diabetes, but it’s a separate, unresolved question whether sugar by itself instigates diabetes through some mechanism of action not common to other highly caloric foods.

Here is the correction:

Mark Bittman’s column on Thursday incorrectly described findings from a recent epidemiological study of the relationship of sugar consumption to diabetes. The study found that increased sugar in a population’s food supply was linked to higher rates of diabetes — independent of obesity rates — but stopped short of stating that sugar caused diabetes. It did not find that “obesity doesn’t cause diabetes: sugar does.” Obesity is, in fact, a major risk factor for Type 2 diabetes, as the study noted.

Tags: Mark Bittman, New York Times, obesity

Mark Bittman’s sugar correction is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Environment roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 11:06:11 +0000

Judge Kozinski, writing for Ninth Circuit panel, declares Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s harassment of whaling ships to fall under piracy law as covered by international treaty [Trial Insider, Julian Ku, Kevin Jon Heller, Eugene Kontorovich and more and yet more, SSCS’s black skull flag via Wikipedia]
California Assemblyman Mike Gatto [D-Silver Lake] introduces AB 227, which would reform notorious Prop 65 by giving business 14 days to fix lack of warning before entitling lawyer to bounty [his blog, Dem caucus, Burbank Leader]
Unintended, unsanitary consequences of plastic bag bans (Ramesh Ponnuru/ Bloomberg) And theft too? [Seattle Times]
Writer who joined the circus for several days reports on Ringling Bros. elephant controversy: [Bill McMorris/Washington Free Beacon (quotes me), earlier]
Study finds new CAFE fuel economy standards far less efficient than taxes in promoting conservation [Alex Tabarrok]
Now Mark Bittman is being alarmist about cosmetics [ACSH, background]
Overcriminalization looms large for Gulf Coast outdoor businesses, says TPPF’s Vikrant Reddy [FoxNews]

Tags: Alex Kozinski, animal rights, CAFE, cosmetics, environment, Mark Bittman, Prop 65

Environment roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system