Cellular meat production has been proposed as a sustainable alternative to traditional animal husbandry and slaughter. It involves culturing muscle-like tissue in a liquid medium with a variety of techniques from tissue engineering. It has also been called clean meat, cultured meat, or in vitro meat, and it is part of the wider field of cellular agriculture in which efforts are being made to use … Continue reading Cultured Meat Production: What is it? What Should we Expect? by Kelsey Tenney

Paul Shapiro is passionate about Clean Meat. He is passionate about its potential for solving major issues with respect to animal welfare, global warming, farm-worker safety and the health of meat eaters. Unfortunately, he must argue his case using the language I usually use to defend processed food. It would appear that the deck is stacked against him. “Judged by the amount of suffering it … Continue reading Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World

Despite an incredibly inept rollout, the Green New Deal is real. I have actually studied the proposal to try to understand its potential implications for processed food. Although the now disgraced FAQ sheet is no longer available, it is time to look at the original document which does NOT mention farting cows or the demise of the airplane. Concepts described in the plan will be … Continue reading Where does processed food fit into the Green New Deal?

In 1976 I attended a fair on the University of Massachusetts campus that warned us of dire consequences associated with global warming and the environment. I did not believe. Many of the dangers to the environment that the doomsayers were saying back then are now becoming evident, just not nearly as fast as they predicted. If we had heeded them then, we probably would not … Continue reading Some alternative visions for a sustainable future

There appears to be growing realization that we need to do something about our environment. A recent report released during the World Economic Forum  at Davos last month suggests that we are in dire straights and need to reform soon or face doom. Release of the Green New Deal document indicates that the issue of sustainability and the food supply will be a key campaign … Continue reading Nourished Planet: Sustainability in the Global Food System

I am a great admirer of Robert Paarlberg, but I did NOT expect to like this book, The United States of Excess. Yes, it is about obesity and gluttony. It appears to blame the person for becoming fat, but more blame seems to be placed on the food available, particularly processed food. The book is so much more than a blame game, however. It is … Continue reading The United States of Excess: Gluttony and the Dark Side of American Exceptionalism

We live in a society that is overweight and getting heavier. Weight-loss diets are a way of life in American culture. They are so ingrained in our way of life that diet no longer refers to what we eat but we do not eat. This month I have presented the perspective of an academic and a practitioner on why we are so heavy and how … Continue reading Making Sense out of Obesity and Diets to Prevent It

Last week I went to a birthday party. Andrew, the birthday boy, shared that he’d been on the ketogenic diet for 3 months. He’d lost 10 pounds and felt great. The party food was fatty and delicious–we dined on jalapeno poppers with cheddar cheese and bacon, made our own beef and pork tacos with shredded cheese, bell peppers, and onion in lettuce wraps, and at … Continue reading Eat Fat to Burn Fat? The Skinny on the Ketogenic Diet

From an academic view of diets and obesity last week, we proceed to a solution offered by a physician in the trenches intervening in cases of overweight and obese individuals. Yoni Freedhoff gives us a very different perspective on the topic in The Diet Fix. First, he doesn’t believe in diets designed for weight loss. They may work for a time, but in the end … Continue reading The Diet Fix: Why Diets Fail and How to Make Yours Work

In honor of January—the month of resolutions and diets I present two recent books on obesity and dieting in our society. I start with the perspective of an academic with a food science background who provides an overview of obesity and diets. In Ever Seen a Fat Fox? Mike Gibney puts the issues in the perspective of humans and their place in nature. His ideal is … Continue reading Ever Seen a Fat Fox? Human Obesity Explored