Discussion infographs for Nov.12th- 10 Corporations Control Almost Everything You Buy

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Ten mega corporations control the output of almost everything you buy; from household products to pet food to jeans. 

According to this chart via Reddit, called "The Illusion of Choice," these corporations create a chain that begins at one of 10 super companies. You've heard of the biggest names, but it's amazing to see what these giants own or influence.

(Note: The chart shows a mix of networks. Parent companies may own, own shares of, or may simply partner with their branch networks. For example, Coca-Cola does not own Monster, but distributes the energy drink. Another note: We are not sure how up-to-date the chart is. For example, it has not been updated to reflect P&G's sale of Pringles to Kellogg's in February.)

Here are just a few examples: Yum Brands owns KFC and Taco Bell. The company was a spin-off of Pepsi. All Yum Brands restaurants sell only Pepsi products because of a special partnership with the soda-maker. 

$84 billion-company Proctor & Gamble — the largest advertiser in the U.S. — is paired with a number of diverse brands that produce everything from medicine to toothpaste to high-end fashion. All tallied, P&G reportedly serves a whopping 4.8 billion people around the world through this network.

$200 billion-corporation Nestle — famous for chocolate, but which is the biggest food company in the world — owns nearly 8,000 different brands worldwide, and takes stake in or is partnered with a swath of others. Included in this network is shampoo company L'Oreal, baby food giant Gerber, clothing brand Diesel, and pet food makers Purina and Friskies. 

Unilever, of soap fame, reportedly serves 2 billion people around the world, controlling a network that produces everything from Q-tips to Skippy peanut butter. 

And it's not just the products you buy and consume, either. In recent decades, the very news and information that you get has bundled together: 90% of the media is now controlled by just six companies, down from 50 in 1983, according to a Frugal Dad infographic from last year.

It gets even more macro, too: 37 banks have merged to become just four — JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and CitiGroup in a little over two decades, according to this Federal Reserve map. 

The nation's 10 largest financial institutions hold 54% of our total financial assets; in 1990, they held 20%. As MotherJones reports, the number of banks has dropped from more than 12,500 to about 8,000. 

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The numbers are stark, and the charts visualize the mind-bending reality. This is the world we live in.

Article for discussion, Nov.12th

Health commissioner asks EU governments to agree on GM crop

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The EU's Health Commissioner, Tonio Borg, has said countries should be allowed to grow a genetically modified maize, if they wish.

In a statement on 6 November 2013, he said the request to cultivate the crop, known as maize 1507, should be sent to the Council of Ministers for approval, following a recent ruling by the Court of Justice that criticised delays in the approval procedure.

Mr Borg said the Commission was "duty bound" to take into account the court's ruling.

In 2001 a request to cultivate the insect-resistant crop was made by the company Pioneer, and on five occasions since, the European Food Safety Agency has given a positive opinion to the request.

The matter falls under the pre-Lisbon Treaty procedure, meaning that if there is no majority in the Council, either for or against the authorisation, then the Commission is obliged by law to grant approval.

Mr Borg used his statement to say that it was time for an "urgent agreement" on longstanding Commission proposals for new laws on the authorisation of GM crops.

Although the approval and authorisation of GM crops will remain under EU jurisdiction, in 2010 the Commission drafted a regulation to give member states more freedom to decide whether or not they want to cultivate GM crops on their territory.

They will no longer have to solely rely on "a scientific assessment of health and environmental risks performed at European level", however the draft regulation has been blocked by a number of EU governments.

Only one other GM crop is currently grown in Europe, the insect-resistant maize Monsanto, although seven EU countries - Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Luxembourg - have placed a ban on the crop. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/europe-24838278

Article for discussion for Nov.12th.

Smoggy Beijing sees lung cancer cases soar

The number of lung cancer cases in the Chinese capital Beijing has soared over the last decade.

According to figures published by the state-run Xinhua news agency, they have increased by more than 50%.

Beijing health officials say smoking is still the number one cause of lung cancer, but they admit air pollution is also a factor.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently estimated that polluted air kills millions of people every year.

Pollution kills millions

Xinhua said the latest figures - which are for only one city and one disease - were issued by Beijing municipal health bureau.

They show the number of lung cancer patients per 100,000 people was 39.56 in 2002, but had jumped to 63.09 by 2011.

The article gave no reason for the increase in patients.

Beijing health officials said lung cancer was linked to lifestyle choices, with smoking still the top cause. But they said passive smoking and air pollution could also be a factor.

Last month the WHO issued a scientific report detailing the link between air pollution and a number of different diseases and illness.

It estimated that breathing in fine particles contributed to 3.2 million premature deaths a year across the world and killed more than 200,000 from lung cancer.

"More than half of the lung cancer deaths attributable to ambient fine particles were projected to have been in China and other East Asian countries," said the WHO.

Correspondents say Chinese people are becoming increasingly worried about the health problems caused by the thick air pollution that often blankets much of their country, a result of rapid economic expansion coupled with poorly enforced laws designed to protect the environment.

Earlier this week it was reported that a eight-year-old girl in Jiangsu province had become the country's youngest lung cancer patient. Air pollution was blamed.

The hospital that was supposed to be treating her denied the reports, but the outcry caused by the story shows just how concerned people have become. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24880737?print=true