Reading List for June 7-11

I've decided to add a weekly "reading list" to this blog. Each Friday I'll post links to interesting food-related articles that I've read in the past 5-7 days. Enjoy!

The Economist
Diet and the evolution of the brain
Fish and no chips: The wonders of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)

The Economist
Nutrition in schools
Fighting the flab: The struggle to feed more children, more healthily

The New York Times
Vital Signs - Nutrition: Study Examines a Diet from TV Ads
By Roni Caryn Rabin

TIME
Tastes Like Chicken: The Quest for Fake Meat


This last article was a little disturbing to me, especially the following quotes:

"The gases ... from chickens and pigs and cow, and from the manure lagoons that big farms create, are playing a part in global warming. So the idea of fake meat has never been more alluring. What if you could cut into a juicy chicken breast that wasn't chicken at all but rather some indistinguishable imitation made harmlessly from plant life?"

"Who knows? Maybe one day you'll order a chicken fajita at Chili's that is made with soy. You almost certainly won't notice the difference, but the planet will."

Alluring? Most definitely not (at least not to me)! I won't notice the difference? Yeah, right. The problem isn't the chickens themselves, but the way they're raised -- on huge industrialized farms, where they're force-fed, pumped full of steroids & hormones, and kept in cages all day.