Powered By Produce now has a Facebook page! To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what I’ll be posting there, but be sure to “like” it to find out! Like the Powered By Produce Facebook page *** The marathon was great! Not only did I set a PR (personal record… a mere 2 minutes faster …
Jun
30
Frankenfish
The FDA is eerily close to approving genetically modified salmon for human consumption. These “AquAdvantage” fish, as the company that created them calls them, are Atlantic salmon that are genetically altered to contain a growth hormone gene from a Chinook salmon as well as a genetic “on-switch” from the ocean pout, a distant relative of the …
May
11
The NEW Four Food Groups
Most of us grew up with the USDA’s old “basic four” food groups, first introduced in 1956: 1) Protein: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans, nuts 2) Dairy: milk, cheese, yogurt 3) Grains: bread, cereal, rice, pasta 4) Fruits & Vegetables In 1992, the USDA created the Food Pyramid Guide as a visual aid: The Food …
Apr
29
A Brief History Lesson
At the end of WWII, our munitions plants were morphed into plowshare factories and began turning our ammonium nitrate surplus into chemical fertilizers (if you follow that link, start reading about half-way down, at the paragraph that starts with “Unfortunately…”). But fertilizers and machinery are not the only things linked to war. Most chemical warfare …
Jan
13
Carbon Footprint Of Food
A Swedish fast-food chain, called Max Burger, is trying to discourage people from eating too much meat by publishing the carbon footprint of each item on its menu. From the methane produced by the cows, to the machinery used on the farm, through to the emissions produced by the slaughterhouses and the trucks that deliver the …
Jan
07
High Fructose Corn Syrup
I’ve seen this ad SO MUCH lately! It is one of three commercials that the Corn Refiners Association created to “change the conversation about high-fructose corn syrup.” The ad features a mother delivering the Corn Refiners’ message about high-fructose corn syrup, “It’s made from corn, doesn’t have artificial ingredients, and like sugar, it’s fine in …
Nov
28
Masters of Marketing
The deep, dark secret of American agriculture is that there is way too much food available: 3,900 calories per day for every man, woman, and child in the country. The average adult needs barely over half that and children much less. And this substantial excess is at the high end compared to other industrialized countries. …
May
29
Eat Food
It sounds easy, right? But, it’s increasingly harder as our grocery stores continue to fill up with edible-food-like-substances. We are continually drawn in by the “no trans fat margarine” and the “low fat, omega fortified cheese,” but it’s a pretty good rule of thumb that products with health claims on the packaging indicate that it’s …
May
16
Buzz Words
It is difficult to reject industrialized farming practices when we don’t understand what we’re buying. The educated consumer can put their money where their values lie. Organic – Certainly this is the biggest buzz word in the supermarket today, yet most people don’t even know what it means. Most basically, ‘organic’ means that fruits & …
