These days, there’s an app for everything—things you never thought you needed (and probably don’t). Christy Harrison, author and registered dietitian nutritionist, contends that Kurbo, a diet app for children, is not only unnecessary but downright harmful. In this August 2019 New York Times essay, she argues that trying to impose weight loss regimens on …

Continue reading No app-etite: Christy Harrison on children and weight loss efforts

Perhaps you’ve seen the message on a bumper sticker; there are a lot of them around. It says something like, ‘If you’ve eaten today, thank a farmer.’ Kate Miller, an Arkansas rancher and beef producer, explains why she won’t be thanking a farmer in this March 2019 essay published in Drovers, a Farm Journal magazine. …

Continue reading No thanks: Kate Miller on farmers and gratitude

Whether frequently or just once in a while, most of us eat food prepared in restaurants, school dining halls, or fast food places rather than our own kitchens. How much do you know about the work involved in getting your meal into your hands? How are the workers treated and compensated? In this August 2018 …

Continue reading Here’s a tip: Spencer Robins on wages and conditions for restaurant workers

“Vegan hot dog” isn’t an oxymoron, and it doesn't attempt to replicate the taste of an all-beef frank. What it does, according to Wired staff writer Emily Dreyfuss, is offer a “comprehensible” product that can participate in protein-centered social events such as backyard barbeques. Dreyfuss explains her ideas in this July 2018 essay. Dreyfuss, "In defense …

Continue reading A place at the grill: Emily Dreyfuss on fake meat

“It doesn’t grow on trees, you know!” Many complaints about the use of valuable resources begin with that statement. Some fruits and edible resources, however, do grow on trees. Environmental justice worker and UCLA doctoral student Comfort Azubuko would like to see more fruit trees in public spaces, and she outlines her proposal in this …

Continue reading It does grow on trees: Comfort Azubuko on food forests in public space

Avoid salt. Avoid sugar. Avoid fat. Avoid meat. Avoid avoidance. Hah! You weren’t expecting that last one, were you? Aaron E. Carroll, Indiana University professor of pediatrics, offers some unexpected diet advice in this November 2017 New York Times essay. Read it here: Carroll, "Relax, you don’t need to ‘eat clean’”   To support his argument, …

Continue reading Scary foods: Aaron E. Carroll on healthy eating without fear

Have you heard much about genetically modified (GMO) foods lately? Neither have we, but that might be changing soon. The Food and Drug Administration, part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, has received funding to promote GMO foods, and a lot of people have a lot to say on the subject. Caitlin …

Continue reading Spreading the word: Caitlin Dewey on the promotion of GMO foods

Many of us sing the same lament: the ingredients listed on many of our food products include long unpronounceable words with mysterious purposes. What is that stuff?! Do we really need it? In this February 2017 Columbus Dispatch article, science and environmental reporter Marion Renault asserts that public mistrust of food science is actually harmful …

Continue reading Just say “salt”: Marion Renault on public perceptions of food science

An old cartoon shows a small child with a hopeful, questioning face looking up at a perplexed parent holding a gallon jug and stammering, “Um, well, I don’t know the cow’s name, but you need to drink the milk anyway.” The cartoon is funny, but maybe the joke is on us. Harvest Public Media reporter …

Continue reading Plenty to chew on: Luke Runyon on corporate consolidation in agriculture