Weekend reading: Industry influenced opinion of the week I usually do posts about conflicts of interest on Mondays, but wanted to acknowledge the death of Carlo Petrini right away this week.  So here's the Monday post. David A Cleveland, Research Professor in the Department of Geography, and…

Artificial sweeteners: risks vs. benefits? The FDA says artificial sweeteners are safe at current levels of use.  It has established Acceptable Daily Intakes for most of them.  These levels are much, much higher than anyone is likely to consume in a day. But: The benefits and risk of these…

Greenpeace finds microplastics in baby food pouches Yes, I know baby food pouches are convenient and let babies feed themselves without making a mess. But I can think of so many reasons not to use them.  Baby food pouches: Contain foods that are generally too sweet. Contain homogenious textures.…

Is Big Food in trouble? Five existential threats. It's impossible not to notice all the reports of declining food sales.  I've been talking about four existential threats to the food industry: Robert F. Kennedy Jr ("The food industry is poisoning America") Ultra-processed foods (dietary guidelines…

RIP Carlo Petrini: a huge loss to the food world and to humanity Carlo Petrini and Slow Food acolytes in Turin, 2016. As a member of Slow Food USA, I received its notice about the death of its founder, Carlo Petrini, at age 76 in Bra, Italy. A visionary leader and public intellectual with a…

Dogs and cannabis edibles: readers weigh in When I wrote about dogs getting stoned on cannabis edibles last week, I had no idea this was a thing. From Bill Nesheim (my sort of son-in-law): This has been a fairly big problem for hikers in New Hampshire.   I’ve seen a number of situations where dogs…

The effects of GLP-1 drugs on the food industry: A collection of recent items You might think of GLP-1 drugs as miracles of modern medicine, but the food industry views them as a threat. Why?  Eating less is bad for business. The Threat Data: Alarming new research reveals threat GLP-1s pose to…

Scotland’s new stocking rules While we are on the subject of stocking standards for grocery stores, take a look at what's happening in Scotland. Less sugar, more pressure: Scotland’s HFSS rules force a food industry rethink:  With Scotland’s HFSS restrictions arriving in October, food…

USDA expands stocking standards for retailers who serve SNAP recipients The USDA has announced that retailers who serve SNAP recipients will now have to carry more real food.  As of fall 2026, Retailers authorized to accept SNAP benefits must now carry seven varieties of items across four…

Meat industry: the funding effect Navid Teimouri, who is at the School of Public Health, University of Queensland, sent me his team's recently published analysis of meat industry sponsored nutrition studies and their outcomes: Is Meat Industry Affiliation Associated With Study Conclusion in…

Weekend warning: pets and cannabis edibles I am a big fan of Whole Dog Journal, a terrifically interesting and useful publication about anything you might want to know about having a dog as a pet---or family member. One of its recent articles: What to Do If Your Dog Eats Marijuana (Edibles, Weed,…

Ultra-processed food defined: not all that complicated Secretary Kennedy promised to define ultra-processed foods by April (after a call for input), but then said it may be too complicated to define these foods for policy purposes. Apparently not. Healthy Eating Research convened an expert panel.…

Whole milk in schools: Will it make kids healthier? The USDA has announced its implementation of President Trump's Whole Milk for Health Kids Act. This act (see Federal Register notice): Removes requirements that school milk be fat-free or low fat, flavored or not. Permits schools to also offer…

Meat industry consolidation: a national security issue? Let me start with a summary from Food Safety News: The final four in the consolidation game are: JBS – This Brazil-based food giant is the world's largest beef processor. It owns facilities that slaughter and pack over 20,000 cattle per day…

A rare exception: an industry-funded study with negative results As I endlessly repeat, industry-funded studies tend to favor the sponsor's commercial interests.  The correlation between industry funding and study outcome is not 100% however.  Exceptions do occur. Here's one sent to me by a…

Official announcement: Sugar Coated I just got my copy of the University of California Press catalog for Fall 2026. The full catalog does not seem to be online yet (mine is hard copy), but the UC Press entry for Sugar Coated is here. The publication date is September 8. It can be pre-ordered:…

Farmers get short-changed in our current food system I saw this on AgWeb: I knew this came from USDA's Food Dollar series, which reports measurements of where the food dollar goes in the chain of production. The USDA also illustrates the dollar in reports.  The most recent, with figures from 2023,…

FDA says infant formulas are free of toxic metals (mostly) In the way this administration announces things, I saw this on X. The FDA's one-page summary says the agency had tested more than 300 samples of infant formulas with these results: If there is a more detailed report, I can't find it. Food…

More tragedy: USDA renames, splits up, relocates SNAP services Last week, I wrote about what I consider to be a national tragedy: the splitting up and relocation of crucial USDA units. The latest is USDA's renaming, splitting up, and relocating the Food and Nutrition Service, the agency…

Industry-funded study of the week: Full-fat dairy and body weight I spotted this one in the Journal of Nutrition, and took a guess at who must have paid for it. The study:  The Effect of Three Daily Servings of Full-Fat Dairy for 12 Weeks on Body Weight, Body Composition, Energy Metabolism, Blood…

Weekend reading: It’s all your fault Nick Chater & George Loewenstein.  It's On You: How the Rich and Powerful have convinced us that we're to blame for society's deepest problems.  WH Allen, 2026.  345 pages. This book directly addresses an issue I've fussed about for ages: putting the blame for…

Cell-based chocolate? Oh, why not. I am not usually a fan of techno foods, but I have to admit: this one might have possibilities. World’s first cell-based chocolate bar developed with Mondelēz: The first-ever milk chocolate bars made with cell-cultivated cocoa butter have been produced... Read…

Chicago: JAMA Summit: Obesity Information is here.  The agenda is here. My presentation:

Zoom: Royal Society of Medicine (London) Information is here.  Registration is here.  The agenda is here. My talk (NOTE:  this is London time)

Amherst, MA: Chef Culinary Conference Information is here.  The schedule is here.  Registration is here. My presentation:

Hyde Park: CIA Menus of Change Information and program are here.  My session:

New York: Tribeca Film Center I'm on a panel for The Henry Ford's Farm to School Lunch Across America film showing. In October 2024, The Henry Ford took its mission, message, and documentary team on the road. Through a series of experiences in seven communities across the nation, a pilot Farm to…

Chicago: Google Summit The agenda is here. My panel:

Preempting the GRAS loophole: not a good idea One of the reasons for Monday's rally at the Supreme Court (see Monday's post) is the food industry's efforts to be able to continue to use whatever additives it chooses, without regulatory oversight. A press release from the Environmental Working…

New York: Farm to School

American tragedy redux: USDA is relocating more programs out of the DC area It's deja vu all over again. During the Trump I administration, I wrote repeatedly about the tragic relocation of the USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) to Kansas.  As I said, the Government Accountability Office…

Happening today: Rally against glyphosate at the Supreme Court: The People vs. Poison Farm Action has joined Vani Hari (the Food Babe) and other groups in this People vs. Poison rally. Livestream it here. The "poison" here is glyphosate, the potentially carcinoenic weed killer manufactured by…

Weekend reading: online marketing of soda and alcohol Vital Strategies has issued two reports about digital marketing of soda and alcohol based on AI analysis of web content: Sick from Scrolling: Protecting the Next Generation from the Flood of Unregulated Social Media Marketing. Soda and alcohol…

Current events in agricultural chemicals Pesticides, herbicides, and other agricultural chemicals in food are of great concern right now, and getting rid of them is high on the agenda of Make America Health Again (MAHA). This will not be easy.  The chemicals pervade the food supply and Big Ag…

Annals of food marketing: some new items It's hard to keep up with what's happening with food innovations.  Manufacturers have to keep coming up with new products to encourage sales.  Functional foods---those with ingredients over and above what's in natural foods---seem to work.  But so do…

Just as expected, SNAP participation is declining, and by a lot FRAC, the venerable Food Research & Action Center, is tracking trends in SNAP participation. The decline is not because of lack of need.  As FRAC explains, it is the result of deliberate efforts by the Trump administration to reduce…

Industry funded study of the week: a dog supplement No food or supplement is too small to evade research aimed at selling it.  Try this one: ADM study: Postbiotic supports metabolic health markers in labradors:  Supplementing labradors with the postbiotic Bifidobacterium animalis subspecies lactis…

Weekend reading: Manufacturers Feed America I always like to know what the food industry is thinking, and was interested to run across a new report from the National Association of Manufacturers: Manufacturers Feed America: Strengthening Communities, Fueling Innovation, Growing the Economy. It…

Coming soon to a supermarket near you: Non ultra-processed! With all the fuss over defining the term ultra-processed, public and private groups are filling the gap with labels that identify foods that are not ultra-processed. I know of three ultra-processed labeling initiatives so far. I.  Leading…

What’s happening to Beyond Meat? I've been writing about Beyond Meat's financial troubles since at least 2022, so the latest problems come as no surprise. Beyond Meat, you will recall, makes plant-based meat alternatives: nutrition powerhouses, clean protein, fiber essential for the gut…

The new microplastics initiatives: steps in the right direction EPA, HHS Announce Historic Actions to Protect Americans from Microplastics and Safeguard Drinking Water For the first time in the program's history, EPA is including microplastics as a priority contaminant group in its draft Sixth…

Industry-funded study of the week: Taurine supplements I was interested to run across this article announcement: Nestlé researchers find Taurine-B vitamin blend may support motivation: A study in healthy adults found that daily supplementation had a positive impact on motivation, attention, mental…

Weekend reading: more on alternative meats I know I just posted a bunch of these, but here are even more. To understand what's happening with alternative meats---both plant- and cell-based---it helps to remember that companies making these products are businesses funded by venture capitalists. The…

New school food rules on the horizon? The new MAHA dietary guidelines could mean that changes are coming to school meals.  Or so the USDA says. While waiting for the USDA to issue new rules, various groups are urging specific improvements. United We Eat, a coalition of MAHA-supporting groups,…

HHS issues new guidelines for food served in hospitals Mehmet Oz's Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sent a memo to hospitals last week, telling them to align their food service policies and practices with the 2025–2030 dietary guidelines (see announcement in video). Hospitals should:…

Dietary guidelines: AHA v. MAHA The American Heart Association has just published its updated dietary guidelines: The 2026 Dietary Guidance to Improve Cardiovascular Health: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association  [the press release is here]. These constitute a firm rebuttal to…

Industry-funded study of the week: Kimchi Eileen M. Duffy, Publisher and editor of Edible Port City (Wilmington NC) sent me this announcement:  Kimchi probiotic promotes the excretion of nanoplastics from the gut. Experiments have confirmed that lactic acid bacteria isolated from kimchi can bind…

Weekend reading: AI’s analysis of soda and alcohol marketing on social media Vital Strategies has just released two of its Canary platform reports based on use of AI.  Here's its webinar. From Stadiums to Screens: Coca-Cola’s Sportswashing at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup Exposing Alcohol’s…

USDA’s newest label: Made in America While we are on the topic of labels, here's the USDA's newest: "Tastes like freedom?"  You have to love the Orwellian rhetoric. "Our great patriot ranchers and producers grow, raise, and harvest the world’s safest, most affordable, and abundant food supply.…

Front-of-package label designs: Which one works best? RFK Jr has promised that we will soon ahve a new front-of-package label..  As soon as they define ultra-processed foods, Every food in your grocery store will have a label on it,” Kennedy told Rogan. “It’ll have, maybe, a green light, a red…