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food / travel

McDonald's Provides Nutrition Advice In German Schools

SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG (Germany)

Worldcrunch

BERLIN - What better way to help educate kids on healthy eating than with some Big-Mac-And-Large-Fries-sponsored lessons!?

This special sauce comes courtesy of a German non-profit, that has called on McDonald's to be one of the sponsors for a new government-sanctioned program to provide nutrition education in schools, writes Süddeutsche Zeitung.

The "Alliance for Consumer Education" is the brainchild of the German Consumer Protection Foundation, and was presented to the public this week in Berlin by the Minister for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Ilse Aigner.

"The nutrition education of young children cannot be left to the food industry,” said German consumer activist group Foodwatch.

Are they serious? Julian Fischer, the Alliance’s CEO, said it was clear to him that associating McDonald’s with an initiative to improve kids’ diets would spark immediate criticism. But that was part of the point: tired of campaigning in vain for media coverage or public interest for the organization's nutritional initiatives, Fischer said this idea was to bring in heavyweight partners who carry real clout -- and maybe even court controversy.

McDonald's brings some publicity to the foundation, some money (although Fischer described its contribution as “relatively modest”) as well as some influence. It, in turn, benefits from being associated with a health promotion effort, Suddeutsche reports.

A McDonald’s spokesman, Philipp Wachholz, described its commitment to healthy nutrition for children as “a contribution, as a responsible company in the food industry, to society.” The company would not be involved in the hands-on education programs in schools, he said.

Foodwatch, however, said that industry players like McDonald’s can't be allowed to sponsor initiatives of social responsibility while maintaining their core business that are “making huge profits pushing junk food at kids,” Fischer said.

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Green

Forest Networks? Revisiting The Science Of Trees And Funghi "Reaching Out"

A compelling story about how forest fungal networks communicate has garnered much public interest. Is any of it true?

Thomas Brail films the roots of a cut tree with his smartphone.

Arborist and conservationist Thomas Brail at a clearcutting near his hometown of Mazamet in the Tarn, France.

Melanie Jones, Jason Hoeksema, & Justine Karst

Over the past few years, a fascinating narrative about forests and fungi has captured the public imagination. It holds that the roots of neighboring trees can be connected by fungal filaments, forming massive underground networks that can span entire forests — a so-called wood-wide web. Through this web, the story goes, trees share carbon, water, and other nutrients, and even send chemical warnings of dangers such as insect attacks. The narrative — recounted in books, podcasts, TV series, documentaries, and news articles — has prompted some experts to rethink not only forest management but the relationships between self-interest and altruism in human society.

But is any of it true?

The three of us have studied forest fungi for our whole careers, and even we were surprised by some of the more extraordinary claims surfacing in the media about the wood-wide web. Thinking we had missed something, we thoroughly reviewed 26 field studies, including several of our own, that looked at the role fungal networks play in resource transfer in forests. What we found shows how easily confirmation bias, unchecked claims, and credulous news reporting can, over time, distort research findings beyond recognition. It should serve as a cautionary tale for scientists and journalists alike.

First, let’s be clear: Fungi do grow inside and on tree roots, forming a symbiosis called a mycorrhiza, or fungus-root. Mycorrhizae are essential for the normal growth of trees. Among other things, the fungi can take up from the soil, and transfer to the tree, nutrients that roots could not otherwise access. In return, fungi receive from the roots sugars they need to grow.

As fungal filaments spread out through forest soil, they will often, at least temporarily, physically connect the roots of two neighboring trees. The resulting system of interconnected tree roots is called a common mycorrhizal network, or CMN.

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