New National Consumers League podcast We Can Do This! explores current, historic socioeconomic reform in America

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January 16, 2020

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering worker and consumer advocacy organization, has launched a podcast called We Can Do This!, produced by District Productive and hosted by NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg and other members of NCL policy staff. 

In We Can Do This!, NCL and justice-minded, expert guests explore current socioeconomic issues at the heart of American political and cultural battles before a backdrop of the historic and ongoing advocacy and activism that help pave the way for meaningful policy reform. 

We Can Do This! episodes span the breadth of NCL’s wide mission and issues, including; healthcare, data and privacy, food and nutrition, labor, finance, and other topics. 

A first batch of episodes featuring individuals who are helping to shape the nation’s social and economic reforms have been released:   

E1-2: Crashing through the glass ceiling with two dynamos of women’s rights law—parts 1-2 

With Judith Lichtman, president emeritus and senior advisor of the National Partnership for Women and Families and Marcia Greenberger, founder and co-president of the National Women’s Law Center 

E3: Ending the scourge of child labor 

With Kailash Satyarthi, anti-child labor crusader and Nobel Laureate 

E4: Measles, it ain’t over until it’s over 

With Dr. Linda Fu, general pediatrician at Children’s National Health System 

E5: Sorry, fair pay and a safe workplace aren’t on the menu 

With Diana Ramirez, federal senior policy advocate at Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC United) 

These five episodes are available now on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts, and the remainder of the 11-episode series will be released in early 2020. 

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Sorry, fair pay and a safe workplace aren’t on the menu

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Diana Ramirez, Federal Senior Policy Advocate at Restaurant Opportunities Center,….

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National Consumers League opposes ‘unethical and unjustified’ Grinch cuts to the SNAP program, causing hundreds of thousands of children to lose nutrition assistance

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December 9, 2019

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—Despite widespread opposition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that it would tighten work requirements for able-bodied Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants without dependents. The National Consumers League joins 140,000 other Americans who overwhelmingly oppose this cruel and unnecessary slashing of an effective safety net program.

Under current regulations, able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) can receive food assistance no more than three months out of every three years, unless they work at least 80 hours per month or meet other education or workforce training requirements. Previously, states could waive work requirements when jobs were unavailable or didn’t match workers’ skills, but the rule will make it more difficult to do so, causing an estimated 688,000 people to lose benefits.

The vast majority of the more than 140,000 comments submitted to USDA in response to the rule were written in opposition, including those submitted by NCL Board member National Farmers Union (NFU).

Sally Greenberg, NCL’s executive director:

“More than 37 million Americans will experience food insecurity this year in the richest country in the world. SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, eases that pain and helps ensure that those in need can put food on their tables. Among our national safety net programs, food stamps is among the most effective. It provides that essential nutrition safety net for American families and especially children– yet this administration has done everything it can to slash gaping holes into that net, preventing hundreds of thousands of children and adults from getting rightful access to these programs. To add to the pain, these work requirements will erode food security in rural and urban communities alike.

“NCL joins with the NFU in believing that these new rules reflect the cold indifference to the struggles of our fellow Americans; we believe it is unethical and unjustified. We continue to call on the administration to rescind this rule, and we stand with the anti-hunger community and the many national, state, and local organizations who seek to support and protect our most vulnerable citizens.”

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Consumer group says ‘NO!’ to proposal to lift standard sizes for spirits, says ‘unscrupulous actors will cheat consumers’

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October 29, 2019

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

NCL files comment with the U.S. Treasury’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) objecting to a proposal to completely eliminate ‘standards of fill’ (or permissible bottle sizes) for distilled spirits, inviting consumer confusion.

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL) has filed a regulatory comment with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) objecting to its proposed regulation (Docket TTB-2019-0005) to eliminate the “standards of fill” or permissible bottle sizes for distilled spirits products. 

For years, NCL has been urging TTB to take into account adult consumers’ interest in having access to clear, usable, and meaningful information about the alcoholic beverages they consume. Most recently, NCL wrote TTB to make the case that its effort to “modernize” alcoholic beverage labeling and advertising should include mandatory serving facts labeling so that consumers may understand how much alcohol (as well as nutrients) they consume in a serving and in a given container. 

In its comment, NCL objects to the TTB proposal because of its great potential to harm consumers by damaging the common understanding of container sizes, which consumers have come to rely on since the end of Prohibition. The TTB proposal makes no sense in the absence of mandatory serving facts labeling and invites deceptive practices by unscrupulous manufacturers who will undoubtedly vary bottle sizes to deceive consumers and increase profits.

NCL’s full comment may be seen here. 

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

AdvoCare settlement highlights FTC’s importance in protecting consumers from pyramid schemes

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October 2, 2019

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—Today, the National Consumers League, the nation’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization applauded the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for its successful investigation and settlement with multi-level marketing (MLM) company AdvoCare. The settlement, in addition to providing $150 million in relief to victims, implements a lifetime ban preventing AdvoCare from ever rejoining the MLM business.

The following statement is attributable to John Breyault, vice president of public policy, telecommunications and fraud at the National Consumers League:

Today’s settlement once again highlights the central role that the FTC plays in protecting Americans from illegal pyramid schemes. The FTC has a 45-year track record of winning favorable settlements and court judgements against pyramid schemes. In spite of this, many leading members of the direct selling industry continue to push a discredited bill that would dramatically undermine the Commission’s ability to protect consumers against companies like AdvoCare. 

Under the Orwellian name of the “Anti-Pyramid Promotional Scheme Act,” the bill would create a series of carve outs and safe harbors that would prevent the FTC from protecting consumers and entrepreneurs from all but the most blatant pyramid schemes.

Today’s actions by the FTC demonstrate the need for  continued  consumer protection under its existing authority. NCL opposes pyramid scheme legalization bills like the Anti-Pyramid Promotional Scheme Act, which is even now being peddled by industry lobbyists. We hope this bill will once again be stopped from gaining momentum by members of Congress.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

NCL opposes harmful proposed rule that will expose more to hunger

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September 23, 2019

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—Today, the National Consumers League (NCL) submitted written comments opposing the USDA’s Proposed Rule: Revision of Categorical Eligibility in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), arguing that the proposed policy change would impact millions who qualify for the federal program that is the nation’s first line of defense against hunger.

“Our organization is deeply concerned that the proposed changes would deprive an estimated 3.1 million people of access to this vital program and cause 500,000 children to lose their automatic eligibility for free or subsidized school lunch. This proposed rule may potentially worsen hunger among low-income households, harm local economies, and increase SNAP administrative costs,” wrote NCL in the comments.

Low-income households receiving cash assistance from Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or General Assistance have long been considered automatically (or “categorically) eligible for SNAP, which means they do not separately have to pass SNAP’s asset or gross income tests.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the proposed rule change is intended to close a “loophole” that states have misused to “effectively bypass important eligibility guidelines.” However, that’s simply not the case. Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE) allows states to cover the gap between income and need by considering cost of living, wages, and other local economic conditions when determining people’s eligibility for SNAP.

The National Consumers League strongly opposes the proposed rule that would expose even more people to the arbitrary food cutoff policy.

NCL’s written comments are available here (PDF).

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

I’m going for the kids’ portion!

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With overweight and obesity stats in an upward trajectory, the National Consumers League and the Georgetown School of Business are partnering up for a survey on a simple topic: what do Americans know about portion sizes, calories of average foods, and how many calories we can eat each day without packing on the pounds? 

We have a health crisis in America. From 2015-2016, 39.8 percent of American adults were considered obese–which means the body mass index (BMI) measurements of more than 129 million of us are considered obese. The annual medical cost of obesity is estimated at $147 billion because heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and cancers are tied to obesity. What is particularly concerning is that more than a third of younger people, ages 20-39, are obese.  

In fact, the New York Times reported that roughly a fifth of our soldiers are obese! The military is trying to combat this problem by replacing sweet drinks with water and cutting out fried foods, but it’s not working. 

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Dietary Guidelines recommend that the average person should consume about 2,000 calories a day. Do most of us know that if you exceed 2,000 calories day regularly, you pack on the pounds? (That’s unless, of course, you’re getting a lot of calorie–burning exercise or have a great metabolism.) Is that number too high for many of us? (It is for me. If I eat more than 1,650 calories, I know I’m going to put on weight.) That’s what we want to find out with our research: what do Americans really know about this guideline? 

We will also be asking whether most Americans know how many calories are in average serving of common foods such as yogurt (150), hamburgers with bun (350), pizza (350 per slice), bagels (325), muffins (425), a 4-piece fried chicken dinner with all the fixings (850-1,200), a 30–oz. steak (1,400), a piece of cheesecake (650), a big chocolate chip cookie (450), and an ice cream cone (300-400.) 

Also, do Americans know what an average serving is? A Cheesecake Factory salad is not an average serving! Each of their salads have more than 1,300 calories. That’s too much for one meal. Unfortunately, restaurant serving sizes have increased a lot over the last several decades. 

Which brings me back to my headline–kids’ portions! I’ve begun sampling my local downtown DC upscale food spots popular with millennials like Roti, CAVA, Chopt. The custom is that you order a bowl of lettuce or spinach as a base and put lots of pretty healthy but also pretty caloric toppings, add a protein for a few bucks extra, and crowned with shredded cheese and salad dressing. When you’re done, you have a big portion and lots of good food but also lots of calories–albeit not from hamburger and fries but still, calories! 

So try the kids’ portion! They are cheaper by a third, a lot less food, a lot fewer calories, and completely filling. My CAVA kids meal had a small white bread (unfortunately) pita, yogurt spread, two small spicy meatballs, cucumber salad, tomato salad, three pieces of fried bread, and scoop of brown rice. In other words, a lot of food! I figured it was about 550 calories. Voila! A third of my 1,650 allowable daily intake of food. And I was stuffed. I’ll be trying other food outlets to check out the kids’ portions. And we recommend that other consumers do the same–helps to limit calories and prevent food waste when you’re eating out!

NCL to USDA: Portion control must be key strategy for fighting America’s highest-ever obesity rates

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July 11, 2019

Media contact: National Consumers League – Shaunice Wall, MS, RD, shaunicew@nclnet.org, (202) 835-0331, Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242, or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL) presented oral comments to the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee today in Washington, DC, urging the committee to focus on portion control as a key strategy to address the rise of obesity.

“Unfortunately, while the current version of the Dietary Guidelines mentions portion size – it appears to be mostly an afterthought among the various strategies to improve diets and fight obesity,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “Portion balance is not mentioned in the guidelines’ executive summary; this is despite the fact that larger portion sizes have greatly contributed to the problem of overweight and obesity.”

Nationally, 39.6 percent of adults and 18.5 percent of children were considered obese in 2015-2016, the most recent period for which NHANES data were available. These figures represent the highest percentages ever documented and obesity rates are projected to affect half of all adults, or 115 million adults, by the year 2030. There are also substantial economic losses associated with obesity. The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the United States was $147 billion in 2008 U.S. dollars; the medical cost for people who have obesity was $1,429 higher than those of normal weight. 

“One promising, and we think underutilized, strategy for tackling the obesity epidemic is helping consumers understand and implement appropriate portion control,” said Greenberg. “This simple step to improving public health should not be marginalized in the forthcoming edition of the Guidelines; rather it should be one of the key points stressed by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and form a cornerstone of the Dietary Guidelines.”

NCL’s full testimony is available here (PDF).

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Three reasons scientists believe bugs are the next beef

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Shaunice Wall is NCL’s Linda Golodner Food Safety and Nutrition Fellow

There’s a thin line between hunger and disgust when deep-fried tarantulas and smoked barbeque crickets are on the menu. Many scientists argue that animal protein is not environmentally sustainable, so alternatives–like bugs–may be the answer to the perils of global warming. Recent research supports eating bugs as a way to maintain a protein-rich diet while benefiting the environment.

Infographic comparing the water, feed, and land needs of cattle against the same needs for bugs farming

Why bugs are slowly crawling into our everyday diets

As the world population continues to grow, so will demand for animal protein. By 2050, we’ll be eating more than two-thirds the animal protein we do today, causing a strain to our planet’s resources. The surge in demand for animal protein has also contributed to an increase in greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide). These gases lead to extreme weather conditions, ozone depletion, increased danger of wildland fires, loss of biodiversity, stresses to food-producing systems and the global spread of infectious diseases. Even today, climate changes are estimated to cause over 150,000 deaths annually.

Most westerners prefer beef over bugs

While many of us westerners may gag at the thought of maggots in our sausage, more than 2 billion people throughout the world have been eating bugs as a regular part of their diets for millennia. But historically, for westerners, livestock not only yields meat, but also milk and milk products, their hides or skins provide warmth, they are suitable for plough traction, and act as a means of transport. Because of the use of these animals, the benefits of eating insects in many societies has failed to gain much interest. Also, certain insects are transmitters of disease and are virtually a nuisance.

So, why should we eat bugs?

In 2013, a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, urged global citizens to eat more bugs for three reasons:

  1. They’re healthier for you…and tasty too!
    • Bugs are a healthy, nutritious alternative to mainstream staples such as chicken, pork, beef, and fish (from ocean catch).
    • Many insects are rich in protein, good fats, and high in calcium, iron, and zinc.
    • Insects already form a traditional part of many regional and national diets.
    • Bugs can be used as an ingredient substitute for almost any recipe. Here’s a link with ideas on how to make some delicious bug treats!
  2. They’re safer for the environment
    • Bugs promoted as food emit 75 percent fewer greenhouse gases (GHGs) than most livestock.
    • Insect rearing is not necessarily a land-based activity and does not require as much land as livestock.
    • Because they are cold-blooded, insects are efficient at converting feed into protein (crickets, for example, need 12 times less feed than cattle, four times less feed than sheep, and half as much feed as pigs and broiler chickens to produce the same amount of protein).
    • According to the Harvard Political Review, producing one pound of beef requires 10 pounds of feed, 1,000 gallons of water, and 200 square feet of pasture. In contrast, producing one pound of insects only requires two pounds of feed, one gallon of water, and two cubic feet of land space.
  3. They’re lower in cost
    • Bug harvesting/rearing is a low-tech, low-capital investment option that offers economic opportunities to all levels of society.
    • Insect rearing can be low-tech or very sophisticated, depending on the level of investment.

Recent advances in research and development show edible bugs to be a promising alternative to meat for both human consumption and as feedstock. But to make this a reality, regulatory frameworks for safety and nutrition will need to be developed and government, industry, and academia will need to work together.

In the meanwhile, knowing the benefits can help turn disgust to hunger when tarantulas or crickets appear on the menu… Something to think about!