Where were you when Hurricane Ian hit? I was in Sebring, Florida, 100 miles away from my island home as the storm lashed the Gulf Coast. My wife, my dog, and I were huddled in the bathroom as Ian’s eye passed over the roof of the dog-friendly motel. The atmosphere was electric with dogs all around and filled with both excitement and trepidation. We were … Continue reading Ian’s wrath and Helene’s pursuit
I conclude my three-part series on the history how supermarkets get the food they sell. This post bridges the gap between the farmer and the supermarket. It is the supply chain that gets the food to the supermarket. Lurking in the supply chain are one or more middlemen. The common concept is that each middleman grabs a piece of the action with a cumulative effect … Continue reading Wholesale markets and the problem of the middleman!
In my last post I revealed some hints as to how the supply chain originated in America and how it evolved as viewed from the city of Chicago. The city’s emergence in the dawn of Twentieth Century produced major changes in the interaction of food marketing with consumers. These changes are highlighted in Building a Housewife’s Paradise: Gender, Politics, and American Grocery Stores in the … Continue reading How did the supermarket originate? How did it evolve?
A phrase that entered the American vocabulary during the COVID pandemic was the supply chain. It is hard to read online much about food in the country without running across the supply chain. It is responsible for food waste, global warming, shortages of goods in stores, high prices at the supermarket, and overall consumer dissatisfaction and dismay, or so we read, but there may be … Continue reading How did the supply chain originate? How did it evolve? Why do we even need it?
On LinkedIn, Nick Budden opened the floodgates asking how we can prevent food waste. He started out with three premises: We waste more than one-third of our food in the U.S. The largest portion of that waste happens at home. And more than one-third of our food waste is produce. Then the comments started pouring in with one commenter questioning Nick’s premises, others proclaiming that … Continue reading Waste no Food. Want no Food. Whom can we blame for food waste?
The distance between food science and the food media seems to be growing daily. Food scientists study foods, not just processed foods, but all types of foods. Food chemists describe the composition of food, what happens to raw food during handling, processing, and cooking in a manufacturing plant, restaurant, or home. Food toxicologists and microbiologists investigate the safety of foods from its chemical composition, the … Continue reading Lessons in Food Chemistry: Chemical Smells
Has politics so invaded our lives that no topic remains uncontaminated? Even college football is not immune. So, I ask this provocative question— How much should politics or our court system be involved in setting specific food policy? It came up last year in the fight in Congress to reintroduce whole-fat milk into the school lunch program. State legislatures are banning specific food additives or … Continue reading Whom do we want making decisions about the health and safety of our foods?
The cycle begins: A real person gets is inspired by a miracle molecule to improve health (it might be a cure for a personal infirmity, an online article or other means of inspiration), Decides to test it on themselves, Finds real relief and becomes very excited, Turns it into a potion in the home kitchen or garage, Promotes the idea to friends, Manufactures it in … Continue reading How do miracle molecules make it to the mass market?
More Lessons in [food] chemistry Chemicals! What a nasty word! What horrors that conjures up in our minds! Molecules! A much more pleasant connotation! We certainly don’t want chemicals in our foods! Now molecules, that’s a different story! Particularly those miracle molecules that will improve our health and prolong our lives! In this blogpost I will focus on chemicals that end up in our food—with … Continue reading Aspartame and other chemicals in my food
The Nutrition Facts Label hit the shelves the same year I went back to school to study nutrition. The year was 1994 and I can still remember holding a package of corn chips in my hand with the newly minted label printed in bold black type and thinking to myself – it’s not going to work. As it turns out I was right. The original … Continue reading What food labels don’t tell us about food by Linn Steward
It's Not Nearly as Bad as You Think
Home of Caffeine Scientist, Author, and Speaker GreenEyedGuide
a thoughtful look at the journey of food from the fields to the fork
A Historian's Take
Turning an eye on the profession, separating fact from fiction on both sides of the counter
Talking food, nutrition & the simple things in life - Emma Stubbs
It's Not Nearly as Bad as You Think
In Defense of Processed Food 