“Words matter” is a frequent phase we hear. While the original intent may not be associated with what we eat, it certainly resonates in today’s environment. Words like “fresh,” “natural” or “local” seem to conjure up warm feelings and images of healthy foods, while...
Tag: Food For Health
Confident or Cautious? Checking Your Barometer on Safe Food
Bird flu, lead in cinnamon, cantaloupes or cucumbers with salmonella, and numerous food recalls have highlighted the news feeds over the past year. So perhaps, the recent 2024 International Food Information Council (IFIC) Food and Health Consumer Survey results...
2023 Issue 7: 2024 Food and Ag Trends — A Little Sweet and Some Heat
Food, friends, fellowship and faith are the elements that bring us together this time of the year and always. Likewise, at the same time, one or more of these can divide us. Food and water are the essence of our existence. While 2024 food and ag trends may not be top...
Like Wrapped Packages … Food Label Terms Can Be a Guessing Game
I learned a basic rule while growing up: Don’t get excited about the contents of a package until you opened it! In other words, what was in the box didn’t always match the outside label. My mother was resourceful, so using a box for the second or third time seemed...
2024 Food and Ag Trends — A Little Sweet and Some Heat
"In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” This centuries-old statement by Benjamin Franklin resonates equally as well in today’s food and ag trend space. While food trends are not as finite, there are “certain” themes that continue to...
Five Ways to Make Food Safety the Centerpiece of Holiday Meals
It’s Thanksgiving Week … and our thoughts are turning to food! While the price of the average Thanksgiving meal is almost three dollars cheaper than last year, the meal cost is still 25% higher compared to 2019. With the increased cost of our holiday meals, so should...
Food for All — Moving from “Yes/No” to “Yes, And”?
“Food is a right for all,” the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations tweeted recently, adding that food must be available, abundant, and accessible to be sustainable. That’s a simple statement with which we all would agree. Yet, the complexity...
Is Milk by Any Other Name Still Milk? The Continuing Saga
With the plethora of plant-based “milks” sharing space with dairy milk in the grocery store, the question of what is “milk” has been a source of contention over the years and a continuing saga. However, this is a question that can only be resolved by the Food and Drug...
Tracking the Trends — What Will Shine for 2023?
Trends like weather are forecasts. Some will shine through while others may get covered with a dark cloud. Regardless of what consumer surveys or noted chefs may predict,1 unexpected storms, like pandemic-related supply chain snafus, can alter the path. Looking back...
“Weathering” the Economic Risk — From Orange Groves to Wheat Fields — for Food on the Table
A weather radio sat on my kitchen table. I woke up every day to Radio 700 AM broadcasting weather and news. Weather dominated our conversations. The memories and realities of whether it was going to "rain or shine” controlled the order of the farm day (other than the...