‘Netherlands backs nutritional labeling: ‘Nutri-Score is best to promote healthy choices’’ ∞

January 17, 2020

Nutri-Score is new to me, but I’ve been hoping we’d start seeing a food-rating system that could be used to determine the general nutrition of things going into our body. This is how it works…

The health secretary said this news was a ‘major step’ towards empowering citizens to make better dietary choices.

In recent months, Dutch health authorities have conducted research into three different food selection logos: Keyhole, Traffic Lights and Nutri-Score. It found consumers ‘understand Nutri-Score best’.

The score awarded a food is based on the amount of calories, sugars, saturated fat, salt, protein, fibre, fruit, vegetables, legumes and nuts in the product.

NutriScore ranks foods from -15 for the ‘healthiest’ products to +40 for those that are ‘less healthy’. On the basis of this score, the product receives a letter with a corresponding colour code: from dark green (A) to dark red (F).

It’s currently in use or recommended by France, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Slovenia, and Austria. It’s a great start, and I hope it moves to the USA soon.

‘The Next Big Thing From Korea Isn’t KPOP, But Plant-Based Meat Unlimeat’ ∞

January 17, 2020

Unlike other plant-based meat, which is found mostly in the form of hamburger patties, Unlimeat comes in the form of thinly sliced fillets. […] Created from “ugly produce” that is often discarded, the company spent many years developing and cultivating a sustainable, alternative-meat product. 

As the world gets flooded by vegan burgers made by beef companies, it’s nice to see a product with a new utility. I’m ready to go eat some Korean BBQ with friends.

‘The Best Way to Hack Your Lunch Salad, According to 11 Food Experts’ ∞

January 15, 2020

Lots of great tips here in this Grub Street piece. I like Garrison Price’s:

“If I’m hungry and pressed for time after a workout, my go-to is usually Sweetgreen. My own salad concoctions revolve around arugula (spicy), romaine (crunchy), raw beets (high in folate), broccoli (anti-inflammatory), sunflower seeds (vitamin E), almonds (biotin), avocado (B5), and spicy cashew dressing (healthy fat). I’m obsessed with seeds and nuts because they are good for you and filling, but also add great texture to the salad.”

Texture is king in a salad, and I feel like most places leave the croutons to bear the burden. I think seeds and nuts are crucial, and second only to the dressing. I usually add hummus to thicken mine up and give it a bit more body too.

‘The Plant-Based Movement to Transition Farmers Away from Meat and Dairy Production’ ∞

January 15, 2020

Nadra Nittle for Civil Eats:

As contract farmers struggle to stay financially afloat and concerns about animal agriculture’s role in climate change mount, MFA launched its Transfarmation Project in November to help farmers currently raising animals on a large scale grow crops such as hemp, mushrooms, and hydroponic lettuce instead. The group will include investors, engineers, entrepreneurs, and policymakers in an effort to provide alternatives. During the first phase of its fledgling project, MFA plans to help 10 yet-to-be named individuals leave factory farming behind.

“We decided to create a platform where we would have this conversation about our current factory farm system and how to get the people who want out involved in the plant-based space, whether it’s hemp or even solar and wind energy,” said MFA President Leah Garcés. “I’m not pretending that taking 10 farmers out of factory farming is going to end it, but we’re trying to work collaboratively and be constructive about creating new jobs for those who want them.”

As America’s preferences move away from dairy, I hope programs like this will lay a framework for how to move forward.

‘Saudi Society Is Changing. Just Take a Look at These Coffeehouses.’ ∞

January 15, 2020

Vivian Yee for the NYTimes:

“I visited this place and was in a total shock!” Tarak Alhamood, a customer at Nabt Fenjan, a Riyadh coffee shop, raged online recently. “YOU r VIOLATING the rules of this country. I hope this place get closed permanently.”

The blame lay not with the matcha iced tea and flat whites (good, other reviewers opined), the nondairy milk options (appreciated), the chocolate cake (don’t miss) or the prices (less popular).

The issue was the decision that made Nabt Fenjan a daring outpost of the new Riyadh: Originally opened only for women, the coffee shop began allowing male and female customers to mix in late 2018. […]

In early December, however, the government announced that businesses would no longer be required to segregate customers — the latest expansion of the social reforms initiated by the de facto Saudi ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Social change while caffeinated and full from a pastry sounds delightful.

‘Panera plans to slash meat from half of its menu as customers seek vegetarian options and fear of climate change heats up’ ∞

January 14, 2020

Kate Taylor for Insider:

CEO Niren Chaudhary told Business Insider that, over the next several years, Panera plans to have at least 50% of its menu be made up of plant-based offerings. Chaudhary said the company plans to have plant-based innovation in every category in 2021. 

I think this is a smart move by Panera. They always seemed like a place that would have lots of vegan options, and now they will. I love love love me some soup and bread bowl — so I’ll be knee-tapping with excitement for when these start to hit the menus.

‘How One Librarian Tried to Squash Goodnight Moon’ ∞

January 14, 2020

Dan Kois for Slate:

On Monday the New York Public Library, celebrating its 125th anniversary, released a list of the 10 most-checked-out books in the library’s history. The list is headed by a children’s book—Ezra Jack Keats’ masterpiece The Snowy Day—and includes five other kids’ books. The list also includes a surprising addendum: One of the most beloved children’s books of all time didn’t make the list because for 25 years it was essentially banned from the New York Public Library. Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown, would have made the Top 10 list and might have topped it, the library notes, but for the fact that “influential New York Public Library children’s librarian Anne Carroll Moore disliked the story so much when it was published in 1947 that the Library didn’t carry it … until 1972.” Who was Anne Carroll Moore, and what was her problem with the great Goodnight Moon?

When I read stories like this, I think of the (often silent) gatekeepers in the food world that have helped shaped our culinary universe. Where would Impossible be if David Chang wasn’t the first to put it in his It-Spot, NYC restaurant Momofuku? Where would vegetables be if Pollan or Bitten weren’t politely advocating for them to fill our plates in the NYTimes? Would France or even Europe be exploring veggies if Alain Passard hadn’t made his 3-Michelin-starred L’Arpege go all vegetables in the early 2000s?

It’s hard to say, but it’s fun to think about.

‘BlackRock C.E.O. Larry Fink: Climate Crisis Will Reshape Finance’ ∞

January 14, 2020

Andrew Ross Sorkin at the NYTimes:

Laurence D. Fink, the founder and chief executive of BlackRock, announced Tuesday that his firm would make investment decisions with environmental sustainability as a core goal.

BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager with nearly $7 trillion in investments, and this move will fundamentally shift its investing policy — and could reshape how corporate America does business and put pressure on other large money managers to follow suit.

[…]

The firm, he wrote, would also introduce new funds that shun fossil fuel-oriented stocks, move more aggressively to vote against management teams that are not making progress on sustainability, and press companies to disclose plans “for operating under a scenario where the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to less than two degrees is fully realized.”

Something like this could radically grow companies with a focus on vegan products. If they’re looking to have an effect on climate change, it’s an easy step to expand plant-based line-ups.

‘How to Eat Less Meat in 2020’ ∞

January 14, 2020

A NYTimes video from Melissa Clark on how to use less meat in your cooking. Great for anyone interested in more plant-based eating.

✏️ by C. W. Moss