A handful of good food news to get you through the week:
Food Revolution Leaders Urge Candidates to Create a National Food Policy.
“The production and consumption of food has a bigger impact on Americans’ well-being than any other human activity,” claimed four food reform leaders in their open call to action for a National Food Policy. Why is this necessary? America’s food system is overseen by eight different federal agencies, making reform incredibly difficult. While these food revolutionaries are merely starting the conversation, this may spark a national shift towards increased awareness and action.
If McDonald’s is going Cage-Free, Everyone is.
The egg industry produces 96% of its eggs in barns full of stacked wire cages, but that might change. McDonald’s recently announced their transition to cage-free eggs, joining other major purchasers like Starbucks and Burger King that already made the switch. Since McDonald’s alone is an annual buyer of 2 billion eggs, its influence on cage confinement in the egg industry is monumental, establishing a new norm.
Worms just may be the answer to our overflowing landfills.
Plastic takes an average of 450 years to degrade, With 100 million metric tons of plastic waste being generated each year, massive amounts of plastic sit in landfills. However, mealworms have brought us one step closer to combatting the global plastic pollution problem: a promising discovery shows that microorganisms in the guts of mealworms are able to biodegrade plastic, specifically styrofoam, a material previously thought to be non-biodegradable.
Most of Europe Gives GMOs the Boot.
Although Europe removed its continent-wide ban on genetically engineered crops last spring, biotech giants haven’t achieved the hold over European markets as they had hoped. In fact, 14 European countries, in addition to four autonomous regions, have banned genetically engineered crops from being planted on their soil.
Trying to fight food waste? There’s an app for that.
The United States throws away around 30 million tons of edible food each year while 50 million Americans are food insecure. However, thanks to technology, fixing this problem could be more surmountable than ever with a number of apps that help Americans cut back on food waste at restaurants, in supermarkets, in their houses, and from their gardens. Whether you are looking to pass along leftovers you can’t finish, reduce overbuying goods you don’t need at a supermarket, or donate excess garden crops to food pantries, now your phone can help you cut down on food waste.
