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Paula Deen's Awkward Appearance on the View

YumSugar — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:00:36 -0700

Food Network host Paula Deen appeared on The View this week to promote her new children's cookbook. Those who caught it know that it wasn't pretty to watch. Put the sassy Paula Deen and the straight-laced Barbara Walters together, and you get an uncomfortable dynamic.

As the ladies of The View sit behind a stupendous spread of fried chicken and other Southern comforts, Paula licks strawberry cake off her fingers and pictures of macaroni and cheese grace the background. Walters then forces the queen of Southern cuisine to answer a rather serious question:

This is a cookbook for kids. Obesity is the number one problem for kids today. Everything you have here is enormously fattening. You tell kids to have cheesecake for breakfast . . . Does it bother you that you are adding to it? No? Not at all?

Stunned, Deen bumbles something about moderation - "you know, we don't eat this every day" - to an unconvinced Walters. But Walters has a point. Not one food item in the supposedly kid-friendly spread could be considered wholesome and healthy. Yet, Barbara comes down hard on Paula. Who comes out on top? Watch the video, and weigh in on your thoughts after the jump

Chipotle Promotes Food, Inc. Documentary

YumSugar — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:37:35 -0700

Chipotle doesn't just want to feed its customers - it wants to educate them, too. The fast-casual food chain has teamed up with Magnolia Pictures, Participant Media, and River Road Entertainment to promote Food, Inc., a documentary that exposes issues with the food industry in America. Beginning today, Chipotle Mexican Grill will host free screenings of the film. In addition, the eatery will advertise Food, Inc. with printed material in its 800-plus stores and prepare a bonus feature about sustainable agriculture to be included in the DVD when it is released later this year.
"Chipotle is a great example of a company that's on the right track to improving our food system," director Robert Kenner said. "Chipotle's philosophy shares many of the same values expressed in Food, Inc., and we are very pleased with their support of our film." The Mexican food chain claims to use more naturally raised poultry and pork than any other restaurant worldwide. It also sources ingredients locally whenever possible and buys 35 percent of its beans from organic producers. This promotion is a smart strategy: if Chipotle's devotees weren't aware of the company's sustainable practices yet, they will be now.

Did you know Chipotle was so dedicated to sustainability? Will you attend a free Food, Inc. screening?

Photo by flickr user Photo2217

Food, Inc. Film Exposes Problems With US Food Consumption

YumSugar — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:00:20 -0700

In addition to being captured in photos by National Geographic, the sustainable food crisis is also the focus of a new documentary. Magnolia Pictures' Food, Inc. is a call to action to change the way America eats. It discusses food consumption today, its heavy dependence on corn, its ties to national policy, and its inevitable impact on our nation's health.

Based on the book Food, Inc. (and similar to The Omnivore's Dilemma), the premise of this film appears to be similar: the country's food system, with its focus on making food bigger, cheaper, and faster, is making America sick. The movie also addresses the contamination issues plaguing the nation and the enormous power wielded by US food corporations, with sustainable food poster boys Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser making appearances in the documentary.

If you haven't seen it yet, below is the trailer for the film, which debuts in select cities June 12. Do you think this documentary will prove to be as influential as proponents are hoping it to be? Will you go see it?

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National Geographic's Portrait of the Global Food Crisis

YumSugar — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:00:14 -0700

While it's unlikely that there'll be any shortage of food at Memorial Day grill-outs across the country this weekend, National Geographic has released a special report on the global food crisis that's occurring at the same time.

In "The End of Plenty," writer Joel K. Bourne, Jr., and photojournalist John Stanmeyer address the fact that agricultural productivity isn't keeping up with population growth, and humanity's looked the other way. "For most of the past decade, the world has been consuming more food than it has been producing," Bourne writes. Consequently, the cost of wheat, corn, rice, and other basic commodities has skyrocketed worldwide, hitting the world's poorest billion people the hardest. And the situation will only get worse: based on the world's booming population, we'll need to double our current food production by 2030 in order to keep up with demand. Simply stated: there isn't going to be enough food to go around.

Predictably, the root of the problem lies with agribusiness, and the synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation, and genetic engineering that come along with it. Overconsumption of meat is a problem, too: it takes up to 10 times more grain to get the same amount of calories from eating US grain-fed beef as it does from eating the grain itself. This alone is reason enough for a city to go meatless!

Check out the stunning photo slideshow, which profiles the world's interdependent food system. Do you feel the same urgency to address the world's food crisis?

Plunging Lobster Prices Have Been "Devastating"

YumSugar — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:30:40 -0700

The cost of Maine lobster, which accounts for 80 percent of lobsters in America, has plummeted. What may be a bargain for some has left others in a snag: Lobstermen and northeastern fishing communities, hit hard by the price drop, are struggling to survive.There are a couple of reasons for this price drop. The budget conscious are consuming less of the luxury seafood item. Also, Canadian processors, which buy more than half of Maine's lobster harvest, have been short on credit as many were tied to failing Icelandic banks. This has left Maine with a surplus of lobsters.

"This is as devastating to the state of Maine as Hurricane Katrina washing away all the boats and blowing down all the wharves," says Dana Rice, a lobster dealer who's been in the business for more than 30 years. Many villages are coming together to better the situation. One held a lobster bake on the town pier to get rid of its lobster surplus.

After hearing about the drop in Parmesan cheese prices, are you surprised to learn of the lobster crisis? If you've eaten lobster recently, have you noticed a dramatic price difference?

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Mario Batali to Light Empire State Building Orange Tonight!

YumSugar — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:15:26 -0700

When the sun goes down on New York tonight, celebrity chef Mario Batali and Hollywood actor-director Stanley Tucci will light Manhattan's Empire State Building bright orange. Batali and Tucci, both board members of the Food Bank, are spreading the word about the orange which, aside from matching Batali's clogs, also happens to be the symbolic color for raising funds and awareness of hunger relief. The duo are helping to kick off a hunger relief campaign called Go Orange! for the Food Bank for New York City. For every $1 donated, the food bank donates five meals to the needy, and at least 1.3 million New Yorkers - most of them children or the elderly - risk going hungry.

Those of you living in or near New York: Will you be checking it out from your window? I'd love to hear what you think of it!

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Italy's Parmigiano Crisis

YumSugar — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:10:04 -0700

With cheese prices slipping while raw materials prices multiply, producers of Italy's parmigiano reggiano are turning to the government to remedy a dire situation. The wholesale price of parmiggiano reggiano has fallen below the cost of producing it. Cheese prices have dropped as the result of two factors. First, the availability of parmesan has increased: The sector produces 11 percent more cheese compared to eight years ago. Second, Italians are reacting to the economic downturn by purchasing less of the so-called "King of Cheese."

Producers complain that a select group of supermarkets are able to dictate low prices by buying the bulk of the cheese produced. "This is a prized product. There ought to be policies to safeguard those who produce it," said farmers group Coldiretti.

The group is lobbying the government to temporarily suspend an antitrust law so that producers can cooperate together to reduce output, rather than being wiped out by the competitive market.

Have you heard about the parmigiano reggiano crisis? Have you bought less parmesan cheese as a result of the rising cost of raw materials?

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Dunkin' Donuts One-Ups Starbucks With New Special

YumSugar — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:12:23 -0700

Responding to the economic hardship, breakfast chain Dunkin' Donuts has come out with its version of a recession deal.

Beginning today, small hot and iced lattes will cost only 99 cents from 2 to 5 p.m. The new special, dubbed "America's Latte Break," is the doughnut chain's response to the Starbucks $2 afternoon coffee deal that ended last month. The restaurants will also offer a 99 cent Egg and Cheese Sandwich - all day long - with the purchase of a medium or larger hot coffee. Both specials will run through Nov. 11.

What do you think of "America's Latte Break"? Will it edge out the competition? Will you visit Dunkin' Donuts for afternoon coffee over Starbucks?

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With New Menu Items, Burger King Hopes to Add Value

YumSugar — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:15:06 -0700

Despite the soaring cost of food prices, fast-food chain Burger King announced that it will be adding two petite-sized, lower-cost items priced at $1.39: the Cheesy Bacon BK Wrapper and the Spicy Chicken BK Wrapper.

Burger King is attempting this strategy in a frenzied fast-food climate, as the industry is struggling to balance rising costs of food with value-added items. Fast-food companies such as McDonald's have had a difficult time keeping value items under the traditional $1 mark. Earlier this year, Burger King pulled a test for a double cheeseburger on its value menu for $1, and Jack in the Box just announced a new rollout of pita snacks, or "snack-sized wrap-style sandwiches" for $1.99.

I'm not sure that these tactics will be enough to excel in the current economic environment, but perhaps these changes will allow all of the fast-food chains to gain back some market share. What do you think?

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Whole Foods Falls Short of Success In UK

YumSugar — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:00:19 -0700

Earlier this month, Whole Foods reported losses of $18.4 million for its UK stores.

In addition to its domestic struggles, the Austin-based natural foods chain has been unsuccessful in its attempt to snag a piece of the UK market share. In the last year, the chain has opened six stores in Britain. The highly anticipated debut was a three-story, 80,000-square-foot emporium that opened on London's High Street last June.

So what went wrong? There are several factors: First, the company set up shop at a time when organic foods were still flying off shelves.

Since the credit crunch occurred, however, the country's sales of organic produce have fallen. Second, the organics industry is well developed and competitive in Britain, and existing stores such as Waitrose and Tesco have developed brand loyalty.

With the economy's downward spiral, it's unlikely that Whole Foods's problems will magically disappear. What do you think about the development? Are you surprised Whole Foods wasn't a success in the UK?

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