Sampler Platter

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Apr 30, 2009 at 10:00:00 AM PDT

• Kellogg's Mini Wheats are not brain food. Officially. Thanks, Federal Trade Commission. Now can you crack down on those obnoxious Function Drinks and their outrageous label claims?

• Natasha Chart wrote up a fantastic piece about why the three sisters (corn, beans, and squash) are so darn nifty.

• Civil Eats writes about Obama's First 100 Days They give the Obamas a B- as a couple, but Michelle is the A student between the two of them when it comes to food and agriculture. (Obama Foodorama also rates Obama's first 100 days. Both articles are worth a read, IMO.)

• Does nanotechnology belong in organics? Broadly speaking, Consumers Union says no, although they note that "it all depends on what one means by nanotechnology."

• Eating Liberally interviewed one of my favorite people ever, Tim LaSalle, in their article The Doctor with a Dirty Prescription to Purge Our Bodies and the Planet. Which reminds me, I saw an awesome bumper sticker that calls on us to stop treating our soil like dirt. I totally want one!!!

• Ha!!! Marion Nestle discusses whether stevia is really natural. You see, stevia is a plant that IS sweet but it has its own flavor. I like using its leaves in teas or curries, but you certainly wouldn't make a batch of cookies using a bunch of ground up stevia leaves. Instead, companies have to "fuss with it" (as Nestle puts it) to cover up the stevia taste if they want to use it as a sweetener. And then is the resulting product still "natural"?

• Smart Money shows the cost of 100 calories at fast food joints. More like Dumb Money if that's how people are planning their food budgets. Hat tip to Marion Nestle.

• Lucky Seattle residents have a new ferry farm stand to look forward to. Commuting just got a lot healthier :)

• Oh Michele Bachmann. Who will we have to laugh at after we vote you out of office in 2010? Her latest is that CO2 isn't bad because it's a natural byproduct of nature.

• Grist examines the differences between soy milk, rice milk, and hemp milk.

• I was glad to read this post from the Internet Food Association that says avocado oil can withstand high heat. Around here, eating local means eating avocado oil. I've visited Bella Vado and watched how they made theirs. Mmm!

• Grossed out Madison, WI students boycott school lunch. Way to go, kids! When the grown-ups fail you, take matters into your own hands!

More on Artificial Sweeteners: Stevia

by: Asinus Asinum Fricat

Thu Sep 11, 2008 at 10:32:25 AM PDT

So what are the big boys doing about it? Follow me over the jump.