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Managua makes Top 100 outsourcing destinations

As a general rule, Managua gets better looking the farther away you get. But a leading advisory firm for global outsourcing and investment says Nicaragua?s homely capital deserves a closer look.

Thanks to improved infrastructure, competitive costs, a skilled bilingual workforce and an attractive geographical location, Managua has moved its way onto Tholons? list of Top 100 Outsourcing Destinations in the world. According to the referential list, Managua ranks 95 in the world?one notch above Guatemala City, which also makes its first appearance on Tholons? 2013 index.

The BPO industry has employs nearly 5,000 Nicaraguans, according to ProNicaragua (photo/ ProNicaragua)

The only other Central American country represented on the list is Costa Rica, whose capital city ranks 15^th in the world, up five spots from last year. Neither Honduras nor El Salvador?two of Nicaragua?s biggest competitors in the global outsourcing market?made Tholons? ranking.

India and the Philippines dominated the top 10 spots on the global outsourcing destination list, with Bangalore, India claiming the title as outsourcing capital of the world.

But Nicaragua is now on the map and getting its due as an up-and-comer in the industry.

??With major players such as Sitel, 24/7 Customer and Stream Global Services, Managua has nearly 4,000 FTEs (call center employees) delivering bilingual contact support services,? Tholons reports.

The challenge for the two Central American newcomers will be to keep their spots on Tholons? list by improving their perceptions abroad?something Nicaragua is already working on.

??These two new entrants (Guatemala and Nicaragua) in the Top 100 List have to be more cautious in maintaining a facilitative business environment,? Tholons warns. ?Nicaragua faces negative perceptions on its political stability, while Guatemala will need to work on improving its natural risk perceptions.?

Javier Chamorro, executive director of Nicaragua?s investment-promotion agency ProNicaragua, which is spearheading national efforts to improve the country?s image abroad, says Nicaragua is satisfied with its recognition as an emerging industry player. Nicaragua?s initial call-center growth spurt?25 companies have set up shop here and employed nearly 5,000 Nicaraguans over the past seven years?has been impressive and augurs well for the future of the business process outsourcing industry here.

?Being listed in the Top 100 Outsourcing Destinations implies that international experts in the industry recognize the country as a world-renowned destination for outsourcing, still above other countries in the region such as El Salvador and Guatemala, which started developing the sector years before Nicaragua,? Chamorro told The Nicaragua Dispatch. ??This means that the country is attracting the right attention and stands out as an emerging destination due to the excellent investment opportunities it offers to companies looking to expand their operations and increase their global competitiveness.?

ProNicaragua?s Javier Chamorro (photo/ Tim Rogers)

And when it comes to global competitiveness, Nicaragua has several advantages of its own, Chamorro says.

?Among the country?s main competitive advantages for the sector is its strategic location, close to the largest outsourcing market in the world, the U.S.,? Chamorro says.

Plus, he adds, Nicaragua has a young and vibrant workforce that ?not only speaks good quality English, but has a cultural affinity with the market due to the ?reverse brain drain? phenomenon, which refers to people who left the country in the past and have returned to Nicaragua with English skills and market knowledge.?

The country?s ?greatest advantages,? however, are its cheap labor costs and generous tax incentives for outsourcing.

?It is because of this that Nicaragua is able to compete with the global players in the industry, as it offers lower costs with a near shore location, allowing it to provide timely services to the United States without losing valuable working hours,? Chamorro says.

Keeping the pot boiling

As Nicaragua continues to make a reputation for itself as an attractive destination for outsourcing, the country will be challenged to meet the growing demand for bilingual personnel to staff its call centers.

The government, in conjunction with the National Free Zone Commission (CNZF) and the Inter-American Development Bank, has established a special capacity-building program aimed at identifying and training a young bilingual workforce to staff the call center industry. The program, known as ?Opportunity Builder,? is scheduled to start its training program in the coming months with an initial incoming class of 600 young professionals.

ProNicaragua also continues to organized industry events to promote the country as a destination for outsourcing. Chamorro says ProNicaragua will be hosting an investment forum at the end of the year to showcase Nicaragua to leading BPO companies worldwide.

Next: Part II: Opportunity Builder recruits local talent from Nicaragua?s Pacific and Atlantic coasts to keep the call center industry growing.

Source: http://www.nicaraguadispatch.com/news/2013/01/managua-makes-top-100-outsourcing-destinations/6531

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California Intends to Declare BPA a Reproductive Health Hazard

California today is announcing its intent to declare bisphenol A a reproductive hazard. Under a state law known as Prop. 65, items that contain a certain level of BPA would need warning signs for consumers. Pictured: California's Sacramento State Capitol Image: Flickr/Franco Folini

California today is announcing its intent to declare bisphenol A a reproductive hazard.

Under a state law known as Prop. 65, warning signs would be required for consumer items that contain a certain high level of BPA. BPA is used to make polycarbonate plastic, and also is found in liners of food and beverage cans and some thermal receipts.

Scientists say BPA is an estrogen-like substance that can alter reproductive hormones. California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment said it based its decision to list BPA as a Prop. 65 chemical on a 2008 report by the National Toxicology Program.

?"Bisphenol A meets the criteria for listing as known to the State to cause reproductive toxicity (developmental endpoint) under Proposition 65, based on findings of NTP [the National Toxicology Program]," according to the state agency.

"OEHHA is relying on the NTP?s conclusion in the report that there is clear evidence of adverse developmental effects in laboratory animals at 'high' levels of exposure," according to the state's decision.

The decision was based on laboratory tests by scientists that have shown effects on the body weight and reproductive development of the pups of pregnant rats and mice exposed to high levels of BPA.

The state agency is proposing to set an acceptable level of exposure that is considered fairly high, 290 micrograms per day. As a result, Sarah Janssen of the Natural Resources Defense Council wrote on her blog that the decision ?is not likely to trigger any warning labels on canned food or beverages.? The same is probably true for receipts and most other consumer products.

"However," she added, "a listing alone is quite significant and makes official what parents have known for years ? BPA is harmful and should be avoided."

Plastics and chemical manufacturers say the compound, which has been used in polycarbonate plastic for 50 years, is safe at levels people are exposed to

The intent of the law, passed by voters in 1986, is to require manufacturers to warn consumers whenever a chemical is used that has been linked to cancer or reproductive effects. In some cases, companies decide to avoid using the compound rather than put up warning signs in stores or other public places.

BPA already has been banned from baby bottles, and removed from most hard-shell water bottles. It also has been replaced with another chemical in most thermal receipts, although that chemical, known as BPS, also has been linked to estrogen-like effects.

The state agency will accept public comments for one month before making a final decision listing BPA.

This article originally ran at Environmental Health News, a news source published by Environmental Health Sciences, a nonprofit media company.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=a15b862d2e2c6727203a0ec7697e1170

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Homeschooling Requirements | Reference & Education Skypnosis ...

Taking into consideration the compensation that homeschooling offers, a lot of parents are looking send on to it as a suitable selection for educating their brood. Preparatory a home-made train is no uncertainty a challenging chore for the reason that you could do with to supply your rib each and every one individuals services that are fondly set cheery in a freely available train. You moreover could do with to abide by the laws implemented for homeschooling and the criterion of your learning ought to be in par with the official chain schools.

Parents permanently aspire to supply the unsurpassed capital to their kids, so that they suit fondly authorized. While, the belief of educating your kids exclusively beneath your protection is horrendous, homeschooling entails a proportion of responsibilities. At the outset, you requirement be mentally organized to deduct cheery this challenge and then proceed slowly to kind it a star. We shall account for you the a good number of great consequence homeschooling rations in excess of at this time.

1. Contract the Laws

You ought to be fondly experienced of the laws obligatory by the Official a propos homeschooling. In selected states, the laws are incredibly stringent and next the policy enforced by the lawful federation is mandatory. The laws be valid to the reasoning of training, the attendance of your kids, qualification of parents, the subjects being skilled, conducting exams and twelve-monthly news. Along these lines, you could do with to consult a lawful advisory federation in the past locale cheery a homeschooling. On the obstinate, in selected states nearby are no policy at each and every one for establishing a home-made train.

2. Qualification of Parents

You ought to be fondly authorized to educate your brood. The itinerary and program ought to be in conjunction with that followed by normal schools. You ought to moreover be accustomed with the training methodologies. The chore becomes hard as your son grows and reaches a upper grade. You could do with to upgrade your training abilities constantly so that your brood do not be in front of slightly stumbling block. Having a fjord learning in all branch of learning is not in your ambit. Along these lines, you tin can hire teachers (remunerated or voluntary) for the drive of training your kids the subjects in which you do not have a great deal enfold. You ought to offer as much as necessary phase to your kids to kind the training sessions of use. And bear in mind, that drawn teachers could do with to do a proportion of grounding to meet the expectations of their students.

3. Requisitions for the Train

You desire beyond doubt aspire your rib to prevail on each and every one the privileges that a normal train provides. This chore is simply accomplished when your rib is in sink grades. Goods textbooks according to the program unquestionable by you. Moreover supply them notebooks, pencils, pens and new resources that are de rigueur period studying. The train ought to be equipped with computers, laptops and Internet association, as they have suit obligatory at the moment. These are selected critical clothes that a home-made train requirement have. You tin can moreover set cheery plasma screens, boards and a files. Constructing a lab indoors the train ought to be ready beneath the guidance of a lab instructor who is fondly skilled with the interior frame and security guidelines of a lab.

4. Implementing the Train Curriculum

Maintaining correct indoors the train is the a good number of great consequence face to ponder. The policy tin can be any enforced as for each the official laws or you tin can put into practice your admit guidelines. You ought to examine your rib through category hours and you requirement make sure that he does his grounding on normal base. Conduct normal tests and interactive sessions to discovery not in whether he is contract the subjects being skilled to him. Exams, exhibitions and assignment moving parts ought to be an twelve-monthly thing that would donate to the promotion of your rib to the upper grade. You ought to moreover avow a profile of his attendance and accomplishment indoors the category.

Your point of view towards enchanting cheery this challenge matters a proportion to do star. Ponder your fiscal situation in the past creation slightly evaluation and you tin can moreover set about to new home-made train organizations for primary corroborate. Give it a go your degree unsurpassed to disclose the unsurpassed attribute of learning to your rib, that would corroborate beneficial to him in the upcoming.

Source: http://skypnosis.us/homeschooling-requirements.html

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Source: http://lester5319.typepad.com/blog/2013/01/homeschooling-requirements-reference-education-skypnosis.html

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WellPoint expects states to expand Medicaid

(Reuters) - A top U.S. insurance industry executive on Wednesday predicted that most states will agree to expand their Medicaid programs under President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, despite opposition from more than a dozen Republican governors.

"In the long run, the economic benefits to the states will be such that most states will eventually expand Medicaid," said Richard Zoretic, the executive vice president who oversees Medicaid programs at WellPoint Inc., the-second largest U.S. health insurer.

"We'll see significant growth not just in 2014, but beyond in this space," he said during a conference call with analysts to discuss the company's fourth-quarter earnings.

His prediction comes at a time when about 15 state governors are weighing whether to participate in the dramatic expansion of the Medicaid program for the poor advocated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

At least 22 governors, including four Republicans, already have decided to back the plan, which would commit the current uneven patchwork of state-run Medicaid programs to a federal standard providing health coverage to most low-income Americans earning up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $24,000 for a family of three. Thirteen Republican state governors oppose the plan as a costly and unnecessary government expansion.

But a 50-state survey released on Wednesday by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation showed wide gaps in the current Medicaid program, which is expected to spend more than $490 billion this year.

Eligibility for parents is limited on average to those earning no more than 61 percent of the federal poverty line, which equals about $19,000 a year for a family of three. Thirty-three states required parents to earn less than the poverty rate, with 16 restricting eligibility to less than 50 percent.

Nine states extended full Medicaid coverage to adults without dependent children, while three states, Hawaii, Illinois and Minnesota, reduced eligibility for adults where it was not required by federal rules.

Medicaid, which is run by states with federal funding and oversight, represents a major budget expenditure for state governments. Many have sought to curtail program expenses in recent years because of fiscal constraints imposed by the recession and a slow economic recovery.

Benefits and eligibility can vary widely from state to state, with many limiting Medicaid coverage to defined groups, including children and their parents, pregnant women, the very old and people suffering from certain health conditions.

MOUNTING PUBLIC PRESSURE?

Officials in states that have not opted to join the expansion face intensive pressure from the healthcare industry, which stands to gain millions of new customers. Medicaid currently serves about 60 million people and those ranks could swell by 16 million if all U.S. states participate in the expansion.

WellPoint has made a more than $4 billion bet on the expansion of Medicaid with its 2012 purchase of smaller health insurer Amerigroup. It now offers Medicaid plans in 20 states and expects to gain marketshare where Medicaid expands.

State officials could also face mounting public pressure to participate in the expansion, according to a poll released on Tuesday by the American Cancer Society, which favors expansion. It found that large majorities of registered voters in seven states favor accepting the federal subsidies that would fund expansion. Five of the seven states - Florida, Kentucky, Iowa, Michigan and New Jersey - are undecided. The two others are Texas, which opposes expansion, and New Mexico, whose Republican governor supports it.

The Obama administration's chief officer for Medicaid said the program has made years of progress in enrollment and will become more accessible next year under the reform law, even in states that do not participate in the coming expansion.

"As enrollment barriers are eliminated, participation rates of eligible people increases and the uninsured rate for individuals declines," Medicaid director Cindy Mann said at an event marking the Kaiser survey's release.

Even as state Medicaid programs fail to reach large numbers of the country's poor, Kaiser reported that nearly all states are pressing forward with federally funded technological improvements to streamline their Medicaid enrollment systems and provide online access under the healthcare law.

As of January 1, 37 states had an online application for Medicaid or the federal program for children, up four from a year earlier. Twenty-eight states now allow families to renew their benefits online, an increase of eight since the start of 2012.

"On balance, states made more positive improvements than adverse changes (in 2012), often capitalizing on technology to gain administrative efficiencies and reduce paperwork," the Kaiser survey said.

(Editing by Andre Grenon, Leslie Gevirtz and Dan Grebler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kaiser-study-finds-medicaid-coverage-gaps-u-states-145351365.html

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American dietitians, big 'food' companies & conflict of interest

I obviously follow like minded people on twitter because one item has dominated my timeline over the past 24 hours. Michele Simon, author of the brilliant book Appetite for Profit, has written a report called ?And now a word from our sponsors. Are America?s nutritional professionals in the pocket of Big Food?? I have no doubt whatsoever that they are.

In my 2010 book The Obesity Epidemic: What caused it? How can we stop it? the most shocking discovery in three years of research was captured in Chapter 15 of the book ? simply called ?Conflicts of interest.? The opening to that chapter forms the major part of this blog and is in blue below.

Appendix 1 to Michele Simon?s report quotes four Registered Dietitians (RDs) who express concern at being part of an organisation in bed with big ?food?. The American Dietetic Association (ADA) is now called The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND). You may spot an irony with this as this post unfolds ? the former ADA is trying to own the term nutrition while suppressing all nutritionists. The Appendix reveals that Carla is not a member of AND; Aaron was a member until 2013; Heidi has also left the organization and Denise is thinking about leaving. My timeline has been full of support for these pioneers in standing up to their professional body. I think a large issue has been overlooked.

If you read the extract from my book below you will see how a monopoly in dietary advice has been given to dietitians in America. This is how the big ?food? companies can get their return on their investment ? make sure that only dietitians are allowed to advise 300 million people and make sure we have them representing our interests. Did the ADA fund the legislation necessary to eliminate non-dietitians from the debate on healthy eating? Or did the funding come from the $467 BILLION in the kitty of the ADA friends?

If RDs in America really want to stand up for what is right they will also recognise the benefit that sleeping with the enemy has given them. While Denise is debating whether or not to leave AND, is she prepared to relinquish her monopoly position as a nutritional advisor? Is she prepared to return to a level playing field where advice shall stand or fall on the evidence ? whether that evidence comes from a registered dietitian, nutritionist or even a blogger who has done some independent research?

A couple of RDs saying that they don?t think Coca-Cola is a suitable partner does not impress me. When every RD in America leaves the AND and embraces open, evidence based debate on what really does count as healthy eating ? then I?ll be impressed.

Fiction or fact?

Imagine you are a multi billion dollar food/drink company. Your stakeholders are essentially customers, employees and shareholders. The company needs to grow ? growth means more returns for shareholders and employees may also benefit from higher returns. For real growth (beyond price inflation), you need any, or ideally all, of the following options: existing customers to buy more current products; existing customers to buy new products; new customers to buy current products and new customers to buy new products ? and that is generally recognised to be the order of difficulty.

Unless a private company, you have to report quarterly to world markets and your financial position is affected every time you do this and hence you are under continuous pressure to meet, if not exceed, expectations (you have to manage expectations very carefully, however, as exceeding them establishes a new norm). You are also doing none of this in isolation ? you have competitors who also want to grow. In fact they want to grow faster than you, so that they can get a better financial position from an influx of investors keen to benefit from their dividends.

The fact that real growth can never be sustained seems to have been overlooked by financial markets and investors. If the Top 10 listed companies in the USA were countries, with their revenue equating to GDP, they would fall into the range occupied by the Top 55 countries in the world.[i] America?s largest company, Wal-Mart, was noted in the 2010 Fortune 500 list as having a revenue figure of $408 billion. According to the International Monetary Fund list of companies by GDP, Wal-Mart would knock Sweden out of 22^nd place on the world ranking. The compound interest calculation tells us that just 3.5% sales growth a year (a ?reasonable? shareholder expectation) would double the company revenue every 20 years.

So, expectations are unreasonable, you need growth and the last thing you want is anything that can threaten current revenue, let alone future developments. As a food/drink manufacturer you cannot afford to have any public health advice going against any of your products or planned developments. This would be disastrous. It would be really helpful in fact if public health advice could be promoting your products ? this would be idyllic. PepsiCo, the top company on the food consumer products Fortune 500 list, would surely welcome universal low calorie advice to be reiterated. Pepsi Max, Diet Pepsi ? you have many options to satisfy this want ? even cherry flavour. Kellogg?s, sixth on the Food Consumer Products Fortune 500 list, would no doubt be thrilled to hear the public being told to eat breakfast. Even better that the public are actively told to avoid bacon and eggs and thus (sugary) cereal becomes the normal start to the day.

It would be really helpful for food/drink companies if the public received a consistent message (supporting your products). That USA food pyramid?is just great for a cereal company ? five to eight ounces of grains per day and three cups of milk ? cereal is surely the easiest way to get those. The UK ?eatwell? plate?even has a box of cornflakes on it ? branded (Kellogg?s) in some versions. ?Base your meals on starchy foods?. Even the confectionery and soft drink producers have nothing to complain about ? the ?eatwell? plate has that great 8% segment (let?s round it to 10% ? that?s a good 200-250 calories a day for us). The USA government ?allows? the same with the discretionary calories covered in Chapter Thirteen. This is terrific stuff.

But, irritatingly, there are rogue traders ? nutritionists who tend to (quite outrageously) care about nutrition and the nutritional quality of things that we put in to our bodies. Many of them are telling people to avoid processed foods and sugar. Fitness instructors are telling people to avoid refined carbohydrates and to only eat whole grains, heaven forbid. Even chiropractors, for goodness sake, are advising people to avoid processed food, especially carbohydrates, to lose weight and ease the burden on joints and frames. This must stop.

Imagine then if you could contain dietary advice ? particularly all access to public health advice ? to one organisation. If only that one dietary organisation could have a monopoly on all dietary advice. Wouldn?t it be great if laws were passed so that no nutritionists, chiropractors, or any other qualified therapists could provide advice or run a practice ? that only the members of one dietary association could do this. How much easier things would be if food and drink companies could then sponsor just that one organisation and try to ensure that only the ?right? messages got out?

The plot for the next John Grisham novel? Sadly not. This is reality in 46 of the 50 States of America.

The American experience

The Commission on Dietetic Registration?(CDR) is the credentialing agency for the American Dietetic Association?(ADA).[ii]

Their mission statement is ?CDR protects the public through credentialing and assessment processes that assure the competence of registered dietitians and dietetic technicians, registered.?[iii]

The vision statement is ?The nation recognizes seeks out and relies on competent CDR credentialed registered dietitians and dietetic technicians, registered, for food and nutrition expertise.?

The CDR was formed in 1969. In 1976 the ADA constitution was amended to allow for registration separate from Association membership (this ensured that all dietitians would be part of the movement going forward, by virtue of being a dietitian rather than needing to be a paid up member of the ADA). In 1984 the first registration eligibility reciprocity agreement was signed with the Canadian Dietetic Association. In 1991 registration eligibility reciprocity was extended to foreign countries whose goals were comparable to CDR?s. In 1992 the first such agreement was signed with the Dutch Association of Dietitians. In 1995 the CDR filed registration eligibility requirements and reciprocity agreements with the USA Trade Representative Office and World Trade Organization. By 2010, 79,411 dietitians were registered with the CDR.

At the time of writing this book, 46 out of the 50 States of America have passed laws to regulate who is able to provide nutritional advice through licensure, statutory certification or registration. The full list of which states have passed each level of restriction is published in Appendix 4.[iv]

The most restrictive level is Licensing ? where statutes include an explicitly defined scope of practice and performance of the profession is illegal without first obtaining a license from the state. Nonlicensed practitioners may be subject to prosecution for practicing without a license. 35 states have gone for this highest level of legislation. 25 of these 35 bills were standard ADA bills ? the statute has clearly been submitted by the ADA to establish the monopoly position of their dietitian members. Of the 35 states that have passed bills for licensing regulations, 16 have stated that only dietitians can practise in the field of nutrition. Nutritionists may no longer do so. They must retrain as dietitians and become members of the ADA and be recognised by the CDR, or face prosecution. This is clear monopoly practice.

In nine states, nutritionists have been allowed to continue to do their jobs in accordance with their professional qualifications. However, the precise qualifications deemed acceptable have been narrowly defined by the state and many have added an additional requirement to complete 900 hours work under the supervision of a dietitian. This is insulting and restrictive.

A further 10 licensed states have also granted monopoly rights to dietitians, as their statutes use the terms dietitian and nutritionist, interchangeably, but to mean dietitian ? defined as a dietitian, again, registered with the ADA and CDR. As an example of legislative clauses, here are some extracts from the Tennessee statute:

-??? ?American Dietetic Association?? When the acronym A.D.A. appears in these rules it is intended to mean American Dietetic Association?.

-??? ?Dietitian and Nutritionist ? A licensed health care professional practicing dietetics/nutrition. ?Dietitian? or ?nutritionist? may be used interchangeably.?

-??? ?Registered Dietitian (R.D.) ? A person who is currently registered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration?of the American Dietetic Association.?

-??? ?It is unlawful for any person who is not licensed in the manner prescribed in T.C.A. ?? 63-25-101, et seq., to represent himself as a dietitian or a nutritionist or to hold himself out to the public as being licensed by means of using a title on signs, mailboxes, address plates, stationery, announcements, telephone listings, calling cards, or other instruments of professional identification or to use such titles as ?dietitian/nutritionist?, ?licensed dietitian?, ?licensed nutritionist? or such letters as ?L.D.N L.D.? or ?L.N.??[v]

This makes the law very clear ? these statutes serve to meet the requirements of the ADA i.e. thou shall be a dietitian registered by the CDR of the ADA, or thou shall be prosecuted.

The second level down is Statutory certification ? which limits use of particular titles (e.g. dietitian or nutritionist) to persons meeting predetermined requirements, while persons not certified can still practice the occupation or profession. Ten states have opted for statutory certification.

One state, California, has opted for Registration, which is the least restrictive form of state regulation. As with certification, unregistered persons are permitted to practise the profession.

Four states, Arizona, Colorado, New Jersey and Wyoming have, thus far, refused to pass the ADA sponsored legislation.

Dietitians in America, therefore, enjoy a unique monopoly position and they have unfettered access to hospitals, schools, large institutions, prisons ? all public health diet advice. When Michelle Obama?launched her childhood obesity initiative, at the United States conference of mayors on 20 January 2010, she said that mayors were key to making the plan work. In subsequent speeches, no mention of mayors was made. Perhaps someone had explained to the First Lady that mayors were not allowed to help with dietary programmes. As a result of the legislation passed by previous government, that was the domain of dietitians. Thanks to the elimination of, or at least strict control over, nutritional practice, in over ninety percent of the States in America, dietitians also have sole access to private health advice. So, it is critical for us to know who is behind this monopolistic advice.

The partners of the American Dietetic Association?(ADA) are as follows.[vi] The 2008 or 2009 revenue figures, for each sponsor, are alongside:[vii]

-??? Aramark (a ?dining away from home? company) ? $12.3 billion;

-??? Coca-Cola ? $31.4 billion;

-??? GlaxoSmithKline ? $45.2 billion (not listed on the web site, but listed in the 2008 ADA annual report);

-??? National Dairy Council ? The National Dairy Council is the nutrition research, education and communications arm of Dairy Management Incorporated. (All but one of the current spokespeople for the organisation is a registered dietitian);

-??? PepsiCo ? $44.3 billion;

-??? Unilever (including spreads) ? $55.8 billion (using a Euro dollar exchange of 1.4 for this Anglo Dutch company).

The premium sponsors of the American Dietetic Association?(ADA) are as follows:

-??? Abbott Nutrition (infant formulas, nutrition bars etc) ? parent company revenue was $30.8 billion;

-??? Corowise (including products designed to lower cholesterol) ? parent company, Cargill, revenue was $116.6 billion;

-??? General Mills (?the world?s sixth largest food company?) ? $14.9 billion;

-??? Kellogg?s ? $12.7 billion;

-??? Mars ? $30 billion;

-??? McNeil Nutritionals (makers of Splenda sweeteners) ? the revenue of the parent company, Johnson & Johnson, was $63.8 billion;

-??? SoyJoy (sugared cereal bars) ? the revenue of the parent company, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, was $9.2 billion (on the web site, but not in the 2008 annual report);

-??? Truvia (sweetener) ? the parent company is Cargill, as above (on the ADA web site, but not in the 2008 annual report).

That adds up to $467 billion worth of revenue amongst a dozen organisations that sponsor the ADA.

There are also event sponsors listed in the 2008 annual report:

-??? American Beverage Association, formerly the National Soft Drink Association ? this is the ?voice? of the soft drink industry ? Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are members, as examples;

-??? ConAgra Foods ? producers of an assortment of processed foods for stores, restaurant and food service establishments;

-??? Post Cereals ? a cereal manufacturer;

-??? Safeway ? grocery retailer.

There is also mention in the 2008 annual report of funding from the Grocery Manufacturers Association. Finally, the annual report thanks donors who made gifts of $10,000 or more to support research, education and public awareness initiatives: Abbott Nutrition; Almond Board of California; American Council for Fitness and Nutrition; Aramark; The Beef Checkoff, through the National Cattlemen?s Beef Association; The Coca-Cola Company; Colgate Palmolive; Consultant Dietitians in Health Care Facilities DPG; Corowise brand; Dietitians in Nutrition Support DPG; Ecolab Inc.; Ensure; General Mills; GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare; Kellogg Company; Kraft Foods; Mars, Incorporated; McNeil Nutritionals, LLC; Mead Johnson Nutritionals; National Dairy Council; PepsiCo; Unilever and Washington State Dietetic Association.

For the year ending 31 May 2008, total revenue for the ADA was just short of $32 million. $2.7 million was noted as coming from sponsorship. I have no idea how much it costs to sponsor legislation in 46 states across America. More than a couple of millions I suspect. Lobbying may have been funded directly from partner/sponsor organisations, but this is not about a forensic exercise in multi billion dollar balance sheets. This is about two thoughts to put to you:

1)? What do the American Dietetic Association?and their partner/sponsor organisations from the food, drink and drug industries stand to gain from this legislation?

2)? What does America and its 309 million citizens stand to lose?

?

---

[i] 2010 ?Fortune 500? Report and International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database, April 2010: Nominal GDP list of countries, (data for the year 2009).

[ii] http://www.cdrnet.org/about/index.htm

[iii] Please note that the UK uses dietician and dietitian interchangeably. The USA more consistently uses just dietitian and I have used the American spelling for uniformity throughout the book.

[iv] http://www.cdrnet.org/certifications/licensure/index.htm and http://www.anh-usa.org/playing-monopoly-with-our-health/

[v] Tennessee regulations: http://www.state.tn.us/sos/rules/0470/0470-01.pdf

[vi] http://www.eatright.org/HealthProfessionals/content.aspx?id=7454&terms=sponsors (please note this page moved during the writing of this book, so you may need to go to the main ADA web site, eatright.org and enter ?sponsors?). The 2008 Annual report was also used, as not all partners and sponsors were listed on the web site.

[vii] Revenue figures were obtained from on line reports: wikinvest.com; finance.yahoo.com and bizjournals.com.

Source: http://www.zoeharcombe.com/2013/01/american-dietitians-big-food-companies-conflict-of-interest/

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?The Ultimate Fighter? season premiere talkback thread

After last season's ratings were disappointing, the UFC and FX are going for broke with the latest season of "The Ultimate Fighter." The show was moved to Tuesday nights, and the UFC made a championship fight between Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen, who is coming off a loss at middleweight. Sonnen, whose trash talk borders on WWE antics, will coach a team against Jones' team. At the end of the season, they are scheduled to fight at UFC 159.

The show debuts at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday night with a two-hour premiere. Are you planning to tune in? Here's your spot to talk about the show. Speak up in the comments or on Cagewriter's Facebook page.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ultimate-fighter-season-premiere-talkback-thread-221833514--mma.html

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