AlterNet's Food Coverage

Should Sugar Be Regulated Like a Controlled Substance? Why Some Folks Are Saying Yes

Ari LeVaux, AlterNet — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:00:01 PST

An opinion piece in the journal Nature suggests ways the government could regulate added sugar, including a sugar tax, distribution controls and age limits.

I'm on Food Stamps: My Shame and Pride in Signing up for the Most Stigmatized Benefit

Christopher D. Cook, Salon — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:01 PST

I call myself frayed white collar -- part of the privileged poor. I'm a semi-accomplished, mid-career journalist and writer, but now I'm hurtling precipitously toward poverty.

The Dark Side of Chocolate: What Our Love Affair With Cocoa Means for the World

Ari LeVaux, AlterNet — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:00:01 PST

In addition to labor issues, chocolate plantations can be responsible for deforestation. But it can also be empowering to farmers and relatively healthy for the environment.

Occupy vs. Monsanto: Activists, Farmers Fight the Corporation They Fear Will Take Over All America's Crops

Anna Lekas Miller, AlterNet — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:00:01 PST

Occupy comes out to support a lawsuit that hopes to turn the tables on corporate farming behemoth Monsanto.

I Will Not Be Pinkwashed: Komen's Race Is For Money, Not Cure

Emily Michele, ButterBeliever.com — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:00:01 PST

Outrageous salaries, drug company ties, and less than a dime of every dollar looks for a cure.

1.25 Billion Chicken Wings? The Vast Amounts of Crappy Food Americans Consume on Super Bowl Sunday

Tara Lohan, AlterNet — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:00:01 PST

We've somehow turned watching a sport into eating (and drinking) like it's a sport.

The Scary Danger of Meat (Even For Those Who Don't Eat It)

Martha Rosenberg, AlterNet — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:00:01 PST

The government has rolled over once again for Big Meat and we may be in more danger from antibiotic-resistant superbugs.

The Truth Behind Why High Calorie Chef Paula Deen Is Pushing Diabetes Drug

Brad Jacobson, AlterNet — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:00:01 PST

Why ask the most famous unhealthy cook in America to promote a diabetes drug before anyone knew she suffered from diabetes?

Paula Deen: Populist Cook or Diabetic Scam Artist?

Lynn Parramore, AlterNet — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:00:01 PST

Tradition doesn't need to be thrown out, but adapted as we learn about the body and adjust ourselves to the more sedentary ways of modern life.

While Republicans Play Politics Over Food Stamps, New Film Focuses on Hunger in America

Amy Goodman, Raj Patel, Democracy Now! — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:00:01 PST

Amy Goodman and Raj Patel discuss the 49 million people who are struggling to get enough to eat in America, and why GOP candidates' posturing isn't helping.

Sugar High: The Dark History and Nasty Methods Used to Feed Our Sweet Tooth

Jill Richardson, AlterNet — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:00:01 PST

Sugar is now 20 percent of the American diet, but it's not just our health that suffers from its pervasiveness.

Compost Cuisine: Amazing Ways to Make Delicious Food Out of Garbage

Anneli Rufus, AlterNet — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:00:01 PST

Chefs are taking sustainability to new heights by gazing into the depths: that is, at what would otherwise be deemed not fit to eat.

How Genetically Modified Foods Could Affect Our Health in Unexpected Ways

Ari LeVaux, AlterNet — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:00:01 PST

Yet another reason to test GMOs for safety.

How Activists Can 'Occupy' Their Cities with New Legal Structures That Empower Communities Over Corporations

Jeff Reifman, Thomas Linzey, YES! Magazine — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:00:01 PST

A bill of rights that protects the rights of people and nature, but removes them from corporations? Here's how your community could be next.

Hope for Salmon as Dams Come Down

Jennifer Kaye, YES! Magazine — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:00:01 PST

The destruction of two Washington State dams will restore depleted fisheries, create jobs, and maybe even change how we manage our rivers.

Why You Can Be Branded a Terrorist for Fighting Animal Abuse

Rania Khalek, AlterNet — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:00:01 PST

The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act has had a chilling effect on activists scared to participate in what should be constitutionally protected activity.

Why You May Be Drinking Soda That Contains a Dangerous Flame Retardant Banned in Europe and Japan

Brett Israel, Environmental Health News — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:00:01 PST

Some soda drinkers may be getting a dose of a synthetic chemical called brominated vegetable oil, or BVO.

We've Lost Nearly All of Our Wild Foods -- What Happened? And What Are We Missing?

Jill Richardson, AlterNet — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 10:00:01 PST

Fish are the last wild food that most of us will eat.

More Nature, More Sex, More Sleep: 8 New Year's Resolutions That Will Actually Make You Happy and Healthy

Alison Pace, AlterNet — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 09:00:01 PST

Dirt? Morning sex? You bet. Novelist Alison Pace shares tips for body and mind to kick off the new year.

Goodbye 'Shop Til You Drop' Mentality: Renegade Band of Economists Call for 'Degrowth' Economy

Christine MacDonald, AlterNet — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 05:00:01 PST

The road to prosperity and happiness doesn't lead to the shopping mall, as most economists would have you believe.