Food & Health – Von Keller Blog https://www.blog.von-keller.org Von Keller News Blog Thu, 16 Mar 2023 15:24:01 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.5 https://www.blog.von-keller.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/cropped-favicon-Von-Keller-blog-32x32.png Food & Health – Von Keller Blog https://www.blog.von-keller.org 32 32 None of the tuna retailers in the United States passed the sustainability and human rights tests. https://www.blog.von-keller.org/food-health/none-of-the-tuna-retailers-in-the-united-states-passed-the-sustainability-and-human-rights-tests/ https://www.blog.von-keller.org/food-health/none-of-the-tuna-retailers-in-the-united-states-passed-the-sustainability-and-human-rights-tests/#respond Thu, 16 Mar 2023 14:43:14 +0000 https://www.blog.von-keller.org/?p=1703

None of the tuna retailers in the United States passed the sustainability and human rights tests.

Tuna production is at an all-time high. Part of this increase can be attributed to it being viewed as an environmentally friendly alternative to other animal proteins for people looking to reduce their meat consumption.

However, according to a new report by the environmental NGO Greenpeace,” High cost for cheap tuna“, despite significant progress, U.S. grocery chains still have a long way to go in addressing serious environmental and human rights concerns in their tuna sourcing.

In accordance with the report, the United States is the world’s second-largest tuna importer, and its retailers utilize significant clout in the $42 billion global tuna sector. Since 2008, Greenpeace has ranked US seafood retailers based on sustainability criteria. This is the second report of its kind to include human rights considerations.

The report’s authors created a scorecard for the 16 largest U.S. grocery retailers based on their tuna sourcing practices. To accomplish this, they distributed a survey, which 11 of the retailers completed

and returned, and relied on publicly available data for the remaining five. They assigned percentage academic results to retailers based on 39 questions grouped into six categories: purchasing policy, record keeping, advocacy and initiatives, human rights and labor protections, current sourcing, and customer education and labeling.

picture of tuna at grocery store

Retailers with high ratings are still rated too low.

The report praised ALDI for its “comprehensive, publicly available seafood and human rights policies” and explicit advocacy “for a living wage for workers in its supply chain.” The limited scope of its grievance mechanisms and the fact that its corporate responsibility supplier evaluation program is still in development lowered its score.

Southeastern Grocers, the parent company of Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket, and Winn-Dixie, received the lowest human rights rating.

Transshipment is the practice of offloading a fishing vessel’s catch onto other boats that deliver it to shore. It is frequently associated with illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and because it allows fishing vessels to stay at sea for extended periods of time, it also increases the risk of human and labor rights violations in supply chains.

Amazon-owned Whole Foods Market, the largest U.S. chain specializing in “natural” and organic foods, received the highest score of 75% for sustainability. ALDI came in second with 70%, bringing its total overall score to 62%, the first and only passing grade since the addition of human rights factors to the rankings last year. The authors lauded Whole Foods’ stringent traceability and sourcing standards, including its pledge to sell only pole-and-line and hand-line-caught canned tuna. These methods reduce bycatch and overfishing more than other methods, and they benefit human rights because vessels are smaller and tend to work along the coast rather than in the open ocean, resulting in shorter periods at sea and more localized employment.

Costco was ranked second-to-last in terms of sustainability, with a score of 32%. Critics focused on its “vague” sourcing and seafood sustainability policies, as well as its lack of a transshipment policy.

Should we phaseout transshipment

According to Greenpeace research, this frequently results in tuna products with suspicious environmental and social qualifications being available on supermarket shelves in the United States, despite grocery chains’ assurances to the contrary. According to the news release, Greenpeace linked tuna caught by vessels that supply the ubiquitous canned-tuna brand Bumble Bee to forced labor, human trafficking, and IUU fishing practices in 2020, and then traced the tuna to a Kroger-owned Harris Teeter in Arlington, Virginia.

The report calls for increased tracking and tracing and openness in the tuna supply chain. It requests that retailers follow the example of employee-owned supermarket chain Hy-Vee (which ranked fourth overall in the report) and make a complete list of their supplying vessels public. It also wants to ban transshipment.

Source: NGO Greenpeace

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]]> https://www.blog.von-keller.org/food-health/none-of-the-tuna-retailers-in-the-united-states-passed-the-sustainability-and-human-rights-tests/feed/ 0 A New EPA “Good Neighbor” Rule Seeks to Reduce Power Plant Downwind Emissions. https://www.blog.von-keller.org/sustainable-energy/good-neighbor-rule-for-power-plants/ Thu, 16 Mar 2023 01:56:54 +0000 https://www.blog.von-keller.org/?p=1653

A New EPA "Good Neighbor" Rule Seeks to Reduce Power Plant Downwind Emissions.

The Environmental Protection Agency has announced a new “good neighbor” rule that limits smokestack emissions from factories and other industrial sources that burden nearby neighborhoods with uncontrollable smog-causing pollutants. To enhance the quality of the air for millions of people living in areas downwind, nearly two dozen states will need to reduce dangerous industrial emissions of nitrogen oxide and other pollutants.

According to the EPA, the final rule, which went into effect on Wednesday, will avert millions of asthma attacks, thousands of deaths, and tens of thousands of hospital admissions. It will also cut down on sick days.

“Every neighborhood deserves to breathe clean air. The EPA Administrator, Michael Regan, stated that “we are aware that air pollution does not stop at state lines.

Power plants must comply with the rule by May, “locking in major emission reductions to ensure cleaner air and providing public health safeguards for individuals who have suffered far too long from air-quality related damage and illness,” according to Regan. In 2026, the restrictions on industrial locations go into force.

In addition to rules on wastewater pollution, mercury and air toxics, and rules anticipated on greenhouse gas emissions, the cross-state pollution rule “makes it impossible for utilities to make decisions based on the merits of what keeps the lights on, forcing those utilities to make decisions solely based on the EPA’s agenda,” Bernstein said.

Watch: Environmental: Proposed Changes to Protect American Families& Drinking Water.

According to the EPA, the rule offers power facilities choice in how to comply, including using scrubbers and established carbon trading systems.

Due to competition from cheap and readily available natural gas, falling prices for renewable energy, and environmental laws, the amount of electricity generated from coal in the United States has significantly decreased over the previous 15 years. According to the Energy Information Administration, many facilities have been shut down, and another 23% of the nation’s operating coal-powered fleet is planned to retire by 2029.

More than 123 million people lived in counties that frequently encountered dangerous ozone levels, according to a 2021 report by the lung association. By bringing on more hot, bright days that are ideal for raising ozone levels, climate change will probably make the issue worse.

Source: EPA.GOV

Von Keller Blog is an informational website with public news, company insights and reports of our companies events, news, press and blogging. Let’s Chat.

]]> Environmental: Proposed Changes to Protect American Families Drinking Water. https://www.blog.von-keller.org/food-health/environmental-proposed-changes-to-protect-american-families-drinking-water/ Thu, 16 Mar 2023 00:46:41 +0000 https://www.blog.von-keller.org/?p=1618

Environmental: Proposed Changes to Protect American Families' Drinking Water.

The EPA is warning that two nonstick and stain-resistant compounds found in drinking water are more dangerous than previously thought, posing health risks even at levels so low that they cannot currently be detected, coined “Forever Chemicals”

Although PFOA and PFOS have been voluntarily phased out by American manufacturers, there are still certain uses for the chemicals, and because they do not degrade over time, they are still present in the environment. The substances are a subset of PFAS, a wider group of “forever chemicals” that have been present in industrial and consumer items since the 1940s.

This Monday, the EPA released a “quasi” health recommendations, replacing 2016 standards that had placed the health risk levels for PFOA and PFOS at 70 parts per trillion. Products including cardboard packing, carpets, and firefighting foam contain the chemicals.

What are PFOA, PFOS, and PFAS?

Both PFOA and PFOS… the man-made substances that were once employed in the production of many different consumer goods. While they temporarily ease life, they have severe negative long-term implications on both human and environmental health.

Perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate–more commonly referred to as PFOA and PFOS, respectively–are fluorinated organic compounds that are part of larger group of compounds known as perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

These synthetic compounds are notorious for not being affected by lipids or water. PFOA and PFOS were widely employed to coat goods that were intended to be stain-resistant, waterproof, or non-stick (like DuPont’s Teflon) once production ramped up in the 1950s. While being practical, these highly fluorinated chemicals are linked to some major health issues. The fact that they linger in the environment for a very, very long time only serves to exacerbate their harmful impact on human health.

The will “Never Break Down”  in the environment at all.

PFOA and PFOS in our Drinking Water

In 2016, PFOA contamination was discovered in 1% of samples taken from public drinking water systems around the country. Despite this, PFOA and PFOS levels in drinking water are not officially regulated by the EPA. The EPA did issue temporary health advisories for the substances in 2009.

For PFOS and PFOA in public water systems, the EPA upgraded the 2009 standards with lifelong health advisories in 2016. 

Nico De Pasquale Photography / Getty Images

It informed towns that it was unsafe for drinking water sources to include levels of PFOA and PFOS (combined) above 70 ppt.

According to epidemiological data in human populations and ongoing research on laboratory animals, the EPA has hypothesized that exposure to PFOA and PFOS above a threshold may have the following effects on human health:

  • Effects on development
  • Cancer
  • Liver injury
  • autoimmune diseases
  • Thyroid dysfunction
  • Heart-related issues

How has Europe made similar changes?

There European started making similar changes back in 2020 as follows:

  • 2020 saw the revision of the EU’s Drinking Water Directive to limit total PFAS to 500 ng/l.
  • The EU will prohibit the use of all PFAS in firefighting foams and other applications, only allowing their use in situations where they are actually necessary for society.
  • In order to work on PFAS remediation, the EU has asked for proposals under the Green Deal and is providing subsidies to encourage research.
    According to research conducted in the UK between 2014 and 2019 on lakes, rivers, groundwaters, estuaries, and coastal waters, PFAS are widely distributed in English surface and groundwaters.
  • According to the UK Drinking Water Inspectorate’s findings, there have been no notifications of PFAS levels in drinking water that are higher than recommended.
    PFAS are often examined using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry.
  • Fluoride-containing compound screening can be done using combustion ion chromatography.
  • See more.

What is next?

With federal financial support, water companies that provide services to urban regions should be able to spread out costs with the aid of the federal government in a manner similar to that of an advocacy group that works to remove dangerous substances from food, water, clothing, and other products. There are currently PFAS drinking water limitations in place in a number of states. 

The House passed legislation that would mandate the EPA to establish discharge limits for a number of companies suspected of discharging PFAS into the water and create a national threshold for PFAS in drinking water. In the Senate, the bill is deadlocked.

Source: Travis Long / Associated Press

Von Keller Blog is an informational website with public news, company insights and reports of our companies events, news, press and blogging. Let’s Chat.

Photo:Damir Mijailovic Pexel

]]> Meat vs. Plant Protein: 7 Comparisons https://www.blog.von-keller.org/food-health/meat-vs-plant-protein-7-comparisons/ Tue, 14 Mar 2023 04:59:33 +0000 https://www.blog.von-keller.org/2017/12/26/getting-enough-protien/

Meat vs. Plant Protein: 7 Comparisons

When researchers compared the nutritional profiles of plants and meat, the results were astounding. Astonishingly, plants are just as good as meat for protein, but plants have additional health benefits from phyto- and micronutrients that you may not be aware of.

 

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Ground Beef vs. Black Beans

GROUND BEEF: 3 oz = 22g protein   |  BLACK BEANS: 1.5 cups = 22.5g protein

Beef and beans are befitting adversaries in the “which has the most protein” contest. When the environmental and nutritional impact of the two are compared, black beans win hands down for being easier on the Earth, easier on the body, easier to prepare and eat, and providing more nutritional benefit than a hamburger patty.

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Steak vs. Cashews

STEAK: 4 oz = 40g protein CASHEWS: 1 cup = 40g protein

It appears unlikely that a cup of cashew nuts could contain the same amount of protein as a 4oz steak. But it’s true. Not only that, but cashews have a high nutritional value with 83 milligrams of magnesium, 168 milligrams of phosphorus, and 187 milligrams of potassium per ounce.

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Turkey vs. Pumpkin Seeds

TURKEY: 3 oz = 26gram of  protein – PUMPKIN SEEDS: ¾ cup = 30g protein

When we compared pumpkin seeds to turkey meat, we found that a mere handful contains more glutamate, zinc, and phytosterols than turkey. When it comes to protein, both are comparable, but why not load up on copper, manganese, phosphorous, vitamin K, E, and B while you’re at it? Pumpkin seeds are far more efficient to grow than turkey seeds and are far less harmful to the environment.

White Meat Chicken vs. Lentil Beans

CHICKEN: 3 oz = 26gram of  protein – LENTIL BEANS:1.5 cup = 27g protein

A small 1.5 cup serving of lentils contains the same amount of protein as a 3 oz chicken breast, but lentils also contain dietary fiber, copper, phosphorus, and manganese that you cannot get from meat. To easily replace the chicken on Meatless Monday, look for veggie patties made from lentils at your local health food store.

Salmon Fish vs. Peanut Butter

Salmon 3 oz = 23 gram of  protein – Nut Butter:  .5 cup = 32g protein

Salmon and peanuts are both high in Omega-6 fatty acids and potassium and are both excellent sources of protein. One tablespoon of peanut butter contains 8g of protein, making it a popular pick-me-up snack for athletes. It’s common to mistake the peanut for a nut, but it’s actually a legume, and as a legume, it’s high in dietary fiber, bone-building magnesium, and skin-smoothing Vitamin E.

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Tilapia vs. Spirulina

TILAPIA 3.5 oz = 22 gram of  protein – SPIRULINA  .5 cup = 20g protein

Both are high in protein and come from the ocean, but the ancient blue-green algae may actually help remove toxins like arsenic with every spoonful. Spirulina contains 8 essential amino acids and is high in potassium, calcium, and zinc. It is a natural detoxifier and anti-inflammatory that requires no preparation. Add it to salad dressings and smoothies.

Pork vs. Split Peas

PORK 4 oz = 30 gram of  protein – SPLIT PEAS:  2 cup = 30 g protein

 

Pork and peas match up pretty well. Peas contain 16g of dietary fiber per cup and are high in potassium, magnesium, and iron. They’ve recently gained popularity as a base protein for plant-based protein powders.

Source: Pexel.com

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]]> Is It Safe to Work Out While Pregnant?​ https://www.blog.von-keller.org/food-health/is-it-safe-to-work-out-while-pregnant/ Tue, 14 Mar 2023 04:19:36 +0000 https://www.blog.von-keller.org/2017/12/26/safe-exercises-during-pregnancy/

Is It Safe to Work Out While Pregnant?

pregnant woman practicing yoga and keeping an eye on her heart rate while exercising

During pregnancy, your body undergoes numerous changes to support the growth of your baby. They can cause fatigue and aches and pains, so it makes sense why many pregnant women may be hesitant to expend any of their energy on exercise. According to the Mayo Clinic, working out during pregnancy has many benefits, including a lower risk of gestational diabetes and reduced backaches, constipation, bloating, and swelling.

Is it necessary to keep your heart rate under 140 beats per minute while pregnant?

“The 140-beat-per-minute limit is an outdated number,” says Rachel Trotta, a NASM-certified personal trainer who specializes in pre- and post-natal fitness. So the answer is no.

According to Megan Gray, MD, obstetrician-gynecologist at Orlando Health Physician Associates, these guidelines were once the norm because it was thought that raising your heart rate too high could affect blood flow and oxygen levels for your baby. However, she claims that there isn’t enough research to make a recommendation for an ideal heart rate while exercising during pregnancy.

Source: WebMD

Von Keller Blog is an informational website with public news, company insights and reports of our companies events, news, press and blogging. Let’s Chat.

]]> Ultimate Triple Chocolate Muffins https://www.blog.von-keller.org/food-health/ultimate-triple-chocolate-muffins/ Sun, 12 Mar 2023 05:54:15 +0000 https://www.blog.von-keller.org/2017/12/25/ultimate-triple-chocolate-muffins/

The Ultimate Triple Chocolate Muffins

veryone enjoys these triple Chocolate muffins, a traditional delicacy. The outcomes of following this recipe are delicious and straightforward. These muffins are ideal for a quick snack or dessert and are sure to delight all ages of chocolate fans. Also, they are healthier than the majority of chocolate muffins from the shop, so you may indulge without feeling bad. Try this dish right away! You won’t be let down.

Ingredients

  • 100g cooking chocolate
  • 300g self raising flour (sifted)
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 100g dark muscovado sugar
  • 250ml milk
  • 50g melted butter
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 50g dark chocolate chips
  • 50g white chocolate chips

Method

  • STEP 1

    preheat the oven to 200 c / 400 f / gas mark 6. Break the chocolate into a bowl and heat over a pan of simmering water untill melted.

     
  • STEP 2

    Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. In a separate bowl add the muscado sugar, melted chocolate,butter,milk and eggs and mix well. Crefully fold in the flour, taking care to not over mix. Stir in the chocolate chips.

     
  • STEP 3

    Spoon the mixture into paper muffin casesand bake for 25 minutes or until muffins have risen and are firm to touch. remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.

  • STEP 4
    serve warm or cold
Source: Recipe
Source: Recipe

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