Posts Tagged ‘food industry’

It seems like conspiracy theories are enveloping us. The new coronavirus was hatched in a lab and foisted on us by China! The one percent is manipulating the economy! Oh, my. It’s a long list that we can read and smugly think, we’re too smart to fall for that. Right? But on the other hand, […]

We have the meats! So says Arby’s in its advertising. Likewise, the U.S. government is stepping up to make sure we can all say this. Last night, President Trump signed an executive order for meat packing plants to stay open during the pandemic. Some have been closing because of rising deaths among workers due to […]

You’ll find lots of speculation about the implications of the COVID-19 lockdown on nutrition. Much of it promotes familiar themes about bad dietary habits. Nutrition guilt trips should be banned in the lockdown, but apparently, they’re not. However, a more interesting and related subject is how the lockdown is totally disrupting the production and distribution […]

Is the coronavirus pandemic giving a boost to ultra-processed foods? Maybe. In any event, it’s an appealing narrative. We’re all a little tired of reading about issues of life or death and confinement. So lighter stories about how people are chowing down on Chef Boyardee Beefaroni are welcome relief. But it’s worth noting that these […]

Why do we have so much obesity? One possible answer is evolution. By this, we don’t mean human evolution. Rather, we mean commercial evolution – of an obesogenic food supply. Many have suggested that the problem lies with addictive foods. Michael Moss tells a slick story about the evil food industry engineering hyperpalatable food that […]

This is a spin machine that any politician would be proud to own. Chile enacted a broad set of food system regulations in 2016 that many folks in public health simply love. The intent? Put an end to this obesity thing. This week, PLOS Medicine published a study of their effects and the fan club erupted […]

No doubt, you’ve heard the warnings. Beware of ultra-processed food. If you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it. Look for foods with 5 ingredients or fewer. But non-meat meat is hot right now. So we have to wonder. Do consumers care about what’s in fake meat? Well, new consumer research is in, and the answer […]

The Associated Press calls it a win for anti-obesity activists in Mexico. A decade of fighting about food warning labels has brought a victory. Front of pack labels in Mexico will put big black stop signs on products with too much sugar, salt, or saturated fat. Finally, people will learn what not to eat. But […]

Editorial Note: After this post was published, we learned from sharp-eyed scientists that the analysis in the study referenced below suffers from a Difference in Nominal Significance error. For more on this issue with this study, we refer you to this explanation of the problem, which includes links to other publications about this issue. To […]

Spending five days with some of the most influential nutrition communication professionals in America has made us think. Do we value the food that sustains us? Is the low cost of food in America entirely a good thing? Why, despite that low cost, do we still have so much food insecurity? Cheap Calories Make no […]