October 15, 2018 — Never underestimate the power of rationalization. Because sounds good, very often, is good enough. Just ask folks selling “natural” foods and drinks. A good story about natural purity fetches premium prices. Also, you should look at new research on white hat bias. Even for researchers, it seems the ends can justify the means. It’s a […]
October 3, 2018 — The fairy tale farm evokes images of pigs rolling in muddy pig pens, cows grazing in green pastures, and hens happily sitting on eggs in wooden hen houses. While this may have been the scene in the 1890s, the reality today is not so pretty. Increasing demand, corporatisation of agriculture, and the expectation of low […]
October 2, 2018 — France has one of the lowest obesity rates in the world. But it’s growing and the French parliament knows why. Le Big Mac. Burgers outsold baguettes for the first time ever in 2017. Burgers are on the menus in 85 percent of French restaurants. They sold 1.5 billion of them last year. So naturally, when the parliament […]
October 1, 2018 — The government machine that will grind out 2020 dietary guidelines is already rumbling along. Thanks to an act of Congress, sustainability probably won’t be much of a factor. Nonetheless, consumers are already focused on this dimension. You can see it clearly in fast casual restaurant marketing. Trendy chains are fighting to persuade you that they […]
September 20, 2018 — Ready or not, new Dietary Guidelines for Americans are coming our way in 2020. In the midst of our polarized politics, you can be sure that this round will have some difficult twists and turns. No More One Size Fits All The new dietary guidelines will follow a life stage approach. USDA and HHS organized […]
September 17, 2018 — How can it be that both obesity and hunger are rising in Africa? President Rajiv Shah of the Rockefeller Foundation tells us that it’s the inevitable result of a broken global food system. Famines still ravage this continent. But incomes are also rising in the growing urban centers. And that’s precisely where obesity taking off. […]
September 11, 2018 — Ever increasing reliance on restaurant food is high on just about everyone’s list of suspects to blame for rising obesity. But what’s the right response? One answer, from CSPI, is to call out ridiculously unhealthy menu items. CSPI unveiled its latest lineup of absurd entrees last week. 2018 Xtreme Eating Awards Truly, the winners on […]
August 16, 2018 — By their very nature, dietary guidelines have a shaky relationship with the reality of what we eat. Before 1977, Americans had no guidelines for what they should eat. But then, a senate select committee published dietary goals for Americans. In 1980, those “goals” became the first edition of Dietary Guidelines for Americans Controversial from the […]
August 14, 2018 — Scientists in Minnesota are busy taking trans and saturated fats out of soybean oil. Of course, that’s a good thing. Right? Editing Your Food’s Genes with CRISPR and TALEN The first generation of genetically-modified foods was a bit clumsy. That started in the 1980s with “genetic engineering” that used bacteria and viruses used to modify […]
August 2, 2018 — “Have We Lost Our Food Skills and How to Get Them Back” was the bait-clicky headline of a recent piece in the Sydney Morning Herald. The article by Paula Goodyer with contributions from dietitians including Profs. Clare Collins and Margaret Allman-Farinelli makes the point that “a host of factors have led to a generation who […]
