Andrea the Gastronaut

• I’m a little late on this because I was lagging behind in my news feeds: “Rumor has it that Mike Taylor, currently a professor at George Washington University but better known for his work as Monsanto’s Vice President for Public Policy, will start on Monday at the FDA in a position coordinating food safety.” Food Inc. touched on this very concept. The book Food Politics touches on this as well. [Ethicurean]

• But wait… Marion Nestle, author of Food Politics, agrees with the choice?? (And acknowledges that readers will think she’s nuts for it.)

• Red Ink: A Canadian View of Food Inc. [Wayne Roberts] Interesting.

• Why Parents are Helpless Against Junk Food [Fooducate]

• U.S. outlines new food safety rules [CBC]

• I’ve learned that grating garlic on a microplane is not such a good idea. Thank you, Serious Eats (though really one of its readers).

• This is why you’re fat: A one third pound of sirloin topped with two slices of white American cheese, four strips of bacon, peanut butter, between two Krispy Kreme donuts. Check it out.  To me this is real food pr0n: Nothing I’d want to experience but impressive to look at. Do people actually eat this?

links food ethics, food politics, food pr0n, Food safety, food science, Marion Nestle, Monsanto

(Yes, I forgot to post them again.)

• “From January to June 2009, at least 69 people from 29 states have gotten sick with E. coli O157:H7.  Many of them confessed to eating Nestlé’s raw cookie dough.” [Marion Nestle]

• Fooducate’s 11 Quick Facts about Phosphoric Acid (Yes, that Chemical in Coca Cola) reminds me of Meghan’s recent post about Coca Cola titled “Coke Makes People Fat”. I read the update today, in which she printed an email response that she received from the Public Affairs Manager from Coca-Cola Canada defending the drink. I guess their PR people monitor mentions of their company online. It’s the right PR strategy. It’s what we do in government. (Media monitoring and now new media monitoring – blogs, Twitter, Facebook etc. -  thanks to me.)

• I still don’t believe that you can make processed cheese healthy. [Decision News Media]

• No thanks to bland, mutant strawberries: Letters in Saturday’s Toronto Star respond to their strawberry story from the previous Saturday. Reading the first letter, I felt like telling her to go see Food Inc., or to stay away from it. It would break her heart. See video of original story here:

• New national (Canadian) standards for organic food take effect today (June 30). [CBC]

• For my local readers: Taste T.O.’ Summerlicious Survival Guide.

links food recalls, food science, health, local

• What a bogus marketing campaign: Burger King wants you to have it your (healthy) way [CliqueClack Food]
• Salads ‘rival Big Macs for fat’ [BBC]
• Toxic chemical in plastic pallets could be leaching into food [Foodproductiondaily]
• An extract from propolis, the waxy resin collected by honeybees, may reduce the detrimental effects prolonged exercising in hot climates, according to a new study.  [NutraIngredients]
• McDonald’s Europe to showcase “sustainable farming” [The Ethicurean] What’s good for the bottom line…
• Health and the Mediterranean diet. [The Appetizer/National Post] (I’ve seen this news in multiple places.)
• When ‘Certified Organic’ is a Lie  [Mercola.com]

Eat well, be well.

links food science, health, links

• Staying sober a challenge in the alchol-heavy hospitality industry. [New York Times] I found the personal stories in this article very interesting.

• Treehugger proposes a weekday vegetarian diet [Treehugger]

• Ever wonder why lemon makes milk curdle? It involves protein, negative charge and bondage (er, bonding). [The Kitchn]

• Also from The Kitchn: Tip: Use Cinnamon Sticks As Skewers when grilling fruit. Now I want a barbecue just for that purpose.

• Creating satisfying food is central to home cooks and chefs — as well as to companies that have produced foods that have helped lead to the obesity epidemic. Mark Bittman on Making Food Satisfying. [New York Times]

• In his article Bittman links the article “How the Food Makers Captured Our Brains“. It’s fascinating. Quote: “[Kessler] offers descriptions of how restaurants and food makers manipulate ingredients to reach the aptly named ‘bliss point.’”

• New Web Search Tool Shows What Pesticides are on Your Food

• According to this newsletter, the average child gets 5+ servings of pesticides in their food and water each day and the pesticide Atrazine is so toxic it is banned in Europe, but it is used so widely in the U.S., that it is found in 71% of the U.S. drinking water. (Thanks to my mother for forwarding me the newsletter. I went to the online archive so that I could share it with you.)

• One woman’s changing relationship with food and what she’s learned in the process of doing so while getting healthier. [In The Raw] There’s some great tips in there. The theme of conscious eating comes up (in my life) again and again I forget to exercise it, in part because I eat while doing other things. She touches on multitasking while eating.

• “Flapjack Fiasco” [This is Why You're Fat]

• Food porn: Grilled Cheese with Fresh Cherries [The Kitchn & Rachel Ray]

• Torontist on Toronto’s a la Carte food cart program. Not all good news.

• Meghan weighs in on milk and advises you not to drink conventional milk. [Making Love in the Kitchen] Milk bad. I know this and yet I can’t seem to give up cheese even though avoiding cheese would fit the reason I rarely eat meat.

• Food industry propaganda: New Organic Logo Will Provide More Opportunities For Organic Producers. [Canadian Food Inspection Agency] “Canada’s Organic Products Regulations (OPR)…set out rigourous standards for the certification of products as organic by accredited certification bodies. Products that meet the production requirements and contain at least 95 per cent organic content may be labelled as “organic” and feature the new Biologique Canada Organic Logo.

No links for tomorrow likely because I’ll be away from a computer all day. However, I do need to write a post about Food Share’s open house from last weekend. I’d forgotten.

Uncategorized, links food pr0n, food science, health, links, local, Mark Bittman, New York Times, nutrition, vegetarianism

Food science:

• In addition to the hormones in our drinking water, now it’s been discovered that artificial sweeteners are left behind too. At least, in Germany. [Disease Proof]

• Liquid smoke is safer to ingest than untreated wood smoke. That and other facts about liquid smoke. [Slashfood]

Food and vegetable:

• What is the difference between “100% organic” and “organic”? How do we know “organic” truly reflects our beliefs? Do food companies use the word “organic” in the same way they use “health”? Which is worse: eating nonorganic produce full of pesticides or not eating produce at all? Is organic food nutritionally worth its higher cost? Aren’t organics elitist? Marion Nestlé answers these questions. [SFGate]

• The journey of a California strawberry to a plate in Toronto. [Toronto Star] We should all be locavores when the food items are in season and as I’ve mentioned in my blog previously, I refuse to eat imported berries.

Local/local media:

• Mark McEwan’s new grocery store in the Shops at Don Mills. [City News]

• Why Corey Mintz doesn’t order salads at restaurants. [Toronto Star] He’s right on, although so is the commenter who suggested that very good or very bad salads should be commented on.

• The Toronto Star found that five out of 14 soft-serve ice creams bought from trucks and stores across the city had high levels of bacteria.

• Toronto Life’s review of Food Inc. In case you haven’t seen mine, here it is at Cliqueclack Food.

Misc.:

• Not completely food related but a beautiful list from detox expert Natalia Rose called My Top 10 List For an Outstanding Life Experience. I like “Cancel any old stories and programs that are not part of your truth today.” because old stories are very much a part of my own psyche and I try to be conscious of it and live in the moment.

Tomorrow (June 24) is National Pralines Day (see my Food Holidays post from yesterday).

links food science, links, local, Mark McEwan, Organic food, Slashfood, Toronto Life, Toronto Star

• Even if your meat is antibiotic free it might contain other anti-microbials not listed on the label. Lack of truth in advertising? [SF Gate]

• Fortified Foods: How Healthy Are They? [Wall Street Journal] I have an idea: Instead of fortified foods, why don’t people eat a varied diet full of unprocessed food?  I’ve heard that vegetables aren’t as nutritious as they used to be but I’d still think that they’re better than frankenfoods.

• They needed new research to tell them what they already knew? Plant-Based, Low-Calorie Diet Lowers Heart Risks [Disease Proof]

• A study shows that boiled carrots retain more nutrients if you cook them whole. When you slice them more surface area is exposed, allowing nutrients to leach out.  [BBC] Or you could eat them raw.

• Pesky problems with multi-nutrient supplements [Marion Nestle/Food Politics]

• Vegetables and male health [Fooducate] A study conducted in Spain has found that men who regularly consume fruits and vegetables have improved semen quality.

• Cheeseburger in a can? WTF??

• *swoon* The Chocolate Chip Cookie Bowl Sundae [Michael Ruhlman]

• If you’re in the US don’t use Nestlé raw Toll House cookie dough for those bowls. The FDA has issued a recall.  [Marion Nestle/Food Politics]

• A primer on sour cherries [NPR]

links cookies, food science, fruit, links

• Five Reasons to Keep a Chocolate Bar on Hand [The Kitchn]

• Why agave isn’t such as good sugar alternative. [Dr. Mercola] The article surprised me.

• Nitrites and nitrates, much maligned additives in processed and cured meats, may help cardiovascular health [Nutraingredients.com]

• Q & A: How Diet May Effect Depression… That’s just the start of it. [Disease Proof]

• A doctor’s perspective of Kinder’s new, “Have you played today” campaign”. [Weighty Matters] “The gist of the campaign? Treats are an important part of parenting and so to be better parents you’ve got to make sure you give them treats, more specifically – Kinder chocolates.”

• Meghan on the affects of coke on the body: Coke Makes People Fat [Making Love in the Kitchen]

• Gina Mallet refers to herself the “anti Food Inc”, and I’m not surprised. I feel a small amount of optimism in the statement “I’m gonna celebrate the way the fresh and local movement has brightened our meals and is influencing processed food.” but the rest is so far fetched and makes my head hurt.

And speaking of Food Inc., I saw it last night. Draft review for another website is written. It will be up in the next couple of days, pending edits and scheduling by the other website.

Uncategorized, links food science, health, links, nutrition

• From Lettuce to Beef, What’s the Water Footprint of Your Food? [Treehugger] Lists gallons of water consumed per pound of food in three categories: Fruits, Vegetables & Grains, Meat & Dairy (where chicken consumes the least amount), and Beverages. Growing chocolate consumes more water than some beef. Interesting read.

• Rooftop Bees Give Restaurant Hyperlocal Flavor [NPR] The story focuses on the Fairmont Washington. As Toronto locals know, The Fairmont Royal York has a rooftop apiary as well.

• Recession has turned many into “flexitarians.” [Gourmet]

• Breakfast Cereal Raises Blood Sugar, Heart Risks [Disease Proof]

• 7 Low-Cost, Low-Emissions Foods: Organic Strawberries (or any seasonal berry), Beans, Potatoes,  Homemade Bread, Organic Tofu, Homemade Almond Milk, Organic Rolled Oats. More at Treehugger.

• 9 Tidbits from the Maker of “Food, Inc.” (PBS) [Fooducate] I’m going to see Food Inc this evening. Watching that PBS video was a good prologue.

• Tim Hortons and Cold Stone Creamery to co-brand six restaurants in Ontario. [CNW]

links Cold Stone Creamery, food science, Tim Hortons

• Mark Bittman on the changing nature of fish buying and cooking. [New York Times]

• Gender in the restaurant kitchen – myths and preconceived notions [Serious Eats]

• Fruit foraging. Kind of reminds me of Toronto’s Not Far from the Tree. [New York Times]

• This stuff feels like bullshit for the sake of marketing to me, and I believe in food as medicine and healing with nutrition: “Chocolates, jams and juices sporting beauty claims were showcased by market researchers Mintel at the In-Cosmetics show in Munich.” [Nutraingredients.com] The German girl interviewed is adorable. “I’d recommend it to my friends who are addicted to sugar but not my male friends.”

• Another reason to eat blueberries: Blueberries may help boost insulin sensitivity and fight inflammation [Karen Hawthorne, The Appetizer, National Post]

Technorati Tags: links, Serious eats, New York Times, Mark Bittman, food science

links food science, links, Mark Bittman, National Post, New York Times, Serious Eats

• Red Bull confirms energy drink is cocaine-free. [NutraIngredients/ Decision News] No kidding.

• U.S. Obesity Trends 1985–2007 [CDC]

• Vegetarian version of Atkins diet lowers weight, heart risks [CBC]
• A slide show of 10 Tasty Fish You Don’t Want to Eat. Among the more popular types of fish on the list: Chilean sea bass (check out the tongue on that thing! It looks like he’s smiling), farmed salmon, grouper/sea bass, monkfish (the image of which reminds me of Jabba the Hutt), orange roughy and skate. [Treehugger]

• 5 Green Reasons to Use an Ice Cream Maker. [Re-Nest/Apartment Therapy network] Reasons include not relying on “big food” to choose your ingredients, going off-grid if you use a manual device and saving on packaging.

• Why bagels are boiled. [The Kitchn]
• For food enthusiasts and geeks: Heinz Introduces World’s Smallest Microwave, and It’s USB-Powered. [Serious Eats]
• The Kitchn on the book Squeezed: What You Don’t Know About Orange Juice, which I mentioned in my post last Friday. I think I have to buy this one asap rather than waiting for its soft cover release. [The Kitchn]

• This gun’s for hire: Dining in the Dark [Globe and Mail]
• A judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California dismissed a complaint filed by a woman who said she had purchased ‘Cap’n Crunch with Crunchberries’ because she believed it contained real fruit. [The Appetizer] Writer Vanessa Farquharson uses that as a starting point for commentary on processed food and labeling but, as into that topic as I am, I’m stuck on being dumbfounded that someone would sue for that reason. Only in the U.S. I love talking about processed food, food labelling and food ethics but I also love to make fun of dumb people. Possibly even more so.

Uncategorized books, food science, Globe and Mail, Jabba the Hutt, Serious Eats