Food Movie Must Sees

Fast Food Nation made you squeamish. Food Inc. made you cry. Michael Pollan made you an activist. Now, two compelling new documentaries promise to continue the fight to educate the world on the destructive impact of the industrialized food system and the unhealthy animal products that it yields.

Gourmet Live’s 50 Women Game-Changers

Women have greatly influenced the evolution of the food community, maybe even more than men. Writer Kate Sekules details 50 of these great female game-changers in a list which may educate you and will definitely inspire.

Magazine Makeovers!

You may have noticed, food is a big deal these days! In the wake of The Food Network Magazine being named by AdWeek as the most successful and influential magazine of the year, more good news continues to pour in for food periodicals. While the rest of the print industry continues to struggle, food magazines posted an uptick in advertising revenue in the first quarter of 2011. Additionally, in 2010 over 100 out of approximately 800 new magazines were about food.

Bill Kim’s New Line Of Specialty Products

Bill Kim, the master behind Urban Belly and Belly Shack, is set to invade your kitchen. Kim and his wife are creating Urban Belly Foods, a line of sauces and condiments that aims to help “demystify Asian food” for the intimidated home cook. First up, a soy balsamic that you may have salivated over already at Urban Belly, of which Kim says, “You can use this as a marinade, a dipping sauce.

Aviary Reservations…Well, Kind Of

Grant Achatz’s wildly popular new gastronomical cocktail lounge, The Aviary, is now taking reservations. Well, sort of. Since opening a few weeks ago thirsty Chicagoans have been eagerly braving long lines for a chance to expereince one of their complex cocktails. To bring some method to the madness, Aviary recently announced on its Facebook page that they would randomly select 8-10 email reservations requests per day.

Food Wins!

Food wins again! AdWeek just released their 31st annual Hot List and Food Network Magazine snagged the top spot. The list pays homage to the most successful and influential magazines of the year, so a food magazine coming away with the gold speaks volumes about America’s food frenzy.

Can Pesticides Affect I.Q.?

Eat organic while pregnant and preserve your unborn child’s I.Q.? Three recent studies point to this conclusion by drawing attention to the impact that pesticides can have on an unborn fetus. The studies, financed by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, found that babies exposed to high levels of pesticides while in the womb had significantly lower I.Q. scores than their peers by the time they reached school age.

Michael Pollan’s New Food Rules

Michael Pollan’s updated, illustrated version of his venerable Food Rules: An Eater’s Manifesto will include a few new rules to eat by, but not by his own pen. Pollan solicited contributions from his legions of readers via Slow Food USA and sifted through over 4,000 to induct these three fabulous new rules:

Place a bouquet on the table and everything will taste twice as good.
– Gisbert P. Auwaerter, Cutchogue, NY

Love your spices. They add richness and depth to food without salt.
– Claire Cheney, Jamaica Plain, MA

When you eat real food, you don’t need rules.
– Mandy Gerth

[Slow Food USA]

Staph Infected Meat

It may just be time to pack up the ol’ steak knives with this latest bit of truly revolting meat industry press. A recent study found that 47% of meat and poultry products purchased at grocery stores in five US cities were contaminated with drug-resistant strains of staph bacteria.

Restaurants That Compost

As restaurants across the country become increasingly eco-conscious (with farm-to-table practically being expected at a certain caliber of restaurant) a new breed of green restaurants is emerging: those that compost. This so-called “table-to-farm” movement is growing as companies specializing in restaurant waste composting are springing up across the country to deal with the mounds of uneaten food that inevitably end up in the trash.