Where food is going

Wherever they may roam

It all started last September, when Mc Donald’s announced they were moving to cage-free eggs, and then it just snowballed: now, all major fast food chains have committed to doing the same.

The chicken liberation front has come a long way. The change has been slow, but it seems the tipping point has finally arrived. Over time, cage-free eggs will eventually be the norm and battery eggs the exception. That means better-quality eggs and better-treated chickens, for probably a slightly higher price.

The deadlines which food companies gave themselves span from the end of this year to 2025. Why so long? As it turns out, moving to cage-free won’t simply mean opening the door and letting chicks go. Logistically speaking, it takes way, way more than that, as this infographic explains.

The food we eat

No, re-frozen meat won’t kill you

Did you change your mind about that steak you wanted to eat? Go on, put it back in the freezer, it’s perfectly safe, as long as it was previously defrosted in the fridge. But there are more myths about food safety you should stop believing now.

Sustainability

Down the rabbit hole of red meat’s sustainability issue

To digest all that grass, ruminants produce methane, which is a powerful greenhouse gas. For this reason, with the global warming reaching alarming levels, there are a lot of fingers being pointed at red meat (cancer-related issues aside), and also at those who don’t point enough fingers at it.

The solution proposed by food activists left and right is to cut back on red meat, and eat more plants instead. The enthusiasm for this idea is going viral, partly because there is some truth in it (cows do produce methane, and many people do eat too much meat), partly because it’s pretty straightforward: if beef is the new SUV, take the bus instead. Or, even better, walk.

But is this demonisation of meat based on accurate data, and what would really happen to the ecosystem if really replaced all calories from meat with equal calories from plants?

Ask yourself these simple questions and you’re in for a whack-a-moleish game, where for every question you answer, three more pop up. Here is one of the rare articles that tries to scratch the surface. And if you feel heroic enough, you can dig even deeper with this this book.

The issue of meat’s sustainability is complicated because it cannot be taken in isolation, and superficial feel-good solutions just won’t cut it.

Technology

I’ll have my banana apple-shaped, thanks

I don’t want to be the Luddite of the day here, but do we really need 3D food printers?

Food waste

Fresh from the trash

When it comes to food waste, the saying one man’s trash is another man’s treasure is not entirely appropriate. It’s rather a case of real treasures ending up straight into the trash.

To show that, the Salvage Supperclub organises six-course tasting dinners made with the stuff we would normally throw in the bin, such as carrot top greens and fennel fronds (you’ll find the recipe in the article). The dining room for these culinary sophisticated evenings is a dumpster, and aptly so.

If you think it’s a bit extreme, then meet freegans, urban foragers who eat food found in supermarkets’ garbage bins, more often than not finding real treasures.

Borderline legal, but for a good cause.