Subject:

U.S. Department of Agriculture

  • Blogs

    March 20, 2012

    Pink Slime Seems Impossible to Avoid

    ​Pink slime -- aka "lean finely textured beef," meat salvaged off the carcass through a process of heat, centrifuging, and ammonia-gassing -- is the bugaboo of the day, as impossible to avoid in the media as it apparently is in hamburgers. It's a story that hits most of the sustainable food moveme ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 7, 2012

    White Bread Is Lovable Because the Government Engineered to Be That Way

    Nigh flavorless. Textureless. Nutritionally vapid. There's a reason white bread has become the symbol of all that is wrong with industrialized food, not to mention WASP culture. Turns out, that reason is the U.S. government.In a mind-blowing feature in this month's Believer, Aaron Bobrow-Strain ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 1, 2012

    This Whole 'Food Desert' Thing? Maybe That's Not the Problem

    apdesign / ShutterstockActually, it's not quite like this.​For the past decade or so, there's been a big push to identify "food deserts" -- low-income neighborhoods and even cities that don't have ready access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Plant markets in those deserts, the thinking has gone, a ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 3, 2012

    You Ate a Ton of Food Last Year

    ​Yeah, that's what most of us have been saying to ourselves over the past few weeks, but it's true, according to the USDA. NPR's food correspondant, Allison Aubrey, looked over the agency's food consumption data and reported some of the numbers she found: 185 pounds of meat, 31 pounds of chee ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 5, 2011

    Everyone Loses Out When School Lunch Is Privatized

    Monkey Business / ShutterstockNo, these kids don't look human to SFoodie, either.The New York Times ran a barnstormer of an opinion piece this weekend detailing how the contracting out of school lunch to management companies and food processors has affected nutrition, wages, and even standardized te ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 23, 2011

    Do You Really Need to Toss Food Once the "Use-By" Date Expires?

    ​Most of us conduct periodic sweeps through the refrigerator to ferret out the molding fruit salads and check the cartons of yogurt and eggs to see whether we've been keeping them too long. On Grist, though, National Resources Defense Council scientist Dana Gunders says that "use-by" dates are not ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 17, 2011

    Local Food Is Bigger Business Than You Might Expect

    John Loo/Flickr​Given the fact that most Americans have to peel stickers or plastic off their produce before eating them, you'd think that the local-foods business represents a tiny, not-very-lucrative segment of the food system. But a new USDA report, whose findings the Washington Post summa ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 16, 2011

    Congress Rules That Pizza Sauce Is a Vegetable

    Alan Cowan / ShutterstockSource of many vital nutrients. Apparently.​Criticize the Obama administration if you will for being too soft on GMOs or too hard on legal pot dispensaries, but it seems to be on the marks when it comes to school lunch. The USDA, under the administration, has been working ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 7, 2011

    Sacramento Goes Vegan, Pumpkin Recipes Galore, and Veal at McDonalds!? We're All Screwed.

    ​ • McDonald's in Switzerland is serving VEAL BURGERS. In related news, Old Navy is selling Prada, Ke$ha is playing first fiddle in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and I'm gonna murder everyone • Subway is open to adding vegan options and we need to send emails right now to support that t ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 5, 2011

    Why Is There Such a Big Difference Between USDA Recommendations and Subsidies?

    ​ The Washington Post ran a blistering article yesterday comparing what the USDA wants Americans put on their plates and what foods are on the agency's plate in terms of crop subsidies and price guarantees. Of the roughly $200 billion spent to subsidize U.S. commodity crops from 1995 to 2010 (co ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 16, 2011

    Vegetarians Love Doing It, True Blood's Pam Loves Chimps, and Easiest/Best Chocolate Mousse Recipe Ever!

    ​ • Cargill recalled 185,000 pounds of their Salmonella turkey this week! Yet another fabulous Cargill recall this year! What can I say? They're on a roll! And again, another exemplary job by the USDA. Did you know USDA has a website where you can ask them questions? Let's all ask them WHY TH ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 14, 2011

    USDA on Unlabeled Beef Irradiation: Not Now, Maybe Later

    Pixelpeter/Shutterstock​The USDA is doing a public-relations campaign about food safety this month, and sent a Bay Area native -- now a Deputy Under Secretary -- to our offices to talk about e. coli. I, however, wanted to talk about food irradiation. The two topics are related. In July, the ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 9, 2011

    Faux-Gras Donuts, Bunny Adoptions, Vegan Cooking Zines, and Protest the Terrible Circus!

    ​ ​• There are over 1,000 food-borne illness outbreaks in the United States EVERY year. At least, from 2008 forward, when the Centers for Disease Control began compiling the data. Fucking disgraceful. This is what happens when you have an "oversight" agency that's in bed with the people it's ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 21, 2011

    Animal Lovers Ask eBay to Stop Pet Sales

    How else will he find a home?​Falling deep in puppy love is a hard thing to avoid when scrolling through eBay's classifieds and seeing pictures of pets who need a home. And although it's a great way to trap people into picking up one of those cuddly creatures, animal activists are calling for an e ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 19, 2011

    Going Legit, Part 5: Selling Your Food Through Grocery Stores

    Marge BakeryMegan Gordon.​Part five of a series in which SFoodie asks the question: With the Underground Market now shut down, what would it take for San Francisco's aspiring food microventures to go legit? The shelves at grocery stores like Rainbow, Bi-Rite, and Canyon Market are packed with loc ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 19, 2011

    Can't Lose Weight? It Might Be Your Plate

    Precise Portions​ It's never easy to stay motivated when it comes to eating healthily, but when your dinner plate is a constant reminder, it's harder to feign ignorance or forgetfulness. Ann-Marie Stephens has just created a set of dinnerware, Precise Portions, designed to help people keep ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 7, 2011

    Ripping on the USDA's New Graphic, Whispering About Stumptown

    ​Today's notes on national stories, local trends, random tastes, and other bycatch dredged up from the food media.​1. No more food pyramid. After several years and $2 million in research, the USDA released its new nutrition graphic last week to replace the much-maligned food pyramid, and the com ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 25, 2011

    Pork Can Now Officially Be Pink, A Taste of Seesaw's Smorrebrod

    ​Today's notes on national stories, local trends, random tastes, and other bycatch dredged up from the food media. 1. Pink Pork. The big news of the day is that the USDA has just lowered its recommended serving temperature for whole cuts of pork, from 160 degrees Farenheit to 145. (The serving te ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 19, 2011

    Spending $$$ on Cooking Less, Fear of Sushi and Plastic

    ​Today's notes on national stories, local trends, random tastes, and other bycatch dredged up from the food media. 1. How often do you use your KitchenAid? In the Atlantic, Megan McArdle attempts to resolve a conundrum: Why are businesses like Sur La Table thriving and high-end appliances appeari ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 1, 2011

    Fixing School Lunch (NOT), Spring Busting Out All Over, the Mysterious Falernian

    ​Today's notes on national stories, local trends, random tastes, and other bycatch dredged up from the food media. 1. School lunch suppliers scrambling. On BNET, Melanie Warner writes about the changes that major companies supplying school lunch programs are making to comply with new USDA regula ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 24, 2011

    Genetically Modified Beets at the Center of Food Safety Debate

    Fact: Beet deregulation would be a boon to Schrute family farms ​Beets are not always the preferred vegetable on one's plate, but they are considered among the healthier foods we eat -- until they're not.Food Safety groups are challenging beet growers who are attempting to plant genetically engine ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 23, 2011

    Heartswork Winery WELL REaD 2009 California Red

    At $5.99, this is one bottle that defies the common wisdom that no-sulfites-added wines justify a higher price.​A molecule called sulfur dioxide ― aka sulfites, a common preservative ― has become the crux of an ongoing disagreement between two schools of winemakers. Those who vouch for the ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 25, 2011

    Leopold's Brings Austro-Italian Food to S.F., One More Steakhouse Joins the Fray

    ​ ​The past 24 hours in gossip, innuendo, and cold hard facts about the San Francisco restaurant scene. Both Inside Scoop and Grub Street hail the opening of Leopold's (Leopold's: 2400 Polk, 474-2000), which started serving dinner this weekend. The pitch: Austro-Italian food ― pappardelle w ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 16, 2010

    Farmers' Markets Explode Across the U.S. ― Well, Most of the U.S.

    USDA​Our favorite morsel from the blogs. Obama Foodorama stands in awe before the just-released plumped-up USDA National Farmers Market Directory, which includes an interactive map. Foodorama: The improved state-by-state Directory makes it easier to find your local Farmers Market, which can b ... More >>

  • Dining

    October 27, 2010

    Fresh Eats: Our weekly roundup of SFoodie news

    USDA​Our favorite morsel from the blogs. Obama Foodorama stands in awe before the just-released plumped-up USDA National Farmers Market Directory, which includes an interactive map. Foodorama: The improved state-by-state Directory makes it easier to find your local Farmers Market, which can b ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 21, 2010

    How Safe Is Chicken Tartare? A Saga of Discovery

    CAKES A./FlickrChicken tartare at Ippuku: Just looking at this photo makes me crave it again.​In the week following simultaneous restaurant reviews in the Chronicle and SF Weekly of Ippuku, a Japanese restaurant in Berkeley, the Chronicle's comments sections filled with disgust over a dish that bo ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 28, 2010

    'Happy Meal' Legislation Cites Faulty Data

    How heavy is that box? ​San Francisco's ongoing effort to mandate how healthy a kids' meal must be in order to include a neato toy has, literally, blown up into a City Hall food fight. You could see this proposal as yet another San Francisco nanny state measure to tell parents how to raise their k ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 21, 2010

    Are There Just Too Damn Many Farmers' Markets?

    OSFlicks/Flickr​Our favorite morsels from the Web. At Salon today, Riddhi Shah probes the dark side of the boom in U.S, farmers' markets. Sure, weekly food fests like the Wednesday Castro market are a boon for city folk, but how much do we really know about the communities where our farmer b ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 25, 2010

    S.F. Rising: Flax-Oat Bread from Vital Vittles

    ​ A weekly survey of bread in San Francisco ― the baked and the steamed, the artisan and the novelty.Flax Seed-Oat BreadSource: Vital Vittles, available at grocery stores around the city.Price: $4-5, depending on the storeToast-appropriateness: 10/10

  • Blogs

    June 2, 2009

    'Kitchen Table Talks' Break Down Food Politics for Activists, Wonks, and Just Plain Eaters

    Northfield.org via FlickrJessica Prentice: The original locavore?Yammering about food is a local pastime, whether it's talk about the latest street-food find, the endless debate about organic versus local, or what "green" really means (do Veev cocktails count?). Now there's an organized space for s ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 31, 2009

    National Survey Names S.F. 'Least Wasteful City in America,' Gives Locals Even More Reason to Lord It Over No. 25 Atlanta

    S.F. is the greenest in the realm -- or at least we say we areA study commissioned by the water bottle company Nalgene -- which definitely has a horse in this race -- has deemed San Francisco the nation's "1st least wasteful city" (their words) in a field of 25 major cities. Atlanta, as the headline ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 10, 2009

    Plan Bee: Top S.F. Beekeeper Doubts 'Colony Collapse Disorder' Ever Existed -- and Many Scientists Agree

    Buzz-Kill: Despite the press' fixation with 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' many scientists and beekeepers aren't convinced it's realPhilip Gerrie lives in Noe Valley with, as he puts it, "a spouse, two cats, and 100,000 bees." The past president of the San Francisco Beekeepers' Association is a soft-sp ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 25, 2008

    Last Night: Charge of the Light Brown Apple Moth at Town School for Boys

    Buzz-Kill: Despite the press' fixation with 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' many scientists and beekeepers aren't convinced it's realPhilip Gerrie lives in Noe Valley with, as he puts it, "a spouse, two cats, and 100,000 bees." The past president of the San Francisco Beekeepers' Association is a soft-sp ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 7, 2008

    Bob's Pickle Pops: Made From Freshly Squeezed Pickles

    Buzz-Kill: Despite the press' fixation with 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' many scientists and beekeepers aren't convinced it's realPhilip Gerrie lives in Noe Valley with, as he puts it, "a spouse, two cats, and 100,000 bees." The past president of the San Francisco Beekeepers' Association is a soft-sp ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 18, 2008

    Massive Beef Recall: It's What's for Lunch, Kiddies

    Buzz-Kill: Despite the press' fixation with 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' many scientists and beekeepers aren't convinced it's realPhilip Gerrie lives in Noe Valley with, as he puts it, "a spouse, two cats, and 100,000 bees." The past president of the San Francisco Beekeepers' Association is a soft-sp ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 2, 2007

    Big Poultry And The USDA Passing Off Pumped-Up Chicken As Natural

    Buzz-Kill: Despite the press' fixation with 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' many scientists and beekeepers aren't convinced it's realPhilip Gerrie lives in Noe Valley with, as he puts it, "a spouse, two cats, and 100,000 bees." The past president of the San Francisco Beekeepers' Association is a soft-sp ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 2, 2007

    Big Poultry And The USDA Passing Off Pumped-Up Chicken As Natural

    Buzz-Kill: Despite the press' fixation with 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' many scientists and beekeepers aren't convinced it's realPhilip Gerrie lives in Noe Valley with, as he puts it, "a spouse, two cats, and 100,000 bees." The past president of the San Francisco Beekeepers' Association is a soft-sp ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 1, 2007

    World Vegetarian Day: What Would Morrissey Do?

    Buzz-Kill: Despite the press' fixation with 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' many scientists and beekeepers aren't convinced it's realPhilip Gerrie lives in Noe Valley with, as he puts it, "a spouse, two cats, and 100,000 bees." The past president of the San Francisco Beekeepers' Association is a soft-sp ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 1, 2007

    World Vegetarian Day: What Would Morrissey Do?

    Buzz-Kill: Despite the press' fixation with 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' many scientists and beekeepers aren't convinced it's realPhilip Gerrie lives in Noe Valley with, as he puts it, "a spouse, two cats, and 100,000 bees." The past president of the San Francisco Beekeepers' Association is a soft-sp ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 14, 2007

    Canning Tomatoes: Industrious Food Bloggers Save For The Winter

    Buzz-Kill: Despite the press' fixation with 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' many scientists and beekeepers aren't convinced it's realPhilip Gerrie lives in Noe Valley with, as he puts it, "a spouse, two cats, and 100,000 bees." The past president of the San Francisco Beekeepers' Association is a soft-sp ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 14, 2007

    Canning Tomatoes: Industrious Food Bloggers Save For The Winter

    Buzz-Kill: Despite the press' fixation with 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' many scientists and beekeepers aren't convinced it's realPhilip Gerrie lives in Noe Valley with, as he puts it, "a spouse, two cats, and 100,000 bees." The past president of the San Francisco Beekeepers' Association is a soft-sp ... More >>

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    February 28, 2001

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