History is full of buddies who became frenemies and eventually just stopped talking to each other. Such a dilemma is highlighted in a show tune and a rock song. As a graduate student in food science I remember fondly my discussions with members of the opposite sect. Such friendly disagreements were engaged on two different campuses within departments that combined both fields. At one of … Continue reading Why can’t food scientists and nutritionists be friends?

I am reluctant to consider myself old even though I have been retired for almost seven years, and I just hit 70. I find it even more disturbing that my ideas may be stuck in the past and as outdated as those of my elders whom I criticized 20-30 years ago. Thus, it has been with both reluctance and joy to learn that there is … Continue reading Generational perspectives on nutrition and food science

My New Year’s resolution was “to be less combative as I continue to defend processed food.” To that end I bring your attention to Future Foods by David Julian McClements. Full disclosure: I have seen Julian once or twice across the room at the UMASS breakfasts at the Annual Meeting of IFT (Institute of Food Technologists). We may even have shaken each other’s hands. I … Continue reading Future Foods: How Modern Science Is Transforming the Way We Eat

Existential threats to humankind and our food supply, food justice, healthy diets, ultra-processed foods and the interface of food science and human nutrition were major themes in my blog in 2019. Global climate change and the threat of plastic, packaging waste captured more press attention this year, and potential solutions seem ever more distant. Will producing food more sustainably and switching to more plant-based products … Continue reading A year in review for processed food, a resolution and a look ahead

I do not like the terms ‘fake’ and ‘real,’ but they are terms that seem to capture people’s attention these days. There are many products on the market today that are meat substitutes—plant-based, clean, cultured. There are many people advocating avoiding animal products for nutritional, moral, animal welfare, environmental and other reasons. We are told that we need to make major changes in our lifestyles … Continue reading Is fake meat a healthy alternative to real meat?

We have been warned about the consequences of global climate change. Most of us remain skeptics. Others believe that nothing can be done, but true believers see solutions through technology OR conservation. Since my post on the topic last week, one person sounding the alarm was named Time person of 2019, and the climate change conference in Madrid dissolved without major progress. We are either … Continue reading Can we save the planet through technology OR conservation?

Threats to the world are not new, but somehow, they seem more serious to me now than they appeared to be earlier in my life. Part of this skepticism was that the dire predictions never really came true, but there seems to be a gradual confluence of events that appears to be inexorably leading to serious environmental consequences if not global collapse. The existential threats … Continue reading Global climate change: Is it a hoax or are we doomed?

Climate change is a much-talked-about topic these days, and there are many books out there on it. We Are the Weather by Jonathan Safran Foer is another one highlighting this message. It is a quirky book that rambles at times, but it always comes back to its major themes. It is a very personal, heartfelt book for the author who presents one primary solution to … Continue reading We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast

Happy Thanksgiving! Last week I said goodbye to my 60s and have embarked on my life as a septuagenarian. Older people tend to reflect more on what has happened in the past. Younger people tend to focus on the present and how to make it to the next day. I realize that I have experience eating for over 70 years, and I reflect back on … Continue reading Thankful to be celebrating 70 years of eating

For anyone over 50, nothing compares to the dread induced by a doctor who declares “It is time for a colonoscopy.” The procedure is bad enough, particularly for a modest person. Thank goodness it all happens when we are asleep! The real dread comes, however, the day before the “procedure” when purging the guts of all of its waste is our prime mission—certainly not my idea … Continue reading Surviving a low-FODMAP diet