Food costs can sway perception of 'healthy' eating

Healthy food is expensive—at least in the minds of many consumers, and according to new set of psychology studies, that assumption has significant impact on people's food choices. In a series of five experiments, researchers found that people consistently associated healthy food with high prices, and higher prices with healthier food. "The findings suggest that price of food alone can impact our perceptions of what is healthy and even what health issues we should be concerned about," said Rebecca Reczek, coauthor of the study and professor of marketing at Ohio State University. Read more at Psych Central...

Genetically engineered pink pineapple is safe to sell, FDA says

Fresh Del Monte Produce's new pink pineapple, which has been engineered to produce lower amounts of the enzymes that convert lycopene (pink pigment) into beta carotene (yellow pigment), is designed to be sweeter than a conventional pineapple. The FDA said earlier this month that Del Monte provided it with enough information to demonstrate that it's "as safe and nutritious as its conventional counterparts." Read more at NBC News...

Something's fishy in the faux-meat aisle

There's a big hole in the $5 billion plant-based food economy, and companies are rushing to fill it. It's vegan alternatives to seafood products like shrimp, tuna fish and fish sauce. Read more at The Seattle Times...

New study raises questions about the safety of eating GMO corn

A study published last week in Nature calls to question the notion that corn from genetically modified seeds is "substantially equivalent" to non-GM corn. Researchers used in-depth molecular profiling methods to look at corn and found significant compositional difference between GMO and non-GMO varieties. "Our results call for a more thorough evaluation of the safety of NK603 corn consumption on a long-term basis," the lead author said. Read more at AlterNet...

Hawaii counties can't regulate GMOs and pesticides according to new ruling

A U.S. Court of Appeals decided earlier this month that federal law doesn't prevent state or local governments from passing laws regulating the commercial growing of GM crops. But it also ruled that in the case of Hawaii, the state has ultimate authority because it has existing legislation on the matter, so counties and municipalities can't ban GMOs. Read more at Fortune...