THE CHEF FROM HELL

Here's an actual conversation I heard in the supermarket yesterday: "Say, is that frozen lasagna any good?"  "I guess so--it hasn't been on the news so far as I know..."  In what seems like a weekly litany of unregulated shenanigans in the food industry there is yet another food recall!  From the Associated Press site: "ConAgra Foods Inc. and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are defending their decision not to recall pot pies linked to a salmonella outbreak, although two East Coast grocery chains made their own choice to pull the product from store shelves.  The Banquet and generic brand chicken and turkey pot pies made by ConAgra have been linked to at least 139 cases of salmonella in 30 states. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at least 20 people have been hospitalized, but so far no deaths have been linked to the pot pies."  The mind reels at what could be coming down the pike in 2008:  "112 people hospitalized with the gout after eating Hot Pockets!"  "Does Hellman's Mayonnaise have secret ingredients that cause dandruff?!  Film at 11!"  "Listerine is actually Tidi-Bowl toilet cleaner in a different bottle!"

Here's an item that has had the food blogging world buzzing as of late.  There are many food bloggers who act as restaurant reviewers and a recent article in the Wall Street Journal indicated that some of these erstwhile blog/journalists are receiving free eats from restaurants in return for complimentary blog posts about their restaurants.  The Chicagoist site tells us more: "Food Bloggers Receive Praise, Scrutiny!  It's hard not to stumble across a food blog while browsing the web. Two recent newspaper articles shine a light on the positive and negative aspects of the rise of food blogging. The front page of the Sun-Times' food section this morning is all about LTHForum, from the origins of their formation, their wide coverage of neighborhood and off-the-beaten path eats, the immediate response that can make or break a restaurant, and their overall influence on Chicago's dining scene.  The grayer issues surrounding the rise of food bloggers was covered in a Wall Street Journal article last weekend. That story focuses on how chefs and PR firms are targeting food blogs by dangling free meals in exchange for favorable write-ups or attempting to threadjack forums with excessive praise of certain restaurants. One noticeable example of the former in the Journal piece was a dinner set up at Dine for members of the Yelp Chicago board, an event costing $1500 that resulted in a flood of favorable reviews for the restaurant, with only a few members acknowledging the event was free."  As usual, a few boneheads will probably e distort the view of food bloggers by the world at large.  I sense that there are some longtime members of the food establishment who are very unhappy with the fact that food bloggers exist.  They're upsetting the normal flow of things! They're changing the rules of the game!  Indeed they are.  In fact, it's probably true that some bloggers who act as restaurant critics are as corrupt as some of the "authentic" food  critics who work in the business.  The lack of ethics in today's society is reflected in all levels of our culture.

In this blog, I recently touched on the subject as to whether obesity is a result of prosperity in a culture and this article from the foodnews.ca site caught my eye:  "Diabetes skyrocketing in India!  India's incidence of chronic disease from diabetes and hypertension among others illness is great and growing making it the country with the highest number of diabetes patients in the world. India's health care system is mostly private and continues to move in that direction. The newspaper, The India Times, suggests that insufficient government expenditure in health care and the large number of people without health insurance means many won't receive they care they require. Public health campaigns promoting and providing incentives for healthy diets and active lifestyles could curb the need for medical intervention."  I find this interesting because it's well known that India's society has flourished economically in recent years.  Maybe there is a danger to cultures who embrace the U.S. way of life that includes a diet of processed foods loaded with salt and sugar.  "Hey Rajesh, how about a nice curry for dinner!"  "No, I want Hot Pockets!" 

While we're on the subject of India, this item comes to us from The India Times site:  "Whatever You Are Is Nothing But Food!  According to eastern mystic tradition, all that you think you are is nothing but food.  Your body is food, your mind is food, your soul is food.  Beyond the soul there is certainly something which is not food.  That something is known as anatta, no-self.  It is utter emptiness.  Buddha calls it shunya, the void.  It is pure space.  It contains nothing but itself; it is contentless consciousness."  (Whew!)

Meanwhile, back to those Hot Pockets!  Here's a breaking story from the msnbc.com site:  "Hungry Burglar Eats & Runs!  A Wisconsin thief apparently had quite the appetite.  Appleton police received a call Wednesday of a burglary — not of valuables but of food.  The burglar apparently entered the unlocked apartment and walked away with a pizza, six eggs, a can of beef ravioli, a can of peaches and one chicken-and-broccoli Hot Pocket, authorities said."

Here's an interesting tidbit from the foodconsumer.org site:  "New England Wins For Slimmest US Region!  A U.S. advocacy organization released a state-by-state report showing that New England ranks higher than other US regions in fighting the battle of the bulge.  The survey included all fifty states and surveyed both children and adults."  I just knew there had to be some kinda health benefit to eating all that steamed lobster with claified butter along with those crunchy funnel cakes and fried clams!  Hoo Hah!

While New Englanders bask in the glow of good health, the folks in Bermuda are wrestling with their own problems!  This from the ananova.com site:  "Bermuda's rise up the world obesity table has been blamed on too many 'massive bowls of Coco Pops.'  The island is now the fourth fattest country in the world, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.  Bermuda's health coordinator Jennifer Attride-Stirling told The Royal Gazette newspaper: 'If they have breakfast every day, it might be a massive bowl of Coco Pops.'  The reason they buy that might be because it's two for the price of one." 

From the "believe-it-or-not" Deptartment comes this from the age.com.au site:  "Eating Kangaroo Could Cut Gas Emissions!  'SKIPPY' could soon be on the menu for the climate change-conscious if they take note of a report showing a switch from beef to kangaroo could help cut greenhouse gases.  A report by the director of the sustainability centre at the University of NSW, Mark Diesendorf, says a 30 per cent reduction in Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 is achievable but would need both energy efficiency and renewable energy measures, and a change of diet.  According to the report, Paths to a Low Carbon Future, slicing beef consumption by 20 per cent, while 'politically challenging', would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15 million tonnes on 1990 levels.  'Beef consumption is chosen in this measure because it is responsible for the biggest share of livestock-related methane emissions.'  This measure could be reduced by shifting to kangaroo meat and/or lower-meat diets."

What style of food do Americans prefer when they go to restaurants?  From the yahoo.com site:  "American Food Top Choice For People When Dining Out!  American adults have their choice of many different cuisines when it comes to eating out. From pasta to burritos, the choices are almost endless. But what do Americans choose when eating out? American food, of course!  Over one-quarter (28%) of U.S. adults say American food is what they are most likely to choose if they had the choice to go out to a restaurant and eat one type of food. Just under one-quarter (22%) say that they would most likely choose Italian while 17 percent would choose Mexican while 16 percent would choose Chinese if they had the choice to go out to a restaurant. Japanese is the next choice as seven percent say they would choose this type of cuisine. Much further down the list are Indian (2% say they would choose) and then French and Middle Eastern cuisine (1% would choose each). Finally, four percent say they would choose another type of food." 

PS----Oh yeah, while we're on the subject of Americna Food---Don't forget folks---Oct. 24th is National Balogna Day!  Yipeeeeee!