Week 12: Ghosts from Assignment 1…

WASHINGTON – It’s a fight that has the nation’s largest chicken producers squabbling, Big Sugar and Big Corn skirmishing and Sara Lee mixing it up with Farmer John.

Lawmakers, too, have joined the fray, which already is thick with dueling petitions and at least one lawsuit. Meanwhile, government food regulators are uncertain how to proceed.

The question is at face value a simple one: When can food products, from chicken breasts to soda pop, rightfully be labeled as “natural?”

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Wrapped up in it, however, are some far trickier questions: Is it ethical to charge for saltwater that increasingly pumps up supermarket chickens? Is the sodium lactate used as a flavoring and preservative in sliced roast beef “natural?” How about the high-fructose corn syrup that sweetens sodas?

 

Read the rest of Battle over ‘natural’ food designation at MSNBC… 

 

Week 2 Posting: Katrina Foundation for Recovery Campaign

It’s been nearly two years since Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and the surrounding area, destroying houses and lives and capturing the world’s attention.

By now, however, there’s no question that most people’s thoughts have moved on. The Katrina Foundation for Recovery is hoping to shock people into turning their attention back to the storm-ravaged region.

“Bin Laden would be smart to hide where the U.S. pays the least attention — New Orleans,” reads one of five advertisements prepared for the nonprofit, which raises money to supply clothing, shelter and other services in the area.

In another, the group plays on people’s obsession with celebrity news.

“Brad and Angelina bought a house in New Orleans (that’s a coastal city in Louisiana, in case you’ve forgotten).”

Others depict scenes of happy normalcy, such as a school bus full of kids or a church, held up against a scene of Katrina-wrought destruction.

Kathy Reeg, president of the Katrina Foundation for Recovery, admits she was a little hesitant when the advertising agency first approached her with the donated Osama Bin Laden ad.

“I’m very patriotic myself, and I just felt like it might be pretty controversial — we live in the conservative South here,” she said.

But while she didn’t want to turn people off, Reeg did like the shock value.

“We have a bad habit of moving on with our lives and leaving something behind,” she said.

The ads, which have run in newspapers in the region, are virtually certain to grab people’s attention. But will they prompt people to reach for their wallets, or donate some of their time to the area? Well, that’s a tougher proposition.

–MSNBC