Copyright 2013 Jeff Stier Sat, 25 May 2013 19:40:03 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Jeff Stier :: Writings http://www.jeffstier.org jeffstier@gmail.com (Jeff Stier) webmaster@pundicity.com en-us http://www.jeffstier.org/13350/for-a-responsible-approach-to-bee-health-ignore Fri, 24 May 2013 09:00:00 EST Bees pollinate a host of important crops, from fruits and nuts such as oranges, blueberries, apples and almonds, to row crops such cotton, canola, and soy. But the last few decades have been tough for bee populations, which have experienced larger than... http://www.jeffstier.org/13338/activism-vs-the-rule-of-law Wed, 22 May 2013 09:00:00 EST In May of last year, the New York Times did something extraordinary: On the front page, the paper not only ran a photo of a Massachusetts woman in flagrante delicto committing multiple federal and state felonies and civil torts, but also identified her... http://www.jeffstier.org/13329/free-market-has-real-solutions-to-obesity-crisis Tue, 21 May 2013 09:00:00 EST Obesity is a public health time bomb. But is curbing it primarily the responsibility of the government? The food police think so. Along the way, their extreme rhetoric demonizes industry and characterizes food marketers as little better than child... http://www.jeffstier.org/13316/how-much-of-food-activism-is-new-age-airy-fairy Wed, 15 May 2013 09:00:00 EST What was once a cottage industry is now big business. Authors, columnists, television personalities and others whose total exposure to science was college "rocks for jocks" and who never took a nutrition class are conjuring up loony notions about how we... http://www.jeffstier.org/13241/ideologically-contaminated-produce-shopper-guide Fri, 3 May 2013 09:00:00 EST "Many of the 'healthiest foods' we eat may not be as healthy as we think" was the lede of a recent Channel 11news story out of Pittsburgh. It was based on the Environmental Working Group's just released 2013 "Dirty Dozen" report on pesticide residues on... http://www.jeffstier.org/13196/the-food-police Sun, 21 Apr 2013 09:00:00 EST In "The Food Police," Oklahoma State University Professor Jayson Lusk takes a rational look at where our food comes from and whose right and responsibility it is to decide how and what we eat. An agricultural economist and food technologist by training,... http://www.jeffstier.org/13144/on-e-cigarettes Sat, 6 Apr 2013 09:00:00 EST * SIR – It is no wonder many in the public-health establishment have steam coming out of their ears about e-cigarettes. Here is a product created by private-sector innovation that is doing what many hundreds of millions of dollars of government spending,... http://www.jeffstier.org/13138/obama-epa-cloak-and-banner Fri, 5 Apr 2013 09:00:00 EST The Obama administration has turned "transparency" from a buzzword to a fuzzword. The latest examples come from the Environmental Protection Agency. In a transparent government, emails are subject to freedom of information laws. In theObama government,... http://www.jeffstier.org/13131/sin-taxes-should-at-least-reflect-risk Tue, 2 Apr 2013 09:00:00 EST The Food and Drug Administration is moving at a snail's pace when it comes to exercising its relatively new authority to regulate tobacco products. But playing out right now in statehouses around the country is a different form of tobacco regulation; and... http://www.jeffstier.org/13051/bberg-ban-bull Tue, 12 Mar 2013 09:00:00 EST Don't feel too bad for Mayor Bloomberg over his loss on the big-soda ban. He's already working on another arbitrary and capricious meddling with our cups — not the size, but what they're made of. And, good for him but bad for us, he's got the support of... http://www.jeffstier.org/13043/risk-experts-to-new-york-city-styrofoam-ban-would Mon, 11 Mar 2013 09:00:00 EST For Release: March 11, 2013 Contact: Judy Kent at (703) 759-7476 or jkent@nationalcenter.org, or David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 x11 or (703) 568-4727 or dalmasi@nationalcenter.org Risk Experts to New York City: Styrofoam Ban Would Be a Mistake New York,... http://www.jeffstier.org/12822/animal-rights-groups-seem-benevolent-but-are-in Fri, 18 Jan 2013 09:00:00 EST Who hasn't seen and been moved by the TV ads from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals showing sad, abused puppies that need a home? Who could tell from these that the ASPCA is a radical, ideological, even tyrannical... http://www.jeffstier.org/12793/the-obesity-police-turn-a-solvable-problem-into Tue, 15 Jan 2013 09:00:00 EST If there's agreement about anything in our hotly-politicized environment today it is that while we work to find sensible and principled solutions to real-world problems, we also need to do a better job coming to consensuses. But when it comes to... http://www.jeffstier.org/12743/snus-saga-an-unfortunate-illustration-of-the-tpd Mon, 7 Jan 2013 09:00:00 EST With smoking prematurely killing almost a quarter million Europeans a year, cigarettes are the top cause of preventable death in the EU. The fight against smoking is a priority and revision of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) has potential to save... http://www.jeffstier.org/12737/circus-prevails-in-elephantine-struggle Fri, 4 Jan 2013 09:00:00 EST How's this for a "man bites dog" story? A major nonprofit activist group is paying a corporation to settle litigation. Usually it's the other way around. Over a decade ago, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals joined forces with...