The F in the FDA. Bill Marler, the bane of Big Food, and the hero of the anti-food processing movement, is selling tee-shirts. He wants to get the F out of the FDA by separating food from drugs. The idea is to form a Food Agency that will more rigorously pursue a food safety agenda. The new agency would also bring all food safety and … Continue reading Get the F out of the FDA, Erythritol, UPFs and the BMI, Nutritional Misinformation, and Authenticity

As we approach major problems in our lives or in the world, we crave simplistic solutions rather than a true understanding of the situation. We look for solutions that apply universally rather than ones that fit a specific case or variation. We become obsessed with finding the right answer to a question rather than one that meets critical needs. We become irate when others advocate … Continue reading Overcoming binary solutions to complex global problems

We are confronted with two solutions when it comes to decreasing hunger and related issues in Africa. Agroecology is a systematic approach offered from an environmental perspective. Biotechnology presents a dramatically different solution. Both approaches have their merits. Both of them have their critics. As a food scientist, my leanings tend toward biotechnology. And yet, there is a yearning for a middle path, one that … Continue reading A Third Way to Fight Hunger in Africa

I have devoted this month’s posts to food philosophy starting from the general and ending with the specific. Last week Linn Steward put in her nomination for an American food philosophy and its cultural icon. This week I reveal my personal food philosophy and icon. First my answers to questions posed by the first two posts in this series. What is food to me? Food … Continue reading Why I Eat What I Do

When Professor Shewfelt asked if me if I would share some throughs on the topic of American food philosophy, of course my answer was yes. Linn Steward is a frequent reader, commenter, and guest blogger on this site. We discussed food philosophies via email last year. The last two posts were inspired by her. Here she takes on the American philosophy of food and assigns … Continue reading Does America have a cultural food icon and a food philosophy? by Linn Steward

In my last post on this site I responded to three questions that arose from the book by David Kaplan on food philosophy: What is food? How do we experience food? What is good taste when it comes to good food? In this post I will be discussing the ethics and politics of our interaction with food leading to the final question Why does what … Continue reading The ethics and politics of food. Why does what we eat matter?

The more familiar term for this exercise is developing a food philosophy, but the p-word turns too many people off. I will leave it as food choice. I use David Kaplan’s book as a jumping off point, but I will steer the discussion to a less lofty level. He divides the book into six topics with big fancy, pretentious words. I will bring the discussion … Continue reading How do we decide what food to eat and when?

Food continues to be in the news. Many of these items have been covered in previous posts on this blog, but there is more to report. Here is my take on some of these stories. Ted Kyle weighs in on obesity and food issues. He posts daily on these issues, but his passion is prevention and treatment of obesity. We don’t always agree, but I … Continue reading Obesity, world hunger, ultra-processed and more

Tis the season for New Year’s resolutions. Did you make any? If you did, chances they are about eating healthy or losing weight. Have you complied with these resolutions so far? Or did you go out and break one or more? Resolutions at the beginning of the year are common in many cultures. Are they useful or an outdated custom? Would we be better off … Continue reading Is weight loss a signal for eating healthy? (and a rant on relocation dissonance)

Imagine sitting down to a delicious, homecooked meal with your family. A few days later, you suddenly start to feel sick. You are sweaty, your stomach is aching, and you start to wonder where the closest bathrooms are in case things get worse. As you assess your options, you get a call from your partner saying everyone at home is sick too and you need … Continue reading In Defense of The Food Safety Modernization Act: What Is It and How Does It Protect Consumers? by Stephanie Brown