Taste buds are just one reason why we love some foods and hate others

"Sweet means energy; sour means not ripe yet. Savory means food may contain protein. Bitter means caution, as many poisons are bitter. Salty means sodium, a necessary ingredient for several functions in our bodies. (By the way, those tongue maps that show taste buds clumped into zones that detect sweet, bitter, etc.? Very misleading. Taste receptors of all types blanket our tongues — except for the center line — and some reside elsewhere in our mouths and throats.)"

Coconut Oil Charms

Coconut oil "has recently become the darling of the natural-foods world. Annual sales growth at Whole Foods 'has been in the high double digits for the last five years,' said Errol Schweizer, the chain’s global senior grocery coordinator. 

It turns out that most of the 1990's studies used partially-hydrogenated coconut oil.  While coconut oil is saturated, nutritionists are rethinking whether saturated fats clog arteries, as was previously thought. 

What the FDA menu-labeling regs really mean

"Don't want to struggle through all 183 pages of the proposed federal menu-labeling regulation? Don't worry. National Restaurant News did. Check out some frequently asked questions and answers."

Austin, Tex., keeping it weird

IACP member and The Washington Post Food Editor, Joe Yonan, shares some of his favorite spots in Austin, Texas, a city known for its quirky, independent spirit.  

This weirdness is directly tied to the city’s two major employers, the University of Texas and the state government.  According to Red Wassenich, 60, the Austin Community College professor who ten years ago coined the phrase Keep Austin Weird, “You've got underpaid, highly educated people, and that makes for a breeding ground for weirdos."

Weirdness requires cheapness: The kind of folks who can produce the city's unique culture - all the live music, the oddball art - need to be able to afford to live there. "Now we have the highest cost of living in Texas," he says. "Most weirdos don't have a lot of money."

Austin’s cost of living may be high, but Joe’s article shows that it’s still possible to have a lot of fun there without breaking your budget.

Alliance to Feed the Future informs opinion makers about conventional food production

"A new alliance comprised of multinational U.S. food and biotechnology trade groups has formed to 'balance the public dialogue on modern agriculture and large-scale food production.'"

"The Alliance to Feed the Future said 'in an effort to meet the world’s increasing food needs responsibly, efficiently and affordably,' its members want to 'tell the real story of' and dispel 'misperceptions about modern food production and technology.'"