Sunday, 19 May, 2013

Drafts of two hefty food-safety regulations are released. What are the fundamentals of ensuring safety in the giant American food system? Where is the room for improvement? Who will (and maybe should) escape regulation?

Could soil help? One-third of soils are degraded. In fighting desertification, erosion and nutrient loss, some soil-restoring techniques solve multiple problems.

Urban farms are sprouting in the most unlikely places. Advocates say they help with nutrition, obesity and job training. They build community and help immigrants assimilate, cut energy usage, and cool the planet. But does the reality match the claims? Food is flowing, but what’s new with farming in the city?

2009 has been a big year for food recalls, largely because salmonella-contaminated dried milk, pistachio nuts and peanut products affected thousands of items in a wide variety of food products, says Kathleen Glass, associate director of the Food Research Institute. “If you have a single whole food, from one manufacturing plant or one farm, the [...]

Animals spend a lot of energy avoiding toxic chemicals in their food. A new type of gene that does this in fruit flies reinforces the importance of reproduction in shaping evolution.

Plucked from his own time in the autumn of 1621 and deposited at a “traditional” Thanksgiving dinner today, a Plymouth, Mass. Pilgrim would have gawked at the foodstuffs, says UW-Madison historian Stanley Schultz. “He would not have recognized mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, bread stuffing of any composition, green beans (alone or in some noxious casserole), [...]

To measure the molecules that give food taste, you need a standardized eating machine. One has finally arrived, courtesy of food technologists in France (of all places!). Meet the mechanical masticator!

After World War II, the “green revolution” sparked an explosion in farm output in developing countries. With soaring food prices and spreading food riots, what can we learn from the green revolution?

Using a chemical reaction that changes color when specific chemicals are present, a new “dipstick” may detect spoilage better than the human nose.

Amid a flood of contaminated Chinese imports, we ask: what is going on? How dangerous are these foods and medicines? Is this normal, expected? Or should we be doing something more to improve safety?

The ancients used fire to cook, smelt metal and make pots. It provided warmth, protection against animals, and became a social focus. Fire changed who we are. Could this explain the enduring allure of fire?

Surprise: Crabs prefer fish fresh, just like you and me! Study shows that odor of rotten fish repels stone crabs; shows evolutionary reason why decay organisms make foul stench.

Do GM crops work as advertised? Do they kill only pest insects? Do they keep their modified genes to themselves? Or are they a hazard to the environment? Read the GM crop 10-year checkup.

If you convince people that a food made them sick, some will avoid the food in the future. You lie and implant a memory, and that changes behavior.

How do smart diners decide from an unfamiliar menu? They take advice. Ditto for bees. If they haven’t seen the flowers before, they follow the lead of another bee.