We've Got Issues

The Wall Street Journal looks at the food vs. fuel debate, and how the rising cost of food, the increased production of biofuels, and the fluctuating cost of oil are all interconnected.

At Food Politics, Marion Nestle discovers that the dietary guidelines from 1861 have not changed all that much. She gleaned this from a conversation she had with a guy who runs a website about military nutrition, which is undeniably awesome. Among his findings:

• Beans, unless thoroughly cooked, are only fit for horses. When half-cooked, they will provoke indigestion and diarrhea.
• Ardent spirits are not necessary for health and the soldier is better off without them. Damn!

Discover ponders the links between periodic fasting and decreased risk of heart disease, and lead researcher Benjamin Horne of the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute says it's no joke: "We've shown it is not a chance finding. Fasting is not just an indicator for other healthy lifestyles. It is actually the fasting that is working to reduce the risk of disease." Wow.

James McWilliams explains why he thinks that "free-range animal agriculture resembles nature only as much as pornography resembles real sex" at The Atlantic. It's a hot-button topic, and of course McWilliams, author of Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly, isn't subtle, which gets the progressive meat eaters' panties all in a bunch.