Kiko's Food News, 10.5.12

Guess who Chiquita has chosen to run their fruit and vegetable business? A former cleaning fluids CEO (and we wonder how huge food companies end up prioritizing profit over the well being of the people they feed!): (full story, Wall Street Journal)

The number of farms around the country has risen over the past decade (4% from 2002 to 2007), the first increase since the Great Depression pushed Americans into the fields in the 1930′s: (full story, Washington Post)

With millions of Hong Kong consumers worried about the safety of fruits, veggies and meats coming from mainland China, more are tending plots on rooftops and balconies; organic food stores are opening across the city, and there are about 100 certified organic farms in Hong Kong (vs. zero organic farms seven years ago): (full story, New York Times)

A study revealed that the only improved yield attributable to GMO crops is pesticide yield; genetically engineered crops led to a 404 million pound increase in pesticides between 1996 and 2011: (full story, CA Right to Know)

The White House announced that César Chávez, the late United Farm Workers founder, will be honored with a national monument named for him; Obama also declared March 31 to be César Chávez Day last year, both a welcome celebration of a champion for farm workers rights: (full story, Tucson Sentinel)

Kiko's Food News, 9.28.12

Have you confirmed your polling place for November 6th? With less than six weeks until election day, a poll showed that Prop 37 is likely to pass, supported by 61% of voters and opposed by 25%! ((full story, LA Times)

Governor Jerry Brown signed the Homemade Food Act into law, allowing Californians to make certain foods and baked goods at home and sell them to stores, restaurants and directly to consumers: (full story, LA Times)

It’s estimated that one of two tomatoes eaten in the US comes from Mexico, but that might change as the US Department of Commerce considers ending a 16-year-old agreement with Mexican growers that has kept the price of their tomatoes so low for American consumers (low enough that American growers can’t compete): (full story, New York Times)

The new Local Food/Tech Landscape is an interactive infographic that categorizes food & technology innovations by their role in the emerging alternative food system, whether it’s farming, aggregating, distributing, finding or buying; with the proliferation of start-ups in the local food and technology space, I have to admit this gives me a sense of order! (full story, Food Hub)

A new crowd-sourced map for finding antibiotic-free meat can help lead you to cleaner meals no matter where you are in the country: (full story, Fast Company)

If you’re one to choose a college for its dining options, check out this semi-scientific list of the best colleges for food in America; from tandoori ovens to on-site bakeries and meat shops to on-campus gardens with grills so students can BBQ on a whim, we’ve sure come a long way: (full story, FOX News)

Kiko's Food News, 9.21.12

As Non-GMO Month (October) and the Prop 37 Vote (November 6th) approach, the GMO labeling debate is heating up!

The first long-term feed trial exploring the health impacts of eating GMO corn and Roundup found that “safe” levels of each caused tumors, organ damage and premature death in lab rats, at odds with the ag-biotech industry’s mantra that GMOs are safe to eat: (full story, Sustainable Food Trust)

Mark Bittman predicts that if California votes Yes on 37, requiring labeling of GMO-containing foods, food manufacturers will reformulate their products using non-GMO ingredients and research in all fields of agriculture may increase: (full story, New York Times)

But it’s shocking to see companies behind some of the biggest organic brands we know–Kashi, Cascadian Farm, Horizon Organic and more–opposing labeling and contributing millions of dollars to defeat Prop 37: (full story, New York Times)

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Did you know coffee is the most widely traded agricultural commodity in the world? Thanksgiving Coffee Company, a few hours north of us in Fort Bragg, is trying to minimize its impact in CO2 emissions through a new Carrotmob campaign; if successful, they’ll attempt to become the first coffee company in modern times to ship via wind power: (full story, Carrotmob)

Makers of snacks, sweet drinks and candy have long been under pressure to limit advertising to minors on TV and the web; now they’re reaching kids by embedding their products in games for phones and tablets, which is cheaper than TV commercials and so far unregulated: (full story, Wall Street Journal)

A new report projected that half of U.S. adults will be obese by 2030 unless Americans change their ways; currently, 36% of adults and 17% percent of children age 2-19 are considered obese: (full story, Reuters)

So what’s the best way for our government to fight this? This article debates whether banning mega sodas is going too far: (full story, Wall Street Journal)

Kiko's Food News, 9.14.12

 “Feeding someone is about as close as you can get without having sex with them”–Sam gave his TEDx talk about how prioritizing relationships over profit has led to Bi-Rite’s success: 

The New York City Board of Health unanimously voted to approve Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed ban on sugary drinks larger than 16 oz at restaurants, movie theaters and more; it will take effect next March: (full story, CNN)

And starting Monday, McDonalds will post calorie counts on every menu board and drive-through sign at their over 14,000 U.S. locations! (full story, Los Angeles Times)

The organic label’s place in our food decision making process is a complicated one; this article tackles the confusing bundle of values shoppers must weigh in the cluttered grocery aisle: (full story, New York Times)

Food co-ops are making big changes since the origin of their movement in the 1970′s, in response to the growth of Whole Foods and other organic and specialty-food giants opening stores across the U.S.: (full story, Washington Post)

Nicholas Kristof took a break from international coverage to visit with a dairy farmer friend in his hometown; he learned about the movement to get cows out of confinement and back on the land, and the philosophy that cows are a team member–not an object to be exploited: (full story, New York Times)

The State Department is deploying an elite force of 80 top chefs from across the U.S. as the first-ever American Chef Corps; the group, which includes Jose Andres, Ming Tsai, and Rick Bayless, will be called on to prepare state dinners, travel abroad or host culinary experts from around the world: (full story, NPR)

Kiko's Food News, 8.31.12

“As California goes, there goes the nation”, and in advance of November’s vote the Cornucopia Institute released a shocking visual of food brands divided yes vs no on Prop 37; many we may think of as health oriented are those opposing GMO labeling: (full story, Cornucopia Institute)

And in other GMO news, A USDA panel reached consensus that growers of genetically engineered crops should try to contain the spread of their genes to organic crops; disappointingly, the panel refused to hold the biotech companies that create the seeds responsible, instead recommending that taxpayer-subsidized insurance foot the bill to compensate farmers: (full story, SF Chronicle)

The Envionrmental Working Group (creators of the popular Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce) released Good Food on a Tight Budget, a guide to help eaters stretch our healthy food dollars; it ranks produce items that pack the highest nutrition for the least cost: (full story, Environmental Working Group)

Grocery chains are putting a full time dietician in their stores to capitalize on growing consumer awareness of the role food plays in health and happiness (and to fend off competition from specialty markets like Whole Foods and big-box stores like Walmart): (full story, New York Times)

The trickiest ingredient for cocktail creators, beer brewers, hot sauce makers and other small batch food makers to get their hands on? Bourbon barrels! But recently, used barrel seekers and sellers have been finding each other in a mutually beneficial partnership: (full story, NPR)

Sure yogurt has been made for centuries from just milk and live bacteria, but these days manufacturers are trying to increase profits by adding ingredients to speed up production and stabilize yogurt’s shelf life: (full story, Hand Picked Nation)

Under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, the USDA has issued its first major rewriting of nutritional guidelines for government-subsidized school lunches and breakfasts in more than 15 years; they require schools to serve fruits and veggies every day, only fat-free or low-fat milk, more whole grains, and slash their use of salt, saturated fat and trans fat: (full story, US News & World Report)

Kiko's Food News, 8.24.12

Mark Bittman notices people increasingly giving the farmer credit (more so than the chef) for a delicious plate of food, and discusses why we need to advocate for real farmers who grow real food (as opposed to “businessmen riding on half-million-dollar combines”): (full story, New York Times)

The summer drought continues to kill crops across the country, but many of the farmers (some interviewed in this radio clip) are doing just fine with their crop insurance (on which taxpayers spend about $7 billion annually): (full story, NPR)

The same lawyers who took in millions suing big tobacco are now aiming their sights at Big Food, filing suits against players like ConAgra Foods, Heinz, General Mills and Chobani asserting that they mislead consumers and violate federal regulations by mislabeling products: (full story, New York Times)

GMO labeling advocates (guess we’re called the “yes on 37″ clan) definitely have our work cut out for us, since major bio-tech and food companies from Campbell Soup to Coca-Cola have just pumped almost $10 million into the campaign to defeat Proposition 37: (full story, Los Angeles Times)

And speaking of wanting to hide the GMOs in food, check out this roundup of ten lies told by Monsanto about the Proposition: (full story, Right to Know)

Local governments have been charged–rightfully so!–to reduce the amount of trash we all put into the waste system, and more and more California cities are banning plastic bags at store checkout lines (San Francisco already has this rule in place, and as of 10/1 will require we retailers to charge 10 cents per paper bag to encourage reusables): (full story, Los Angeles Times)

Kiko's Food News, 8.3.12

Sysco has pledged to do away with meat from pigs raised in gestation crates; this could have an even greater impact on the practices farmers use across the country than other big names (Burger King, McDonald’s and Kraft, to name a few) that have already made the pledge: (full story, Grist)

Recognizing the challenges faced by food hubs in finding financing, the Healthy Food Commerce Initiative (HFCI), a division of Wholesome Wave, is helping them secure capital by guiding their expansion into new markets, providing technical assistance with business planning, revenue diversification, market sizing, sales strategies and more: (full story, Forbes)

A sommelier for cheese? The 29th annual convention of the American Cheese Society will for the first time offer the Certified Cheese Professional Exam, a test that has been ripening for seven years: (full story, Wall Street Journal)

This article taught me a few new strategies for keeping food fresh at home, from leaving tropical fruits out of the fridge to storing meat and fish at the bottom of it: (full story, Huffington Post)

The new CMO of Quaker Oats discusses how he wants to reinvigorate their brand by targeting younger consumers, particularly moms from 28-32 since “their world is very different from their moms’ world and they are parenting differently from the way their moms parented”: (full story, Forbes)

There’s no doubt that the gluten-free food trend has taken the US by storm; this article investigates how many of us are actually sensitive to gluten, and how flours have changed over time, leading to increased sensitivity: (full story, Fox News)

Kiko's Food News, 7.27.12

Highlighting the near-impossible economics of small farms, Soul Food Farm announced that they’ve decided to close the farm and stop raising their pastured chicken and eggs; they can’t make a living given soaring prices for chicken feed and don’t want to continue raising their prices: (full story, SF Chronicle)

Good Eggs, an SF food/tech start-up, just launched an e-commerce platform for consumers to find and buy food directly from nearby farmers and food makers; some are calling it an Etsy for local foodies: (full story, Wired)

EcoScraps, a Utah company, takes leftover food from 96 retail stores, turns it into compost, and sells it; they receive 100 tons of food waste every day and sell their compost at over 400 retailers: (full story, Venture Beat)

The current no-growth environment for many grocery chains makes managing costs and competing for market share crucial; this explains why labor relations in this business can be so testy and why so many small grocery chains aren’t around anymore: (full story, Wall Street Journal)

Credibles, a new web project of Slow Money, looks like Kickstarter and other crowd sourcing sites but is about an equal exchange: the amount of money that you put forth for a restaurant or food business is the amount you’re credited to make a purchase: (full story, Tasting Table)

Kiko's Food News, 7.20.12

The cottage cheese available these days is blowing the stuff of decades past out of the water; using milk from grass-fed cows, stirring and cutting the curds by hand and adding cream for zing, cheese makers are upping the ante (you’ve gotta try the Cowgirls’!): (full story, MSNBC)

Looks like we’re not the only ones with a Gleaning Project: Amber Balakian has taken over her family farm and launched programs that will add new revenue sources (their Spring Lady Yellow Peaches are so juicy right now!): (full story, CUESA)

Maine lobsters are selling 70% below their normal price–a nearly 30-year-low–due to an unseasonably warm winter which created a supply glut throughout the Atlantic lobster fishery: (full story, Wall Street Journal)

Proof that city policy can change behavior: a study found that New York City diners consume 2.4 fewer grams of trans fat per lunch on average two years after the regulation prohibiting restaurants from serving food prepared with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil went into effect: (full story, Los Angeles Times)

Farmhopping, a website launching next month, aims to create a new framework for financing small-scale farming by connecting farms with backers who pay a small sum to invest in a farm for rewards and a say in how it’s managed: (full story, GOOD)

The Bronx has joined the growing list of municipalities working with corner store owners to put fresh fruits and veggies front and center: (full story, New York Times)

Kiko's Food News, 7.13.12

Diplomacy through food: under Hillary Clinton’s reign as Secretary of State, state visits to Washington now include dumpling and shortbread making, and a program that links chefs in embassies around the world is in the works: (full story, New York Times)

I’ve got to hand it to the British Airways marketing team: in an effort to beat stigmas against heinous airplane food, they’ve launched a new “Height Cuisine” campaign which uses videos about how altitude affects taste, plus at-home experiments on how taste changes at 35,000 ft.: (full story, Tasting Table)

The Arctic Apple, a genetically engineered apple that does not turn brown when sliced or bruised, could become one of the first genetically engineered versions of a fruit that people directly bite into; is this really the way to increase apple consumption? (full story, New York Times)

The man is watching your eyes in the grocery aisles: to find out what really nabs shoppers’ attention, companies like Procter & Gamble are combining 3D simulations of product designs with retina tracking cameras that can determine which designs got noticed in the first 10 seconds a shopper looks at a shelf: (full story, Wall Street Journal)

Large corporations increasingly own the organic food industry, as agri-food giants like Coca-Cola, Cargill, General Mills and Kraft have gobbled up most of the smaller brands. How much do you know about it? Take this (challenging!) quiz to find out: (full story, New York Times)

On that note, is the organic movement a victim of its own success? As corporate membership on the board that controls organic certification has increased, so, too has the number of non-organic materials (i.e. carrageenan) approved as organic: (full story, New York Times)

Kiko's Food News, 7.6.12

Old models for how food is sold and farms get financed are being reworked, and more predictable revenue streams are creating an economic argument for local farming that used to be more of a lifestyle choice: (full story, NY Times)

Isn’t the dialogue that’s been sparked around the health of mega soda exciting? The soft-drink industry has launched an aggressive campaign to fight New York City’s proposed restrictions, introducing a radio ad featuring “Noo Yawk”-accented actors proclaiming, “This is about protecting our freedom of choice”: (full story, NY Times)

I’m rooting for the success of Hayes Valley Bakeworks, a new nonprofit bakery and cafe that goes beyond baked goods to offer a culinary training program for disabled, homeless or at-risk employees: (full story, SF Weekly)

A predictive report on where Americans will be buying groceries in the future if current trends continue forecasts less time in the grocery-store aisles, more in the dollar store or online: (full story, Forbes)

After eight years of debate and diplomacy, a consortium of environmental organizations and commercial fishing executives has developed the first comprehensive global standards for salmon farming, which specifies 100 fish-farming standards to be implemented later this year by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council: (full story, NY Times)

Kiko's Food News, 6.29.12

Stop scrubbing those carrots: the greatest social contribution of the farmers’ market may be its role as a delivery vehicle for putting dirt back into the American diet and in the process, reacquainting our immune system with some “old friends”: (full story, New York Times)

In the good news column: a recent study showed that kids’ cereals are more nutritious on average than a few years ago. In the bad news column: those aren’t the ones being advertised, and ads for the least nutritious products are increasing: (full story, LA Times)

Bill Niman argues that if you’re not one to buy a tomato or strawberries in January, you shouldn’t be one to buy grass-fed beef when it’s not in season. (We’ve got his amazing seasonal beef in, pick up a cut for your 4th of July grill!) (full story, East Bay Express)

Food packaging may not be the sexiest part of what we put in our shopping baskets, but I’m a sucker for these fresh designs Ikea will use to introduce  weird Swedish delicacies to the international market: (full story, Fast Company)

For you history buffs, a dive into why Americans eat so much meat, why we’ve led the world in the innovations that made meat affordable, and why rich Americans no longer eat more meat than poor Americans: (full story, NPR)

Kiko's Food News, 6.22.12

 The farm bill that passed in the senate yesterday leaves sugar subsidies in place and is a hit to the SNAP (food stamp) program, but does limit crop subsidies to the wealthiest farmers and provides funding for the next generation of farmers: (full story, Grist)

Nashville is one of several midsize cities whose food sensibilities are growing as people leave the dog-eat-dog cities on the coasts in search of more affordable places to live and eat: (full story, New York Times)

A new national Meat Without Drugs campaign addresses the rampant misuse of antibiotics by factory farms: since the FDA hasn’t taken meaningful action, it asks consumers to petition retailers – starting with Trader Joe’s – to carry only meat raised without antibiotics: (full story, Meat Without Drugs)

Mainers want more local say in regulating small farms, evidenced by several towns adopting local ordinances that exempt farmers from state and federal regulations if they sell products directly to consumers: (full story, ABC News)

And allow me a break from the hard news for a celebration of the season: here are 12 ways to seize the stone fruit moment, including drying it for “summer in a jar”: (full story, New York Times)

Kiko's Food News, 6.15.12

We spend less of our money on groceries than we did 30 years ago, and a dramatically bigger share of that on processed foods: (full story, NPR)

NeverSeconds, a blog started by 9-year-old Martha Payne of Scotland to document the unappealing, non-nutritious lunches she was being served in her public school, was shut down by school authorities this week (she had over two million viewers!): (full story, Wired)

I can’t stop reading about the proposed ban on mega-size sodas, and was staggered by this interview with a Coke exec; one choice snippet: “There is a large portion of the population that relies on the carbohydrates and energy in our regular beverages. When my son gets home from school, he needs a pick-up with calories and great taste.” (full story, USA Today)

And another battleground regarding government intervention in personal health: broccoli has arisen as a trigger topic in the Supreme Court during arguments over the constitutionality of Obama’s health care legislation. If Congress can require Americans to buy health insurance, could it force people to buy a green vegetable that many find distasteful? (full story, NY Times)

A group called Georgians for Pastured Poultry, whose membership springs from the hotbed of Big Chicken, is throwing the first annual Pastured Poultry Week this month to inspire change in how chickens are raised for eating: (full story, Wired)

Fun story on a local grocer who responded to community feedback: a Korean-owned market in Missouri has expanded their selection to include smoked catfish, frozen red snapper, dried ugu leaves and cassava that customers of West African background have asked for; about 10% of the store’s business now comes from these products: (full story, Missourian)

Sandor Katz, today’s fermentation poster child, says “the creative space between fresh and rotten is the root of most of humanity’s prized delicacies”; here are some of his other wisdom on this most flavorful genre of foods: (full story, NPR)

Bokashi, an obscure composting method based on an ancient Japanese practice, makes it possible to ferment food waste without producing foul odors as with other composting methods: (full story, SF Chronicle)

Kiko's Food News, 6.8.12

Bittman defended Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal to ban mega-size sodas, arguing that “your right to harm yourself stops when I have to pay for it” and that soda isn’t, by technical definition, even food: (full story, NY Times)

Starbucks bought the SF-based La Boulange chain for $100 million this week; crazy to imagine that within a year there will be La Boulange-branded goods in every Starbucks’ pastry case in America: (full story, Inside Scoop SF)

We take bananas for granted–they’re cheap, they’re everywhere, and they’re usually ready to eat off the shelf. Ever wonder how a pale, fragile tropical fruit became so commonplace? (full story, NPR)

A new study illuminates how the roughly 20 million workers involved up and down the US food chain (a sixth of our workforce) aren’t treated well, with only 1 in 10 earning a livable wage and 83% denied health insurance: (full story, Chicago Tribune)

Scientists have told us that salt consumption raises blood pressure, causes hypertension and increases the risk of premature death, but the evidence is looking increasingly flimsy: (full story, NY Times)

The “gill to fin” movement (cooking with the whole fish) is gaining momentum; cooking an entire fish means great flavor from the bones and skin, plus the fact that salmon collars, belly meat and the eggs (if you can catch the fish yourself) are delicacies! (full story, Bay Area Bites)

Walt Disney  announced that all foods advertised on its child-focused TV channels, radio stations and websites must comply with strict new nutritional standards; products like Capri Sun, Kraft Lunchables, candy, sugared cereal and fast food will no longer be acceptable advertising material!! (full story, NY Times)

A federal judge issued a statement saying the FDA has done “shockingly little” to address the human health risks of antibiotic use in animal feed and ordering the agency to reconsider two petitions seeking restrictions on the practice: (full story, Chicago Tribune)

Kiko's Food News, 6.1.12

What happens when strangers live on a family farm in rural Arkansas, grow their own food and attempt zero waste? A new indie film “The Garden Summer” may actually be more familiar to some of us than life on MTV’s Real World or Jersey Shore! (full story, Eatocracy)

Great insights about the future of the pop-up craze and our human affinity for food secrets; there’s something attractive about finding a market, truck or festival that no one else has, and sharing it: (full story, New York Times)

Food scientist Barb Stuckey explains why bitter foods are inherently healthful, and how each overly sweet food that we consume dulls our palates to the flavors in nutritious fruits and veggies: (full story, Wall Street Journal)

FreshPaper, a new line of five-by-five-inch “dryer sheets for produce”, may double the life of berries and other fruits and veggies in the fridge: (full story, Tasting Table)

With food giants like Starbucks and Kraft switching out high-fructose corn syrup for cane or beet sugar, the Corn Refiners Association has tried to salvage their market by launching a campaign changing the name to “corn sugar”; looks like the FDA saw through the ploy though, as they just rejected the request: (full story, Wall Street Journal)

An Oregon farmer is raising Skinny Beef and selling ground beef from his ultra-fit “sport cattle” that’s reportedly at least 98% lean: (full story, Oregonlive)

Looks like I’m not the only one obsessed with Korean food: South Korea’s government has invested heavily into bringing bibimbap and its friends to epicureans worldwide. Interesting to notice how the growing popularity coincides with Korea’s increasing economic clout, in the same way that eating raw fish went mainstream as Japan grew economically powerful: (full story, Alaska Dispatch)

Kiko's Food News, 5.25.12

The scientific practice of measuring food based on price-per-calorie isn’t getting us anywhere, since looking at foods that way makes a bag of chips (loads of calories, low price) seem like a better deal than a carton of strawberries (fewer calories, higher price); now researchers are starting to break down price based on portion size and weight: (full story, Business Insider)

Check out how many of the brands that surround us are owned by the top 10 multinationals: (full story, Huffington Post)
Seems like these days if you’re eating pizza in a brick and mortar restaurant, you’re way behind the times: (full story, Tasting Table)

Polyface Farm’s Joel Salatin urges Americans to reconnect with and prioritize our “ecological moorings” when confronted with the ragged edges of the local food distribution network, which don’t fit neatly into zoning and other regulatory definitions: (full story, Handpicked Nation)

Giant food suppliers have a real opportunity to affect our food system through their giant buying power, so it worries me to see one like Sodexo using “competing” sustainability labels as an excuse for not making responsible sourcing decisions: (full story, NPR)

You know gluten free has crossed the line to gourmet when big time chefs are featuring it on their menus; many are serving Thomas Keller’s new gluten free pasta: (full story, Tasting Table)

I was interested by some of the items on this list of top vegetarian proteins to work into our diets; did you know Greek yogurt can contain up to twice the amount of protein as the regular stuff, and a cup of spinach contains more than 5 grams of protein? (full story, Huffington Post)

Kiko's Food News, 5.18.12

The US Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (aka food stamp program) provides about $4.44 per day per person to purchase food, and Mario Batali’s bringing attention to how unrealistic healthy eating can be on this allocation; a couple weeks into living off this amount, he says he’s “f***ing starving”:  (full story, Huffington Post)

Food waste becomes art through cool photography revealing its revolting beauty: (full story, NPR)

I was fascinated by this personal account of why black woman prefer to weigh more than what may be considered healthy; the author calls on black women (for whom it is appropriate) to commit to getting under 200 pounds or to losing the 10% of body weight that often results in a 50% reduction in diabetes risk: (full story, New York Times)

Here at Bi-Rite we talk about Creating Community Through Food; creating business deals through food is a new opportunity for businesses that host client meetings in their kitchen instead of a boardroom: (full story, Fast Company)

I loved reading about Bittman’s encounter with Wendell Berry; when asked what city folks can do to turn around our agricultural system, Berry answered “realize that country people can’t invent a better agriculture by ourselves. Industrial agriculture wasn’t invented by us, and we can’t uninvent it. We’ll need some help with that.” (full story, New York Times)

A new study links fast food ads with obesity, suggesting that young people who recognize many fast-food brands-like McDonald’s golden arches and KFC’s logo-out of context are twice as likely to be obese as those who recognized only a few: (full story, Huffington Post)

Shrimp workers at a Thai factory that supplies Walmart have over many weeks been protesting their dismal conditions; since shrimp is America’s top-selling seafood and Walmart our biggest grocery retailer, we can add labor abuse to shrimp’s laundry list of problems: (full story, Grist)

Finally, despite the tremendous interest in food these days, there’s still not enough interest in the people that pick it: (full story, Civil Eats)

Kiko's Food News, 4.20.12

I’ll be trolling the food-scape of Korea and Japan for the next few Fridays, so I hope this longer-than-usual digest will sustain you on food news until my return…

Is it a sign that the challenges of our food system have hit a breaking point when academics deem their study worthy of a degree? (full story, NY Times)

An economist applies his strategic approach to eking out the best of what restaurants have to offer; his tips include “beware the beautiful, laughing women “, “order what sounds least appetizing on the menu” and “prefer Pakistani to Indian and prefer Thai to Vietnamese”: (full story, The Atlantic)

Two new studies challenge our beliefs about food deserts, finding that such neighborhoods actually have more grocery stores and restaurants than others (did they look at the quality of fresh food available in these stores?); they also found no relationship between the type of food sold in a neighborhood and obesity among its children: (full story, NY Times)

At least New York City’s authorities believe certain areas are in desperate need of fresh produce; since 2008 they’ve authorized 1,000 new permits for street vendors who sell only raw fruits and veggies as part of their Green Cart initiative: (full story, NY Times)

A growing “domestic fair trade” movement formally recognizes and rewards farms working to address social justice, and is pushing forward a new “Food Justice Certified” label for farms (such as Swanton Berry Farm in Santa Cruz, whose Chandler Strawberries are so tasty right now!): (full story, Civil Eats)

On the heels of the decision last month by the FDA to allow continued use of the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) in food packaging, here’s a look at how exposure to BPA and other chemicals through food-contact plastics impacts our health: (full story, Washington Post)

Demand for chicken legs and thigh cuts is climbing as diners tire of white meat, TV cooking shows tout dark meat’s richer flavor, growing exports to foreign markets favor chicken on the bone, and rising US immigrant populations have a preference for dark meat: (full story, Wall Steet Journal)

I’m keeping my eyes on four new SF food businesses by the Flour + Water team–Central Kitchen (which will have a weatherproof back patio with hydroponic heating), Salumeria, Parlour bakery/café and Trick Dog bar–and found this diagram of how the block will be laid out helpful: (full story, Mission Local)

As a sucker for a dinner party, I have yet to try one of the online dinner party planning sites; the newest one acts as an organizer for a gathering–a place to list the menu, invite guests, and offset costs by adding a “chip-in” price: (full story, Tasting Table)

Kiko's Food News, 4.13.12

The Tokyo-based company that makes methyl iodide used by strawberry farmers has withdrawn the controversial fumigant from the U.S. market, a victory for public health and the environment: (full story)

Although physicians are on the front lines of the nation’s diabetes and obesity crises, many graduate from medical school with little knowledge of nutrition, let alone cooking; cue a much-needed new group of physicians, public health researchers and distinguished chefs that seeks to tear down the wall between “healthy” and “crave-able” cuisine: (full story)

Fascinating to see the way Google uses its analytical toolbox to strategically encourage employees to eat healthier at work: (full story)

The Humane Society released the results of an undercover investigation into Kreider Farms, a major factory farm that produces 4.5 million eggs each day for supermarkets like ShopRite; findings included the fact that it’s hard for workers to breathe because of the ammonia from manure pits, 11 hens were jammed into a cage about 2 ft by 2 ft, and hens with their heads stuck in the wire are left to die (full story)

Saturday Night Live takes a jab at the packaged food industry in this skit where Kristen Wiig tries to pass fake pizza off as “food”: (full story)