Section » Labeling
An artisanal plea from a fed-up foodie
When you find me behind bars, locked up for a fit of lexical rage, please know that it was granola that pushed me over the edge. Not just any granola: "artisan granola." Presumably its makers meant artisanal granola, made in limited quantities using traditional methods, rather than crunchy-buttery-nutty
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Fish tale: Walmart’s sustainable seafood pledge has a long way to go
When big corporations make pledges to improve their sourcing practices, it's important to hold them accountable. After all, it's easy to hold a press conference pledging a new green policy; it's not so easy to fulfill the
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Here’s the catch: More sustainable seafood requires exerting pressure up the supply chain
This is part 2 of a series on improving market-based seafood sustainability initiatives, inspired by a recent article published by an international team of researchers in "Oryx: The International Journal of Conservation." (See Oryx volume 44, pp. 45-56 doi:10.1017/S0030605309990470.
Why seafood wallet cards can be the wrong bait for consumers
Seafood guides and other consumer-based campaigns are an important part of the quest for sustainable seafood and healthy oceans, but so far they have not shown enough positive results: bigger efforts are needed. That’s the main conclusion of a new article, "Conserving wild fish in a sea of market-based
What’s P-Cresol and why is it in my food? “Don’t Eat That” iPhone app will tell you
A simple little iPhone app launched a few days ago that demystifies the ingredient lists of processed food. Called "Don't Eat That" (link to
Tuna or not-tuna: more questions for sushi eaters
When you think about eating endangered species, you might imagine going to Chinatown to some secret restaurant — or to the ones operated by shadowy mobsters like in the 1990 comedy "
New labeling system hopes to improve food traceability
Tracking from fork to field. To help public health officials find the source of future food poisoning outbreaks, a pilot program called HarvestMark is attempting to provide a new level of traceability for fresh produce. During harvest or packing, a uniquely-coded sticker is applied to the packaging or
Marion Nestle on labeling processed food as ‘better’
Label it conflicted: Today's Food Matters column by Marion Nestle looks at the 'better/smarter/healthier choice' labels being used by big food companies to (theoretically) help shoppers eat a healthier diet. Not surprisingly, Nestle sees it as a marketing effort, not a serious nutritional effort. For
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Russ Parsons on why flavor trumps organic label for him
"I don't believe in organic": LA food writer Russ Parsons argues that people need to get over the idea that "organic" always equals chewing the right thing, whether from an environmental, moral, or taste perspective. "Between pure organics and the reckless use of chemicals, there is a huge gray area,
“SOLE food” entering mainstream vernacular
Selfishly excited: Ethicurean BFF Nicole sent us this photo of a page from Self magazine's July issue, with a little box defining the acronym the Ethicurean team came up with three-plus years ago to describe the kind of food we were interesting chewing on (and writing about). We might even have named
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Monsanto needs new argument for opposing GMO labeling
Monsanto is so un-COOL: Rob Smart, aka @jambutter, recently had a Twitter debate with Monsanto representatives about whether labeling products containing geneitcally modified food would do any harm, and, if so, to whom. "Again and again, Monsanto stresses that mandatory labeling for foods continaing
Can aquaculture feed the world with protein sustainably?
Swimming in controversy: In a world of growing population and shrinking ocean resources, aquaculture is often touted as a necessary tool for food production. And yet many criticize the damage that aquaculture does to wild ecosystems, its use of chemicals, and other unsavory practices. Environmental Health
“Local” shark-jumping also feeds the minnows
Getting fresh: Tom Laskawy revisits yesterday's NYT article on the co-option of the local label by Big Food, and pulls out the one encouraging element of the trend — how some large-scale California growers are looking more at
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Digest – News: Smithfield’s flu, organic for the masses, Vilsack reserves judgment
They're not confining everything, apparently: MSM's all over the swine flu (SJ Merc) and U.S. hog prices are tanking (Reuters), but few are talking
Let’s cure Absencia Grassosis! Weigh in on organic pasture rule by Dec. 23
We've reported before on a disturbing disease that's been plaguing large-scale organic dairies: Absencia Grassosis. Sounds pretty nasty, doesn't it? Loosely
