Tomorrow is only moments away for your food. The other night I consumed cheese enchiladas flanked with refried beans plus tortilla chips with salsa –all chef prepared from prepackaged processed ingredients and reheated in my very own microwave oven. A few nights previously, my repast was sushi with wasabi and ginger root from my favorite Japanese restaurant Sushi Mito. Another evening last week my entrée … Continue reading Our Era of Rediscovery for Feeding a Diverse Population by Aaron Brody

‘Avoid processed food, especially ultra-processed foods’ is oft spouted nutrition advice. Many health professionals make such admonitions because they believe that processed foods cause our current ‘diabesity’ epidemic. I, along with other nutritionists, share grave concerns about rising rates of obesity and its complications. Distressingly, 67% of us are overweight; 42% are obese; and 9% morbidly obese. Sadly, obesity is one factor that increases risk … Continue reading In Praise of Processed Foods -CoVID-19 by Julie Jones

At present we live in a world of fright, a world of rage, a world of uncertainty, a world of threatening conditions–a world of change. Pandemic, racial injustice, riots in the streets, global climate change are enough to drive all of us to disordered eating. Into this whirlwind comes a book to guide us to a better eating place. Bee Wilson is the author of … Continue reading The Way We Eat Now: Strategies for Eating in a World of Change

People will travel long distances to get their favorite processed foods, if it is not at the corner store near them – something that is especially the case if the food is from another country, or not affordable near them. In the United States, most people drive to purchase these foods, but in many cities, people will take public transportation. These trips are quite common … Continue reading How Will CoVID-19 Affect Transit Trips to Get Processed Food? by Jonathan Katz

I have watched the changes in the food industry and consumer perceptions over the past 40 years with great interest. One of the changes that I find most fascinating is the change in perception of trans and saturated fatty acids that has occurred. When I speak to students today, they scratch their heads when I tell them “when I was your age, coconut oil was … Continue reading Trans fatty acids: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly by Sean O’Keefe

There is an all-out battle going on between supporters of the way we currently produce, process, distribute and sell food in the US and many places around the world and the new food movement who claims that the current food system is corrupt and needs to be destroyed and replaced. Rachel Laudan reframed the debate over the food system by declaring that we have oversimplified … Continue reading Some questions for the new food movement

Unlike most of the books I review on this site, Food Fights is an edited volume of thirteen chapters written by individual authors and fitted into five sections encompassing producing, choosing, regulating, gendering, and cooking & eating food. Charles C. Ludington and Matthew Morse Booker are the two co-editors of the book. Back in my scholarly days I read many of these types of books … Continue reading Food Fights: How History Matters to Contemporary Food Debates

We are cooped up in our homes, and our dietary patterns are primarily dependent on what food is available to us. Still we are bombarded with dietary advice from the internet, social media, print media, books, friends, and family. Much of that advice is contradictory although lately there has been a convergence emphasizing fresh, whole, plant-based foods. We are cautioned against being seduced by processed … Continue reading Who are the best dietary advisers: doctors or dietitians?

On Friday, February 28 I wrote in my journal, “Life is going so well right now; how will I respond to challenges?” Much has changed since then. I voted in the Florida Presidential Primary on Tuesday morning of March 17, went to the grocery store, and then headed home to shelter in place. That afternoon my wife was sent home from her library job. Dealing … Continue reading Processed foods in the era of COVID-19

  As a Registered Dietitian, a lot of people ask me whether certain foods, recipes, snacks, or meals are “healthy” or “good.” And it’s such a hard question to answer. Our favorite saying in the field is “everything in moderation,” and while I know this isn’t an exciting saying, I still believe it.  A food item like a banana is generally viewed as healthy, but … Continue reading What is a healthy diet for you? by Elizabeth Strawbridge