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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