An Agnonized Search

0 Comments | Derby Evening Telegraph, Jul 29, 2010

CONSTRUCTION of a multimillion-pound housing development which will see 2,200 homes built in South Derbyshire is expected to start early next year.

On Tuesday, engineering company Roger Bullivant and energy firm E.ON was given the go-ahead to build the homes on a 276-acre site in Drakelow.

The project – approved by South Derbyshire District Council’s planning committee – will create up to 1,500 construction jobs.

It will also include two neighbourhood centres, a primary school, a business park, village greens, sports pitches and a nature trail next to Drakelow Power Station.

The development will be built in three stages.

The first would see the construction of a local centre, primary school, recreation areas, retirement village and the building of some of the houses.

This would be followed by the building of the remainder of the housing, a second local centre and industrial development.

The final phase consists of the remainder of the residential and recreation areas. Chris Chatfield, from Roger Bullivant Ltd, said the project could take up to eight years to complete.

“This is a comprehensive and sustainable solution for this brownfield site,” he said. “The scheme will provide family, retirement and affordable homes as well as creating 1,500 new jobs, delivering green space, amenities and facilities.

“We will now begin to work on the detail and development could commence as early as next year. The first phase, which will take between six and eight years to deliver, will include the delivery of up to 1,000 dwellings and a local centre.”

0 Comments | Culvert Chronicles, The, Apr 29-May 5, 2010 | by Kornhauser, Stanley H

In what will become a widespread practice, nutrition or calorie labeling on restaurant menus is actually helping consumers be more conscious and make better decisions about what they are eating. A 2008 New York mandate has put this into practice and the proof is in the non-fat pudding.

The New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene released initial findings of an analysis on the impact of the city’s menu-labeling laws. Results indicate that consumers have become more selective in choosing food with fewer calories. In fact, people purchased lower calorie meals at 9 of 13 fast-food restaurant and coffee chains that were included in the study.

To gather data, researchers began by surveying over 10,000 customers at 275 locations during 2007, and then followed up with another survey of 12,000 customers in 2009. Findings revealed a significant reduction in calorie intake at four chains including KFC, McDonald’s, and Starbucks. Consumers who observed the posted calorie counts purchased food that contained an average of 106 fewer calories compared to menu items bought by customers who did not did not notice the postings. A total of 56 percent of customers reported seeing calorie information on the menus, while 15 percent of those say they used the calorie information.

The researchers deemed their study more representative of consumer eating habits than the earlier independent study, as it included a much larger number of people and covered a much longer period of time. The government study was also not limited to low-income neighborhoods as was the case with the earlier study conducted by researchers from New York and Yale Universities. This study encompassed only 1,156 consumers and four restaurants chains that included Burger King, KFC, McDonald’s and Wendy’s. The analysis was performed over a period that began just prior to the 2008 mandate and continued to only just after the order was in place.

According to Lynn Silver, assistant commissioner for New York’s Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, the government findings suggest that consumers are both noticing the labels and taking action. In a statement, she said, “Dietary change is likely to come gradually; it will start with consumers interested in making informed, healthy eating decisions and we hope industry will respond by offering more healthier choices and appropriate portion sizes.”

On the flip side, one recent culprit of calorie intake increase that ironically coincides with the government study period is a marketing promotion launched by the Subway restaurant chain. Although the chain has posted calorie information on some of its menus without any mandate, and has had success with a weight loss and healthy eating campaign in the past, their new campaign promotes their popular foot-long sandwiches.

This had led to the number of calories purchased at Subway having more than doubled during the study period
calorie coffee