How many calories in that beer? European Parliament votes to tell you

MEPs add to alcohol calorie label calls - BBC News:

"MEPs have backed calls for calorie labels to be put on all alcoholic drinks in a vote at the European Parliament.
Food already has calorie information, but most alcohol is exempt.
Public health experts say mandatory labelling is needed to inform consumers and help halt rising rates of obesity.
However, the MEPs' vote is not binding and it will still take many months, or even years, before the proposals could become law.
Alcoholic drinks that contain more than 1.2% alcohol by volume are exempt from EU regulations on nutritional labelling that came in to force in 2011 covering all food and soft drink."



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Miners are the heaviest drinkers - food sevice workers the biggest users of other drugs

The US government's just published National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) shows that the overall rate of past month heavy alcohol use among full-time workers aged 18 to 64 was 8.7 percent. Rates of past month heavy alcohol use ranged from 17.5 percent among workers in the mining industry to 4.4 percent among workers in the health care and social assistance industry.

The overall rate of past month illicit drug use among full-time workers aged 18 to 64 was 8.6 percent. Rates of past month illicit drug (defined as marijuana/hashish, cocaine (including crack), inhalants, hallucinogens, heroin, or prescription-type drugs used nonmedically) use ranged from 19.1 percent among workers in the accommodations and food services industry to 4.3 percent among workers in the public administration industry. These findings remained true even when controlling for gender and age differences across industries.

Rape and the sensitivity of brewers

In the United States the crime of rape stays firmly in the spotlight. The Washington Post says that the Department of Education is investigating more than 100 universities for their handling of sexual violence reports. An estimated one in five women will be sexually assaulted before graduation, a Justice Department study suggests. And at least half of sexual assaults involve the consumption of alcohol by the perpetrator, the victim, or both, according to the National Institutes of Health.
So how does the country's biggest brewer respond? See the current label for Bud Light.

"Drink coffee for breakfast, tea in the afternoon, wine at 5 p.m."

Tea Tuesdays: From The Blue Zones, Tea-Drinking Tips For A Longer Life : The Salt : NPR:

"... a fascinating project called Blue Zones is documenting and disseminating the lifestyle secrets of the communities with the highest concentrations of centenarians in the world.

The people in these five regions in Europe, Latin America, Asia and the U.S. that live to be 100 have a lot going for them. Genes probably play a small role, but these folks also have strong social ties, tightly-knit families and lots of opportunity to exercise.

As we were parsing through the dietary secrets of the Blue Zones, as described in author Dan Buettner's latest book, The Blues Zones Solution, we were struck by how essential tea drinking is in these regions. In fact, Buettner's Blue Zones Beverage Rule — a kind of guideline distilled from his 15 or so years of studying these places — is: "Drink coffee for breakfast, tea in the afternoon, wine at 5 p.m."

"



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China now has more vineyards than France

China is now second in the world in terms of its vineyard surface area Its nearly 800 kha planted in 2014 put it behind only Spain and just in front of France.

Click to enlarge

Figures released this week by the Organisation Internationale de la Vigne ett du Vin showed a slight growth in the global areas under vines (7554 kha, + 8 kha on 2013).

Other key figures:

• World wine production is at a good average (279 mhl), after the high volumes in 2013 (291 mhl)  
• Global wine consumption in 2014, estimated at 240 mhl, dropped slightly by 2.4 mhl compared with 2013, within an overall context of stabilisation since 2009  
• In 2014, the world wine trade continued to increase in terms of volume (104 mhl, +2%) to reach a stable value of 26bn EUR  
• Early estimates of the 2015 harvest: a slight decline in the southern hemisphere

A joint with dinner chosen by a kind of pot sommelier

Pass the Pork Belly, and the Joint - The dinner was the third iteration of the Luck Pot, a series of get-togethers intended for adult users of marijuana, sponsored in part by a rotating group of medical-cannabis companies based in Northern California. ... One of the Luck Pot’s co-hosts, clad in a blazer, welcomed people to their seats. “On your tables is the first of three joints,” he said, acting as a kind of pot sommelier. “Tonight we’re showcasing flower grown by a Sonoma collective of 10 farmers with a total of 150 years’ combined experience in artisanal indoor crops.” A professionally rolled fatty lay in each ashtray. The first joint of the evening was a strain called Girl Scout Cookies. “It’s an indica-sativa mix, 59 days flowering,” he said. “You’ll taste sweet evergreen with light hints of pepper-spiciness.” He touched on an aspect that wine sommeliers do not discuss, the effect. “This should make you feel focused and relaxed,” he said. “A little heavy-headed. So spark up. Eat. Enjoy.” ... People rejoiced when the second course arrived: a potato stew with pork neck and a joint made with a strain called Fire OG. “Twenty-one percent THC,” the co-host said. “It’s sweet and earthy, slightly woodsy. This’ll give you a mental uplift and a full body mellow.”

Perrier-Jouët debuts vintage champagnes - Champagne aficionados will be brim full of excitement when Perrier-Jouët releases its first-ever series of vintage champagnes on May 1. Entitled The Art of Vintage Collection, this singular event encompasses three mature vintages of belle époque from 1982 (£621), 1985 (£535) and 1996 (£333) selected by cellar master Hervé Deschamps. This will be the first time these rare and aged champagnes will be released beyond the walls of Maison Perrier-Jouët in Epernay, but only 12 bottles of each are to be available in the UK – and demand is almost certain to outstrip supply.
Wine marketing needs more investment: industry - Riverland Wine executive officer Chris Byrne said the issues with the consumer perception of wine were an industry-wide problem and what consumers wanted was not being listened to. He said a marketing effort to help consumers understand that the Riverland was more than a bulk wine producing region was being drafted, but the national industry needed to work on its public perception. "I don't think it's a particular problem for the Riverland. I think it's a problem for all of industry," Mr Byrne said.

Chipotle to Stop Serving Genetically Altered Food - In a first for a major restaurant chain,Chipotle Mexican Grill on Monday will begin serving only food that is free of genetically engineered ingredients. “This is another step toward the visions we have of changing the way people think about and eat fast food,” said Steve Ells, founder and co-chief executive of Chipotle. “Just because food is served fast doesn’t mean it has to be made with cheap raw ingredients, highly processed with preservatives and fillers and stabilizers and artificial colors and flavors.”

Chefs for seniors

Drop-In Home Chefs May Be An Alternative To Assisted Living : Shots - Health News : NPR:

"A healthy diet is good for everyone. But as people get older, cooking nutritious food can become difficult and sometimes physically impossible.

A pot of soup can be too heavy to lift. And there's all that time standing on your feet. It's one of the reasons that people move into assisted living facilities.

But a company called Chefs for Seniors has an alternative: They send professional cooks into seniors' homes. In a couple of hours they can whip up meals for the week."



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A different kind of rewards system for regular restaurant customers

The UK food chain Pret a Manger has a unique way of rewarding regular customers. It makes its staff give away a certain number of hot drinks and food every week.
Chief executive Clive Schlee told The Evening Standard he has given staff the power to hand out free drinks or food to the customers they like best - or would like to take home. “We looked at loyalty cards but we didn’t want to spend all that money building up some complicated Clubcard-style analysis."

“Instead the staff have to give away a certain number of hot drinks and food every week. They will decide ‘I like the person on the bicycle’ or ‘I like the guy in that tie’ or ‘I fancy that girl or that boy’. It means 28 per cent of people have had something free. It’s a nice, different way of doing it.”
Mr Schlee, who was unveiling record profits for the fast growing British chain, told the Standard he hopes to one day rival the likes of McDonald’s and Starbucks with stores spanning the globe.

The debate over what is and what is not organic produce

Are these beautiful lettuce and tomatoes really organic? The debate over an agricultural innovation. - The Washington Post:

"Consumers associate the word “organic” with healthy and safe, and that sounds simple enough.

But exactly what kind of food should get the U.S. Department of Agriculture's “organic” label has been the subject of repeated controversies, and some of the fiercest divisions have opened recently over the eerily beautiful, scar-free produce that is grown in controlled water-based environments - that is, with the roots of the plants resting in covered water tanks rather than soil.

These methods, valued for their efficiency and reliability, have produced sometimes flawless lettuce and tomatoes that are sold in supermarkets.

But critics say that because these so-called aquaponic and hydroponic systems depend entirely on what humans put into the water, the produce they generate offers less nutritional value than the produce generated by plants grown in rich soil."



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The gluten lie and why my sympathy for celiac sufferers has its limits

From what I have read it seems that maybe one percent of people suffer from celiac disease, an autoimmune disease that damages the body's small intestine when gluten is digested. I really do feel sorry for those sufferers who have to avoid the wonderful protein that gives bread, pizza dough and other starchy foods their chewiness. They miss out on one of eating's great pleasures.

But my sympathy does have its limits. The gluten-free-movement is expanding at such a rate that restaurants are beginning to exclude it from their menus and thus deprive we non-sufferers from its pleasures. As Alan Levinovitz, who teaches philosophy and religion at James Madison University who recently published a book "The Gluten Lie," put it in an interview with The Washington Post:

The gluten-free movement really threatens food culture and our relationship with food. People are starting to think about diet as the main way to optimize their health, and as a consequence, their ability to sit down and enjoy a meal is diminishing. I often ask people who are seeking out the perfect diet, if in their ideal world we would all just eat the foods that allowed us to maximize the length of our life and make us as lean as possible. In that world, there is little culinary diversity. In that world, you wouldn't have different cuisines. The gluten free-movement, and a lot of what it stands for, is incredibly threatening to the beautiful diversity of culinary cultures that make life so wonderful.
Another danger is that people who are scared of things in groups often create what's called mass sociogenic illness. This is a well-documented phenomenon where when people believe that something is going to make them ill, they actually start to feel symptoms. So the information that gluten is dangerous, and the prevalence of people going gluten free, actually contributes to a form of mass sociogenic illness where people come to experience symptoms from eating food when in fact those symptoms are entirely psychosomatic.

And a worthwhile comment in an Amazon review by an Australian expert:

“A factually accurate and highly entertaining work. It provides an effective counter to the fearmongering and false promises purveyed by sensationalists masquerading as scientists. This book should be essential reading for anyone who contemplates following a restrictive diet and for all health practitioners who use diets as the central platform of their therapeutic approach.”

(Peter Gibson, MD, Director of Gastroenterology at the Alfred Hospital and Monash University - From a background of research in epithelial cell biology, he now runs a large program of translational research and has active clinical interests in inflammatory bowel disease, coeliac disease and irritable bowel syndrome. A major focus of his work is the use of diet to control gut symptoms and influence outcomes in chronic intestinal conditions)

Thoughts of a politician on the paleo diet

From the daily email news summary of The New York Times:

Do old vines make better wines? And why family vineyards will continue to dominate the wine scene

• Do old vines make better wine? ... the experts don't even fully agree on what mechanism enhances old-vines fruit. One widely accepted hypothesis holds that the roots of ancient vines have reached so deep (sometimes 30 feet or more) that they are unusually effective at contributing trace elements of terroir - the minerality of the soil - to the wine. Others suggest that the declining vitality of older vines simply reduces the yield of grapes, concentrating the vine's efforts into relatively few grapes of commensurately great flavor and intensity.
• Why family vineyards have always dominated the wine scene – and always will - “Big drinks conglomerates that have been so successful in the beer and spirits categories sometimes prove themselves poor-equipped to succeed in the wine market,” says Mike Veseth, professor emeritus of International Political Economy at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash., and the author of Wine Wars and Extreme Wine. “One reason may be that beer’s production cycle aligns pretty well with the short-term thinking that some big corporations tend to adopt, always worrying about next quarter’s earnings.” Wine simply demands a far horizon view, he says. “That’s one reason why family- and privately owned firms are more successful in wine than in most other industries. They are more able to think and invest for the long term.”
• Organic wines aren't pesticide free, and that's just the tip of the troubling iceberg - A lot of the buzz and imagery about organics appears to be just that – empty sound bites and gimmicks created by folks eager to cash in on the increasingly lucrative organic market. Where does that leave us? Not in an easy place. ... More than half of Americans (55%) go organic because they believe it’s healthier. Meanwhile, there is really no evidence to back that assumption up. And even organic farmers use pesticides ... They just happen to be “natural.”
• KFC’s new ad sees the peddler of peppered poultry sink to new lows - Few would have thought it possible for KFC to come up with something even more monstrously unspeakable than popcorn chicken, but it’s managed it. The chain is now using orphans to flog its food.
• Lunch With Monet, Dinner With Jackson Pollock - Two new books focusing on the culinary lives of artists —Monet's Palate Cookbook, by Aileen Bordman and Derek Fell, and Dinner with Jackson Pollock, by Robyn Lea —show this to be an oversight. The artists' approaches to food provide a new way of thinking about their very different approaches to art, and of understanding the artists themselves. ...
  As Francesca Pollock, the artist's niece, writes in Dinner's introduction, "He painted the same way he cooked: Endlessly using leftovers; keeping and re-using; trying one color or shape and then another. There was never ever any waste. Painting, like cooking, was a way of living." ... 
  "Almost every franc that he earned, after taking care of his family's welfare, he would spend on the freshest ingredients for meals and improving the interiorand exterior of his house" — originally, a farmhouse and cider press, Bordman and Fell write. Monet, we learn, employed a cook, and his diet included eggs from his own chickens. He was actively involved in directing which vegetables were planted (he liked experimenting with new varieties), and which ones ended up on the dinner table.
• SexySimple, Satirical: 300 Years Of Picnics In Art - People have been fantasizing about picnics as a return to a simpler life pretty much since the dawn of urban living, says Walter Levy, author of The Picnic: A History. "Picknicking coincides with modern history — the shift from pastoral to urban living, the decline of villages and the rise of modern cities," Levy writes. "When you're having a picnic," he tells The Salt, "your intention is to break away from the ordinary."

Dealing with picky eaters in the French way

Eat Up. You’ll Be Happier. - NYTimes.com:
"Our increasingly choosy food habits are the subject of a French collection of academic essays, “Selective Eating: The Rise, Meaning and Sense of Personal Dietary Requirements,” which will be published in English next week.
The editor, Claude Fischler, a social anthropologist, chose the topic after discovering that even anthropologists aren’t exempt: An Australian colleague said she had asked her Aboriginal subjects to accommodate her gluten-free diet, followed by choice, not by medical necessity.
Having lived in America and France, I’ve been on both sides of the picky-eating divide. I know it’s tiresome to hear about the paradoxically fabulous French eating habits. But it’s no accident that Unesco made the French gastronomic meal part of the “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.” It’s worth looking at how they cope with picky eaters."

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Eating crickets may not be the answer. Scientists suggest sticking with chickens.

The UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation of late has been spruiking the potential of bugs of one kind or another becoming a major source of protein for a growing human population. See, for example, the paper Edible insects: Future prospects for food and feed security. Yet I, for one, have had difficulty embracing the idea so I was delighted to come across an academic paper suggesting that the little blighters might not be as the FAO suggest in turning vegetable matter into edible meat.

Mark E.Lundy and Michael P. Parella have just published in the on-line journal PlusOne
"Crickets Are Not a Free Lunch: Protein Capture from Scalable Organic Side-Streams via High-Density Populations of Acheta domesticus" that casts doubt on the insects as saviours theories. They concluded:

Although it has been suggested that crickets reared for human or livestock consumption may result in a more sustainable supply of protein, this study finds that such conclusions will depend, in large part, on what the crickets are fed and which systems of livestock production they are compared to. When fed grain-based diets at a scale of economic relevance, populations of crickets in this study showed little improvement in PCE compared to broiler chickens fed similar diets. When fed processed, organic side-streams of relatively high quality, cricket populations achieved a harvestable size. Yet, whether crickets could be raised economically on substrates of similar quality and level of processing requires further analysis. The unprocessed and lower-quality organic side-streams tested in this study could not support adequate growth and survival of cricket populations. Therefore, the potential for crickets to supplement the global supply of dietary protein appears to be more limited than has been recently suggested. However, the feed quality index reported here may be useful in identifying regionally specific organic side-streams with the potential to support the scalable cultivation of crickets.

Jumping for organic joy

When Danish Cows See Fresh Spring Pasture, They Jump For Joy From NPR

"They're running a little late," chides an elderly gentleman, tapping his watch at 12:02 p.m. He's come to this farm near the Danish city of Ikast, along with about 1,500 others, to celebrate what has become something of a national holiday in Denmark. It's the Sunday in mid-April when thousands of organic dairy cows at 75 farms across the country are released into the green fields of spring. At exactly 12 noon. Eh hem.
Ah, but here they come!
Cows, despite their tendency to lumber, become almost sprightly when treated to a change of scenery. They leap, they kick, they tussle, they bellow with joy. Danes, who're also emerging from the long, dark winter, are nothing if not empathetic.
With children cheering from their parents' shoulders, the first wave of cows come galloping into the sun. They shoot down a driveway lined with onlookers and go bouncing — literally — into the nearest field. As Canadian cow experttold The Salt's Maria Godoy in 2014, cows tend to get an extra spring or leap in their step "whenever something new or unexpected happens."
In the pasture, the frolicking and playful head-butting continues for a good 20 minutes before the whole bovine party settles into munching. And the Danes wander off to the food tent to do the same.
The idea of turning this age-old "dancing cow" phenomenon into a spectator sport arose about a decade ago when the folks at Organic Denmark were searching for a way to make the concept of organic more visual.

A new and natural colour for Kraft cheese

Kraft removing synthetic colors from iconic macaroni & cheese | Reuters:

"(Reuters) - Kraft Foods Group Inc on Monday said it is revamping its family-friendly macaroni and cheese meal, removing synthetic colors and preservatives from the popular boxed dinner.

 The move comes at a time when Kraft is battling sluggish demand as consumers shift to brands that are perceived as healthier, including foods that are organic or less processed.

 The company has also been targeted by consumer advocacy groups. The groups have pressured Kraft to remove artificial food dyes from its products, complaining that the additives are not used, and in some cases, banned in other countries.

Kraft spokeswoman Lynne Galia said the changes were being made to address concerns expressed by consumers, including demands for improved nutrition and "simpler ingredients.""



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Uccello

Sydney NSW 2000 Italian

Restaurant	Uccello
Street address	Level 4, 200 George Street
Suburb	Sydney
State	NSW
Postcode	2000
Phone	02 9240 3000
Website	merivale.com.au/uccello
Style
Awards Fairfax Good Food Guides	2016 GFG 1 hat; 2015 GFG 1 hat
Awards Gourmet Guide	1 star
The Australian Top 50
Restaurant & Catering Awards
Other Awards
Reviews & Notes	"... chef David Lovett, who may not look like a greying signora, but sure cooks like one. Lovett's spaghettini with cherry tomatoes, chilli, garlic, basil – ramp it up to an almost-puttanesca with Ortiz anchovies, capers and pillowy tuna belly – is a must for lovers of comfort food."
Reviewer	SMH list of Sydney's best Italian resaurant
Reviews & Notes
Reviewer
Reviews & Notes
Reviewer
Owner's note

The Restaurant Pendolino

Sydney CBD 2000 Italian

Restaurant	The Restaurant Pendolino
Street address	412-414 George St, The Strand Arcade
Suburb	Sydney
State	NSW
Postcode	2000
Phone	02 9231 6117
Website	pendolino.com.au/
Style	Italian
Awards Fairfax Good Food Guides	2016 GFG 1 hat; 2015 GFG 1 hat
Awards Gourmet Guide
The Australian Top 50
Restaurant & Catering Awards
Other Awards
Reviews & Notes	"Nino Zoccali's menu veers from the crisp and refreshing (a crimson salad of sweet beetroot, mint and a plump knot of burrata) to the robust and deeply flavoured (slow-cooked beef with buckwheat ragu)."
Reviewer	SMH list of Sydney's best Italian restaurants"
Reviews & Notes
Reviewer
Reviews & Notes
Reviewer
Owner's note

Osteria Bella

Pyrmont NSW 2009 Italian

Restaurant	Osteria Balla
Street address	The Star, 80 Pyrmont Street
Suburb	Pyrmont
State	NSW
Postcode	2009
Phone	02 9657 9129
Website	star.com.au/sydney-restaurants/signature-fine-dining/pages/balla.aspx
Style	Italian
Awards Fairfax Good Food Guides	2016 GFG 1 hat; 2015 GFG 1 hat
Awards Gourmet Guide
The Australian Top 50
Restaurant & Catering Awards
Other Awards
Reviews & Notes	"You won't leave hungry..."
Reviewer	SMH Best Italian Restaurants list
Reviews & Notes
Reviewer
Reviews & Notes
Reviewer
Owner's note

Otto Ristorante

Woo NSW Wooloomooloo 2011 Italian - A sensational harbourside location on Cowper Wharf, Woolloomooloo.

Restaurant	Otto Ristorante
Street address	Area 8, 6 Cowper Wharf Road,
Suburb	Wooloomooloo
State	NSW
Postcode	2011
Phone	02 9368 7488
Website	http://ottoristorante.com.au/
Style	Italian
Awards Fairfax Good Food Guides	2016 GFG 1 cap; 2015 GFG 1 hat
Awards Gourmet Guide	1 star
The Australian Top 50
Restaurant & Catering Awards	Finalist - Sydney Italian, Finalist - NSW Tourism
Other Awards
Reviews & Notes	"The menu features prestigious produce such as angus or wagyu beef, as well as home cured salami and house-made pasta."
Reviewer	Gault Millai Guide 2015
Reviews & Notes
Reviewer
Reviews & Notes
Reviewer
Owner's note

Ormeggio at the Spit

Mosman NSW 2088 Italian -Contemporary Italian cuisine in a spectacular waterside setting, overlooking Middle Harbour and Pearl Bay. It has Two Chef Hats in the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food Guide 2015 and has been a hatted restaurant since opening in 2009.

Restaurant	Ormeggio at the Spit
Street address	D'Albora Marinas, Spit Road
Suburb	Mosman
State	NSW
Postcode	2088
Phone	02 9969 4088
Website	ormeggio.com.au
Style	Italian
Awards Fairfax Good Food Guides	2016 GFG 2 hats; 2015 GFG 2 hats
Awards Gourmet Guide	2 stars
The Australian Top 50
Restaurant & Catering Awards
Other Awards
Reviews & Notes	"The menu is a delightful blend of traditional Italian flavours, and a vogue dining experience."
Reviewer	Gault Millau Guide 2015
Reviews & Notes
Reviewer
Reviews & Notes
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Owner's note

Lucio's Italian Restaurant

Paddington NSW 2021 Italian - Established in Paddington in 1983 and enjoys a remarkable reputation for exceptional Italian food and magnificent Australian Art.

Restaurant	Lucio’s Italian Restaurant
Street address	47 Windsor Street
Suburb	Paddington
State	NSW
Postcode	2021
Phone	02 9380 5996
Website	lucios.com.au
Style	Italian contemporary
Awards Fairfax Good Food Guides	2016 GFG 2 hats; 2015 GFG 2 hats
Awards Gourmet Guide	1 star
The Australian Top 50
Restaurant & Catering Awards
Other Awards
Reviews & Notes	"Lucio's isn't about pushing boundaries for the sake of pushing boundaries. It's about serving great pasta and protein for the sake of the customer. ... The service is old-world excellent."
Reviewer	Sydney Morning Herald list of best Italian restaurants
Reviews & Notes	"There’s just the right measure of every element that makes dining out such a pleasure, when it’s right."
Reviewer	John Lethlean - The Australian 16/1/16 4.5/5
Reviews & Notes
Reviewer
Owner's note