A MAHA Win? Beginning to close the GRAS loophole. The FDA is starting the regulatory process to close the GRAS Loophole. This proposed rule, if finalized, would amend the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) regulations in 21 CFR parts 170 and 570 to require the mandatory submission of GRAS notices…

The new EAT-Lancet report: “predominantly plant-based” The EAT-Lancet Commission has released its updated report on "healthy, sustainable, and just food systems." Let me point out immediately that the report was written by a great many authors (I could not easily count them), is 76 pages long, and…

Industry-funded study of the week: Eggs I learned about this one from Women's Health: New Study Confirms What We've Known About Eggs' Health Impacts All Along.   Translation: Saturated fat raises blood cholesterol levels more than does dietary cholesterol.  Guess who paid for it! The study: Impact…

Weekend reading: WHO’s new report on non-communicable diseases The World Health Organization's declaration on prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs---heart disease, type 2 diabetes, etc) was in the news this week (its source is here). First, because of what it says and does not say: These…

Tyson Foods wins US Poultry award for wastewater management I'm indebted to a reader, Daniel Wiser, for sending me this item about how US Poultry is honoring Tyson Foods and Perdue Foods for "excellence in wastewater management." The US Poultry & Egg Association announces the recipients of the…

Unilever finally clamps down on Ben & Jerry’s After 20 years, of being owned by Unilever, Ben & Jerry are unhappy about how that relationship is working out.  They say they are being silenced and their independence is being infringed upon. According to Reuters, Ben & Jerry's co-founder Jerry…

USDA expands SNAP stocking requirements: Will this help? The USDA requires retailers who accept SNAP benefits to stock a few fruits and vegetables.  Formerly, USDA required retailers to provide three varieties of food in each of four categories---dairy, protein, grain, and fruits and vegetables. …

Industry funded review of the week: Yogurt and Type 2 Diabetes When I saw this article in the Journal of Nutrition, my first question was, "Who paid for it?" The article: Yogurt and Reduced Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Exploring the Food and Drug Administration Qualified Health Claim and Potential…

Weekend reading: Food Intelligence Julia Belluz and Kevin Hall.  Food Intelligence: The Science of how Food Both Nourishes and Harms Us.  Avery, 2025. ~340 pages This is the long-awaited manifesto from the journalist Julia Belluz and scientist Kevin Hall. As the press release puts it,  the book…

Les Dames d’Escoffier Next Big Bite I'm giving the keynote to this event.  For information and registration, click here.

California legislature passes bill banning ultra-processed foods from schools—and defining them So many readers have sent me notices about California’s Senate having unanimously passed a bill banning ultra-processed foods from schools---and defining what they are---that I just have to write about…

Trump administration will no longer collect data on food insecurity; shades of 1984 According to the Wall Street Journal (sent to me by Lindsey Smith Taillie, who is quoted in the story), the USDA will no longer be collecting data on food insecurity after this year. “This nonstatutory report…

RIP Marian Burros, cookbook author, food politics writer, colleague, and friend It breaks my heart to learn of the death of the great cookbook author and food politics writer, Marian Burros. She was immensely important to me and to my work. Her obituary in the New York Times appeared on Saturday;…

Online: Kick Sugar Summit

Les Dames d’Escoffier, online Link to registration to come soon.

Weekend Reading: Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor: Food and Ag Corporate Climate Resposibility Monitor has published its 2025 report: Food and Agriculture Sector Deep Dive, which looks at measures of protection against climate change.  It doesn't find much. It does find: Agrifood companies…

The push for more protein (a euphemism for meat): good, bad, indifferent? Protein is very much on the food agenda these days despite evidence that hardly anyone needs more of it than they are already getting.  This has led to at least two trends. I.  Nutritional hilarity.  Here's my current…

USDA resuscitates farm to school program, sort of The USDA issued an announcement last week: Secretary Rollins Announces Reinvigorated Farm to School Grants Supporting American Farmers and Children.   And here's her video announcement. I love the way the USDA uses Orwellian language (meaning the…

Alcohol industry lobbying scores wins against Dietary Guidelines The alcohol industry must be exceptionally powerful (that's why it is regulated by the Treasury Department, which cares about revenues, rather than an agency of Health and Human Services.  Its lobbying is highly effective, especially…

RIP Fred Kirschenmann Fred Kirschnmann died over the weekend after a long illness, a great loss. He described himself as a farmer-philosopher, and so he was. I first met him in the early 2000s when I went to Iowa State to give a lecture.  The Dean of Agriculture, Cathy Wokeki, said I had to meet…

Weekend reading: Reports on food systems Reports about one or another aspect of food systems are issued constantly and are hard to keep up with.  Here are links to two major sources. I.  The International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems. This group produces impressive food-system…

Food industry does survey to defend Facts Up Front labels The Consumer Brands Association (formerly the Grocery Manufacturers Association) did a survey to prove that its icons on the front of cereal boxes and some other products are trusted by consumers: Facts up Front label earns high marks for…

The official MAHA kids’ health strategy report is out: the leaked draft redux Yesterday, USDA and HHS released the official version of the leaked draft:  Make Our Children Healthy AgainStrategy  It's pretty much the same as the one I saw previously and posted about. A bunch of reporters sent me…

Growing crops for fuel: Big Ag wins, the public loses I know I've been posting this graph multiple times, but to me it sums up everything that's wrong with the U.S. agricultural system.  Close to half the biofuels grown in the U.S. is used to make biofuels. Here's what happens to corn. But that's…

Industry-funded research: The Beef Checkoff at Work Beef Checkoffs are USDA-sponsored programs that require producers to pay fees per cattle weight (the checkoff) into a common fund for research and promotion.  Here are three examples of the kinds of studies on beef and health that checkoff money…

Weekend reading: The effects of GLP-1 drugs on food industry Never mind the effects of anti-obesity drugs on the health and well-being of people taking them.  From the food industry's standpoint, what counts is what they are doing to sales of food and drink.  Ouch. Here is my most recent…

The effects of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act on income distribution: Shockingly unfair I've been collecting graphs on the likely effects of President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act (shades of Orwell's 1984) on income distribution in the United States.  Here are two examples to ponder.…

New York City updates food standards for city agencies: restricts artificial sweeteners and colors I was sent a press release from New York City's food policy office: NYC Releases Updated Food Standards for Foods and Beverages Served by 11 City Agencies We are pleased to announce the release of…

Nutrition in Medical Education: this again? Apparently so. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr has announced that medical schools will now have to teach nutrition.  This is a great idea in theory; in practice, no so much, First, here's what RFK Jr is saying: I can't believe I'm writing about…

It’s Labor Day: Let’s talk about ICE versus farm workers I'm indebted to Errol Schweizer, Grocery Nerd, for pointing out in response to my post on we need more vegetables, that if we want more vegetables, somebody has to pick them.  Raids by ICE on farmworkers are not helping this situation; they…

Weekend reading: National Food Museum’s update on Trump Administration Food Scorecard Michael Jacobson, founder and former president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, is now promoting development of a National Food Museum.  One of its projects is keeping score on administration…

Nutritionally hilarious: Louisiana’s definition of “soft drinks” for its SNAP waiver I am indebted to Melissa Fuster at Tulane University (congratulations on achieving tenure!) and Megan Knapp of Xavier University of Louisiana for telling me about this one. The USDA has just approved a waiver for…

Editorial: Ultra-processed diets promote excess calorie consumption I was asked to write an editorial commenting on a study published a couple of weeks ago that looked at changes in weight among people participating in a comparison of ultra-processed vs. minimally processed diets. The study:…

Industry-funded study of the week: OLIPOP (prebiotic soda) Here is yet another industry-funded study with a predictably favorable outcome, this one about a drink containing 6 grams of dietary fiber shown in this study to reduce blood glucose levels after consumption. The study: Prebiotic soda…

Weekend reading: legal advocacy action guide The Global Health Advocacy Incubator has issued an action guide to legal advocacy. As GHAI puts it, GHAI has launched a new Legal Advocacy Action Guide to show how legal professionals can advance public health objectives by identifying the most feasible…

Eating your veggies isn’t easy: they cost more and there aren’t enough of them The Bureau of Labor Statistics published this graph of the change in price of fresh vegetables since January 2024.  Prices have gone up a lot this year. This may be explained not just by inflation, but also by a decline…

USDA is allowing states to ban sodas from SNAP: is this a good idea? Yes, if evaluated. I thought I should say something about the new state bans on using SNAP benefit cards to buy sodas and other kinds of junk foods. More states ban soda and ‘junk food’ purchases from SNAP benefits: Varying…

The MAHA Strategy report: two leaked versions The big news in my world last week was the leaking of drafts of the forthcoming MAHA strategy report. At least four reporters sent me copies for comments. Leaked version dated August 6 (highlighted to indicate food issues) Leaked version dated August…

Industry-funded study of the week: “ultra-processed” Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are a big issue in nutritiion these days, because we eat so much of them, observational studies link them to poor health, and controlled clinical trials show they cause people to eat more calories from them than from…

Weekend Reading: FAO food systems how-to My former NYU colleague, Corinna Hawkes, who now directs the Agrifood Systems and Food Safety Division at FAO in Rome, sent a link to its new publication, Transforming Food and Agriculture through a Systems Approach. This publication provides an organizing…

David Kessler hands RFK Jr and MAHA a gift: Define Ultra-Processed Foods as Not GRAS David Kessler, a physician, lawyer, and former FDA Commissioner, has done a great service for the Make America Healthy Again movement.  He has written a letter to RFK Jr presenting a Citizen's Petition to the…

Update on the MAHA Policy Report: later. How much later? Not a clue. The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) commission was rumored to be releasing its second report, this one on policy, yesterday, but that did not happen. CNN reported: "New ‘Make America Healthy Again’ report to be released in…

American Heart Association issues advisory on ultra-processed foods The American Heart Association (AHA) has issued its long-awaited advisory on ultra-processed foods and heart health (and the CDC, just in time, says just about everyone consumes more than half their calories as UPFs). The AHA…

Industry-funded study of the week: salmon nose cartilege (I’m not kidding) NutraIngredients-Europe, a newsletter I subscribe to, published this gem: Salmon nose cartilage for younger skin?  Supplementing with salmon nose cartilage could significantly reduce signs of skin aging in the middle…

Weekend reading: A roundup of recent food system reports I've gotten way behind on posting reports, so I thought I'd take care of several today.  These international reports on one or another aspect of food systems are all worth a read. The UK Food Resilience report: Just in Case: 7 steps to…

Dubious product of the week: alcohol-based noodles? I could hardly believe it when I saw this item: Taiwan state distillery taps food market with alcohol-based instant noodles.   Taiwan’s state distillery has diversified into the food industry with alcohol-based instant noodles, blending beverage…

What the FDA is NOT doing about food safety: pet food The safety of pet food matters because we have one and only one food supply.  If pet food is unsafe, our safety is at risk. You don't believe me?  Try this: Darwin’s raw pet food linked to human case of E. coli O157:H7 in four-year-old child…

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What is the FDA doing about food safety these days? One of the underfunded and understaffed FDA's major responsibility is to ensure the safety of the food supply.  Here' are the actions the Trump Administration's FDA is announcing lately. I.  RUF Releases Produce Safety Roadmap: A Call for Action…

Flagstaff Family Food Center I'm honored to be speaking about my work to supporters of the Flagstaff Family Food Center, as part of the 2nd Annual Northern Arizona Anti-Hunger Summit.  It's at Grace Community Church, 4295 W Rte 66, Flagstaff, at 10:00 a.m.  Registration is here.