Archive for November, 2008

Cane Sugar versus Corn Syrup or…Soda Economics and the Farm Bill

Christmas hasn’t even begun yet, and I’m already thinking about Passover (coming as soon as April 8th). Grocery stores start stocking up all all things kosher, which to me means extra tasty Dr. Pepper made with cane sugar instead of the regular corn syrup. Rabbi Levy explains, “Dextrose-base caramel, ordinarily used in both [regular and [...]

November 28, 2008  Tags: , , , , , ,   Posted in: Health, Politics  One Comment

Happy Thanksgiving

Turkey Day Trivia: Turkey meat and drowsiness
One widely-held belief is that heavy consumption of turkey meat (as for example in a Thanksgiving or Christmas feast) results in drowsiness, which has been attributed to high levels of tryptophan contained in turkey. While turkey does contain high levels of tryptophan, the amount is comparable to that [...]

November 27, 2008  Tags: ,   Posted in: Fun Food Facts  No Comments

“Obama Goes After Farm Subsidies”. No, not really.

In a speech just concluded (11/25/2008) announcing two more economy appointees — CBO chief Peter Orszag to the Office of Management and Budget and Robert Nabors (House Approp. Comm.) to be his deputy — President-elect Obama gave an example of one piece of wasteful government spending: farm subsidies.
Obama cited a GAO report out yesterday that [...]

November 26, 2008  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: Health, Politics  No Comments

Fat from the Flawed Farm Bill…Some Get Checks, Most Get Bigger Waistlines

Walk into the average grocery store and you will find that carrots and broccoli are more expensive per calorie than soda or Twinkies. Have you ever stopped to wonder why this is? How is that carrots with just washing, bagging, and no advertisements are more expensive than the Twinkie’s 39 complex, hard to pronounce ingredients [...]

November 25, 2008  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Health, Politics  2 Comments

Palin Pardons Turkey, Kills Thanksgiving Instead

Okay, we’ve all seen the footage (or, because of certain squeamishness, just heard it) of Sarah Palin giving her gubernatorial pardon to one turkey while hundreds were slaughtered right behind her. Her reputation could hardly be tarnished more at this point, so let’s take a look at the situation from another perspective. How many Thanksgiving [...]

November 24, 2008  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Politics, Uncategorized  One Comment

Moms Blog for McDonald’s

McDonald’s is taking a hint from mainstream media when it comes to reinventing itself as the go-to place for busy Moms. While mainstream media asked, “who would you rather have a beer with?” to determine a candidates trustworthiness, McDonald’s is asking, “who would you make a play date with?” Beginning last year, McDonald’s has been [...]

November 22, 2008  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Health  No Comments

Carbophobia: a fulfilling romp into the science of Atkins and other fad diets

Despite not actually sticking around to see Dr. Michael Greger (nutritionist, author, vegan) at this year’s Boston Vegetarian Food Festival, the talk re-piqued my interest in his book Carbophobia: The Scary Truth About America’s Low-carb Craze. I had heard Dr. Greger speak about the book a few years ago at a lecture at the University [...]

November 21, 2008   Posted in: Health, Science & Technology  No Comments

Starbucks Coffee in Hot Water Over Its Sustainable Policy

If you thought all the disposable cups produced by convenience coffee-makers were bad enough, you should read about Starbucks’ policy on running water (see). Its dish cleaning sink must always run throughout the entire day in order to prevent ‘germ buildup’.  Starbucks says it cares about the environment and even donates “five cents from each [...]

November 20, 2008  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: Fun Food Facts, Politics  One Comment

Bacon–It Used to Taste Even Better

Over the years, the flavor of bacon and pork has been severely diminished as quantity has become valued over quality. Consumers should know that choosing the cheaper meat has had dire consequences for their palate.
Here’s the skinny on what happened to flavorful, fat pigs:
The American fear of fat and the need for quick/cheap meat has [...]

November 19, 2008  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Fun Food Facts, Health, Politics  3 Comments

Michael Pollan favored by Foodies/Environmentalists for Agriculture Secretary

I’m not really sure if I would want Michael Pollan to be the Agriculture Secretary, but I signed the petition for it anyway. There is no gaurantee that he would be more influential as a figurehead. Maybe we don’t know how influential an Agriculture Secretary could be because we have never had one that fights [...]

November 18, 2008  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: Politics  No Comments