Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Agriculture Department Keeps Quiet Government-Funded Research On Health Consequences Of Climate Change
Politico: Agriculture Department Buries Studies Showing Dangers Of Climate Change
The Trump administration has refused to publicize dozens of government-funded studies that carry warnings about the effects of climate change, defying a longstanding practice of touting such findings by the Agriculture Department’s acclaimed in-house scientists. The studies range from a groundbreaking discovery that rice loses vitamins in a carbon-rich environment — a potentially serious health concern for the 600 million people world-wide whose diet consists mostly of rice — to a finding that climate change could exacerbate allergy seasons to a warning to farmers about the reduction in quality of grasses important for raising cattle. (Bottemiller Evich, 6/23)
The Associated Press: Medical Groups Warn Climate Change Is A 'Health Emergency'
As Democratic presidential hopefuls prepare for their first 2020 primary debate this week, 74 medical and public health groups aligned on Monday to push for a series of consensus commitments to combat climate change, bluntly defined by the organizations as "a health emergency." The new climate change agenda released by the groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Heart Association, comes amid early jostling among Democratic candidates over whose environmental platform is more progressive. (Schor, 6/24)
