Happy almost-New-Year, food news enthusiasts! With all the festivities to attend and holiday soirées to plan, I’ll keep this week’s top news roundup short, sweet, and to the point. This week’s good news features organic food, vegan food, and ag-gag defeats; but wait — there’s also fast food, cancer, and horse slaughter news that deserves to be on the radar of conscious eaters and ethical foodies. Read on, for the final food news roundup of the year!
The Good
Pass the bubbly!
- 2013 Was The Year Bills To Criminalize Animal Cruelty Videos Failed
- 5 Signs the Plant-Based Diet is Mainstream and Here to Stay
- More young people turn to organic foods
The Bad
Not so fast, I’m afraid; for this section of the news report you might want something a bit stronger, maybe served in a shot glass — and ideally followed by several cute videos featuring playful kittens.
The problems with our food system are complex and numerous; but ‘not killing enough animals’ isn’t one of them. Will we slaughter stray dogs and cats for meat next? Horse slaughter isn’t the answer to any food question worth asking, and we need to nip this bad idea right in the bud.
Speaking of meat and bad ideas…
Eating animals isn’t the only risk factor prominently highlighted by this study, but you guys: it’s a biggie.
The Ugly
Hey, did you guys ever notice how those corporate ‘people’ are disproportionately jerkfaces?!
And the Ambiguous
On the one hand, the FDA attempting to actually regulate dangerous overuse of agricultural antibiotics seems like a positive step. On the other… the only way they could do less would be to revert to doing nothing. Progress? Or merely “progress”?
Similarly, the good news is that very small changes to fast food kids’ meals seem to make a big difference in calorie consumption.
For a nation with an out-of-control childhood obesity problem, that’s… um… good news, I guess? But if we’re counting on the fast food industry to solve our kids’ dietary problems, the game is over and we’ve lost.
See You Next Year!
It’s been a big year in food news, with nearly constant fascinating stories about organics, GMO labeling, sustainable agriculture, urban farming, nutrition, health, and plant-based eating. We can’t wait to see what stories 2014 will bring!
Subscribe to the EDB newsletter, find us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and watch this space every Saturday to keep up with what’s new in the world of food, as the new year unfolds!
Image credit: Good News-Bad News photo by Sam72, via Shutterstock.
Top News From the Food Front has become a weekly “must read” for me. It’s a concise summary of important information and insightful analysis, presented in a clever, memorable way. Many thanks!
Thanks, yourself! :)