Jan Norris: Food and Florida

I love the Splendid Table radio show on American Public Media stations. Lynne Rossetto Kasper is a cool host with such down-to-earth, solid kitchen advice, and her producer Sally Swift is a godsend to cooks everywhere. The callers are thoughtful and witty, and there are some serious recipes given out on the show that have [...]

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We keep harping to eat local – it’s a way to reduce the carbon footprint left by farmers in Iowa shipping corn to Florida and vice-versa. Must be good business for the corporate farmers – but detrimental for the planet. Think packaging, shipping, handling and the time involved from farm to table – want to [...]

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Friend and former co-worker Tom Sears, a Wisconsin native, keeps me abreast of all things weird in the Badger State – as if cheese-hat-wearing, barechested-in-snow football nutcases weren’t enough. Actually, I think he does it so I won’t feel so bad about my native state that makes national news daily with our own tropical brand [...]

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If you’re trying to help the environment, the animals, or better your health, take a look at the labels on food packages. Unless there’s third-party certification for a claim, the labels are mostly meaningless. Audubon Magazine has the detailed explanation of all the labels on their website. As noted, some require certification and inspections of [...]

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Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture revealed it’s new “MyPlate” graphic that replaces the old USDA pyramid, giving Americans a visual reference to its suggested nutrition plan. Along with the plate, which emphasizes fruits and vegetables and grains, with smaller spots for proteins (meats, fish, poultry, plant proteins) and dairy (shown in the cup), is [...]

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