Kiko's Food News, 1.23.15

Deb Eschmeyer, whose FoodCorps today places 200 service members into schools (including via my employer, the Capital Area Food Bank!) to promote healthier eating, has replaced Sam Kass as executive director of Let’s Move! and senior policy adviser for nutrition policy: (Politico)

Chipotle suspended purchases from a pork producer that ran afoul of its animal welfare rules, an admirable stake in the ground that bolsters its reputation with diners but threatens sales and profits: (Reuters)

Despite what Paleo-heads may say, the microbiome’s ability to respond to our diet is why our bodies can adapt to so many different ways of eating–regardless of how long it might take for our genes themselves to change: (Huffington Post)

From policing deceptive labeling to protecting food workers, here’s a roundup of last year’s legal victories for food issues, in honor of my legally minded fiancé! (Eat Drink Politics)

Studies showed that students who ate lunch after recess consumed 54% more fruits and veggies than those who ate before–maybe because they weren’t rushing to playtime, or maybe because movement stoked their appetite for the healthy foods: (NPR)

Who else is thirsty for radlers (beers made with citrus juice) and Lambrucha (part lambic beer and part kombucha)? Guess I’m one of those health-conscious women to whom US beverage makers are targeting their new low-alcohol drinks: (New York Times)

Kiko's Food News, 1.9.15

In 2015, if you’re not into fat you’d better leave the kitchen. So next time you’re left with a chicken carcass or beef bones, consider making the food trend and health silver bullet du jour: bone broth, which is like stock but with a higher proportion of bones to meat: (New York Times)

Similarly, schmaltz has long served as the backbone of Jewish cooking, but is making a comeback with home cooks who realize that lard isn't such a bad-for-you ingredient, after all: (Huffington Post)

How cool that a publisher exists to put out only children's books about healthy eating? Its latest title is Alice Waters and the Trip to Delicious: (Civil Eats)

We knew gut bacteria was necessary for physical health, but a new Oxford study suggests that its presence dictates our mental health, too; prebiotics may have an anti-anxiety effect, as they alter the way that people process emotional information: (Huffington Post)

Yes the economy is improving, but this means about 1 million people will lose SNAP (food stamps) in the coming year as states re-impose the three-month limit on benefits to unemployed adults who are not disabled or raising children: (CNN) 

An increasing number of food nonprofits are relying on Walmart to fund their programs, but this author encourages them to consider how what is good for one organization may not be good for the food movement as a whole: (Civil Eats)
 

Kiko's Food News, 12.27.14

While most of us had our eyes on the holiday prize, Senate cleared and Obama signed a $1.1 trillion spending bill; tucked within it was a provision prohibiting the government from requiring less salt in school lunches and allowing schools to obtain exemptions from whole-grain requirements: (New York Times)

Last week at a friend’s dinner table, we noticed the wine label said “contains milk and eggs”; hard to understand, until I came across this article: (Civil Eats)

Tech advances in tuna catching are a boon for commercial fishing, but without more regulation, they could end up killing off the stock: (The Guardian)

A UC Berkeley study showed how methods like crop rotation and polyculture are much more productive than bare-bones organic farming, testament to the fact that simply eliminating pesticides does not make a farming system agroecological: (Civil Eats)

And research demonstrated that we feel less full when we think food has less calories; the hormonal response to this perception can sabotage diet attempts:(Forbes)

Kiko's Food News, 12.12.14

Here’s proof that fast food chains can be profitable while paying workers $15 per hour: one burger group in Detroit expects all of its workers to be jacks-of-all-trades, which keeps them engaged enough to stay in their job and saves the company from losing money to employee turnover: (NPR)

Sam Kass, the White House chef and head of Michelle Obama’s Let's Move! initiative, is leaving his post to follow his new wife to New York City; I’m curious what private company he’ll join up with to promote cooking and health next: (Wall Street Journal)

Although cooks of centuries past knew that foods change over time, today an ingredient’s life is thought to have ended once time has altered it in any way; this article celebrates uses for chips, bread, milk, and more that are past their prime: (New York Times)

An alliance of six of the largest U.S. school districts announced that its members want antibiotic-free chicken to serve in their cafeterias; if suppliers can't meet the "no antibiotics ever" pledge, they’ll be required to write a plan for meeting the goal: (Natural Resources Defense Council)

Could American and European citizens’ individualism trace back to the wheat-based agrarian society of our forefathers, whereas Eastern cultural tendencies to think interdependently are rooted in a history of rice farming? (New York Times)

None of us want to consider that our parents could be malnourished, but a study found that 60% of patients age 65 and up were under-nourished when they checked into a hospital for other reasons; depression, immobility, and lack of income are factors that put the elderly at risk of not taking in adequate sustenance :-( (Next Avenue)

Kiko's Food News, 12.5.14

Don't lose hope if your clan can't often make it home for dinner together--families are making breakfast the new bonding meal: (Wall Street Journal)

Starting next November, menus in American restaurants, theaters and beyond will have to list calories; but whether menu labeling works for calorie reduction remains to be seen, partly because those who change their ordering behavior tend to be outside of the target population: (New York Times)

Since healthfulness isn't typically a food donor's top concern, food banks--increasingly focused on the nutrition they provide to those in need--are coaching the public on the kind of low sodium, low sugar, high fiber nonperishables they actually want: (NPR)

The Ebola crisis is exacerbating food shortages in Liberia, as a lack of labor hinders production; hungry rice farmers are eating the seeds they’d normally hold back for planting next season: (Bloomberg)

A group of employees at a popular SF Chinese restaurant joined Bay Area legal groups in announcing a historic $4 million dollar settlement with the restaurant’s owners; it involves back pay for 280 employees, as well as a 5% raise for non-tipped workers: (Civil Eats)

It’s a crazy point in a farm family’s life cycle when a professional “succession planner” needs to be called in, but that’s what’s happening at some of the roughly 30% of U.S. farms wrestling with parents reaching retirement: (Fast Company)

Friday night wine date at...Starbucks? Looks like they’re taking a cue from the great European-style coffee houses that transition seamlessly from morning to night as they aim to double food sales: (Wall Street Journal)

Kiko's Food News, 11.22.14

If more and more evidence is showing that milk consumption may be unhelpful or even detrimental for adults, why does the USDA still recommend that we drink three cups a day? (New York Times)

Researchers who surveyed 9,500 subjects found those who reported cooking dinner at home most frequently (6 to 7 times a week) consumed “significantly fewer” calories than those who relied more heavily on restaurant meals and frozen foods: (Civil Eats)

A study found that greater focus on emotional training, versus nutritional training, may be the key to changing eating habits for weight loss: (Food Navigator)

Tracie McMillan again deftly explores the intersection of food and poverty when she examines Whole Foods Detroit; while the store’s executives claim to serve "all of Detroit" with lower prices, McMillan estimates 5-12% of sales go to food stamp customers in a city where 38% are enrolled in the federal program: (Slate)

An avant-garde San Francisco restaurant is setting itself apart through its “living pantry”; herbs float in a closed-loop aquaponic system right up until they’re harvested and served: (Civil Eats)

Kiko's Food News, 11.14.14

Four food movement leaders argue that we need an official national food policy, since our national agricultural policy sacrifices public health by boosting the productivity of American farmers that churn out a surfeit of unhealthy calories: (Washington Post)

Talking about proactive public health policy, the landslide passage of a 1-cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in Berkeley will encourage other cities to pursue similar initiatives—but not effortlessly, as a 2-cent tax was rejected across the bay in San Francisco on the same day: (USA Today)

And as soda gets out of the way, I’m stoked to see Hint Water—an unsweetened drink alternative—getting distribution in food service settings like universities and hospitals: (Fast Company)

I ate up Mark Bittman’s credo that the solution to hunger, which today takes the form of obesity and diabetes, is not to produce more food but to eliminate poverty: (New York Times)

Whole Foods has started issuing ratings for its fruit, veggies, and flowers—even those flown in from overseas—to measure the quality of farming practices; fresh food is color coded as “good,” “better,” and “best”: (Grist)

The student of innovative retail that I am, it was fun to read this story of how the great idea of doubling SNAP bucks to buy produce was carried all the way from farmers market activists to national legislators: (NPR)

Kiko's Food News, 10.31.14

Californians may know a tri-tip steak cut like the back of their hands, but most Americans are confused by the names of cuts at the meat counter; a move to standardize labels on 350 cuts of beef and pork might help: (New York Times)

The new Meat Collective Alliance joins groups popping up around the country to connect local livestock and poultry farmers with consumers interested in bulk purchases of meat: (Modern Farmer)

Far too often, all isn't solved once a struggling household gets something to eat; food comes at the expense of other basic needs that no one should have to live without: (Huffington Post)

The FDA is planning a revision of the current nutrition label; the new label would separate added sugars from naturally occurring, and highlight the number of calories in the amounts of food people actually consume at a sitting: (New York Times)

The Japanese government is trying an experiment to repopulate a farming town losing young residents to the cities; this means sayonara to small farms, as local authorities will consolidate abandoned land for use by private companies: (Washington Post)

Kiko's Food News, 10.17.14

At what point do we learn to act fancy around fancy food? Lucky for us, these kids haven’t gotten there yet: (New York Times)

San Franciscans will soon vote on whether to make their city the first to tax sugary beverages; the American Beverage Industry is on the defense with high-priced lobbyists and PR firms placing billboards and expensive ads on radio and TV stations in the area: (Mother Jones)

A new ingredient that looks like blood, has a metallic taste, and is derived from hemoglobin is being tried in veggie foods to make them appealing to meat eaters: (Wall Street Journal)

Brunch may seem like a harmless combo of eggs, mimosas and a hangover, but it has its haters too: (New York Times)

With hemp milk, cashew milk, rice milk and other non-dairy alternatives increasingly showing up at coffee bars, I found this chart comparing them to be helpful; goat milk packs a nutritional punch! (Huffington Post)

Kiko's Food News, 10.10.14

We Americans may be stuck in a cereal rut, but children around the world eat some pretty colorful things for breakfast! Here’s some inspiration to try new flavors in the morning: (New York Times)

School lunch in America is a case study on the influence exerted by the USDA, Let’s Move, the School Nutrition Association, big food lobbies, and other players: (New York Times)

Farmers markets get a wholesome wrap, but it turns out many require oversight to prevent fraud by small producers who can be strapped for cash, or tempted to bring in produce they didn’t grow: (Modern Farmer)

Walmart announced an initiative to reduce the environmental impact of its food; is this just marketing speak, or will the country’s largest grocer actually use its clout to sway how much water is used to produce a crop, or to shorten the distance a load of strawberries is shipped? (New York Times)

Out of respect for food traditions and traceability, nearly a fourth of millennial Jews are keeping kosher--almost twice the rate of their baby-boomer parents: (NPR)

Should we reconsider eating octopus, considering its documented intelligence and the labor needed to make it tender and tasty? (The New Yorker)

Kiko's Food News, 10.3.14

Hope you’re hungry for food news, because today brings a double serving....

On-trend caffeine lovers are adding butter to their coffee--not only to enjoy an incredibly creamy cup, but because the high fat content slows the time it takes to metabolize the caffeine, decreasing the risk of slump later:  (Huffington Post)

Donut with that coffee? Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' have made new commitments to source palm oil for frying from suppliers who are not clear-cutting forests; their going deforestation-free signals a shift in the fast food industry: (NPR)

Coke, Pepsi and Dr Pepper said they’ll work to reduce the calories Americans get from beverages by 20% over the next decade by more aggressively marketing smaller sizes, bottled water, diet drinks, and vending machines printed with calorie counts: (Washington Post)

The Paleo diet has ballooned into a cave-man-inspired lifestyle offering Paleo action figures, beauty products, liquors, sleep masks and clothing: (New York Times)

Poultry companies--even the big guys like Perdue--are turning to probiotics as an alternative to antibiotics: (NPR)

But how should bacteria be kept in check after slaughter? American chicken processors use a cap of chlorine per gallon of water in a tank that chills the carcasses, whereas Europeans banned chlorine treatment in the 1990s: (NPR)

Unable to cope with falling prices for their products due to a Russian embargo, French vegetable farmers set fire to tax and insurance offices in Brittany: (BBC)

Mark Bittman postulates that any cooking project can be plotted along a continuum of time and work, and recommends cooking toward the extremes of that continuum: (New York Times)

Unprecedented demand for supply chain transparency is driving a new wave of tools that aim to boost traceability of ingredients: (Specialty Food) 

After this big serving of food news, go take a walk! It's apparently the “superfood of fitness”: (Reuters)

Kiko's Food News, 9.18.14

As I pen this, we’re waiting for the results of Scotland’s independence referendum to come in...will Scottish people pay more for food if they go it alone? (Vice)

A top Texas official had a cow this week over Meatless Mondays, accusing school districts that have scaled back on serving meat of succumbing to a “carefully orchestrated campaign” to force Americans to become vegetarians: (Grist)

We Americans, along with the Japanese, Australians and Scandinavians, may bathe and refrigerate our chicken eggs, but here’s why many other cultures don’t: (NPR)

Any of you penny-pinching beer lovers wonder why craft brews are more expensive than mass produced? (Huffington Post)

Suppose you could upload a photo of your fast-food receipts from the past year, and get the corresponding amount of free, healthy, ready-to-prepare food in exchange? (USA Today)

Kiko's Food News, 9.11.14

It’s exciting to see healthier food marketing to kids pursued not only by removing junk food ads and toys, but by creating fun, nutritious snack food aisles in the grocery store: (Professional Search for Knowledge)

Big Food skeptics like myself should consider this argument that mega food service providers could be ideally poised to healthify eating habits and offerings in the lunch room with their food scientists, testing panels, and clever marketing: (Forbes)

This report identifies the six "Best Places to Farm" in the US, based on an analysis of the profitability, financial efficiency and growth of farming in nearly 3,000 counties:  (Farm Futures)

The Chinese search-engine giant Baidu has rolled out a set of “smart chopsticks” that can detect oils containing unsanitary levels of contamination--useful in a country that has been rocked with scandals from toxic milk to glow-in-the-dark pork: (Wall Street Journal)

Starbucks is testing coconut milk in stores as alternatives to traditional dairy grow more popular; the chain isn't testing almond milk due to nut allergy concerns: (Reuters)

Sometimes Food News can be as simple as one really satisfying, creamy-crunchy dish: if you’re a fan of avocado toast, check out all of the variations people are whipping up these days! (Brooklyn Based)

Kiko's Food News, 9.5.14

San Francisco will be the first American city to offer a financial incentive for urban farming; starting this week, owners of empty lots could save thousands of dollars a year in property taxes in exchange for allowing their land to be farmed! (San Francisco Chronicle)

A Harvard study revealed that even though the overall quality of American diets has increased in the past decade, nutritional disparities between the rich and poor are growing; the study’s authors see sugar-sweetened bevvies as a key area where policy can play an even greater role: (The Atlantic)

Perdue, one of the country’s largest poultry producers, announced it will no longer use antibiotics in its hatcheries; the company has overhauled its cleaning procedures and made other tweaks to prevent infection, including experimenting with adding oregano, yucca and herbs to its feeds: (New York Times)

Almost one-third of food workers experience food insecurity at some time during the year; how ironic that one-sixth of our nation's workforce work in the food-production chain, and so many can’t make enough to put healthy food on the table: (Huffington Post)

The food industry and agribusiness allies that oppose labeling of GMO foods spent $27.5 million in the first half of this year on lobbying that involved labeling--triple the amount they spent last year: (Environmental Working Group)

Kiko's Food News, 8.29.14

Grandma, if you're reading this, don't give up your cottage cheese just yet: doctors know that people who eat too much salt should eat less of it, but may be guilty of running too far and too fast in the other direction given that Americans' average consumption of 3.4 grams of sodium per day is on the low end of the "safe zone": (New York Times)

It's worth thinking about why people of lesser means may struggle to maintain a healthy weight, whether it's due to the challenge of exercising in an unsafe neighborhood or emotional eating that can stem from the stress of making ends meet: (The Atlantic)

In Russian Food News, Putin's government closed four McDonalds' in Moscow last week, including one that is in some years the busiest McDonald's in the world; the reason given by the country's consumer protection agency was "numerous violations of the sanitary code", but "Beeg Mak" lovers there know better: (New York Times)

Mexican authorities are restricting food marketing to children on television and in movie theaters, part of an attack plan against staggering obesity rates there; the restrictions follow recent taxes on sugary beverages and calorie-dense snacks: (Wall Street Journal)

Uber is trying its hand in the fast-food delivery industry with its new service "UberFRESH", which it claims will deliver meals from local restaurants in under 10 minutes: (Forbes)

Kiko's Food News, 8.22.14

Given the over $1 billion of food the US exported to Russia last year, Putin’s ban on American food imports is going to hit our poultry, pork and nut industries hard; food makers, however, claim they’ll be able to redistribute production to other global markets: (Washington Post)

In other geo-political food news, as the Israel-Gaza conflict has intensified, an app called Buycott is allowing shoppers to avoid products deemed to support Israel: (Forbes)

The next international exposition, 2015 Expo Milan, will gather 140 countries to tackle the question of how to feed a future of 9 billion people without destroying the planet; America’s presence will focus on topics like GMOs and our obesity epidemic, fueled by national faves like lobster rolls and po’ boys: (Washington Post)

French scientists seem to have figured out how to make raw milk cheese safe, so cheesemakers at England’s legendary Neal’s Yard Dairy want to translate a French government cheese manual to unlock the secrets of how to use good bacteria to battle the bad: (NPR)

Whether it’s San Francisco’s Valencia or D.C.’s 14th NW, many urban streets beloved for independent business are losing ground to chain stores that all feel the same; somehow though, the “sleek epicurean village” one entrepreneur is hatching in Paris feels especially dramatic: (New York Times)

Kiko's Food News, 8.8.14

A study showed that type 2 diabetes is more common in people who work shifts, likely because of the altered sleeping and eating patterns that shift work requires; eating late at night also makes one more likely to store calories as fat, leading to an increase risk of obesity: (Forbes)

The American Society of Nutrition’s Position Paper on Processed Foods has elicited discussion over the high percentage of nutrients in the average diet that come from processed foods, as well as what even qualifies a food as “processed”: (Huffington Post)

If you’ve ordered “eight olives in a ramekin”, or “an unconventional riff on brussels sprouts”, at a restaurant lately, you might be frequenting the typical trendy restaurants of our day: (Eater)

This author wants an end to the artisanal food that’s creeping into the ballpark, seeing no reason that a stadium experience should try to mimic a fine dining one: (USA Today)

Does anyone actually choose to eat honeydew? People rarely buy it for themselves, but often serve it to others (who most likely pick around it for the canteloupe and watermelon): (New York Times)

So, if you’re as enamored by melons’ summer sweetness as I am, how do you pick the best ones? Tips from one of my favorite bloggers include choosing watermelons with scars, and honeydews with rough tracks: (Chinese Grandma)
 

Kiko's Food News, 7.25.14

“I don’t waste food, but everyone else does”--be honest, does this sound like you? A poll found that 63% of respondents are concerned about the amount of food wasted in the US, but only 1 in 3 thinks the amount of food wasted in their own household is a problem: (Sustainable America)

That's worrisome, but I was impressed by the messaging and merchandising of French grocery chain Intermarché's Inglorious fruits and veggies campaign, which shines a light on consumer waste: (Daily Mail)

Speaking of the French, even their restaurants are reheating pre-prepared food rather than cooking it from scratch these days; the government is trying to preserve what traditions it can by inventing a new logo for menus to flag food that’s been home made: (BBC)

Some innovative US farmers are selling gift cards; they're easily swiped at farmer’s markets, and are another way (à la CSA) for farmers to get paid up front: (Conde Nast)

San Francisco’s “toy ordinance,” meant to improve the nutritional value of fast-food kids meals, instead has just led fast-food companies to charge for toys rather than move towards healthier meals: (Wall Street Journal)

Nestlé is bottling water straight from the heart of California’s drought, exporting a seriously limited resource--with no oversight: (Salon)

Kiko's Food News, 7.18.14

Through National Geo’s beautiful photography and Traci McMillan’s justice-oriented storytelling, this article reveals how the suburbs are one of many places where poverty is on the rise and a new face of hunger is being revealed: (National Geographic)

The CDC encourages workers to stay home if they’re sick, but that’s not an option for food industry workers, 70% of whom are low wage employees with no paid sick days; ironically, the worst food-borne illnesses, including a virus that sickens 20 million Americans each year, originate from contaminated food handled by sick workers: (CNN)

A comprehensive review of earlier studies found substantially higher levels of antioxidants and lower levels of pesticides in organic fruits, veggies and grains compared with conventionally grown produce; the findings don’t claim, however, that eating organic produce will lead to better health: (New York Times)

In areas where fresh produce is hard to come by and fast or packaged food is perceived as easier and cheaper than cooking ingredients, “groceryships” are a new attempt to provide families with an allowance to spend on plant-based groceries: (Civil Eats)

Now that we know sugar-laden juice isn’t the healthiest thirst quencher for kids to drink day in and day out, is it possible kids tea could become the new go-to? (Food Navigator)

And for the adults, rosé is pretty–but if you’re a little pinked-out, you might consider orange wine; it’s stocked with tannins from the time spent with grape skins, seeds and stems: (Modern Farmer)

Kiko's Food News, 7.11.14

With an aging population of farmers, it’s clear that agriculture needs to attract more young people; luckily, ag jobs these days include permaculture design, communication technologies, forecasting, logistics, quality assurance, food prep, environmental science….lots of sexy fields for the youths! (Food Tank)

And here’s a step towards training them for the work: an emphasis on food issues will become an intensifying focus among all 10 University of California campuses, centered by the UC Global Food Initiative: (Sacramento Bee)

Testing is in progress on two treatments that desensitize patients who suffer from some of the most common allergens, including peanuts, milk, eggs, shellfish and wheat: (NBC)

Did you know the USDA has a “Let’s Glean!” toolkit, developed to assist groups with food recovery? More food-saving habits fall under the “gleaning” umbrella than you may realize: (Grist)

San Francisco’s food “swamps” (ever heard of those? They’re low-income neighborhoods with a lot of food but not much that is nutritious) are being made over by healthy corner store initiatives; the Southeast Food Access Working Group is one to which Bi-Rite has lent merchandising training: (Civil Eats)