Not so long ago—fewer than 100 years—cattle were raised very simply. They roamed freely in pastures, eating grass at will, and remained free of routine drugs. Now, most cows are raised on “factory farms,” large-scale operations that confine them to pens and fatten them quickly for slaughter by feeding them large quantities of grain. Here’s the problem: cows are designed to ...

Just knowing how to pronounce docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, should be a pretty good indicator of brain health, right? (Need some help? It's DOH-koh-sah-HEXXA-eh-NOH-ik.) It's enough to say "DHA," and good thing, since we'll probably be hearing more about this tongue twister as research emerges about the link between diet and dementia. When nutritionist Elizabeth Somer's mother developed Alzheimer's disease years ...

Everybody talks about the taste of great food. But hardly anyone talks about the tongue and the nose that make the tasting possible. That's a shame. Without them, the wonderful world of cooking and eating would be flavorless, devoid of personality. Luckily, food can be memorable and desirable, even rise to the level of celebration and sensuality. Thanks, of course, to ...

Despite concerns over excessive soy intake, most mainstream organizations say up to two servings per day can be part of a healthy diet. Kaayla Daniel, who holds a doctorate in nutrition and is the author of "The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food," offers the following advice. Oils and ingredients: Avoid soy flour, soy protein isolates, ...

Pick the perfect produce and freshest cheeses with our tips from Farmers Market expert Chef Amy Tornquist. “Even in this economy, it still pays to buy local,” insists North Carolina chef and local foods afficionado Amy Tornquist. The majority of dairy and vegetables she uses at her restaurant, Watts Grocery, come from within a two-hour radius of Durham, and she has ...

Is the emphasis on healthy eating driving some young diners to go overboard? Last fall, Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) found itself with a nutrition information controversy on its hands. Except the controversy wasn't about too little information but too much. HUDS had been posting nutrition data about its various dining hall offerings in the servery, where the dishes were being ...

Move for traditional Red Leicester ‘appellation’ fails Attempts to establish Leicestershire as the cheese capital of the nation are being thwarted by a tussle between rival cheesemakers. The county already boasts special protected labels approved by the European Commission for Stilton and Melton Mowbray pork pies. A move to achieve the same recognition for a traditional version of Red Leicester, however, ...

For Bryant Terry, veganism is not about "delete meat, insert tofu." It's not about sneering at meat-eating friends or finger-wagging, carrot-crunching superiority. It's not just for affluent white people; and it's not about food with no flavor. Rather, in his latest cookbook, Vegan Soul Kitchen, Terry seeks to reclaim two foodways that he says are misunderstood: veganism and soul food. He ...

Imagine a plum. Heavy in the hand, when fresh, and full of juice. Imagine that purple-red skin and, beneath, that amber, slightly translucent flesh, sweet with a hint of acid. You are, more likely than not, imagining one of Luther Burbank’s creations. Luther Burbank was a talented horticulturalist who introduced over 700 varieties of fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants to the ...

Texas cattle interests are watching who will blink first — the beef industry or the Obama administration, which is asking that packers and retailers go beyond meat-label rules that take effect March 16 and voluntarily spell out the countries where a steer was born, raised and slaughtered. If they don’t go along, Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack warned in a Feb. 20 ...

Tests fail to reveal the origins of the outbreak as restaurant loses business Heston Blumenthal is awaiting test results from an environmental health investigation into the mystery illness that has struck dozens of diners at his Fat Duck restaurant. Laboratory analyses of swabs from cookers and food samples, along with further tests on chefs and waiters, are due to be released ...

In a cluttered storefront on Main Street in the quiet Mennonite community of Blue Ball, Pennsylvania, Shawn Patrick House pulls a faded print from a stack of old magazines, sales brochures and posters. The print, from a photograph taken on September 24, 1908, shows a farmer in a broad-brimmed hat, long sleeves and suspenders, riding along on his mechanical mowing machine ...

Our friends at Foodproof have compiled a list of kitchen essentials. Visit their website for more articles by Lara and other Foodproof members! Considering it's been a good ten years now, I remember the day I moved into my first apartment exceptionally well. I was 19 years old, starting my second year at UC Santa Barbara, and my dad had driven ...

The gap between farm and fine dining is narrowing. Though touting the use of local foods has become all but ubiquitous at many of the nation's better restaurants, finding and getting those brag-worthy foods can be a hassle for restaurateurs and chefs. That's one reason chef David Swanson started Braise RSA, which stands for "restaurant supported agriculture" and creates a business-to-business ...

Tart and unassuming, the humble cranberry will once again take second seat to many Thanksgiving turkey this year. Cranberries have certainly earned a spot at every American Thanksgiving table, and to omit them from this harvest celebration would be extremely unconventional. I had a chance to learn a bit more about our favorite seasonal side dish firsthand at a talk at ...

I was on vacation recently when a waiter asked a question that took me by surprise. When I requested red snapper, he said, “How would you like that cooked?” I would have expected that question for beef or tuna, but snapper? I thought there were only two possibilities—cooked or raw. In fact, I was under the impression that almost every meat ...

Q. Is goat meat a healthier choice than other meats? A. Goat meat, long popular in the Caribbean and parts of Latin America and Asia, was named by Time magazine as one of the Top 10 Food Trends of 2008. It is lean meat, with saturated fat content comparable to that of skinless roast chicken. However, its composition classifies it as ...

Richard Blakeley and Jessica Amason enjoy chili-cheese Tater Tots. One thing seems fairly certain in times of ­economic distress: As employee rosters and paychecks around the world become leaner, the food that people eat becomes fatter. McDonald's total U.S. sales were ­reportedly up 2.8% in February compared with the same month last year, and that was after rising 2.6% in January. ...

Purple is not simply a popular trend in fashion. This color of royalty, dubbed the "new black" by fashionistas, is also the new black in food. In produce aisles, at farmers markets and on restaurant menus, you can now find a growing array of heirloom and specialty vegetables with a distinctive purple hue—purple potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, beans, corn, asparagus, peppers, baby ...

A California company is recalling 2 million pounds of pistachios distributed nationwide after testing found them to be contaminated with salmonella. The Food and Drug Administration is advising consumers to avoid eating all pistachios and foods containing them until it can confirm which pistachios might be affected. David Acheson, FDA associate commissioner for foods, says there have been no illnesses tied ...