What do you want to know?

[MyOwnWoman]

Hey foodies -
I write about food for my work. I have to come up with several articles each month, and lately they seem stale. I'm out of ideas! For the new year I plan to write better quality articles on food topics that truly benefit the readers (there are about 12,000 readers of the piece I produce every month).

So I'm asking you for ideas....

What do you want to know about, regarding food? Could be in the realm of nutrition, food trends, food production, etc.
(oh, just thought of one - I'm writing about quinoa in January, for sure!!!)

[southernbelle47]

Healthy, clean and green........where is it grown and processed. Also food labels and what info should be required...I want to know where my food has been before it gets to my house!
How can we feed our kids better, slow food?
I love food articles.
Nancy

[beatle]

Washing veggies and fruit. Should we use soap? Does organic produce need to be washed? Which produce and which countries of origin have most pesticides?

[trixietrack]

I would like to know more about our meat. it almost seems a big secret. not just the cruelty towards animals, but how long the meat is kept around and what tricks are used to make people think it's fresh.

I heard that ground beef sometimes is kept around over a month before being distributed to the market.
this would be a very interesting article.

[12many]

out-of-the-ordinary fruits and veggies. How to choose, prepare, etc. Where they are grown and how. I love going to the oriental market, but wouldn't know what to do with half the stuff I see. And I think its getting to be a hip topic.

-d

[trixietrack]

oh yeah 12many
like dragon fruit. they are so beautiful. I always want to pick em up but don't know what I would do with them

[MyOwnWoman]

Awesome ideas ya'll - thanks much and let me know if you have more!

[jane jane]

What "free range" really means. I think it's a big fat lie/scam: I believe that legally a company can call their animals "free range" even if they can only sniff the fresh air through a window or something. And how flexible the definition of "organic" is! Lotta hype going on, I think.

Of course I vote for more vegetarian articles. One might be how a vego can "fool" his/her carnivorous family members by using those wonderful soy crumbles (Morningstar brand, I like) in things like spaghetti, lasagne, and such. I make a great breakfast casserole using the "faux sausage" and my husband cannot tell it's not meat! None of that nasty grease on top should be the tipoff...!

[MyOwnWoman]

Careful with those soy crumbles Jane Jane. Virtually all non-organic soy in this country is genetically modified (thanks to Monsanto).
You're right about a lot of 'free range' meats. All it means is there is an open door somewhere. Though some producers really are true to the term - if you're getting a turkey, try Diestel. And the best chicken in the US is Organic Smart Chicken - the big difference with them being that they air-chill the birds after slaughter. This is the only way chickens are processed in Europe, but here in the states all chicken (besides Smart Chicken) are cooled in huge vats of cold water, where all their juices - and bacteria - are exchanged and soaked in the meat. (too much info??)

[jane jane]

Oh shit MOW...well, out go the soy crumbles, then. I was only using them to fool people anyway. But Gawd only knows what our vegetables are sprayed with. Eating is TOO MUCH WORK these days. I've already lost my appetite.

Unless we harvest our own crops, gather our own eggs from our own sweet pet hens---we are screwed, I think.

What to do?