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Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts

7/27/22

Russia: Bread and Autocracy in Putin’s Russia

Food has been crucial to the survival of regimes since the emergence of early states. Yet despite its significance, until recently food availability was rarely discussed as a principal political issue outside the global South. This essay centers on the political role of food in Putin’s Russia and the Kremlin’s long­­­­­­standing goal of establishing nutritional autarky that would insulate the regime from dependence on food imports. We present the origins of Putin’s food policies, their ideological basis and the forms that they have taken since early 2000s. We also discuss Russia’s use of food as a weapon during the 2022 war in Ukraine.

Read More at: Bread and Autocracy in Putin’s Russia | Journal of Democracy

4/13/22

OXFAM - Global Poverty: Quarter of a billion people now face extreme poverty, warns Oxfam - by Kaamil Ahmed

The rising price of food caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and increased energy costs could push a quarter of a billion more people into extreme poverty, Oxfam has warned.

The charity said these new challenges had piled on to the economic crises created by Covid, and called for urgent international action, including cancelling debt repayments for poorer countries.

“Without immediate radical action, we could be witnessing the most profound collapse of humanity into extreme poverty and suffering in memory,” said Oxfam’s international executive director, Gabriela Bucher.

Oxfam’s briefing, released on Tuesday ahead of World Bank and IMF spring meetings next week, said indebted governments could be forced to cut public spending to meet the rising cost of importing fuel and food.

Oxfam said cancelling debt repayments for this year and next could free up $30bn (£23bn) for dozens of the countries facing the biggest debts.

Read more at: Quarter of a billion people now face extreme poverty, warns Oxfam | Global development | The Guardian

10/8/21

Britain heads further down the Brexit rabbit-hole – by Paul Mason

At my local petrol station a cadre of young men have suddenly appeared, in high-visibility jackets, to instruct car drivers in the fine art of the jammed-nose-to-tail refill. Each pump has three nozzles, for diesel and petrol—with some careful driving, and shouted instructions, two cars can use one at the same time.

That doesn’t stop the queue backing up 30 metres into the roadway, hazard lights flashing. After a while the jacketed men flip the makeshift sign, from ‘no petrol cans’ to ‘no petrol’, and the commotion ends. This is what happens when a country runs short of 100,000 truck and tanker drivers and the government says ‘don’t panic’.

In the supermarket next door there are rows of empty shelves. Fresh vegetables are a problem, fruit is a bigger problem and the remaining flowers look sad and wilted. The primary cause of the food shortage is said to be the absence of carbon dioxide for processing—itself a side-effect of the soaring price of natural gas.

Read more at: Britain heads further down the Brexit rabbit-hole – Paul Mason

10/1/21

America faces supply-chain disruption and shortages. Here’s why - by Matt Stoller

There’s a quiet panic happening in the US economy. Medical labs are running out of supplies like pipettes and petri dishes, summer camps and restaurants are having trouble getting food, and automobile, paint and electronics firms are curtailing production because they can’t get semiconductors. One man told me he couldn’t get a Whopper meal at a Burger King in Florida, as there was a sign saying “Sorry, no french fries with any order. We have no potatoes.”

Read more at: America faces supply-chain disruption and shortages. Here’s why | Matt Stoller | The Guardian

9/30/21

Britain: Brexit (stupidity on steroids) choices are making Britain's fuel and food shortages worse

Rising energy bills, higher prices and a critical shortage of workers leading to food and fuel supply constraints are threatening to stall Britain's recovery from the pandemic. The crises afflicting the UK economy have sparked talk in newspapers and among politicians of a looming "winter of discontent," a reference to the wave of strike action in 1978-79 that brought the British economy to its knees. There's even talk of stagflation, the nightmare combination of stagnant growth and high inflation. Although shortages, supply chain delays and rising food and energy costs are affecting several major economies, including the United States, China and Germany, Britain is suffering more than most because of Brexit.

Specifically, the form of Brexit pursued by the UK government — which introduced stringent immigration policies and took Britain out the EU market for goods and energy, making it much harder for British companies to hire European workers and much more costly for them to do business with the country's single biggest trading partner.

It didn't have to be this way — there were other options for a future EU-UK relationship. Worker shortages, for example, were not an inevitable outcome of Brexit, nor was going it alone on energy. But in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's ideological rush to "get Brexit done" amid fraught negotiations with the European Union, agreements in several crucial areas, including energy, were sidelined.

Read more at: Brexit choices are making Britain's fuel and food shortages worse - CNN

12/27/20

Pets Industry: Pandemic isolation sees booming demand for pets — and for businesses that cater to them

All those new pet photos you've been seeing on social media don't lie. The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted booming demand for pets from Canadians feeling isolated after months of social distancing. And that's meant big opportunities for a slew of Canadian companies that cater to that craving for companionship.

Read more at: Pandemic isolation sees booming demand for pets — and for businesses that cater to them | CBC News

6/12/19

What causes cancer? Food, products that increase your cancer risk - by Hilary Brueck

Cancer is the second-most-common cause of death in the United States, after heart disease.

It fundamentally affects the way our cells grow and divide, changing them in perverse ways. 

All cancer is a result of damage or genetic mutations in our DNA. The debilitating class of diseases spreads through a body like an invading army as toxic cells grow relentlessly into unruly tumors. 

Some cases of cancer are out of our control, determined by genetic defects and predispositions passed down from one generation to the next, or spurred by genetic changes we undergo through our lifetime. 

But we also know that breathing in certain substances, eating specific things, and even using some kinds of plastics ups the risk of developing some deadly cancers. 

Click on link below for some known carcinogens — cancer-causers — and a few more things that scientists are zeroing in on as prime suspects.

Read more at: What causes cancer? Food, products that increase your cancer risk - Business Insider

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1/19/16

GMO Labeling Endorsed by US Physicians but blocked by Chemical Industry Lobby - Ten Reason to avoid them

Is the Industry Lobby Bamboozling you about GMO's?
Even as the federal government pursues H.R. 1599, aka the “Deny Americans the Right to Know” (DARK) act, mainstream medicine is urging the government to abandon its resistance to GMO (genetically modified organism) labeling. 

They are bolstered by a recent announcement by the World Health Organization that glyphosate (the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer) is probably carcinogenic in humans. The genetic engineering ends up making crops resistant to the herbicide so more must be applied.

According to contributing doctors from Harvard, Mt. Sinai Medical Center and the University of Wisconsin reporting in the New England Journal of Medicine, “GM crops are now the agricultural products most heavily treated with herbicides, and two of these herbicides may pose risks of cancer.”

A recent notice in the same journal, “GMOs, Herbicides and Public Health,” reports: “The application of biotechnology to agriculture has been rapid and aggressive. The vast majority of the soy and [feed] corn grown in the United States are now genetically engineered. Foods produced from GM crops have become ubiquitous.”

Sixty-four countries, including Russia and China, have already adopted transparency in labeling laws, but U.S. Big Food and Big Ag lobbyists have stonewalled efforts domestically.\

EU representatives at the EU-US Trade Negotiations (TTIP) hopefully will not let this issue be swiped off the table by the American delegation.  As it is well known that the political establishment in the US Congress is very much influenced by the US Chemical and food Industry Lobby, which includes corporate giants like Monsanto, Dow Chemicals, Syngenta, Tyson, ADM and Cargill..

To put this in an order of magnitude: ADM and Cargill now control 65% of the world's trade in grain. Monsanto and Syngenta control 20% of the $60-billion market in bio-engineered seeds.

The EU better be aware that this US corporate lobby campaign to "patent nature" and control the world's food supply has been very successful,  Today, 85% of US corn is genetically engineered.


EU-Digest 

1/13/16

The Environment and food: France puts focus on eating local, ending waste

French Anti-Waste Program
As parts of its efforts in reducing climate change, France is taking a new look at one of its most important relationships: how the country relates to food. Two big developments in the country’s food industry have taken place in the past month having to do with local, quality food and reducing food waste. Here’s a look at each of the developments:

First, the Ministry of Agriculture released a comprehensive guide promoting the use of quality local food sources in public institutions like schools, hospitals, retirement homes and nurseries – a huge section of any country’s food services industry.

The plan goes step-by-step through the process of procuring food sources in public institutions, highlighting key ways the use of local food can be promoted and the benefits of local sources to the institutions, the economy and the environment.

The use of local food has many known benefits, including reducing the impact on the environment, promoting the local economy and encouraging people to have a deeper connection with their local communities. Taking into account the growing public demand for local products, the French government has fixed a goal of attaining 40% local food in public institutions by 2017.

Using signs of quality and origin are also strongly encouraged by the guide, as they are proof of a connection to a geographic location and are widely known as a guarantee of quality. Official government labeling of things like organic foods, protected geographic origin and others are important tools for consumers and producers to ensure quality products.

The law puts in place a series of steps to take to prevent waste of unsold food. First, institutions are to attempt to find a way to donate the food to charities. If that does not succeed, they are to donate the food for animal use, and finally they are then instructed to use the food products for composting, thus dramatically limiting the amount of food that can be wasted throughout the entire food production chain.

Both of these big ideas contribute to France’s longstanding efforts to reduce the impact of agriculture on climate change. By using local, quality food sources, carbon emissions are reduced and the local economy gets a boost – plus, by promoting signs of quality of origin, the food just tastes better.

And by making big strides to reduce France’s food waste, less carbon dioxide is wasted in production and charitable organizations get a boost in donations. These are win-win solutions for everyone, and play a beneficial role in France’s famous relationship with food.

Read more: France puts focus on eating local, ending waste

6/17/14

Sweden: Wish you were here: Summer in Sweden is a special time to visit Scandinavia - by Sarah Turnerby

Sweden is the land of the midnight sun and in June those wonderful twilight evenings stretch out for untold fun.

It’s a special time to visit Scandinavia – with midsummer parties and beach bonfires to enjoy.

One of the largest countries in Europe, there’s plenty to explore – and with a bit of ingenuity, you can keep costs down.

There are plenty of no-frills flights so it’s easy to get there too.

Skane is the part of Sweden closest to Denmark and it’s a hugely popular destination for foodies.
This organic farm has delicious local produce – and bicycles to borrow to ensure you work up an appetite with a beach close by.

Sweden’s second city, Gothenburg, also has anarchipelago and the island of Vrango has a new guest house this year – and you’ll get to stay in boathouses overlooking the water.

Hot tubs,renting kayaks and fishing tours are also on the menu. The seafood is great.

4/7/14

The Netherlands: McDonald's Small Wrap Kills Dutch Teenager Following Allergic Reaction

McDonalds announced it has stopped the sale of a 'Small Wrap Saté' in the Netherlands following the death of a 17-year-old teenager after he got a severe allergic reaction in a McDonald franchise in Amsterdam  from eating the wrap.

The saté wrap, selling for €2 in the Netherlands, consists of  "fried chicken and onions in a spicy peanut sauce", kown in the Netherlands as.Saté sauce. Saté sauce, which has its origins in Indonesia, became a very popular sauce in the Netherlands. and is even eaten there on french fries.

A spokesperson  for McDonald's confirmed the product has been withdrawn but declined to give any further information as to questions about warning labels on McDonald's products which contain peanut products or have been prepared in the vicinity of peanut products.

EU-Digest



4/5/14

Gourme Foodt: Why French food is better than any other cuisine

When Julia Child brought French cooking to the world she famously said, “with enough butter, anything is good.” We couldn’t agree more.

Search any French recipe and it will demand a decent sized knob of butter, it is the buttery pastry that makes French croissants melt in your mouth and the lashings of the fresh, creamy stuff that brings baguettes alive.

High up in the French Alps came the guilt ridden dish, cheese fondue. Truly decadent, it is made by melting cheese with white wine and garlic and serving it in a communal pot for everyone to dip chunks of bread into.

The best bit? Tradition says you must not drink water with fondue as it only serves to swell the stomach.
You’ll just have to wash it down with a good lug of wine.

The French know comfort food and they do it well. Forget mac and cheese or spaghetti bolognaise, it’s cassoulet that soothes the soul.

Originating from the south of France, the combination of white beans and pork is heartwarming and completely nourishing.

While cooking cassoulet is a labour of love, it is totally worth it.

Read more: Why French food is better than any other cuisine | News.com.au

EU-US Trade Negotiations:Feta,Parmesan,Gouda,Oktoberfest and Bratwurst among key issues in negotiations - by Donovan Slack

Europeans negotiating a free trade deal with the United States have been angling to reserve names like "feta" and "parmesan" only for cheese made in Europe. As it turns out, they also want to mandate that beer names like "Oktoberfest" and meat monikers like, yes, "bratwurst" be allowed on only European-produced beer and sausages.

With a veritable Holy Trinity at risk — cheese, brats and beer — Wisconsin Democrat Sen. Tammy Baldwin jumped into action Friday, persuading a bipartisan group of colleagues to sign on to letters to U.S. trade negotiators urging them to warn Europeans that America won't accept such naming restrictions. She signed onto a similar letter last month about cheese names.

If U.S. negotiators agree to European demands, U.S. manufacturers would have to change product names to "bratwurst-style sausages," "Oktoberfest-like ale" or "the lunch meat formerly known as bologna."

"The current trade proposal by the European Union creates an uneven playing field for our Wisconsin business to compete, export and grow," Baldwin said. "I consider this an attack on our proud traditions and I am standing up for Wisconsin cheese, brats and beer."

Wisconsin colleague Republican Sen. Ron Johnson and more than 40 others signed on to her letter to Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Trade Representative Michael Froman, who has been negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union.

"We urge you to make clear to your EU counterparts that the United States will reject any proposal in TTIP negotiations that would in any way restrict the ability of U.S. producers to use common meat names, such as bologna or black forest ham," Baldwin wrote.

Read More: Senators: Back off our brats, beer

2/5/14

Artificial Food Coloring: Caramel Coloring in Soda could be cancer causing

soft drinks - Sodas
Caramel color, added to many soft drinks and some foods to turn them brown, may sound harmless, even appetizing. But in no way does it resemble real caramel. Some types of this artificial coloring contain a potentially carcinogenic chemical called 4-methylimidazole (4-MeI). Under California’s Proposition 65 law, any food or beverage sold in the state that exposes consumers to more than 29 micrograms of 4-MeI per day is supposed to carry a health-warning label.

In recent Consumer Reports’ tests, each of the 12-ounce samples of Pepsi One and Malta Goya had more than 29 micrograms per can or bottle. While we cannot say that this violates California's Prop 65, we believe that these levels are too high, and we have asked the California Attorney General to investigate.

Caramel color is the single most used food coloring in the world, according to a 2013 report from market research firms Mintel and Leatherhead Food Research. “There’s no reason why consumers should be exposed to an avoidable and unnecessary risk that can stem from coloring food brown,” says Urvashi Rangan, Ph.D., toxicologist and executive director of Consumer Reports’ Food Safety & Sustainability Center. “Manufacturers have lower 4-MeI alternatives available to them. Ideally there would be no 4-MeI in food.”

In 2007, a US federal government study concluded that 4-MeI caused cancer in mice and the International Agency for Research on Cancer determined the chemical to be “possibly carcinogenic to humans” in 2011.

There’s no US federal limit for levels of 4-MeI in foods and beverages, but as of January 7, 2012 California requires manufacturers to label a product sold in the state with a cancer warning if it exposes consumers to more than 29 micrograms of 4-MeI per day. In this case, the exposure comes from consumption.

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment used 29 micrograms as the cut off point because that’s the level they determined poses a one in 100,000 risk of cancer—that is, no more than one excess cancer case per 100,000 people who are exposed to that amount daily for a lifetime.

Read more: Caramel Coloring in Soda | Artificial Food Coloring | 4-MeI - Consumer Reports

12/8/13

Food: Mediterranean food helps to prevent cancer

The British Cancer Journal stated in its latest published study that the Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of suffering cancer by 12-14 per cent.

According to the scientists, who conducted a survey on 25,000 individuals, the simple act of consuming natural fat, like olive oil, makes it 9 per cent less likely to suffer from cancer. The percentage should rise if the healthy diet is continued, eating less meat and saturated fat and more vegetables and fruits.

From the 25,000 people studied, the ones that followed the traditional Mediterranean diet were less likely to develop cancer,” declared Dimitrios Trichopoulos, professor of the University of Harvard and one of the main researchers of the survey.

“Even though eating food from a specific group did not have an influence in the risk of developing cancer, the simple fact of changing food habits had a great impact,” confirmed Trichopoulos.

Read more: Mediterranean food helps to prevent cancer - Euro Weekly News Spain

8/27/13

Restaurants: Europe's best hidden eats - by Anne Banas

From local holes-in-the-wall to trendy clandestine establishments, travelers to Europe have plenty of ways to veer off the tired tourist track when they dine. At these hidden spots, whether a secret late-night bakery in Lisbon or a dynamic pop-up in London, diners can immerse themselves in the local culture and be in the know despite being far from home.

On a recent stopover in Lisbon, I met up with Frederico Duarte, Lisboeta and co-author of Fabrico Proprio, a book (and ongoing project) on the design of Portuguese pastry. He led me on a late-night trek in search of the city's underground bakeries, an adventure that became the inspiration for this story on hidden eats in Europe.

Read on to discover these pastry havens, plus lesser-known dining spots in other great European cities.

Read more: Europe's best hidden eats

3/5/12

The Netherlands: Dutch treats, spicy and sweet

There is more to this capital cityof Amsterdam  than potatoes and Gouda. Much of the best food here arrived via former Dutch colonies in Suriname, the Antilles, and Indonesia (as in rijsttafel, the multicourse feast). But really good Dutch food is sold on the street, too, everything from barely pickled herrings to the dreamiest sweet waffle sandwiches you can imagine.

You’ll find them at the popular Albert Cuypmarkt and lesser-known Dappermarkt. Eating your way through these open-air markets is worth the risk of getting rained on. Albert Cuypmarkt, located in the neighborhood known as De Pijp (pronounced “pipe’’), has been humming along the same half-mile or so stretch of Albert Cuypstraat since the early 20th century. The market and street are named for Aelbert Cuyp, the 17th-century artist. Albert Cuypmarkt sees a lot of tourists, and Dappermarkt feels more like it caters to locals.

Cuypmarkt isn’t just food stalls. You can find anything from vintage clothing to old Dutch comics among the bustle. One thing that stands out is the purple Bob’s Vlaamse Frituur truck, which sells addictive Flemish-style French fries. Locals top a small cone of fries with rich oorlog sauce (literally, war sauce), which is half mayonnaise and half spicy peanut sauce. You could also just get ketchup.

For more: Dutch treats, spicy and sweet - Boston.com