Our love of 'all natural' is causing a vanilla shortage

Vanilla is a labor-intensive food—in Madagascar, where most of it is grown, flowers are hand-pollinated, and the process of harvesting and processing it takes months. And, in this clean label era, there simply aren't enough vanilla-producing orchids to meet demand for non-synthetic vanilla. It's become so expensive that some brands and chefs are changing recipes and switching suppliers to find lower prices. Read more at NPR... 

Portland is now making ice cream out of garbage

Salt & Straw is turning edible food waste into a limited-edition series of frozen treats. It's partnered with the nonprofit Urban Gleaners to collect all kinds of would-be wasted food, from root vegetables to leftover grains. It crafted creative ice cream recipes that incorporated the ingredients, like toasted baguette PB&J and Spent Grains & Bacon S'mores. Some of the profits will go to Urban Gleaners. Read more at Munchies...

Fruit and vegetable subsidies may work five times better than soda taxes

A new study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that a 10 percent subsidy on produce could prevent or delay more deaths from cardiovascular disease than a 10 percent soda tax. Read more at New Food Economy...

Palm oil industry confronts its human rights problem

Within the last decade, conflict palm oil has had a spotlight shone on its labor, safety and environmental issues. UNICEF and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil have now launched a partnership to promote the rights of children and working families in the industry. Read more at Fern's Ag Insider...

Boulder entrepreneur launches national ranking system for 'sustainable' eateries

The just-launched Good Food 100 lists the country's top restaurants and institutions working to make the food supply more sustainable. Cofounders Sara Brito and Jeff Hermanson worked with chefs and restaurants across the industry to look at the development and maintenance of food during their purchasing processes. Read more at Daily Camera...