Traditional Egyptian eating practices focus on seasonal ingredients, communal eating and avoiding waste—but a new set of habits is taking over, contributing to the scourge of stunting in the country. In this arid region rising food costs send Egyptians searching for cheaper…
April 8, 2019
A surge of alcohol poisonings in Iran reveal that the county’s criminalization of alcohol for Muslim citizens— about 99% of the population—is insufficient. Overall, alcohol consumption in Iran is lower than in non-Muslim majority countries, but bootleg alcohol is common.…
March 8, 2019
While American cheese was named one of GHN’s 100 Objects That Shaped Public Health, we never thought it would also shape the internet—at least for a moment. The Web has found a new use for the fluorescent-orange squares: throwing it on baby’s faces.
February 27, 2019
Foodborne illness has a massive but little recognized impact in Africa, as illustrated by a new report from the World Bank's Global Food Safety Partnership.
January 30, 2019
Coca-Cola staff tried to leverage personal relationships at the CDC to fight soda taxes, influence the WHO and solicit advice, according to emails cited in research published yesterday in The Milbank Quarterly.
January 28, 2019
The global scourges of obesity, climate change and malnutrition are intertwined. Tackling them all at once means taking on their shared menace: A global food industry that fights any public health effort that threatens profits, according to a Lancet report.
January 17, 2019
Ketchup has gone through a lot to get where it is today. Beyond tomatoes, it’s “a thick mixture of politics, personality, a 20th-century acceptance that food safety matters”—starting with Henry Heinz in the 20th century, writes Deborah Blum. Early ketchup products were ripe…
January 17, 2019
As the global population looks set to reach 10 billion by 2050, the EAT-Lancet Commission has drawn up a “planetary health diet” with an ambitious 2-fold mission: helping the world eat healthier and averting environmental catastrophe, the Guardian reported.
January 10, 2019
As soda sales plummet in the US amid growing obesity concerns, Coca-Cola has enjoyed a growing foothold in China—now Coke’s 3rd largest market by volume.
January 8, 2019
Anemia is a scourge on pregnant women and children, particularly in the developing world. Iron supplements may be a key intervention, but existing research on their efficacy and safety is patchy. The WHO recommends iron supplements and micronutrient powders for children in…