EurekAlert: A new site for banana-related research. “MusaNet, the global collaborative network for Musa-related research, was created in 2011 to implement the Global Musa Strategy established with the banana research community. MusaNet is excited to announce the launch of a new website that collects and shares information on all aspects of banana, be it diversity, conservation or current threats.”
Vermont Law School: New “Labels Unwrapped” Website Breaks Down The Confusing Laws Behind Food Labels . “The website explains many of the common terms and claims found on labels through a series of interactive illustrated labels spanning different product categories: protein, dairy, grains, produce, fats and oils, sweets, and supplements. Users can hover over the various claims on each to learn more about common marketing terms like ‘gluten free,’ ‘all natural,’ ‘USDA organic,’ ‘grass-fed,’ and dozens more. Straightforward explanations outline what each claim means, as well as how (and if) it is regulated, and by whom. A ‘Labels 101’ section provides a breakdown of the general law of food labels and frequently asked questions.”
Phys .org: Fish nutrition database to help combat malnutrition across the globe. “Despite fish being an essential component in the diet of more than 3 billion people around the world, and an essential source of micronutrients for over a billion people in low-income countries, many of these populations lose their very nutritious fish through exports and foreign fishing and, in turn, import lower-quality fish and fish products, creating a net loss of essential nutrients. In fact, up to 70% of fish caught in the fishing zones along the coasts of African nations such as Namibia and Mauritania are exported or monopolized by wealthier foreign nations.”
USDA: Virtual USDA Food Loss and Waste Innovation Fair Available On-Demand. “In the United States, more than one-third of all available food goes uneaten through loss or waste and when landfilled it contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture hosted our first ever USDA Food Loss and Waste Innovation Fair. This free, virtual fair highlighted businesses that are creating or implementing state-of-the-art technical solutions to reduce food loss and waste throughout the food system – from farm to table – and highlighted USDA activities in this space.”
New-to-me, from Food & Wine: F&W Game Changers: Fridges for All. “Unlike food pantries or other forms of food assistance, community fridges don’t attract large crowds or require interpersonal contact, making them particularly COVID-friendly. Masked volunteers fill the fridges with groceries purchased thanks to donations, often through Venmo or Cash App, and community members can add food to the fridges, too. While the concept has existed for years, the coronavirus pandemic has spurred a surge in community-generated support; fridges have become vital sources of fresh, easily accessible foods in Los Angeles, New York, Oakland, Chicago, and more cities around the country.”
Vancouver Island University: VIU Symposium Examines Intertwined Histories of Gender, Food and Sovereignty. “Vancouver Island University (VIU) scholars and panelists from around the globe are examining how the histories of food and sovereignty are intimately intertwined during a symposium this June. The Food and Sovereignty symposium, hosted virtually by VIU and the journal Gender & History June 17-20, will examine how histories of food and sovereignty have intersected with gender over time.” The keynote speaker is Ozoz Sokoh, creator of the digital library Feast Afrique.
Cornell Chronicle: Virtual portal creates access to food security solutions. “The portal will launch with over 100 innovative solutions sourced from multiple initiatives and invites people to contribute to other solutions and add more information. The portal resources target the equitable improvement of nutrition while also restoring and protecting the environment. Solutions span the whole food supply chain and include policies, technologies, nature-based solutions, public/private collaborations, financial solutions, capacity building, and social equity approaches.”
BBC: Asparagus recipe appears in Belgian law database. “Asparagus may be popular in Belgium, but local lawyers were surprised to find a recipe for the vegetable hidden among laws and royal decrees last week. The text appeared to have been accidentally copied and pasted into legislation on the price of drugs and medical supplies.”
Mashable: 5 gorgeous YouTube cooking channels that will soothe your soul. “YouTube has a reputation for being filled with shouting streamers, terrible takes, and thinly-veiled bigotry, but it can also be a force for good. A less widespread but infinitely more nourishing category of YouTube content are the cooking channels, which feature people preparing gorgeous, presumably delicious meals. Yet among these there is an even more calming and aesthetically pleasing subgenre. I am referring, of course, to the tranquil, quiet cooking channels featuring humble meals made from scratch.” Watching the Liziqi channel is like watching a beautiful, calm movie.
Washington Post: Extension services are the best free cooking resource. Here’s how to use them.. “Formally established by an act of Congress in 1914, extension programs are based at land-grant colleges and universities and tasked with providing nonformal, research-based education to agricultural producers, business owners and the general public on a wide variety of topics, from parenting and gardening to cooking and food safety.”
Atlas Obscura: Cook Your Way Through Regional Indian Recipes With This Online Archive. “Indo-Pakistani Cuisine is one of many cookbooks included in the Indian Community Cookbook Project, a digitized archive that contains written recipes and community cookbooks written by many authors. Despite the name, though, not all the recipes come from printed books. ‘Many of India’s recipes live within oral cultures,’ says Ananya Pujary, one of the founders of the project. ‘We wanted to address those. To document cultures at the risk of disappearing, on the brink of forgetting.’”
PR Newswire: The New Zagat: Supporting Local Restaurants Since 1979, the World’s Most Iconic Name in Restaurant Discovery Officially Relaunches (PRESS RELEASE). “Zagat, the most trusted name in restaurant discovery, has officially relaunched. The all-new digital-only platform is designed to improve upon the current state of user-generated content by emphasizing trust, curation, and utility — timed perfectly to meet the moment after a historic year for the restaurant industry. As of today, Zagat’s new digital service is available exclusively for Miami, FL restaurants and diners. As the new product is in its first stages of launch the company plans to roll out additional features as Zagat expands to more cities across the country in the months to follow.”
WRAL: Maple Syrup Making Also Boomed as a Pandemic Hobby. “Stress-baking and panic shopping. Vegetable regrowing and crafting. Now we can add another hobby to a year of quarantine trends: backyard maple sugaring. Among the many indicators that it’s on the rise: a run on at-home evaporators and other syrup-making accouterments; a surge in traffic and subscriptions to maple syrup-making websites and trade publications; and, of course, lots and lots of documentation on social media.”
