Healthy Eating, Big Labor Fights Itself and the War on Mining
A new Food and Drug Administration study sparks debate over the health benefits of eating fish.
Factions of the labor union known as UNITE-HERE fight over leadership.
West Virginian Maria Gunnoe wins an environmental prize for opposing coal mining in the U.S.
For more news, listen to the LibertyWeek podcast here.
1. HEALTH
A new Food and Drug Administration study sparks debate over the health benefits of eating fish.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of Food Safety Policy Gregory Conko on why adding fish to your diet is a good idea – even for pregnant mothers:
“Although the FDA’s periodic advisories on fish consumption have emphasized the remote risk of mercury exposure, the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence suggests that consumption of most commercial fish species provides substantial net health benefits. The American Heart Association and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have been urging consumers—especially pregnant women—to eat more fish, not less. So, it’s refreshing that the agency has finally begun to provide balanced and scientifically-validated information.”
2. BUSINESS
Factions of the labor union known as UNITE-HERE fight over leadership.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Editorial Director Ivan Osorio on how some of the country’s biggest unions are falling apart:
“The civil war between the two factions that until recently made up the union UNITE-HERE heated up further this week. Yesterday, the leadership of the rump UNITE-HERE voted to suspend the union’s general president, Bruce Raynor, who led a dissident faction out of the union. Raynor’s group incorporated as a new union, Workers United, which is now affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), as a ‘conference’ of SEIU. Today, UNITE-HERE followed up with a protest outside SEIU’s Washington, D.C., headquarters, at which UNITE-HERE claims it had 300 people. SEIU, for its part, is accusing UNITE-HERE of suppressing dissent and of trying ‘to raid Workers United and SEIU’ for new members.”
3. ENVIRONMENT
West Virginian Maria Gunnoe wins an environmental prize for opposing coal mining in the U.S.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Journalism Fellow Silvia Santacruz on the importance of mining jobs in developing countries:
“If mining companies were to pull out in the wake of government or activist pressure, many poor rural communities in developing countries would be left with no job opportunities, hope for development or health programs. Mining companies invest in these programs to keep a healthy and productive workforce, which, in turn, benefits underdeveloped towns. To take that away would be a crime.”
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