At this year's Boston Seafood Show, which opened on March 20th, worldwide organic farming advocate Naturland is urging the fishing industry to consider more eco-friendly fishing techniques.Hans Hohenester, chairman of the Naturland board of directors, says current fishing ...read more
Many consider sustainable farming a boutique industry, unable to compete with conventional farming and produce enough food to supply populations outside their local communities. And that pesticides and modern food processing technology is the only way to meet the world's demand ...read more
Prince Charles, who once admitted to talking to his plants, is now encouraging everyone to grow an organic garden; even a tiny garden can yield fruits and vegetables, reduce carbon and feed local birds and insects.In 1980, Prince Charles purchased his country home, Highgrove ...read more
Scientists at the Rochester Institute of Technology are working to use microalgae to clean wastewater and produce biodiesel simultaneously; the school announced in a press release last week.Purifying wastewater before sending it back into the ecosystem would reduce or eliminate ...read more
Roseanne started out as a housewife, went on to become a standup comic, got her own a sitcom, starred in movies, sang arguably the worst rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner ever, became Roseanne Arnold, then back to Roseanne Barr, hosted her own talk show, and now -- she grows ...read more
Important nutrition facts may soon appear on the front of food labels, hopes the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food Marketing Institute, who this week announced a new labeling system called "Nutrition Keys."Nutrition Keys, which is voluntary, asks food producers to ...read more
Women exposed to pesticides and plasticizers are more likely to have fertility problems and lower birth-weight babies, says a new study.Plasticizers (or phthalates) are chemical additives used to increase plasticity and softness of materials like plastic, clay, cement and ...read more
European health officials are now warning that the German dioxin outbreak may be worse than previously thought - extending beyond tainted eggs - and prompting some countries to take harsher action.The dioxin scare surfaced after 3,000 tonnes (over 6,600 pounds) of an animal feed ...read more
Go to the supermarket and start pulling products off the shelves and you'll see everything has nutrition labels, even water! And now, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) says starting in 2012, nutrition labels will be mandatory on many popular cuts of meat and ...read more
Where does your food come from? If you say “the supermarket,” then stop reading and go sit in the corner. But the truth is a lot of people don't know where their food is grown, raised, cooked, whatever. That's why the Iowa City School District is taking time to introduce kids to ...read more
Sushi is in trouble. Tuna is on pace to become an endangered species. Conservationists claim Bluefin tuna stocks in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean have dropped 60% between 1997 and 2007.So environmental advocates have been asking the European Union to impose strict ...read more
If you live in a city, fresh fruits and vegetables can be hard to come by. Sure, most major metropolises have farmers markets and the stuff is trucked in from nearby farms, but, it's just not the same as a backyard garden.Well, that's changing. More and more city folk are getting ...read more
Former NFL tight end Eric Johnson, now Mr. Jessica Simpson since his engagement to “singer” is an idea man - or so they say - and the out of work football player wants to start a chain of vegan fast-food restaurants.I don't know about his restaurateur aspirations, but I remember ...read more
Big factory farms mean big fat problems, just look at the recent Cal-Maine egg recall; 24,000 dozen eggs possibly contaminated with salmonella and now an undercover video showing rampant health violations and animal abuse.Clearly we need to regulate giant food producers in the ...read more
If you're looking for a food role model, Michael Pollan is a good choice. He's not a “diet guru” trying to hawk miracle pills, nor is he a celebrity personal training. Michael is a journalist and he's been writing about food and nutrition for a long time, so the guy knows a lot ...read more
Most people have never seen a pomegranate up close, let alone eat one. But humans have been eating pomegranates for thousands of years; growing them in places like Israel, China, Egypt, and the United States. California is a major producer of pomegranates and pomegranate ...read more
I don't know about you, but when I think high-quality gourmet cheese, Costco immediately comes to mind. Not only does it taste great, but you can use the other 999 blocks that came in the case to build a nice shed in your backyard.But your shed-building will have to wait. Federal ...read more
Talk about bad timing, with Thanksgiving right around the corner, a Texas firm has recalled 2,600 pounds of fully cooked, ready-to-eat smoked turkey breast products due to possible contamination with a potentially deadly bacteria.According to the United States Department of ...read more
Looking for a swanky restaurant to impress a hot date or significant other? Go to Zagat's of course. It's the be-all-end-all for finding top restaurants.Go to Zagat's of course. It's the be-all-end-all for finding top restaurants. But now, in a departure from the classy, Zagat's ...read more
Here's your basic school lunch: Tater Tots, boiled to death green beans, some sort of Salisbury steak meat amalgamation, chocolate milk with an inch of syrup on the bottom of the carton, and that plastic foil-sealed cup of "fruit" juice. So the federal government is trying to ...read more
Mega-stores and giant supermarkets are annoying. There's no “running in” for a gallon of milk. The milk is all the way across the store, past sporting goods and the lake of fire - not exactly convenient. But now, in order to accommodate the rush-in-rush-out shopper, big ...read more
Despite its reputation, New Jersey is actually called “The Garden State.” George Carlin once poked fun at that, saying, “Sure, if you're growing smoke stacks, yes.” I live in Jersey, and George is right - well, half right. Nowadays, believe it or not, community gardens - a very ...read more
Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a compound used in the production of plastic, making plastics hard, clear, and shatter-proof; commonly used in water bottles. And for that reason BPA has come under fire in recent years. BPA mimics the body's natural hormones, leading to neurological ...read more
New Hampshire based yogurt maker Stonyfield Farm has upped the going-green ante, recently announcing it's switching its yogurt multi-packs to a corn-based bioplastic. And will fund enough non-GMO corn crops to accommodate the amount of corn needed to make the new packaging. ...read more
When you buy something, you want to know what's in it - right? You wouldn't buy a car without popping the hood, only to find out later that your super-charged Hemi engine is actually an oversized hamster wheel. Hamster not included. That goes double for food. If you can eat it, ...read more
Feeling charitable? But don't know how to give back? Try going out to eat. The American Farmland Trust's "Dine Out for Farms" has paired up with local restaurants to help support a sustainable future for America's farms.The inaugural event kicked off on Sunday and continues ...read more
Next time you're in the supermarket, check out the juice aisle, pick up anything that says “grape drink” or “orange drink,” and check out the ingredients. You won't see anything that even remotely resembles a grape or an orange. Odds are it'll contain “natural flavors,” all ...read more
Think back to grade school. Remember cafeteria food? What were the usual suspects? Most likely churros, mini cartons of chocolate milk, that “fruit” juice in a plastic cup with the foil lid, ice cream-scooped mashed potatoes, and defrosted squares of bland pizza. Oh, and for the ...read more
Kombucha? Didn't he fight Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania in the 80s? Actually, Kombucha isn't a luchador. Kombucha is fermented tea, historically drank in Russia, China, and Japan, and believed to have healing properties. So it's no surprise that Kombuca is becoming a popular item ...read more
Sounds like Adrien Brody flew over the cuckoo's nest. To prepare for his new movie, The Pianist star took to eating bugs in the Canadian wilderness. Come on now! What's he doing? Adrien is a good looking actor, not a troll from Mordor. The dude needs psychotropic medication not ...read more
Oh, this makes sense. If the moon is made out of cow fudge, we certainly need something to dip into that intergalactic blue cheese. Scientists, clearly taking a break from curing cancer, have developed a way to grow vegetables on the moon.Mega-brains at the University of Arizona ...read more
I thought Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut were freaky eaters. Who eats a billion hotdogs and doesn't get carted off to Creedmoor! But “competitive eating” isn't the only food freak show. TLC's new showFreaky Eaters takes a look at people with strange food obsessions, like eating raw ...read more
We grow tons of corn in this country. Drive through the Mid West and you'll discover corn for as far as the eye can see! So, what do we do with all this corn? Well, either we have a tortilla fetish or it's ending up as high fructose corn syrup.Guess what? It's the later. We love ...read more
What is good bar food? Easy! Buffalo wings slathered in suspicious smelling blue cheese, over-fried mozzarella sticks, and stale peanuts, popcorn, pretzels, or - if the bar is really classy, moist Cheez Doodles. The word “gourmet” has no business in a place with sticky floors ...read more
In the United States, we'll deep-fry anything. Go to any state fair, and you'll see all sorts of fried monstrosities, from deep-fried Oreos and Snickers to French fries fried in lard or fatback. Ugh, I can feel my chest tightening. And we love French fries, especially with fast ...read more
Wow, Vincent Price would be proud. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is all set to approve genetically engineered salmon; giving this salmon from the black lagoon a thumbs up for human consumption. When reached for comment, Dr. Frederick Frankenstein said, “Are you ...read more
You better stop picking up oysters at last call at that shady bar in the bad side of town, because they're filthy dirty. Global warming may be to blame for a new rash of the herpes virus wiping out Pacific oysters.Make sure you double bag your oysters now! Actually, that's just ...read more
All the fast food has rotted our brains. Ladies and gentlemen that is what we now consider food! And it's a contestant for the 2010 Big Tex Choice Award at this year's State Fair of Texas. They say it's a fried salad - sort of.How it can be considered a salad I don't know. Its ...read more
Its time to lock up all the chickens. We need to punish all these feather-clad criminals – enough is enough! The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says poultry is the number one culprit for food poisoning and food-borne illness.I’ve never trusted a bird that claims it ...read more
Its over, forget 2012. We might as well pack it in now. This is food? According to Denny's it is. Introducing the Fried Cheese Melt, Denny's new grilled cheese sandwich with four fried mozzarella sticks stuffed inside.We wonder why there's an obesity epidemic. That's why! You ...read more
Go to a Sizzler, you'll see a restaurant packed with bright red lobsters slathered with butter and lemon juice. But a yellow lobster? Yeah, it's true. Yellow lobsters are very rare, but last month a fisherman snagged one in Narragansett Bay's East Passage off the coast of ...read more
Usually when you go to the ballpark it's the lousy, water-downed beer that's overpriced, not the hot dog. But you don't drink a beer with this hot dog and you won't find it at a ball game. Serendipity 3 in New York City, the same restaurant that proffered up the $1,000 ice-cream ...read more
Do you like muffins, cookies, and bread? Well, you better get it while it's - uh - hot, because industry experts say the abnormally hot weather could hurt wheat crops in many countries, raising the price of flour.The heat wave has slowed production in the European Union (EU), ...read more
Really? Fast food isn't big enough? There's still more room to grow? Apparently there is. RNCOS, a leader in market research and information analysis, says the fast food industry could grow by 5% over the next few years.RNCOS found that the fast food industry is still thriving ...read more
China has a bad history with food safety, most notably the baby formula-melamine crisis in 2008, which sickened more than 6,000 babies, and eventually saw the execution of company officials responsible for the contamination. But now authorities from China's Ministry of Health ...read more
Unless you're preparing for the nuclear holocaust or stuck in a trench during World War II, there's no reason to eat canned meat - ever! It's meat, in a can, that lasts for years. That's the definition of disgusting. So its no surprise a brand of canned meat sold in Hong Kong ...read more
You'd think working for the post office or the DMV would raise your risk of heart disease and stroke - that and your risk of shooting up the place or mailing a letter bomb - but no, a new study says people working in the food service and farm industry are the ones who are more ...read more
If you like to cook and you want your food to last until the end of days, then go get yourself a big ole' vat of trans-fat. Trans-fat, or trans fatty acids, is made via the industrial process of adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils. Trans-fat is not natural, but, it's cost ...read more
Dirty drinking water sounds like a third-world problem, to imagine it in a developed nation like the United States seems unfathomable. But not all our water is bottled at a Polish spring in Maine. Some places in the U.S. have nasty water. In states like West Virginia, Virginia, ...read more