IINsider’s Digest: Renaming Vegetables, GMO Controversy, and more…

What's in a name? Apparently, quite a bit, when it comes to getting kids to eat their vegetables. A new study suggests names like "X-Ray Vision Carrots" or "Silly Dilly Green Beans" significantly up the percentage of veggies eaten by school-aged children. (Huff Post) 

Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report that young children - and especially obese children - are consuming as much salt as adults, putting them at risk for developing hypertension, which can lead to heart disease and early death. (TIME Healthland) 

A controversial French study claims that rats fed a diet of Monsanto’s genetically modified corn over 2 years developed tumors, organ damage, and were more likely to die prematurely than their non-GMO-eating counterparts. The study is one of the first to address the long-term effects of GMOs, but some are skeptical of the researchers’ methods. (Washington Post/Grist) 

In other GMO news, Washington State follows in California’s footsteps, proposing a "People’s Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act". 

It’s been said that food addiction is not unlike struggles with harder drugs, but teeth chattering and shakes? Such are the withdrawal symptoms of sugar-binging rats, with worrisome implications for their human counterparts. (NY Times) In related news, University of Michigan scientists have discovered a section of the brain - the neostriatum - connected with our desire to overeat. (Smithsonian) 

67% of the residents of Mississippi - the fattest state in the US - are predicted to be obese in 2030. What's more, the majority of the country is not far behind. (TIME Healthland) Fortunately, a billionaire couple is throwing their financial weight behind the Nutrition Science Initiative (NuSI), an organization seeking solid scientific investigation of the obesity epidemic. (NPR Salt)

Even more obesity news: Children exposed to high levels of BPA - a chemical found in many plastics - are five times more likely to become obese, reports the Journal of the American Medical Association. (Scientific American) 

Debatably harmless levels of carcinogenic arsenic found in rice - a staple in much of the world's diet - are raising concern among some consumer groups. The FDA has currently set a federal standard for arsenic levels in drinking water, but not in food. (NPR) 

The increasing collapse of bee colonies poses a major threat to our current food system, but scientists have discovered industrial agriculture itself may be causing the insects' decline. (Huff Post) 

Man wins $7 million lawsuit, claiming microwave popcorn caused his lung disease. The culprit? Diacetyl, a chemical that provides buttery flavor without using actual dairy products. (NPR Salt)