‘Food Network Star’: The Talent Search Gets a Welcome Reboot
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2012/05/food-network-star-giada-de-laurentiis.html
May 14, 2012
Season 8 of “Food Network Star” kicked off Sunday night and, my oh my, how things have changed. For the better. This time, in a delicious twist, the sharp elbows come courtesy of the network‘s marquee talents: Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis and Alton Brown. And if you thought this was going to be a fun and friendly matchup between network “family” members, think again. Kudos for deft touches ratcheting up the tension. Handing over judging duties solely to the network’s dynamic duo, Bob Tuschman and Susie Fogelson, also works well. The streamlined team knows what they want and now they can just get down to the business of branding.
Use of Common Pesticide, Imidacloprid, Linked to Bee Colony Collapse
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120405224653.htm#.T61oCyuVqoQ.email
April 5, 2012
According to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), the likely culprit in sharp worldwide declines in honeybee colonies since 2006 is imidacloprid, one of the most widely used pesticides. The authors, led by Alex Lu, associate professor of environmental exposure biology in the Department of Environmental Health, write that the new research provides “convincing evidence” of the link between imidacloprid and the phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), in which adult bees abandon their hives. The study will appear in the June issue of the Bulletin of Insectology. Pinpointing the cause of the problem is crucial because bees—beyond producing honey—are prime pollinators of roughly one-third of the crop species in the US, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, and livestock feed such as alfalfa and clover. Bees can be exposed in two ways: through nectar from plants or through high-fructose corn syrup beekeepers use to feed their bees. Since most US-grown corn has been treated with imidacloprid, it’s also found in corn syrup. Massive loss of honeybees could result in billions of dollars in agricultural losses, experts estimate.
Why I Am Not Attending or Watching “Weight of the Nation”
Blog posted by Michele
http://www.appetiteforprofit.com/2012/05/08/why-i-am-not-attending-or-watching-weight-of-the-nation/
May 8, 2012
The national hysteria over obesity has reached a crescendo this week, as the CDC hosts the conference, “Weight of the Nation” in Washington, DC. If you couldn’t make it, no worries, more fear mongering is on the way in a four-part mini-series on HBO to air next week. The show of the same name is produced in coordination with several federal government agencies. Focusing on obesity is problematic for many reasons. One, it ensures the focus stays on the individual, instead of the food industry. If you see a fat person, it’s their fault, they just need to eat better and exercise more. Granted, my public health colleagues are trying to change this conversation to one of the “environment” (far too apolitical a word) but as long as we keep talking about obesity, the framing is all about individual behavior change. Next, scientific evidence shows that fat people have enough problems dealing with discrimination, bullying, etc., and the last thing they need is more hate brought to you by the federal government and cable television. Finally obsessing over obesity is a great gift to the food industry because this is a problem food companies can supposedly help fix. They can make healthier foods! They can help fund playgrounds and exercise programs! Frozen vegetable company Birds Eye, the newest corporate sponsor of the first lady’s Let’s Move program, is launching a marketing campaign to encourage kids to eat their veggies. Problem solved, thanks Birds Eye. Never mind all that junk food marketing to kids, which Let’s Move ignores. Julie Guthman has written an excellent critique of the obesity wars, Weighing In: Obesity, Food Justice, and the Limits of Capitalism. She does a good job explaining why obesity is over-hyped and offers new and challenging insights on this issue.
Nation’s Bulging Waistline Is a Food Industry Issue
Caroline Scott-Thomas
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Regulation/Nation-s-bulging-waistline-is-a-food-industry-issue/?utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2BDaily&c=vlyaQkNPK935IaCQLm9uon8omRxtuFO3
May 15, 2012
Last week, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) laid out its ideas about how industry could play a part in slimming the nation, including several that repeatedly have proved very unpopular, such as considering taxing sugary drinks and changing farm policy, and setting strict standards on marketing to children. Industry was quick to respond with assurances that it has undertaken numerous initiatives to create and promote healthy choices for consumers. But choices may not be enough, according to the IOM. It urges a move away from simply blaming individuals for a lack of willpower and poor food choices, instead backing a slew of public health policies, which it says could help create a less ‘obesogenic’ environment. Industry is stuck in a very hard position: On the one hand, it wants to be seem to be doing the right things—but on the other, what people say they want to eat, and what they actually do eat are often very different and after all, food companies are in the business of making money. But industry could do more to make healthy choices routine, easy choices. Consumers are challenging industry to be more transparent about ingredients and processes that they perceive make healthy choices more difficult. Companies should keep this in mind as they develop marketing strategies.
Saving Food One Sheet of Paper at a Time
Jane Black
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/saving-food-one-sheet-of-paper-at-a-time/2012/05/14/gIQAXeHLRU_story.html?wpisrc=emailtoafriend
May 15, 2012
Smart refrigerators do exist. For about $4,000, you can have a fridge that generates recipes based on what’s on the shelves and tells when you’re out of milk. But no matter how smart the appliance is, it cannot warn you when those pricey strawberries from the farmers market are about to get moldy or when that bunch of cilantro is about to turn black. Nor will it be able to assuage guilt for forgetting about them and wasting food. Happily there is a better, low-tech solution to that problem: FreshPaper, which looks like small, square paper towels. They are infused with a mixture of organic spices and botanicals that inhibit bacterial and fungal growth and extend the life of quickly perishable produce. One sheet of maple-scented FreshPaper helps a basket of very ripe strawberries last more than a week in the fridge. A sheet tossed into a plastic bag with cilantro helps the herb last about 10 days. Each 5-by-5-inch sheet, manufactured in Massachusetts, costs 50 cents. Sheets can be used and reused over the course of two or three weeks and then composted. Like many useful inventions, the idea for FreshPaper began by happenstance. Kavita Shukla, then a middle-school student in Ellicott City, was visiting relatives in India and accidentally swallowed some water while brushing her teeth. Her grandmother made her a spice tea from an old family recipe to prevent illness. In high school, Shukla began to look for practical applications for her grandmother’s special tea. She found it one day at the grocery store when her mother asked her to pick out a pint of strawberries. Many of the baskets had berries that were already going bad. Dipping the berries in her mixture helped them stay “healthy.” And it seemed to work for other fruits and vegetables as well. At 17, Shukla was awarded a patent. She thought that her invention would be best used in developing countries where many people lack refrigeration and produce spoils between the farm and the table. But she didn’t understand how difficult it would be to distribute the product even if you were giving it away. For several years, she put her plans aside. In 2010, Shukla decided to market her product in the US. She began to visit farmers’ markets and street fairs in Boston and realized that food spoilage and waste were big problems everywhere. A decade after receiving her patent, Shukla founded Fenugreen along with a friend. Their first customer was Harvest Co-op in Cambridge, which agreed to sell the product after performing its own semi-scientific experiment. Fans of FreshPaper have likened it to “dryer sheets for produce,” as they toss them in the vegetable drawer, a fruit bowl or a cardboard berry box. Shukla remains determined to make FreshPaper available where it is more sorely needed. To that end, she is working to introduce the product to farmers and distributors who might use it during harvest and shipping (with customized paper sizes). Later this year Shukla is launching a “buy-one, give-one” program in which, for every package of FreshPaper that is sold, Fenugreen will donate a package to food banks or nonprofits in less-economically developed countries.
Next Stop for Food Fanatics: Africa
Josh Schonwald
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304811304577368013509847538.html
April 27, 2012
What’s on the culinary horizon? Egusi soup, Kenyan curried trout and other dishes from a booming continent. In 1969, the Fancy Food show, the granddaddy of foodie shows, had only 12 international exhibitors. The 2010 show had 30 country pavilions (many with dozens of vendors) and thousands of international food products. The appetite for new world cuisines will only grow. Generation Y has an even greater appetite for ethnic novelty than baby boomers or Generation X. They’ve grown up on pad thai and baba ganoush and sushi—culinary adventure is part of their DNA. They expect to taste ever more diverse cuisines. There is only one largely unexplored continent left. With the exception of North African and Ethiopian cuisine there has been very little foodie-world attention devoted to the flavors and foods of the world’s second-largest continent. In his book “The Soul of New Cuisine”, Marcus Samuelsson, the Swedish-Ethiopian über-chef, displays 200 recipes with gastro-porno photos—barbecued snapper form West Africa, curried trout with coconut chili sauce from Kenya, apple squash fritters from South Africa, monstrous red papayas, glistening mango couscous. It is pretty much impossible to look at the book and not develop an appetite—and a curiosity about the possibilities of African food. Other factors point to a pan-African influx. Africa has one billion people and more than 500 cultures. As fast-growing African nations become more prosperous, they will develop something that is rare right now—a middle class with disposable time and income. Poverty, hunger, war and sickness are why Africans—from Cameroon to Mozambique to Namibia to Congo—have been unable to develop a baobab-infused vinaigrette. You can’t afford the luxury of culinary adventure when you’re struggling to protect and feed yourself.
What I Saw in Atlanta, and Why It Matters
Posted by Josh Ozersky
http://www.rachaelray.com/blogs/index.php/2012/05/14/what-i-saw-in-atlanta-and-why-it-matters/
May 14, 2012
There are a lot of food festivals these days. But having just got back from Atlanta, I am ready to say that there is only one indispensable event, and that is it. The reason is obvious: the south is the new capital of gastronomy in America. Food has to come from somewhere; the great chefs in capitals like New York or San Francisco or even Portland generally come there from somewhere else. No doubt, the bay area has its own terroir, its own folkways. But not like the South. The place is practically a continent of its own, a settled territory, a country within a country. And Atlanta is its capital. I should say here that I am favorably disposed to the festival. They flew me down and put me up. I had insider access and am friends with a lot of the chefs, so don’t take my experience there as necessarily representative or objective. As an event founder, I thought it was run really well. But that’s not the point. The point is that I stood in the tents and tried five kinds of friend chicken, from four different states, each with its own vector on fried chicken. There wasn’t a single celebrity chef present; there wasn’t even a big time restaurateur. All of the chefs were actual working chefs, whom the festival had given a platform. Festival CEO Dominique Love told me, “It isn’t about the personality; it’s about what goes on in the kitchen.” The tents were organized by theme, and each one serving dishes as fresh, in most cases, as what you would find in a restaurant. There was a pig tent with pig-ear tacos from Farm 255 in Athens, a place I have never been, using a cut of meat I like but never really enjoyed much if the truth be told. These guys found a way to elevate their chewy and cartiligineous pieces of pork. I went to the Rathburn Watch Dinner, which gives a platform to the Southern chefs who didn’t have big reputations even in the south yet; and what an inside track that gave me in my never-ending war on my rival food writers. The best thing I had there, by far, was a pork jowl, long cured, confited for 36 hours, seared off and served with some beans in a little cardboard bowl. It was served by Anthony Gray, Art Smith’s chef at Southern Art, a restaurant I didn’t know about and a man I had never met. It was magical. I had eaten 18 other dishes before it at the same event and yet that jowl stuck with me in a way I can’t entirely explain. I think the entire cuisine of the south is like that, at least in its current iteration. The experience cemented the conviction in my mind that the South is where American cooking, in its most vital sense, is happening.
For Them, a Great Meal Tops Good Intentions
Julia Moskin
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/16/dining/for-them-a-great-meal-tops-good-intentions.html?_r=1
May 15, 2012
Thomas Keller Is Not Impressed with Locavores
Andrea Grimes
http://eater.com/archives/2012/05/16/acclaimed-chefs-not-impressed-by-locavores-sustainability.php
May 16, 2012
They are two of the world’s most acclaimed chefs, each with a raft of awards, a constellation of stars and schools of kitchen alumni spreading their gospel. So when the American chef Thomas Keller and Andoni Luis Aduriz of Spain sat down last week for a joint interview, they were in a position to back each other up while slicing through some of the profession’s favorite platitudes. Supporting local agriculture and food traditions? Far too narrow a goal, they said. Chefs’ obligation to help save the planet? A lofty idea, they agreed, but the priority is creating great, brilliant food. Both Mr. Keller and Mr. Aduriz view the goal of haute cuisine as a seamless fusion of pleasure and art. But more radically they are united in the belief that their responsibility as chefs is primarily to create breathtakingly delicious and beautiful food—not, as some of their colleagues think, to provide a livelihood for farmers near their restaurants, to preserve traditional culinary arts or to stop the spread of global warming. All these threads of the current conversation about food that inform the menus of high-end restaurants, especially those labeled “farm to table.” “What restaurant isn’t farm to table?” Mr. Keller asked. “I think about quality, not geography.” “Is global food policy truly our responsibility, or in our control?” he asked. “I don’t think so.” “I agree completely, and it is a brave answer,” came immediately from Mr. Aduriz. “Of course I buy as many things as I can nearby,” he said. “But to align yourself entirely with the idea of sustainability makes chefs complacent and limited.” Instead of an expression of place, ethos or ethnicity, a meal, to Mr. Aduriz, is an intimate encounter between individual and artist.
Thomas Keller’s Disappointing Stance on Sustainable Cooking
Nick Wiseman
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nick-wiseman/thomas-keller-nyt-sustainability_b_1524399.html?ref=food
May 17, 2012
Like most great chefs, I have no doubt that Thomas Keller’s products are among the most pristine out there. I also agree with Mr. Keller (and other giants like David Chang) that the “farm to table” ethos has bred laziness and complacency in some chef’s creative process. But focusing solely on the aesthetics and disclaiming any other responsibility altogether is a cop-out. He can’t singlehandedly change food policy but a philosophy of abdication fails to acknowledge that change needs leaders. When Mr. Keller publicly shrugs off his responsibility for taking on more than just good food at his restaurants, he misses the point. His words reverberate across the globe. The chefs who have preached for humanity and sustainability have won victories and influenced diners far beyond their restaurants. Chefs are at the forefront of food policy, whether they like it or not. I hope Mr. Keller will revisit his powerful statements, because the “entire global food community” is listening.
Now You Can Be Fined for Not Eating All You Can Eat
Amy McKeever
http://eater.com/archives/2012/05/17/now-you-can-be-fined-for-not-eating-all-you-can-eat.php
May 17, 2012
While people in Wisconsin deal with the horror of a man denied all he could eat at an all-you-can-eat fish fry, a British restaurant has decided to go the opposite route. In an effort to reduce waste, Kylin Buffet has begun charging customers £20 if they do not finish the food on their plate from the all-you-can-eat Chinese food buffet. Maybe it’s time for a global summit on what the phrase “all-you-can-eat” actually means? Because if you are not actually going to allow customers to eat all they can eat—or if you’re going to force them to eat more than they can eat—then the phrase probably needs some reworking.
From Science Fiction to Fact, Robots Are Coming to a Farm Near You
Jeremy Bernfeld
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/05/16/152819257/from-science-fiction-to-fact-robots-are-coming-to-a-farm-near-you?ft=1&f=139941248
May 16, 2012
There’s no doubt that robots are cool, but are robots on farms far off in our future? Actually, the future is already here, with highly advanced milking machines on some dairy farms and a fully automated robot planting tractor set to hit the market this fall. Farmers already rely on advanced technology like GPS systems to help with planting and automatic milkers. That makes the jump to robotics pretty easy, says Jeremy Brown, president of Jaybridge Robotics. His Massachusetts-based company makes software that helps turn regular machinery into robotic machinery for commercial use. A few dairy farmers are already on the cutting edge. They face two or three milkings a day and maintain hundreds of cows, just to stay in the black. Some dairies are trying out new milking technology. It goes beyond just a little attachment to a cow’s udder that squeezes the milk out. This takes it a step further, using a robotic arm to prepare and clean the udders, attach the milking equipment, and monitor the cow’s health. Robotic technologies can buy farmers a little more time off. Last Christmas morning one customer of the robotic milking machine witnessed his children finding their Christmas stockings for the first time. Robots are creeping into everyday life, but it’s not likely that farmers will be replaced anytime soon. Today’s modern farmer is a CEO. For now robots are there to help.
Blueberries in Season at McDonald’s
http://www.thepacker.com/fruit-vegetable-news/Blueberries-in-season-at-McDonalds-150495285.html
May 10, 2012
McDonald’s is offering fresh blueberries with oatmeal in a seasonal promotion that lasts through August 3. Naturipe Farms LLC is supplying snack-size blueberry packs to McDonald’s for their banana nut oatmeal, which debuted May 7 and is available all day on the McDonald’s menu. The new oatmeal includes about a quarter cup of fresh blueberries in each serving, along with walnuts and a dried crushed banana, according to McDonald’s website. Naturipe is packing the blueberries in Georgia and California. Naturipe plans to eventually offer blueberries in the ready-to-eat packaging year-round to retailers, with different pack styles planned to meet customer needs. McDonald’s officials said they are using mostly US blueberries, with supplemental supplies coming form Mexico.
Fruit Roll-Ups Company Sued for Misleading Packaging
Molly Aronica, Editor
http://www.thedailymeal.com/fruit-roll-ups-company-sued-misleading-packaging?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+TheDailyMeal+(The+Daily+Meal)&utm_content=Google+Reader
May 14, 2012
General Mills Inc. is being sued over claims that the packaging for Fruit Roll-Ups and Fruit by the Foot leads consumers to believe the products contain “real fruit.” US District Judge Samuel Conti ruled Thursday that the packaging for these products could have led a consumer to believe that the snacks contain fruit, despite claims from General Mills that the ingredients list fruit from concentrate on the labels. The class-action suit claims that the fruit from concentrate in the snacks, according to the labels, does not represent the flavors of the products—for instance, the strawberry Fruit Roll-Up contains pear concentrate, but no strawberry. The court also agreed with claims that the packaging on these products could lead consumers to believe that the snacks are healthy and nutritious, contrary to the listed ingredients which include dried corn syrup, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, and sugar, among other things.
YouTube Food Channel: ‘HUNGRY’ Launching with TV Veterans
J.M. Hirsch
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/16/youtube-food-channel_n_1521949.html?ref=food
May 16, 2012
YouTube Food Channel, HUNGRY, to Launch in July
Andrea Grimes
http://eater.com/archives/2012/05/16/youtube-food-channel-hungry-to-launch-in-july.php
May 16, 2012
Bruce Seidel, a former top executive at Food Network who oversaw the launch of its sister network, Cooking Channel, will oversee the launch of YouTube’s latest original content channel, HUNGRY. The channel, which goes live on July 2, is expected to feature a freewheeling blend of how-to and celebrity-driven food videos. The venture is part of the Google Inc.-owned video site’s plan to launch roughly 100 channels of niche-oriented programming. Seidel was drawn to the project in part for YouTube’s ability to create a more direct community with viewers than generally is possible with network television. It also offered more flexibility not just for viewers, but also for producers who can more easily experiment with format and content. YouTube also offers an enviably large and young demographic, truly the icing on advertisers’ cake. At launch, videos will stick mostly with YouTube convention, running two or three minutes, with new episodes posted weekly. Seidel said they also are eager to explore longer format videos. One of the series will feature fellow Food Network alumnus Duff Goldman, the cake master behind that channel’s reality show “Ace of Cakes.” Goldman also will serve as a talent and programming consultant for HUNGRY. In that role, he said he is eager to push food television both forward and backward. Other series already in production include “Brothers Green,” which features a pair of Brooklyn brothers who are musicians and “underground caterers” tackling new culinary challenges every week; and “Casserole Queens,” which focuses on two Austin women who favor retro food and entertaining.
Grocery Spend Is Increasing but Consumers Are Still Cost-Conscious
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Market/Grocery-spend-is-increasing-but-consumers-are-still-cost-conscious-Market-research/?utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2BDaily&c=vlyaQkNPK92zVSThmaJgYDlnJOoDuN45
May 16, 2012
According to its new report, titled “Reaching Today’s Cost-Conscious Consumer,” MaxPoint Interative found that the average spend on groceries has steadily increased from around $250 pre-recession in August 2007 to $277 post-recession in August 2011. However, consumers are paying more attention to value for money before and during their shopping trips, and nearly three in four respondents said they had changed their shopping habits over the past year. Among other typical recessionary shopping behaviors, two in five respondents said they were buying more store brand products than they were a year ago, while more than half were buying the same amount, and one in four has cut back on prime cuts of meat and seafood.
Coke Takes ‘Natural’ Mid-Calorie Carbonate Plunge in Pepsi NeXT Wake with Stevia-Based Trials
Ben Bouckley
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Market/Coke-takes-natural-mid-calorie-carbonate-plunge-in-Pepsi-NEXT-wake-with-stevia-based-trials/?utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2BDaily&c=vlyaQkNPK93x62rZyti22Hlidud4qmrf
May 15, 2012
The Coca-Cola Company is poised to test its own mid-calorie sodas in the US using Sprite and Fanta with natural sweeteners including Cargill’s stevia brand, hot on the heels of PepsiCo’s mid-calorie cola launch Pepsi NEXT. According to the Associated Press (AP) Coke will test Sprite and Fanta ‘Select’ products this summer with only half the calories (70) of regular drinks: 140 per 12 oz. (354 mil) can. Test markets include Atlanta, Detroit, Louisville (KY) and Memphis (TN), although the firm is not planning a nationwide rollout as yet, the AP said. Coke will use a different sweetening system to Pepsi NEXT (high-fructose corn syrup, sucralose, Ace-K and aspartame) by blending sugar, Cargill stevia brand Truvia and erythritol.