To die for.
Eco
1 Are Rejected Melons the Next Form of Renewable Energy?
Meat
2 USDA Closes School Lunch Meatpacker, Kids Don't Know Pork
News
3 Produce and Meat's COOL Move
News
4 Could America Be Facing a Sugar Shortage?
Trends
5 USDA Report Monitors Food Trends Over the Last 100 Years
Food News
6 Will a Food Safety Bill Improve the USDA's Tainted Reputation?
Food News
7 Yummy Links: From Bacon to Muskrat
We waited with bated breath, and now that the USDA has unveiled its new food icon, what do you think? Replacing the 20-year-old pyramid, the plate is said to simplify all of the mixed information out there by breaking down nutrition requirements as a framework. The basic message is this: "make sure what is on your plate is balanced and healthy." Balanced meals should consist of servings of Read more
On Thursday, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a big unveiling. It's swapping out the 4-year-old Food Pyramid (shown here) with a new icon that is said to offer simple, easy-to-understand cues to prompt healthy choices. The new logo will be a circular plate that consists of four colored sections for fruits, vegetables, grains and protein. It will also include a smaller plate for dairy, Read more
The history of bacon in civilization, illustrated. — Voracious New editor Adam Rapoport has big Bon Appétit changes in store. — Eater All about Foodily, an ad-free recipe search engine. — Slashfood 10 lucky foods to devour on Chinese New Year. — Chow Yes, you can: buy great cheese on a budget. — Serious Eats New York's famed Le Cirque is expanding to India. — Grub Street NY The Read more
In response to a shocking number of recalls in the past couple of years, the current administration has taken a number of steps to reform food safety. The latest measure toward policy change: a Senate bill that passed over the weekend, giving the FDA authority to recall food, as well as access to internal records at farms and food production facilities. It's expected to be signed into law both Read more
The new dietary guidelines proposed by the Department of Agriculture seem a lot like Michael Pollan's mantra: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." The proposed guidelines — which are updated every five years — seem to take aim at America's obesity crisis. Current figures indicate that one-third of all Americans are obese, with even more individuals being considered overweight. The Read more
Sure, macarons, chicharrones, and street food are big right now, but what's been trending over the past 100 years? To answer that question, the USDA has just published a report on food trends that have occurred over the last century. The USDA tracked 100 years' worth of food products based on information about imports, exports, and production and inventory levels. Changes include a shift from Read more
Did you know that no government agency regulates use of the term "organic" when it comes to makeup and skin care? Yup, it's true. Although the USDA enforces a strict standard when it comes to food labeled as organic, the same isn't true for makeup and skin care, which are notoriously poorly regulated. So what does this mean for you? Well, mostly that if you pick up a product that says it's Read more
I was alarmed to read the results of a Consumer Reports study that said two-thirds of store-bought chickens were contaminated with harmful bacteria. The study tested 382 birds from 100 stores from 22 states around the country. Tyson and Foster Farms chickens scored the poorest — salmonella was found in 80 percent of those samples, while air-chilled chickens fared the best, with only 40 percent Read more
A colossal food fight is one way to use up the season's supply of subpar produce. But scientists have discovered another: convert rejected fruits into biofuel. The study, conducted by USDA researchers and published in the journal Biotechnology For Biofuels, found that the 360,000 tons of fruit rejected by US retailers each year could be converted into roughly two million gallons of biofuel. Read more
If you've got a sweet tooth, you may be forced to reckon with a bitter truth. In a letter sent to US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, several of the country's largest food companies, including General Mills, Kraft, Hershey, and Mars, said the United States could "virtually run out of sugar" if the government doesn't let up on sugar import limits. To keep prices within reason for domestic Read more
