Here are some of the best food stories we came across this week:
- Study Finds Americans Waste Up to 40% of Their Food – A new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council found that American trash up to 40% of the nation’s food supply every year, which creates the largest amount of solid waste in landfills. The study found the average family of four wastes about 20 pounds of food per person per month, and about $2,275 per year.
- Lawyers That Took on Tobacco Now Targeting Big Food – Attorneys who won millions of dollars in record class action settlements against the tobacco industry have turned their sites on Big Agribusiness. In the last four months a dozen of those lawyers have filed 25 cases against ConAgra, Monsanto, General Mills, PepsiCo, Heinz and Chobani, claiming that the companies have wrongly labeled ingredients and products in violation of federal regulations.
- New Scanner App Gives Gluten-free, Dietary Alerts – Fooducate has come out with a new smartphone app that scans barcodes on packaged foods; users can choose up to three alerts that will warn them if products contain gluten, peanuts, eggs, soy, tree nuts, fish, shellfish or milk. It also informs gluten-free users if the food was processed in a facility with gluten. The app costs $4.99.
- Kids State Dinner at White House Celebrates Healthy Eaters – First Lady Michelle Obama, as part of her Let’s Move! initiative, hosted a State Dinner — well, luncheon — to honor the 54 kids (and their folks) from each state and territory who won the contest to develop a healthy, delicious recipe. (The link above includes the free cookbook.) The President dropped in to say hello. The menu included kale chips, a corn, bean and quinoa salad, and fruit smoothies.
- “Good Food on a Tight Budget” Guide Helps Families – The Environmental Working Group reviewed government surveys and tests for nearly 1,200 foods, then factored in prices, nutrients, pesticides, environmental pollutants and artificial ingredients, and chose the best 100+ foods for their guide. The site also includes tools for tracking food prices, plus menu planning and shopping list tools.
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments below, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter for links like these all week long.
Photo courtesy of goblinbox.
