Category: Media Coverage
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Insects Touted as Sustainable Protein Source
“Insects—part delicacy, part gag—are chic again,” contends New Yorker staff writer Dana Goodyear in an August 15, 2011, article examining the rise of entomophagy, or insect-eating, among U.S. gourmands, sustainability proponents and more adventurous diners. According to Goodyear, “The current vogue reflects not only the American obsession with novelty and the upper-middle-class hunger for authenticity…
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Mark Bittman, “Irradiation and the ‘Ick Factor,’” The New York Times, July 26, 2011
“The big question is this: How do we get the safest and most ethical food system possible while adequately feeding ourselves?,” asks New York Times columnist Mark Bittman in this latest opinion piece supporting “a massive overhaul of the food system.” Discussing recent E. coli outbreaks in Europe, Bittman concedes that the controversial process known…
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New York Times Covers GE Bluegrass Controversy
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) recent decision to exempt genetically engineered (GE) Kentucky bluegrass from federal approval has reportedly stirred debate over how the agency regulates biotech crops, with some critics calling the outcome “a blatant end-run around regulatory oversight.” According to a July 1, 2011, press release, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection…
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AP Highlights Legislator Resistance to Food Ad Limits
“House Republicans are siding with food companies resisting the Obama administration’s efforts to pressure them to stop advertising junk food for children,” writes Associated Press reporter Mary Clare Jalonick in a July 6, 2011, article examining the efforts of individual legislators to stymie proposed Federal Trade Commission (FTC) food marketing guidelines. According to Jalonick, while food companies…
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Charles Siebert, “Food Ark,” National Geographic Magazine, July 2011
“[T]he movement to preserve heirloom varieties goes way beyond America’s renewed romance with tasty, locally grown food and countless varieties of tomatoes. It’s also a campaign to protect the world’s future food supply,” writes National Geographic’s Charles Siebert in this July 2011 article discussing the dangers of homogeneity when it comes to commercial agriculture and…
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Is Ethical Line Crossed When Children “Like” Products?
An Advertising Age article discusses recent litigation filed by parents against Facebook® alleging that the social network has used names and/or likenesses of their children in product endorsements without obtaining parental consent. While no child younger than age 13 is supposed to be able to set up a Facebook® account, Consumer Reports estimates that some…
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Natasha Singer, “Foods with Benefits, or So They Say,” NYT, May 14, 2011
“Push a cart through … any supermarket anywhere in America, and you just might start believing in miracles—or at least in food miracles,” according to Natasha Singer writing in The New York Times about the latest trends in functional foods. “In aisle after aisle, wonders beckon. Foods and drinks to help your heart, lower your…
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John Seabrook, “Snacks for a Fat Planet,” The New Yorker, May 16, 2011
“Over the course of the past half century, during which PepsiCo’s revenues have increased more than a hundredfold, a public-health crisis has been steadily growing along with it. People are getting fatter,” opines The New Yorker’s John Seabrook in this article examining the tension between the ubiquitous snack food empire and its recent foray into…