Round up the usual suspects….

Added fats and sugars are in the news again, and as usual, the message can be summed up very simply: cook and eat whole foods in moderation; avoid highly processed foods with lots of fats and sugars. A few pieces worth checking out: Civil Eats: Where Do Americans Get Their Calories? - a super-cool interactive graphic [...]

What’s your image of a farmer?

I have spent a lot of my life living in major urban areas (Chicago, Los Angeles). One of my saddest moments while living in the cities was when I realized that my children had to go to the zoo to see farm animals and that they had no idea what a vegetable garden looked like. (Full [...]

Central Paradox in the Central Valley

“Food Desert” is a term that’s quickly becoming familiar to those interested in the so-called “good food movement.” (If you’re interested in learning more about the problem of food deserts, check out this 2009 report by the USDA: “Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food.”) Most people imagine that food deserts are something one finds in [...]

Food in the News and on the ‘Net

A scary map on dead zones from EcoCentric: can’t be a coincidence that most are right around the U.S.,…. A great article introducing the idea that we must collectively get involved with public policy surrounding our national (and global!) “food fight”: “America’s good food fight.” And, finally, a cheerily tongue-in-cheek (I hope!) advice column, “How [...]

Food in the News and on the ‘Net

A great piece by Al Jazeera on America’s food crisis and about some of the people fighting back: And an interview with one of the mothers of the sustainable food movement: The (not so) New Agtivist.

Food in the News and on the ‘Net

Lots going on this holiday season – so much so that it’s been hard to keep up on the food news! I’ve been most interested in following the intersection of food and politics lately – this topic also made the Atlantic‘s “Top 10 Food Stories of 2010.” While the Child Nutrition Act seems to be [...]

Food for Thought…and for Action

After enjoying a truly delicious turkey for the second year in a row (this year’s holiday menu mostly from Food & Wine‘s article about Joanne Chang – although I stopped short of the Peking-duck inspired turkey!), I was amused and amazed to read several friends’ posts on Facebook to the effect that turkey  is most [...]

Food in the News and on the ‘Net

Seems like it’s all about politics these days – lots of people complaining that they’re seeing red and feeling blue – but what do the election results have to do with food? Check out Tom Philpott on What the midterms mean for federal ag-policy reform? More news from Philpott about the burgeoning local/organic/sustainable food movement in China, [...]

Food in the News and on the ‘Net

Confused by the “new and improved” food guide pyramid? (I think the old one was much more understandable!) Help may be on the way, as the USDA considers updating the 5-year-old plan. Women are turning out to be a major force in the sustainable food movement, according to Grist.com. (And cheers for Grist.com, which now has [...]

Food in the News and on the ‘Net

Depressing news on Americans’ consumption of vegetables: Told to Eat Its Vegetables, America Orders Fries. Are we seriously so twisted that putting baby carrots in junk food machines and creating an app that requires a crunch of a carrot to make it work are the only ways we’ll eat vegetables??? Somehow it reminds me of [...]