The latest: July 14, 2017

Local horse meat? Congress says sure, for now

The federal government has moved to lift restrictions on horse slaughter for human food. But don’t hold your breath—this happened in 2011, too.

By Claire Brown | Read more

How can “no sugar added” be true, but still illegal?

Just another week in the annals of inane food lawsuits: Odwalla’s true claims, which are nevertheless “misleading.”

By Patrick Clinton | Read more

O(bese) Canada. Looks like it’s time to apologize to the Canadians again. They’ve given us poutine and Leonard Cohen and good manners and we…are making them fat. A recently released study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal made waves this week, throwing some cold water on the idea of idyllic open trade borders. The study’s takeaway? NAFTA has led to big increases in Canadian corn syrup consumption, with a possible corollary uptick in obesity.

The typical arguments against free trade are long and storied, from the gradual muddying of cultural identities (Vive la France!) to the global loosening of environmental and human rights restrictions. But this new study, something of an outlier in its linking of tariffs and consumer health, adds a whole new dimension to the debate around globalization. Read more.
—Jesse Hirsch

Blue Apron’s new enemy. Blue Apron, the industry-leading meal kit company that went public earlier this summer, hires brand-name chefs to craft its recipes, includes hard-to-find heirloom ingredients in its meals, and claims to do its utmost to help its farmer-suppliers make a living. That’s all very nice, of course, but everyone knows the company really built its name on convenience. By now, the formula is familiar: the week’s meals are home delivered with recipes and all the ingredients included, right down to the single-serve decanter of olive oil and dimebag of pre-chopped parsley. For Americans too busy, lazy, or downright incompetent to cook, it’s been a perfect solution—8 million harried customers and counting.

So what happens when a company comes along that streamlines the process even further? Read more.
—Joe Fassler

Just the one-liners

You had us at the editors’ note: “This story is for mature bees only.” Great piece on American bees’ bad sperm by FERN and NPR.

The future is female: Every single inductee into the Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame is a woman this year, The Poultry Site reports.

A London restaurant is offering diners “foodie Instagram packs,” according to Grub Street. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em?

Twenty-five years later, “the town that beat Walmart” is back on the map

How did Viroqua, Wisconsin—a farm town of 4,000—emerge as a major Midwestern food destination? Three decades of hard work and creative collaboration.

By Danielle Renwick | Read more