This post is another introduction into regulations. As you probably know, the USDA has many departments and functions. What I’ll be covering today is the arm known as the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and their task of developing, maintaining, implementing, and verifying grade standards. Why do these exist? Primarily because industrial and large-volume buyers use…
This week is another fun post covering sparkling wine and bubbles. If you drink alcohol, I’m sure you’ve had some type of sparkling wine to celebrate a wedding, birthday, New Year, or other special occasion. You may have noticed that the bubbles have a different texture in different wines. This post will be a little…
Cereals are one of the most widely consumed foods worldwide, making up over half of the world average diet. Chances are, you eat some form of cereal, oats, rice, or bread. Do you know what types you are consuming and how they are labeled? This post will dive into these topics. Cereal grains appear on…
It can come from cows, goats, buffalo, horses, even humans (though you won’t find that one in the grocery store). The U.S. is the third largest consumer of milk worldwide, behind only India and the EU. While consumption has been declining steadily since the 1970s, milk still makes up a large portion of the American…
I’m taking another break this week from the super serious to write about something more lighthearted that I’m sure many people are curious about. Marijuana, cannabis, pot, weed, ganja, herb… it goes by many names, and it can be a tricky topic to navigate. Many legal changes are recent, and state laws differ from federal…
Today is another post on a specific pesticide called chlorpyrifos. It’s been in the news lately as multiple states and the EPA are considering a ban on it. It’s a relevant topic, so I’ll spend some time detailing information on the chemical. If you’d like some general information on pesticides, take a look at this…
Today’s post is an overview of a piece of American legislation called the Farm Bill. If you don’t know much about what it is, you’re in the right place. The Agricultural Adjustment Act was first passed in 1933. It has been renewed 17 times since then under various names, and is often referred to as…
If you are reading this, it’s likely that you take dietary supplements, just as 68% of Americans do. They fall under the jurisdiction of the FDA, but are regulated differently than food or drugs. This post will go into the specifics of these, factors unique to supplements, and some new changes that are coming up….
I wanted to do a post that’s a little bit of fun, so I thought I’d write about wine grapes today. What’s the difference between table grapes and wine grapes? A lot. I’ll start with the basics. All grapes are part of the genus called Vitis and grow on vines. Within Vitis, there are many…
This post is another request from my nephew, and one that I think will be interesting to quite a few people out there. Is it a paradox? Or science fiction? Whatever you call it, it’s the future of food. Meat alternatives have come a long way since the first veggie burger was was released in 1982….