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Food at eight chains studied scores 48 points on 100-point Healthy Eating Index.

from ThinkProgress

"Despite lauding new, 'healthier' choices such as egg whites and wraps, major fast food chains’ menus haven’t improved much over the past decade in terms of nutritional value, according to a new study.

"The study, recently published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, looked at the menus of eight fast food chains between 1997 and 2010. Researchers judged menus by using the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Healthy Eating Index, a 100-point scale that determines the nutritional value of American diets based on the variety of foods eaten; the intake of each major food group; and the intake of fat, cholesterol and sodium. The study found fast food menus only increased their nutritional value by three points in the last 14 years — from 45 to 48 points. The score is lower than the general American food supply’s score of 60 points and far below the 80-plus points that the USDA recommends for a 'good' diet. …"

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Prince uses speech at St James's Palace to single out "confirmed sceptics" and environmentally unfriendly businesses.

from The Guardian

The Prince of Wales has criticized 'corporate lobbyists' and climate change sceptics for turning the earth into a 'dying patient', in his most outspoken attack yet on the world's failure to tackle global warming.

'He attacked businesses who failed to care for the environment, and compared the current generation to a doctor taking care of a critically ill patient.

"'If you think about the impact of climate change, [it should be how] a doctor would deal with the problem,’ he told an audience of government ministers, from the UK and abroad, as well as businesspeople and scientists. ‘A scientific hypothesis is tested to absolute destruction, but medicine can’t wait. If a doctor sees a child with a fever, he can’t wait for [endless] tests. He has to act on what is there.' …"

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Investor-state dispute settlement could give energy companies new powers.

from Public Service Europe

"Environmental and public health problems related to fracking — or hydraulic fracturing — have created popular distrust and resistance to the extent that the majority of countries concerned with shale gas endowments in Europe are taking positions against the controversial technology. France, Bulgaria and the region of Cantabria in the North of Spain have already banned it. Romania, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Denmark and North-Rhine Westphalia in Germany have proclaimed moratoria.

"But The right to say no — a new research paper from Corporate Europe Observatory, the Transnational Institute and the Council of Canadians shows that the controversial European Union-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, could threaten the ability of countries to implement fracking bans and regulations.

"For, CETA will include a process through which Canadian investors can settle disputes with the EU or a member state outside of the regular court system. This process, called investor-state dispute settlement, is increasingly controversial globally as mining and energy firms use it to challenge environmental and public health measures that do not suit their financial interests. Sometimes, the mere possibility of a lawsuit based on investor-state arbitration is enough to deter authorities introducing strong public health and environmental policies. …"

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150 workers die every day from injuries or occupational diseases according to new report on worker safety and health.

from the AFL-CIO

In 2011, 4,693 workers were killed on the job, according to a new AFL-CIO report, Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect. That is an average of thirteen workers every day. In addition, another estimated 50,000 die every year from occupational diseases — an average of 137 a day, bringing the total worker fatalities to 150 a day.  North Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska and Arkansas had the highest workplace fatality rates, while New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Washington had the lowest. Latino workers, especially those born outside of the United States, continue to face rates of workplace fatalities fourteen percent higher than other workers, the same as last year.

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Nearly 20 per cent of young people at risk of suicide have guns in their homes.

from MotherJones

"A new study by leading pediatricians has found that nearly 20 per cent of young people between the ages of 10 and 21 who are considered to be at risk for suicide have guns in their homes. The study is being presented Monday at the annual Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Washington, following a symposium held Saturday that also addressed youth gun suicides, media violence, and gun violence prevention.

"For the study, 524 patients were surveyed using a standard suicide assessment screening: 17 percent of the 151 patients determined to be suicide risks said they lived in a home with guns; 31 percent said they knew how to access the guns, and the same number said they knew how to access ammunition; 15 percent said they could get their hands on both. …"

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