When it was revealed a few weeks ago that the federal school lunch system allowed the pink slime mixture in the ground beef it purchased for school lunches, parents around the country expressed outrage. When other news reports suggested that a number of fast food companies also used the pink slime mixture, similar outrage forced a number of the major chains to announce they had discontinued use of the product. 

So, a victory for consumers?

Turns out that's a tough call to make.

Turns out there are a lot of issues wrapped up in this one. 

We have such a complicated relationship with the foods we eat, particularly those which derive from formerly sentient beings. 

And it's no doubt an evolving relationship, for us in the west and for humans in general, I think. We have  a population on this planet which continues to grow and continues to outpace our ability to feed it. How do we deal with that? 

I think and I hope that as a species, we evolve in our attitudes towards food. There simply isn't enough land nor enough fresh water on the planet to give everyone in the world a hamburger.

We can say the main issue here is transparency, which it is, for American (and western) consumers in general. But we usually struggle with this issue of transparency bit by bit. Today it is country of origin; tomorrow it is the use of pesticides; the day after that, GMOs; the following day pink slime. Each new outrage or report generates some traction and we focus and petition on that day's hot topic. If all goes well, step by step, we move towards a greater transparency, each time becoming more aware of the complicated issues which surround food production (how it's grown, where it's grown, how it's processed, how the grower was paid, etc).

That stands in start contrast to the recent past. Beautiful convenient food after beautiful convenient food just appeared on the shelf at the grocery store, as if by magic. Often, the foods were produced with ingredients (plant, animal or mineral) whose origin, cultivation and processing were heavily subsidized by the government, masking their true cost. 

But we're losing our innocence. Just as a child one day makes the realization that the pig on the farm will one day be bacon on his or her plate, we are becoming more conscious of the back story of our foods - and some of that story is ugly, unappetizing, even downright unethical and inhumane.

So let's take a look back at the pink slime. The pink slime is the creation of an elaborate process to use scraps - formerly a waste product - and obtain useful protein. The company which developed the process prefers (obviously) to call it finely textured beef. During processing, the lean bits are separated from the fattier bits, to produce a very lean beef mixture, which is then exposed to a puff of ammonia gas. The company maintains that this treatment effectively kills any pathogens and makes the mix safe for human consumption. The USDA clearly agrees. Ground beef which contains the mix is a less expensive alternative to pricier lean grinds. It's worth noting that many conventional food items undergo a similar ammonia gassing to kill germs. 

Is pink slime bad? That's a complicated question. Discover Magazine points out the USDA has, since the story first broke, decided to allow schools to opt out of the pink slime beef and purchase unprocessed ground beef instead, but that the unprocessed patties have a higher fat content. So, one issue has been exchanged for another.

Another argument goes to the notion of waste. The process of creating the lean beef mix helps us use more of the animal and thus reduces waste, which seems an admirable goal.  

That pretty much brings us back to transparency - coupled with education. Once revulsion over the very idea of 'pink slime" passes, some people might decide that it's not all that bad - that a cheap, lean hamburger patty which creates less waste is just fine. Once we're smart enough to make that decision, wouldn't it be nice if the label on the package of ground beef told you whether or not it contained the filler mixture? So you could make a choice?

We’ll continue to push for transparency in the industry. Outpost belongs to several industry trade groups which advocate labeling for everything from GMOs to fair trade practices and more.

Meanwhile, our ground beef is ground fresh in the stores - with no additives. And any pre-packaged ground beef patties we sell from time to time are also free of additives. Unfortunately, the absence of that cheap mixture, coupled with the more labor intensive farming conditions practiced by our suppliers, means that the ground beef may cost more than the bargain patties you can find elsewhere.

You get what you pay for. Ultimately, it would be nice to know just what you’re paying for, no matter where you buy that hamburger or grapefruit or tomato. It would be nice to know just what costs – environmental, social or economic – are bound up in the food you purchase and consume.

It’s complicated. But we’re getting there.

Some helpful links:

A good overview by Discover Magazine.

A report on a response ad run by the producer of the lean beef filler can be read here.

In the new report, called Cereal Crimes, the Institute argues that “natural” labels deceive consumers and undermine the effectiveness and worth of the “organic” label. (You can download a copy of the report here.)

The term organic is strictly defined by federal laws and overseen by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The study highlights several issues:

1)   The term ‘natural” has no regulatory legal definition. Without laws defining what the term might mean, companies shape it for their own purposes. At Outpost, of course, the term “natural foods” is actually part of our name, and you can find our definition of the phrase on our web site and in our product policies. To us, natural means “foods that do not contain artificial colors, flavors, harmful preservatives or sweeteners. Our naturally raised meats and poultry come from animals that have access to the outdoors, are treated humanely, and were not given artificial growth hormones. “

2)   Without legally binding terminology, consumers can and do get confused about the meaning of the word natural.

3)   Natural and organic are not interchangeable, but in the report, Cornucopia points to several manufacturers that have changed the labeling (and content) of their products from “organic” to “natural.”

4)   The amount of GMOs in conventional foods would likely surprise most people.

5)   Many of the ingredients used in natural cereals have been shown to contain detectable concentrations of organophosphate pesticides in data collected by the USDA in the past. The report did not test the actual “natural” cereals, but points to that USDA data to suggest that the “natural” cereals could therefore contain those pesticides.

The names of some of the cereals tested will be familiar to shoppers at Outpost. Barbara’s Bakery, Peace Cereal and Annie’s were among the companies called out by the institute for moving from organic to natural ingredients.

In what was probably a response to a decreased demand and to rising prices (or perhaps due to some research that told them customers would still buy their product even if it was no longer organic, I don’t know), some companies have in the past several years moved away from organic ingredients, replacing them with ingredients that hail from a wide spectrum of sources. Cornucopia charges that those companies are attempting to deceive their customers by moving to the more vague “natural” ingredients. My guess is that none of the companies named by Cornucopia really wanted to publicize the change. “Our product now slightly less desirable than before!” doesn’t really fly as a sales pitch.

So, a cereal that once was organic no longer is. Now it is “natural,” a term that has some nice feel-good sort of baggage but in truth can mean whatever the company wants it to mean. The terminology isn’t limited to cereals, of course. You can find “natural” meats, beverages, crackers, cookies, chips and many more in the supermarket.

Cornucopia clearly would like for us to stop selling the natural cereals (and probably those other “natural” products, too). Maybe you do, too.

But the dollars spent by our shoppers and owners tell us otherwise. They tell us that we should be offering choices. We sell some of the “natural” cereals. They do fall somewhere on the spectrum closer to the idea of healthy foods. They don’t contain artificial ingredients or colorings, for example, and are often lower in sugar than the conventional varieties, so in that way are more “natural” and probably healthier than conventional breakfast cereals.

We sell them, right next to the organic cereals.

Maybe we should tell you more about some of those organic cereals.

Nature’s Path is the single largest vendor in the cereal category at Outpost. They are numerous reasons we are proud to carry its products. Nature’s Path cereals contain certified organic ingredients, and the company is family owned and managed, is an active participant in the Non-GMO project and even has a plant right up the road in Sussex. It’s a local employer!

Another company we’re happy to work with is Country Choice. We sell its hot cereals and cookies. Country Choice also uses certified organic ingredients, also participates in the Non-GMO project and is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, making it a regional vendor.

We sell their products because organic foods are very important to our vision of a healthy community. We carry numerous organic products and we strictly follow regulations about the handling and sale of organic products. Our Co-op Community Fund has for years donated money to help Wisconsin farmers get organic certification. The issue has long been dear to our owners.

But our owners are 16,000 strong, and are, as you can imagine, a diverse group. Organic food is just one of numerous interests our owners hold. In recent years, local food and commerce has become a critical issue to many of our owners and shoppers. We now endeavor to seek out and work with hundreds of small local and regional suppliers, even when the foods they grow may not always be organic.

The local apple harvest, for example, is a highlight of the year in our stores, with delicious variety after delicious variety tumbling into our stores from Barthel’s Fruit Farm in Mequon. Barthel’s uses IPM – Integrated Pest Management – to control pests with as few chemicals as they can get away with. Our owners and other shoppers support Barthel’s with their purchases.

It’s a complicated world out there for the consumers hoping to do the best they can with the food dollars they spend. We all want good, nutritious food and a vibrant, healthy, diverse and economically sustainable local community.

We remain committed to providing you with the educational resources you need to make the best decisions for your own and your family’s health.

We also happen to think that you, the consumer, should know what is in the food you buy and eat. That is why Outpost is a sustaining member of the Truth in Labeling Coalition. The coalition is a non-profit organization whose mission is to make it mandatory for manufacturers to disclose GE and GMO foodstuffs on labels. You can help by signing the coalition’s petition here. 

The fish, with the brand name AquAdvantage, was developed by a Massachusetts company. The process splices genetic material from another variety of salmon and an eel into the cells of an Atlantic salmon. The new genetic material helps to govern and regulate the salmon's growth - and setting the new fish off on continuous rapid growth.

Proponents of the new fish and of the technology behind it point to declining wild fish stocks and the planet's burgeoning human population - and appetite. These new GMO species of fish drastically shorten the time it takes for fish to get to market size, which means, say supporters, more food for our hungry world.

But opponents of GMO foods are skeptical. They argue that potential health dangers of consuming GMO fish have not been adequately studied. And some opponents are worried that the fish, intended for land-locked fish farms and altered to prevent reproduction, may escape and mix with wild fish populations, causing unintended consequences. Talking Points Memo has a good review of the issue here.

What do you think? Is it worth the risk?

Small town grocers face numerous challenges, from centralized distribution systems to lifestyle changes to truly frightening competition from massive retail chains luring shoppers away from Main Streets and siphoning food dollars.

The USA Today articles reports on the decline of independent grocers in two Midwestern states, Kansas and Michigan, but the story is likely quite similar across the country. But what residents of the small towns are finding is that the loss of a grocery store has a profound and often domino effect. The owner of a neighboring hardware store tells USA Today that his business has dropped by half since the town’s grocer shut its doors.

The loss of the town grocery store affects nearby businesses, but the impact on some segments of the population is even more devastating. Eldery customers and others without easy transportation to the more distant stores - the large retail chains often build far from the center of any one town in an attempt to be within driving reach of several small communities -  suffer from the loss of a local store, as their access to the full product line offered by a grocer diminishes. Convenience stores and gas stations might offer some food items, but often lack fresh items.

It’s easy to rationalize a trip to the large retailer, with the seeming convenience of a full range of items for sale and discount prices of a sort that independent grocers may be unable to match. But these small town examples also serve as a startling wake up call for the widespread and long term consequences of failing to shop locally – empty main streets and diminished ease of access to healthy foods. Just look at the USDA’s Food Desert Locator to see the large expanses of our nation that qualify as food desrts.

The USA Today article does carry an encouraging report near the end of the story about Walsh, Colorado. After the town’s lone grocery closed, the town’s residents banded together and reopened it as a cooperative, and report that the store is now thriving.

We’re partial to the co-op route. It offers one of the best ways to counter the loss of control over the foods we eat and it empowers a community by deepening the roots of the local economy.

Co-ops and buying local – the path to good health.

Drought is a constant threat for farmers, so the market for a corn crop that can better tolerate drought is potentially huge, but the USDA itself reports that the GE corn doesn't perform any better than conventional corn varieties already on the market.

The USDA has also concluded that the GE corn poses little risk, something opponents of GMO and GE food crops argue hasn't been adequately proven. The Center for Food Safety claims the USDA's proposal fails to comply with federal environmental laws, making approval illegal. That organization has created an action page where people can send post their comments, which will be sent to the USDA. The agency is accepting public comment on the plan until July 11.

Weigh in on the USDA's proposal to approve GE corn here. Given that even the USDA says conventional corn varieties do just as well as the GE corn in tolerating drought conditions - and that many people continue to voice concerns about the potential for environmental disruption by cross contamination, this seems a no-brainer to us. No GE corn!

The council voted 8 - 5 to pass the measure, which comes with a number of restrictions and includes a one-year sunset clause, meaning the ordinance would have be voted on and passed again next year. Read a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report here.

Residents will be allowed to house up to four hens in their yards, provided they applied for and recieved a $35 permit and got OKs from all adjacent neighbors. 

The dance, a take on the old fable about stone soup, draws together a host of different contributors - dancers, musicians, urban fish growers and farmers - into a symbiotic relationship that will produce we are sure will produce breathtaking art, much like the mundane ingredients of the soup in the fable produce a sublime meal.

The performances will include a tour of Sweet Water Organics, the urban farming and aquaculture operation which has transformed a former factory building into a source of food. Sweet Water's products  from fresh perch and tilapia to vegetables - are available at a variety of locations around Milwaukee, from food stores to restaurants.

For tickets and more information about the event, visit the website for Dance Works.

For a wine to be certified kosher, certain rules need to be followed in its production: once grapes are harvested, the winemaking process must be performed by Sabbath observant Jews. In order for wine to be certified Kosher for Passover, even stricter rules are in effect, prescribing certain yeasts and forbidding certain common preservatives.

But the strictest set of requirements are reserved for mevushal wines. Only mevushal wine can be handled by non-observant Jews or even people who are not Jewish without losing kosher designation. That means a non-Jew can open and pour the wine, for example. Do that with plain old kosher wine and it's no longer considered kosher.

Mevushal wine undergoes an additional step in the winemaking process. It has to be boiled, an act that, unfortunately for wine enthusiasts, does nothing to help the wine's taste.

Enter technology. Today, some winemakers employ a flash pasteurization process, in which the wine is heated super quickly to boiling and then just as quickly cooled, within seconds. It's a mevushal wine that is hard to tell apart from non-mevushal varieties.

Our mevushal wine find is Teal Lake Cabernet Merlot from Australia - the land of kangaroos, emus and great big reds. This wine is pretty dry, spicy and peppery - it might make you think of the shiraz wines Australians are famous for.

Around the world, governments are urging and often mandating that a larger percentage of the fuel supply be comprised of biofuels. In the United States, where government policies help subsidize biofuels created from corn, almost 40 percent of the corn crop is now destined for fuel use. While many other factors, such as weather patterns and fuel prices, can impact crop prices, that rise in demand undoubtedly played a role in the whopping 73 percent jump in the price of corn in the last half of the year.

Other countries, and other traditional food crops, face similar and even greater pressure form the biofuel boom. The New York Times reports that China has turned to the cassava root as a biofuel source, gobbling up 98 percent of Thailand's cassava root crop last year and contributing to a doubling of the root's price.

It's a real quandary. Biofuel has been positioned as an environmentally-more-friendly alternative to traditional fossil fuels, but at what point do concerns about its impact on food prices force a rethinking of the biofuel movement?

The Times article suggests that such a reckoning is already happening. China's appetite for cassava root took off after that government outlawed the use of grain in biofuels. That edict was a response to food shortages and price increases that threatened the country's food supply.

Theories attempting to explain the disappearance the bees abound, many pointing to pesticide exposure, infectious diseases, viruses and stress. Bee colonies are huge business, maintained and transported around the country for pollination. Its estimated that some $15 billion worth of agricultural production is dependent upon the work of bees.

A new documentary, Queen of the Sun, explores the issue of Colony Collapse Disorder, has its Milwaukee area premier next week.

The Times Cinema is located at 5906 W. Vliet Street. Showtimes are Monday, March 28, through Thursday, March 31 at 6:30 p.m.

This is a bee movie worth seeing.

The Rally for the Right to Know is being organized by the Millions Against Monsanto campaign, a project of the Organic Consumers Association. That campaign is aimed at recruiting one million people for a day of action on Oct. 16, the United Nation's World Food Day. The group seeks the right to know - and choose - what is in the foods we eat. Current US law does not require the labeling of foods that contain GMO or that has been genetically engineered (GE).

Which has got us wondering about a couple of things.

First, where’s the radiation? It’s not here. Any radiation that has been so far released has occurred in Japan and the danger from that radiation is limited to the immediate vicinity of the plant. The Japanese government has ordered an evacuation zone around the damaged plant, but there is little evidence yet that a danger exists any further away from the facility. Over here, on the other side of the world? Experts just don’t foresee us being at risk at all from radiation exposure. Plenty of reasons behind their thinking, but we’re not diving into that here. We’re talking potassium iodide, remember.

And also kelp, because it turns out people in some parts of our country are making their way to natural foods grocery stores and stocking up on kelp. Kelp is a seaweed and a good natural source of many minerals and vitamins – and iodine. So, will eating kelp or buying kelp supplements, ward off radiation poisoning?

Again, no health officials we can find are saying there is any reason to worry about radiation exposure here in Wisconsin from a broken nuclear power plant in Japan. No reason at all. But back to kelp. It is a good thing to have in a balanced diet. And it is believed to help your thyroid function normally. You like kelp? Continue eating it. We sell kelp supplements, too. But taking them to ward off non-existent radiation poisoning is over the top and impractical.

Why? The amounts needed. According to experts (the same experts who say there is NO need for prophylactic measures here in America), an adult would need a 130mg (milligrams) dose of potassium iodide to provide a 24-hour block; a child would need 65mg for that same time period. The kelp tablets Outpost carries contain 225mcg (micrograms) of Potassium iodide, much less than needed. In fact, an adult would have to consume more than 550 kelp tablets to get the amount of potassium iodide needed to block the thyroid from absorbing harmful radioactive iodine. 

We do carry other supplements that offer more potassium iodide, but even they top at 2.5mg per tablet – again nowhere near enough – IF there were even a legitimate need.

So what is it about iodine and the thyroid that figure into all of this?  Well, the thyroid gland is a very sensitive hormone-making machine. It needs iodine to power that hormone production. It’s a greedy little organ that will gobble up any iodine it encounters. Inhale or absorb radioactive iodine, and the thyroid will readily utilize it.

Which can lead to a greatly increased risk of thyroid cancer down the road, though the degree of risk is dependent upon many factors, not the least of which is the amount of radiation one has been exposed to.

Basically, an potassium iodide supplement works by flooding the thyroid with good iodine, leaving no need for that greedy little grub to seek out and store any of the radioactive stuff. One dose of potassium iodide can protect the thyroid gland for one day. That protection lasts 24 hours and is limited to the thyroid – it won’t protect you from other dangers inherent in radiation exposure.

Finally, keep in mind that the thyroid is a very sensitive organ. In a balanced system, the body generally gets enough from a normal diet. Over-consumption of potassium iodide can cause severe health risks – up to and including death.

So, to recap: there is a valid reason to pop a potassium iodide tablet WHEN exposure to radiation is imminent – it can help shield your thyroid for 24 hours. But there are only a handful of sources of the proper dosage and they are rightfully bound for Japan, where there may actually be a need.

Speaking of need, the Cooperative Development Fund is accepting online donations to help with earthquake and tsunami relief in Japan. Look for the bright yellow box in the upper right corner of the organization’s website. And send as many healing thoughts as you possibly can to the people there.

That money will only partially pay for the ambitious multi-million dollar program. Growing Power's Will Allen has said he will seek $5 million in foundation support and additional monies form other partners.

Under the program, which has also received support from the city's African American Male Unemployment Task Force, up to 50 jobs would be created during the first year of the program, with additional positions being added over the following two years. The agricultural jobs would help in the construction of 150 hoop style greenhouses on vacant or blighted lots throughout the city.

For a thorough report on the program's goals, head over to Milwaukee Magazine's Milwaukee NewsBuzz site.

Photo of Growing Power's Will Allen by Liz Setterfield.

Their collection offers up something for just about everyone, with entrees, sides, desserts and yes, drinks. No green beer, though, these recipes often call for a hearty helping of Guinness. Gingerbread with Stout? A Guinness Milk Shake? Beef Braised in Guinness? Guinness Milk Chocolate Ice Cream?

There are beer-free recipes as well. A nice Corned Beef and Cabbage, Boxty, Easy Irish Brown Bread and even Boston Baked Beans (a nod to the Boston Irish, we guess).

Take a look before you head out for groceries. And here's our buy-local tip for St. pat's: Lakefront Brewery's Snake Chaser Irish Style Stout.  Smooth and full of roasted malt goodness.

Sláinte!

The plan, to build hoop houses and transform blighted or vacant land in the the city into farmland, would ultimately provide 150 jobs in Milwaukee's central city - where the unemployment level among adult black males currently hovers around 27%.

The proposal was submitted by a task force created by the Common Council last year to tackle the high unemployment rate in the central city but this plan offers a significant added benefit - increased access to healthy, locally grown food. You can read more about this proposal here.

A half million dollars is a lot in this economy - and Will Allen tells a Journal Sentinel reporter that his organization will probably have to raise an additional three times that amount to fund the project, but providing jobs and meaningful training whilst also tackling the problem of food deserts in inner city neighborhoods make this a pretty appealing idea.

For more than two decades now, people have added zinc to their cold-fighting arsenal, spraying it in their nostrils or throats, popping tablets or sucking on lozenges. The first scientific study purporting to show a cold-fighting role for zinc was published in 1984, though subsequent studies cast doubt on the mineral’s efficacy.

But now, after taking a look at all of the studies involving zinc that have been conducted over the ensuing years, researchers say there is solid evidence that zinc works. Zinc, taken as a lozenge, tablet or syrup at the first sign of cold symptoms, can shorten the cold by a day or more and significantly reduce symptoms. Some research hinted that regular zinc use could even help ward off colds.

This is great news – a wonderful step in the long march to eradicating the common cold. While we haven’t found the magic antidote yet, it’s encouraging to anyone feeling their first sniffles or scratchy throat to think that there really is something they can do.

Take zinc. Yay!

Unfortunately, the researchers also found much confusion about taking that zinc and offered no recommendations about dosage or even the best way to get that zinc, whether in tablet, lozenge, or syrup form (in the summer of 2009, the Food and Drug Administration warned that a popular homeopathic nasal spray containing zinc could damage or destroy the sense of smell in users and urged consumers to stop using that product).

Want to read more about the review? The New York Times article is here.

The findings are sure to get people taking another look at some troubling trends already spotted around the world. Male sperm counts are in decline and male fertility rates are dropping in many countries. Earlier research has suggested a link between some of these chemicals, labeled endocrine disruptors (for their impact on our hormone systems), and various sexual defects and reproductive health issues.

News reports on the study highlight that 16 of the 30 pesticides found to have an effect on male hormones were not previously known to be problematic, meaning we were unaware of any danger. But what may be even more troubling is that 14 of the pesticides were already known to have some effect on male hormones – and are still allowed in agricultural use.

The truth is we simply don’t know enough about the potential effects of many of these chemicals and the path to knowledge is long and expensive. The EPA’s Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program, designed to force the testing of pesticides and other chemicals found in drinking water and the food supply to determine the presence of hormone altering agents, has been slow to start, expensive and criticized by both the pesticide industry and environmentalists.

So, where to turn, until we learn more? The safest route would seem to be choosing organic when possible. But not all produce is equal – some conventional fruits and vegetables are dirtier than others. The Environmental Working Group has a handy guide noting the Dirty Dozen, the twelve fruits and vegetables that commonly carry the most pesticide residue. You can find that guide here.

But the snow will melt and the hard ground will soften. And the weekend will come - months from now, but it will come - when you eye up that patch of soil in your yard and think about the foods you can grow: Tomatoes, and, well… definitely tomatoes. Everybody grows tomatoes.

But what other veggies can you grow relatively easily? 

The bloggers at Treehugger.com have come to the rescue and reading their recommendations for the top ten backyard garden veggies is nearly as good a tonic as paging through a seed catalog. Check their list here. Me? I'm thinking Brussels sprouts in a container. And peas. And carrots.

We’re enjoying a boom in artisanal cheeses in this country. A movement that began in the 1970s has flourished in recent years, with more than 450 artisanal cheesemakers in this country today, according to the New York Times. But several outbreaks of food borne illnesses have been traced back to cheese, and the federal government has noticed.

The Food and Drug Administration is taking a long, hard look at the use of raw, unpasteurized milk by cheesemakers and rumors are circulating in the industry that the regulatory agency may be considering big changes – up to an including a prohibition on the use of raw milk.

As the craft of cheesemaking has grown in this country, some cheesemakers have turned to raw milk, which they say offers more finely nuanced flavors that can vary greatly, depending upon the seasons and the diet of the dairy cows.

Raw milk, of course, is milk that has avoided pasteurization, a heating process intended to destroy any harmful bacteria that may be in the milk. The FDA has always allowed the use of raw milk in cheeses provided the cheese is aged a minimum of 60 days. It was thought that any dangerous bacteria which might be present in the cheese – such as E. coli or salmonella - would die off within those 60 days.

More recent research has shown, however, that some bacteria can survive that 60-day period. And several instances of food-borne illnesses associated with raw cheese have turned the spotlight on the issue. The FDA says that some 400 individuals have been sickened by contaiminated cheeses in the last five years.

While no official figures have been released, it appears the FDA has greatly increased inspections at cheesemaking facilities. And, of particular concern to the FDA is the use of raw milk in softer cheeses.

Hard cheeses dry out as they age, creating a less hospitable environment for bacteria. But soft cheeses retain more moisture. One recent study even found that levels of listeria bacteria increased in some soft cheeses as they aged.

The FDA has been reviewing the issue this past year and has said it will reveal new proposals in the next several months. But the content of the new rules has left cheesemakers fretting.

Will the FDA impose a longer aging process for cheeses made with raw milk? That would force many artisanal cheesemakers to make changes to their production schedules and send some back to the drawing board, since they carefully manage the cheesemaking process to deliver prime taste and texture at the right time. It might also mean the disappearance of some softer cheeses, which won’t survive longer aging. The FDA could also create new requirements for plant safety and inspections.

Of course, the most troubling outcome, in the eyes of both cheesemakers and cheese lovers, would be the prohibition of raw milk in cheese production. That seems rather draconian.

We’ll be watching. And we’ll let you know as soon as we hear more about this. The FDA usually announces proposed changes accompanied by a comment period and we just know folks will have plenty to say about this issue.

For now, if you’d like to read more, you can check out recent articles by the New York Times or the Washington Post.

Other links:

The Raw Milk Cheese Association

That isn't really unique, of course, but Foodily's main feature may be its integration with social media. Log in with your Facebook account, and you can create a menu, save recipes and even "like" and "share" recipes on your Facebook wall. Furthermore, when you search for recipes, any that have been likewise saved, liked or shared by your friends will show up first on the search results. Sort of makes sense - since so many Facebook posts are already of the "making beans on toast for lunch" variety already, we do seem to be pretty obsessed with what everyone else is eating these days.

But if you're seeking inspiration, Foodily may leave you wanting. The home page is pretty and sleek and obviously well funded ( the founders are eschewing ads and planing to pay for the site through coupons) but it's really just a blank box in which you have to type... well, something. It felt a bit to us like staring into an empty cupboard, hoping to come up with an idea for dinner.

If you have a specific dish in mind, this looks like a great way to get a list of recipes that you can compare. You can even omit specific ingredients and filter your search. (Of course, you can also search for specific types of recipes on our own web site right here.)