Agriculture’s crown jewels
on Nov 6, 2009 in food policy food safety agriculture fruit & vegetables sustainability 700 miles from the North Pole, tucked away in a sandstone cavern in a frozen, Arctic mountain, is the making of future dinners. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault opened in early 2008 as a sort of back-up hard drive for nature.  It operates as safe stor...

Cracking the Code: Egg Essentials
on Nov 4, 2009 in food business food policy food safety agriculture eggs USDA Are you uneasy in the egg aisle? You’re not alone. Egg cartons are plastered with stamps and seals and jargon-filled labeling: authority over egg-production standards is shared by a web of federal agencies; compliance is monitored by the states...

A bone of contention
on Nov 2, 2009 in fish food safety sustainability green mercury Phone Apps Infographic courtesy of Good Magazine Just try to sort out the information on fish. It’s undeniably healthy: low in saturated fats, high in essential fatty acids, and an excellent source of protein, B vitamins, and trace minerals. But what kind...

Must love sandwiches
on Oct 31, 2009 in sandwiches social media diversions lunch break Sexy ovo-lacto vegetarian on the hunt for the perfect creme brulee. - ad courtesy of TuttiPersonals/TuttiFoodie.com Would you date someone who doesn’t like Chinese Food? Or chocolate? Or wine? What if you’re chevre on a crusty baguette...

The “healthy” new mini Coke
on Oct 29, 2009 in food business food policy advertising sugar . “The Coca-Cola mini can innovation reinforces the Company’s support for healthy, active lifestyles.” . Sandy Douglas, President, Coca-Cola North America Pardon my cynicism, but I’m finding Mr. Douglas’ statement a...

Message in a bottle (140 characters or less)
on Oct 27, 2009 in shopping social media wine artisanal twitter Twitter is launching a wine label. The micro-blogging social media site is venturing into wine making as a side project and charitable endeavor. Twitter has partnered with Crushpad, a DIY winery and Bay Area neighbor to produce a Pinot Noir and a Ch...

A vegan in a Hummer has a lighter carbon footprint than a meat eater in a Prius
on Oct 26, 2009 in food policy sustainability agriculture fruit & vegetables green vegetarian That’s the assertion made by author and food activist Michael Pollan while speaking on a panel as part of last weekend’s PopTech 2009 conference. What a notion! The EPA estimates that a 2009 Toyota Prius generates about 0.56 lb. of CO2...

Whatever will you name your bacon?
on Oct 23, 2009 in food business artisanal start up A documentary film about ice cream trucks. A graduate student who would rather be making chocolate. A sculptor who wants to cast endangered apple varieties in porcelain. These are some of the projects that have been successfully funded through Kicks...

Gourmet, Unbound: an online celebration of a magazine’s legacy
on Oct 22, 2009 in Web 2.0 recipes social media magazines The food world has been reeling from the shock. On October 5, 2009 Condé Nast announced that Gourmet will cease monthly publication due to a decline in advertising sales and shifting food interests among the readership . The magazine’s Novem...

Making Sense of the Sugar Wars
on Oct 21, 2009 in food policy food safety sustainability advertising agriculture food fruit & vegetables sugar The Corn Refiners Association is causing quite a stir with its print ads and television commercials pushing an image makeover for high fructose corn syrup. In one TV ad, a mother pours a glass of bright red punch; in another, a woman offers a cherry...