By Miriam Raftery

January 21, 2025 (Washington D.C.) – Among the dozens of executive orders issued by President Donald Trump yesterday after his inauguration is a notice to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO).  Under a 1948 law, withdrawal requires one-year notification and Congressional approval, Associated Press (AP) reports. 

If completed, withdrawal by the U.S., a founding partner of WHO, would drop one-fifth of WHO’s funding and prevent the U.S. and the American medical community from accessing vital health resources and data.

Trump previously tried to withdraw from  WHO in 2019, but President Biden rejoined the organization after his election before the waiting period ended. In July 2020, amid the pandemic, a joint statement by the American Medical Association and three other medical organizations representing pediatricians, family physicians and other doctors strongly opposed Trump’s withdrawal order, calling it “dangerous.”

EarthTalk®

E - The Environmental Magazine

Dear EarthTalk: What is the "Dirty Dozen Guide to Food Additives?"

 -- Meredith LaGarde, New Orleans, LA

April 8, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit dedicated to protecting human health and the environment through research, education and advocacy, launched its “Dirty Dozen Guide to Food Additives” in November 2014 to educate consumers about which food additives are associated with health concerns, which are restricted in other countries, and/or which just shouldn’t be in our foods to begin with. EWG hopes the new guide will help consumers avoid unhealthy foods and also influence policymakers to develop more stringent rules for food producers moving forward.

May 24,  2014 (San Diego’s East County)-- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.