Posts Tagged ‘food policy’

The Nutrition Facts label, that black and white information box found on nearly every packaged food product in the U.S. since 1994, has recently become an icon for consumer transparency. From Apple’s “Privacy Nutrition Labels” that disclose how smartphone apps handle user data, to a “Garment Facts” label that standardizes ethical disclosures on clothing, policy […]

Looking for some naturally fast food? Minimally processed, but exquisitely prepared? Delicious, but not hyper-palatable? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration would like to help. According to Stat News, the agency is looking hard for ways to regulate ultra-processed food. It leaves us wondering if ultra-processed food can cause people to lose their minds. It […]

Food policy advocates are sharing a music video that captures a certain way of thinking. The choruses are nothing but trash talk about obesity and food. “It’s your own damn fault,” says one verse. In the next, “a team of evil scientists through rigorous testing created the most abominable snacks.” So it draws us into […]

Eight years ago, Chile implemented a sweeping food policy initiative to fight obesity. Many public health advocates quickly endorsed these policies. Researcher Deborah Cohen praised this as a success and called it a four-point lesson plan for the U.S. and other countries to follow: “Chile recognizes obesity rates are a crisis that demands urgent action. […]

Narratives are powerful because humanity has a natural inclination to tell stories. We seek to understand our world through the stories we tell. But this sets up a problem for nutrition and obesity science. Appealing narratives untethered from the truth can take decades to recognize as misleading. All too often, this happens only after policymakers […]

Remember when grains were good? Judging by the nutrition red alert arising from the possibility that potatoes might be classified as a grain instead of a vegetable, maybe grains are on the naughty list now. Brave potato defenders in the U.S. Senate are rising up to keep this from happening. They want to save us […]

The ideas that float freely into discourse about food policy can be fascinating. The latest in this line of intoxicating concepts is python meat. A new analysis in Scientific Reports tells us it tastes like chicken, but it’s sustainable. “Reptile meat is not unlike chicken: high in protein, low in saturated fats, and with widespread […]

Global food systems are a slow-rolling disaster, gaining momentum, and costing the global economy $15 trillion per year. That’s the bad news from a new policy report of the Food System Economics Commission (FSEC). The good news is that we have options, they report, which could produce economic and health benefits adding up to as […]

Up front, we want to say that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are incredibly important and we are very grateful for the diverse and talented experts who are working on scientific input for the 2025 edition. They offer a framework for healthy nutrition that guides U.S. (sometimes even global) food policy in ways that are […]

The 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee just finished an afternoon of taking public comments at its third meeting. They are well on their way to producing a scientific report that might guide the guidance when it emerges in time for the dawn of 2025. Right now, it does seem like everyone is ultra-worried about what […]