Food Additives

Thanks to Mark Bittman at the New York Times, I got to read the USDA's official list of all the things processors can legally put into food. (PDF) The most interesting parts to me were the parts you don't even have to declare on the list of ingredients. For example,

"secondary direct food additives are substances whose functionality is required during the manufacture or processing of a food and are ordinarily removed from the final food. Although residuals might carry over to the final food, residuals must not exhibit any technical effects"

Gotta say, compared to an aqueous solution of peroxyacetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, acetic acid, and 1- hydroxyethylidene-1, 1- diphosphonic acid, those bird droppings in the garden don't sound bad at all.

Guacamole animation

This is my new favorite guacamole recipe. I particularly love the diced onions.

The FDA speaks

The Onion News Network has a video about health recommendations from the Federal Government on their "Daily Briefing" channel. I sometimes wonder if the people at the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services ever actually think things like this, while they're making politically acceptable pronouncements.

Warning: contains vulgar language.

Mark Bittman's Food Manifesto

Mark Bittman at the New York Times has published an excellent article about the principles we should keep in mind as our food system evolves. While I'm not sure the government is the right organization to implement some of his ideas, all of his ideas are good ones. The part I particularly like:

Encourage and subsidize home cooking. (Someday soon, I’ll write about my idea for a new Civilian Cooking Corps.) When people cook their own food, they make better choices. When families eat together, they’re more stable. We should provide food education for children (a new form of home ec, anyone?), cooking classes for anyone who wants them and even cooking assistance for those unable to cook for themselves.

Economists have shown that the main reason our diets and health have gotten so screwed up lately is that it's just too easy to eat bad food. People have to give up a lot of convenience to eat well.

Another way to go vegetarian

Taco Bell is being sued because its "beef" is only one-third beef. Most of it is basically oatmeal and soy. It sounds like it would only take a little more push, to make that stuff actually good for you! (Tip of the hat to Prof. PZ Myers.)

Taking Down WW

One of the funniest writers on the internet signs up for Weight Watchers.

Do you remember Cracked magazine? Back in the '60s, it was just a cheap imitation of Mad, but things have changed. Cracked made the jump to the Internet, and just keeps getting better. Mad is pretty much defunct. Anyway, enjoy.

From the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, "Goldfinches are among the strictest vegetarians in the bird world, selecting an entirely vegetable diet and only inadvertently swallowing an occasional insect." I know how they feel.