Archive for January, 2009
USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline
Yes, there is a meat and poultry hotline.  Apparently, 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-647-6854)  receives  about 80,000 calls annually.  And, believe it or not, it’s been around since 1985.  Someone needs to do a better job of marketing.  Imagine how many more calls they would get if people actually knew about the number.  Or am I in the [...]
January 29, 2009
Tags: education, food safety, triva, USDA Posted in: Fun Food Facts 
No Comments
Vilsack Lays Out Menu For Change In The Agriculture Department
Vilsack Lists His Priorities as Agricultural Secretary: Â A Play-by-Play Analysis
The text is taken from the USDA’s own news release (link):
“In keeping with President Obama’s recent pledge to make government more transparent, inclusive, and collaborative, I would like to pursue an extended comment period so that more farmers and other individuals can participate in this rulemaking [...]
January 27, 2009
Tags: agriculture, Barack Obama, change, farmers, green, policy, USDA Posted in: Politics 2 Comments
Food Activists, Sepcial Interest Groups Need to Hold Their Horses
Don’t Stampede Obama for Not Keeping His Promises Just Yet
Barack Obama alluded to Michael Pollan’s letter to the next “Farmer-in-Chief” during his interview with Joe Klein. Â He recognized that our agricultural methods and the way we eat are at the crux of our nation’s health, energy crisis, and security (link). Â Thus, foodies and sustainable food [...]
January 26, 2009
Tags: Barack Obama, change, farmers, green, policy Posted in: Politics No Comments
A Bit of Foodie Fan Fiction
This next piece necessitates an introduction. Â It is a vignette I wrote in response to an essay prompt some time ago. Â Unfortunately, the prompt is long forgotten. Â What remains is the short, bittersweet story of one man’s struggle with his insatiable relationship with food. Â Please, enjoy:
I had an addiction – – a habit worse [...]
January 24, 2009
Tags: food event, nutrition, obesity Posted in: Uncategorized One Comment
Death Sentences Handed Out for the Melamine Crisis
From the BBC:
Two men have been given the death penalty for their involvement in China’s contaminated milk scandal.
The former boss of the Sanlu dairy at the centre of the scandal was given life imprisonment.
They were among several sentences handed down by the court in northern China, where Sanlu is based.
Yes, those involved in the melamine [...]
January 23, 2009
Tags: China, food event, food safety, melamine, policy Posted in: Uncategorized No Comments
Who Put Fish in My Peanut Butter? Scientists Disover Quicker Way to Test for Salmonella
Okay, so they aren’t really putting fish into the peanut butter.  The recent outbreak scandal involving salmonella in peanut butter has brought food safety to the fore.  The slowness of the FDA to identify and recall contaminated peanut butter has been widely criticized (link).  Scientists, thankfully, have come to the FDA’s aid. They have found [...]
January 22, 2009
Tags: FDA, fish, salmonella Posted in: Science & Technology No Comments
EPA Gets Sued Over Exemption For Factory Farm Pollutants
Environmental Groups Cry Fowl Play
Tuesday, January, 20th, the last day of the Bush administration, a new regulation went into effect that exempts dairies and other large-scale livestock operations from having to notify Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials when toxic pollutants are emitted. Â Six environmental groups have already filed suits against the EPA. Â One of them, [...]
January 21, 2009
Tags: agriculture, EPA, factory farms, green, policy, pollution Posted in: Politics No Comments
Coke Gets Sued for Advertising VitaminWater as Healthy
Center for Science in the Public Interest has filed a class-action lawsuit against Coca-Cola, the parent company of Glaceau Vitamin Water. Vitamin Water, says CSPI, makes sugary drinks that promote obesity but positions these products as healthful because they contain added vitamins and herbs. Does this make them healthier? No, but [...]
January 20, 2009
Tags: FDA, Health, nutrition, obesity, policy, soda Posted in: Health, Politics No Comments
Going Trayless Saves Food Services More
The econimic recession has hit the food service industry pretty hard. The recent spike in food prices was actually the apex of a long, ten-year trend in rising food costs. Â So, even now that the real prices of foodstuffs is falling, food industry insiders are still scrambling to cut corners.
Shaving portion sizes has been [...]
January 19, 2009
Tags: education, food, green, innovation, policy, waste Posted in: Science & Technology One Comment
Sugar, the Industrial Revolution, and Women’s Rights
The colonial expansion into the Americas led to the discovery of vast lands ready for extensive production of sugar cane, a highly prized and rare commodity at that time. Investors and colonial explorers imported slaves from across the Atlantic from Africa to do the dirty work. The Atlantic slave trade and the mass [...]
January 16, 2009
Tags: food event, Health, heroes, nutrition, sugar Posted in: Fun Food Facts, Health, Politics 2 Comments
