The fraudulent "Smart Choices" food labeling gimmick that sought to push sugary cereals as "healthy foods" is crumbling amid the pullout of Kellogg, Unilever and PepsiCo. These companies have been distancing themselves from the fraudulent labeling scam ever since the FDA announced the labeling might be "misleading" and said it intended to investigate. [...more]
The popular belief that healthy eating starts at home and that parents' dietary choices help children establish their nutritional beliefs and behaviors may need rethinking, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. An examination of dietary intakes and patterns among U.S. families found that the resemblance between children's and their parents' eating habits is weak. [...more]
Just seeing a salad on the menu seems to push some consumers to make a less healthy meal choice, according a Duke University researcher. It's an effect called "vicarious goal fulfillment," in which a person can feel a goal has been met if they have taken some small action, like considering the salad without ordering it, said Gavan Fitzsimons, professor of marketing and psychology at Duke's Fuqua School of Business, who led the research. [...more]
In writing Diet for a Small Planet, I learned one simple truth: Hunger is not caused by a scarcity of food but a scarcity of democracy. But that realization was only the beginning, for then I had to ask: What does a democracy look like that enables citizens to have a real voice in securing life's essentials? Does it exist anywhere? Is it possible or a pipe dream? With hunger on the rise here in the United States-one in 10 of us is now turning to food stamps-these questions take on new urgency. [...more]
People across the country and throughout the world are realizing that to confront the climate crisis and create secure and healthy communities, we'll need vibrant regional food systems. Interested in growing a local food revolution in your kitchen or community? Here are some helpful resources [...more]
How to turn a lawn into lunch, swap preserves, glean, boost your food security, live the good life. [...more]
On the first day of spring — thousands of people in the US and around the world hold informative and educational Meatout events, including colourful "lifestivals", street theater, lectures, public dinners, cooking demos, food samplings, leafleting, information tables. The public is asked to "kick the meat habit (at least for a day) and explore a wholesome, nonviolent diet of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains." [...more]
The availability of healthy food choices and your quality of diet is associated with where you live, according to two studies conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Researchers examined healthy food availability and diet quality among Baltimore City and Baltimore County, Md., residents and found that availability of healthy foods was associated with quality of diet and 46 percent of lower-income neighborhoods had a low availability of healthy foods. [...more]
Far from fruit snobbery, the plum is being ushered in after Cisneros and Dr. David Byrne, AgriLife Research plant breeder, judged more than 100 varieties of plums, peaches and nectarines and found them to match or exceed the much-touted blueberries in antioxidants and phytonutrients associated with disease prevention. [...more]
Now that you've decided to eat a primarily raw-vegan food based diet, you may wonder how you can dine out at regular food restaurants. Of course you want to maintain and even grow your social life, right? Right. Well you have good reason to be thinking ahead about this because dining out at restaurants and in other people's homes are definitely going to happen. In fact, dining out is our culture's most popular social activity. Rest assured, it is possible to eat a healthy, raw, satiating meal while out with friends or family. The key here, as with maintaining a raw lifestyle while traveling, is planning and packing. [...more]
