On average, eating healthy costs about $1.50 more per day than the least healthy diets, according to a new study. The extra cost seems insignificant at first — a small cup of coffee often costs more — but it all adds up to be a considerable barrier for many low-income families.
There are few factors that shape a person’s health as strongly and predictably as income. And while enforcing wage and labor laws may at first seem outside the purview of public health agencies, Rajiv Bhatia adamantly disagrees. In fact, he says that public health may wield the most persuasive stick in town.
Environmental Health
Flavoring chemicals may taste yummy but still damaging lungs of workers making food
A recently published study demonstrates (again) the serious risk to workers’ health when exposed to common food-flavoring agents. The risk has been known for more than a decade. It’s just another example of our ineffective systems for protecting workers, consumers and the environment from chemical hazards.
Environmental Health
Thanksgiving turkey gets Presidential pardon – Turkey workers, however, can’t get a break
As Americans prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday and the White House gets ready for President Obama to pardon the National Thanksgiving Turkey in a Rose Garden ceremony on Wednesday November 27 that will “reflect upon the time-honored traditions of Thanksgiving,” let us take a moment to reflect upon the welfare of the men and women […]
Food Safety & Nutrition
Poultry industry says it’s being “framed as poster boy for unsafe workplaces”
The poultry industry must have its head stuck in the chicken coop. With Thanksgiving nearly upon us, the industry is trying to convince the public that poultry-processing plants are great places to earn a living. The facts tell us something different.
This week, Houston became only the second major city in the U.S. South to pass a law to prevent and punish wage theft. It’s a major victory for all workers, but it’s especially significant for the city’s low-wage workers, who lose an estimated $753.2 million every year because of wage theft.
At least 1.7 million US workers are exposed to respirable crystalline silica each year, this according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). These exposures occur in a variety of industries, among them construction, sandblasting, mining, masonry, stone and quarry work, and in the rapidly expanding method of oil and gas extraction […]
While homelessness among U.S. veterans is on the decline, significant housing challenges remain, according to a new report from the National Low-Income Housing Coalition.
APHA Annual Meeting
Amid minimum-wage votes and Walmart strikes, APHA OHS section honors workplace-safety champions
At the 141st meeting of the American Public Health Association (APHA) held last week in Boston, the organization’s Occupational Health & Safety section honored the achievements of some extraordinarily dedicated individuals and organizations whose efforts have been advancing workplace safety. While these awards are typically most meaningful to others in the field, events taking place […]
The scheming by Jackson Kelly attorneys to deny coal miners with black lung disease modest compensation is immoral. If coal companies are sincere about their workers being their “most precious resource,” they should dump the law firm.