This Is Why You Feel Hungry After A Night On The Town

Cosmos: Why you crave hot chips after a night on the town

Don't feel too guilty when you drunkenly bite into a hot dog at 3 am – you can't argue with biology.

A pie or hot dog scoffed at 3 am is, quite simply, delicious. But why do we crave fatty and carb-rich food after drinking alcohol, which itself laden with kilojoules? It turns out the brain cells that make you hungry are also activated by alcohol.

Researchers in the UK put mice on the equivalent of a human weekend bender and found their subjects ate more food than teetotal counterparts. Examining the mouse brains, the team found a specific set of brain cells that drive hunger were activated in the presence of alcohol.

The work was published in Nature Communications.

Alcohol consumption and overeating are linked. Drinking an aperitif before a meal stimulates the appetite. Why, though, is a puzzle.

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CSN Editor: This is the reason why .... the brain cells that make you hungry are also activated by alcohol.

A Look At Eight Futuristic Foods

Gizmodo: Eight Futuristic Foods You'll Be Eating in 30 Years

We ate some weird shit in 2016. A person born in the year 1000 AD definitely wouldn’t comprehend a Dorito. He certainly wouldn’t understand why kids love the taste of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and if you showed him a Twinkie, he’d probably burn you at the stake. But the way things are headed, our food is bound to get a lot weirder.

Scientific research doesn’t just bring us more convenient and cheaper food options, but the hope of overcoming sustainability issues, too. The meat industry plays a huge role in climate change—around 10 percent of America’s total greenhouse gas emissions came from the agriculture sector in 2014, with almost a third of that climate-warming carbon attributed to methane from cattle, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Meanwhile, Earth’s population is growing fast, and many are fretting about how to feed the 9 billion people who will be inhabiting the planet in 2050.

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CSN Editor: Bugs? Algae?

The Non-Meat Revolution Has Begun

Marginal Revolution: The Revolution Has Begun: Beyond Meat

Animal rights will be the big social revolution of the 21st century. Most people have a vague feeling that factory farms aren’t quite ethical. But few people are willing to give up meat so such feelings are suppressed because acknowledging them would only make one feel guilty not just. Once the costs of giving up meat fall, however, vegetarianism will spread like a prairie wildfire changing eating habits, the use of farm land, and the science and economics of climate change.

Lab grown or cultured meat is improving but so is the science of veggie burgers. Beyond Meat has sold a very successful frozen “chicken” strip since 2013 and their non-frozen burger patties are just now seeing widespread distribution in the meat aisle at Whole Foods. Beyond Meat extracts protein from peas and then combines it with other vegetable elements under heating, cooling and pressure to realign the proteins in a way that simulates the architecture of beef.

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CSN Editor: I have also tried these non-meat products .... and yes .... I have been pleasantly surprised.

The 10 Corporations That Control The World’s Food

Revealed! The 10 Corporations that Control the World's #Food! Click for more: https://t.co/Yg4wQCcMEg pic.twitter.com/QWW3P47Zp9

— Good Shopping Guide (@EthicalCompany) January 7, 2016

The Good Shopping Guide: The 10 Corporations that Control the World’s Food

A significant amount of well-known brands are produced by just ten food companies. Between these ten largest food and drink manufacturers, which control most of the world’s food production, it is estimated that they make 1 billion US dollars per day.

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CSN Editor: A lot of junk food companies in this bunch.

Nearly Half Of All Global Food Is Wasted

Image Credit: Photos.com 

Nearly Half Of All Food Is Wasted, Accounting For More Than 2 Billion Tons Annually -- Red Orbit

As the global population continues to grow at an astounding rate, and as food stocks continue to dwindle due to a number of factors, more and more people around the world will be left with less food on their plate. And when you tie in an unsettling report on food waste, the issue becomes all too surreal.

A new report by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) states that as much as half of the world’s food supply (more than 2 billion tons) is wasted each year. The bulk of this waste is being caused by poor storage, strict sell-by guidelines, bulk offers and consumer finickiness, according to the report.

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My Comment: Spoilage is a fact when it comes to food .... it will always go to waste.

How To Best Feed The World

How To Ensure The World’s Food Supply -- Greg Page, Washington Post

In America’s heartland, farmers are making the agonizing decision to plow down cornfields that have succumbed to the worst drought in decades. The parched land, resulting lower yields and already tight grain stocks remind us that we can’t take food production for granted. They also raise the question: Can we feed a world on its way to 9 billion people, given weather events, pressure on natural resources and changing diets? At Cargill, we believe the answer is yes. But leaders in government, business and civil societies need to take into account three key imperatives to create a more food-secure world.

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My Comment: Reading Greg Page's point on Africa representing about 60 percent of the potentially available cropland in the world surprised me .... I always grew up believing that the bread baskets were in North America, the steppes of Russia, Australia, and Argentina. But he is right .... and that is why Africa's long history of feeding it's own citizens is so tragic .... it does not have to be.

This is an excellent analysis on food production and distribution from a man whose business is food production and distribution, and is a must read.

Making Food Better Through Science

Can Science Make Food Taste Better? -- The Telegraph

Is seafood best by the sea? Do pheromones make chocolate even sweeter? And why is the food industry so keen to know the answers?

A few years ago, a trainee chef from Boston, Massachusetts, called Molly Birnbaum went for an early-morning jog. She ran past an apartment block; she can remember the smell of laundry coming out of the air vents. Then she ran across a road. But she never got to the other side; a car smashed into her. When the car’s windscreen made contact with her head, Birnbaum’s brain smacked against the side of her skull, destroying her sense of smell. That laundry would be one of the last things she would smell for years.

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My Comment: I never realized that so much that goes into flavour is smell .... but it does.

Can Organic Food Feed The World?

Organic market in Vienna. (Credit: © Tupungato / Fotolia)

Can Organic Food Feed the World? New Study Sheds Light On Debate Over Organic Vs. Conventional Agriculture -- Science Daily

ScienceDaily (Apr. 25, 2012) — Can organic agriculture feed the world? Although organic techniques may not be able to do the job alone, they do have an important role to play in feeding a growing global population while minimizing environmental damage, according to researchers at McGill University and the University of Minnesota.

A new study published in Nature concludes that crop yields from organic farming are generally lower than from conventional agriculture. That is particularly true for cereals, which are staples of the human diet -- yet the yield gap is much less significant for certain crops, and under certain growing conditions, according to the researchers.

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How Did Japan Come To Prefer Wheat Over Rice?

Waves Of Grain: How Did Japan Come To Prefer Wheat Over Rice? -- Slate

Unlike other popular Japanese gadgetry, the Gopan bread maker isn’t sleek, nor does it fit in a trouser pocket. But Panasonic's $600 kitchen aid does boast a trump card: It produces freshly baked loaves from raw, whole grains of rice.* Since its launch in November 2010, the appliance—whose name is an inspired play on gohan, meaning “cooked rice,” and pan, meaning “bread”—has been selling like hotcakes in Japan (the only country where it’s currently available).

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Disease Outbreaks Are Rising For Imported Food

Imported-Food Outbreaks Rise, CDC Says -- Wall Street Journal

Outbreaks of illness linked to imported food have risen since the late 1990s, casting a spotlight on federal inspection standards for fish, produce and other foods brought in from abroad.

The 39 outbreaks from imported food reported between 2005 and 2010 represent a small fraction of total cases of food-borne illnesses such as salmonella or E. coli, according to the data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presented Wednesday. But the rise in imported-food outbreaks—mostly from fish and spices—highlights gaps in the food-safety system that a sweeping new law is intended to address.

CDC researchers found 6.5 outbreaks from foreign foods a year, on average, between 2005 and 2010—more than double the average of 2.7 outbreaks annually between 1998 and 2004.

Of the 39 outbreaks between 2005 and 2010, nearly half—17—occurred in 2009 and 2010.

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My Comment: Damn .... and I like Chinese food.

Commentary On Europe's Organic Food Scare

Europe's Organic Food Scare -- Wall Street Journal

German Greens and their European Union acolytes have long fought scientific advances in food production and protection. After a spice manufacturer in Stuttgart employed the world's first commercial food irradiation in 1957, West Germany banned the practice in 1959 and has since allowed few exceptions. So it's no small scandal that the latest fatal E. coli outbreak has been linked to an organic German farm that shuns modern farming techniques.

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China's Drought Is Impacting World's Food Supplies

How Will China's Food Supply Weather the Year of Drought? -- Time

In China food supplies and food prices are deeply sensitive topics. So by the time the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization issued a special alert warning in February that a prolonged drought in the North China Plain was a “potentially serious problem” for the country's winter wheat crop, China's leaders had already mobilized. President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao made visits to farming regions in north China, pledging cash, equipment and manpower to ensure the crop survived.

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My Comment: The world is already at the brink of experiencing severe food shortages .... China's drought is only going to make the situation worse.

Oysters Are Disappearing

Delicacy: But the oyster is disappearing from its natural habitat and is now 'functionally extinct' in many places due to over-exploitation

Oysters Are Becoming 'Functionally Extinct' As 85% Of Reefs Disappear Around The World -- The Daily Mail

Oyster reefs around the world are disappearing so fast that more than 85 per cent have been lost to disease and over-harvesting, according to a study.

The mollusk is disappearing from its natural habitat and is now 'functionally extinct' in many places due to over-exploitation, scientists believe.

In areas such as the Wadden Sea in Europe and Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, fewer than 1 per cent of former reefs still exist.

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My Comment: And one day the last oyster will be gone.

How Are We Going To Feed 9.2 Billion People In 2050

The UN has warned of a global hunger crisis over predicted poor crop yields. Photo by wordpress.com

2.4 Billion Extra People, No More Land: How Will We Feed The World In 2050? -- The Independent

Steve Connor reveals how scientists propose a major policy shift to tackle one of the great challenges of the 21st century.

The finite resources of the Earth will be be stretched as never before in the coming 40 years because of the unprecedented challenge of feeding the world in 2050, leading scientists have concluded in a report to be published next week.

Food production will have to increase by between 70 and 100 per cent, while the area of land given over to agriculture will remain static, or even decrease as a result of land degradation and climate change. Meanwhile the global population is expected to rise from 6.8 billion at present to about 9.2 billion by mid-century.

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My Comment: If not .... what has been happening in Tunisia and Egypt in the past two weeks will be a piper when compared to what may happen in the future when the populations involved are 50% greater.

Food Inflation Expected To Reach 50% For Some Countries This Year

The world is facing a commodities crisis that could leave millions unable to afford the rising costs of food as population levels soar

Food Prices To Rocket By 50% As Global Hunger Epidemic Causes Riots And Famines -- The Daily Mail

* 'Perfect storm' of issues will bring widespread starvation if nothing is done
* Food prices to rise by 50 per cent over the next decade
* GM crops will be needed to feed the world
* Global population to grow to 9billion by 2050

The cost of food will soar by 50 per cent over the next few decades as the world becomes racked by famine, mass migrations and riots, experts have warned.

The increase will be triggered by the exploding world population, rising cost of fuel and increased competition for water, according to a leading Government think-tank.

Spiralling food prices will push hundreds of millions of people into hunger, trigger mass migration and spark civil unrest, the report warned.

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My Comment: A perfect storm of drought, floods, and failing crops is probably going to give many countries a lot of grief this year when it comes to the price of food supplies.

Report Advocates GM Crops In Food Supply Measures

Top of the crops: Government ministers are keen to embrace GM foods,like this modified soya crop. Photo from The Daily Mail

From The Independent:

Genetically-modified crops are among measures needed to tackle problems with global food supplies that could see prices soar, leading scientists said today.

A new Government-commissioned report warned that there were major failings in the global food system that damages the environment and leaves one billion people hungry.

A further one billion suffer from "hidden hunger" in which nutrients are missing from their diet and the same number are over-consuming, while a third of all food produced is currently wasted.

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My Comment: Lacking any other means to grow more crops .... our options are very limited.

Grain of Hope: Researchers Seek A Super-Rice

From Live Science:

Food scientists are furiously racing to come up with new rice varieties and growing techniques to meet the rising demand presented by a growing population in Asia.

To discuss the challenge, rice scientists and world officials met at a symposium in New York last week, where the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Asia Society jointly released a task force report, "Never an Empty Bowl: Sustaining Food Security in Asia."

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Kelp Waits To Take Its Place In America's Stomachs

Alaria, a type of brown kelp, dries on a raft. The Maine company Ocean Approved will cut this seaweed up to sell for salads. Credit: Ocean Approved, LLC.

From Live Science:

The leaves resemble brown lasagna noodles when they wash ashore on coasts around the world. Like many other seaweeds, sugar kelp has all sorts of uses. The leaves of Saccharina latissima provide a sweetener, mannitol, as well as thickening and gelling agents that are added to food, textiles and cosmetics.

But some believe its most important potential is largely untapped: as an addition to the American diet.

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Sugar's Power Over Humans Traced

More than half of the American population is overdosing on sugar. Click here for a list of the top five things you didn't know about sugar. Hemera

From Discovery News:

Sugar may be a rich source of empty calories, but there's more to the story.

Sugar is the enemy, according to a growing body of research, and not just because it rots our teeth and adds padding to our thighs.

The real danger is fructose -- a main ingredient in table sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and fruit -- that actually gets into our cells and alters metabolism.

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Junkie Food: Tastes Your Brain Can't Resist

A delicious indulgence, or your next desperate hit? (Image: Jonphotography.com)

From New Scientist:

Is that cupcake an innocent indulgence? Or your next hit? We're finding that a sweet tooth makes you just as much an addict as snorting cocaine

SETTLED on the sofa watching the usual rubbish on TV, I notice that predictable, uncontrollable, nightly craving. At first I sit there, fighting it. But the longer I fight, the worse it gets. After 20 minutes, I can't concentrate on anything, I feel anxious, and start fidgeting like crazy. Finally, admitting my addiction, I break. I go to the freezer - to my stash of white stuff - and take a hit. Almost instantly, I relax, my brain in a state of bliss as the chemical courses through my veins. Isn't it amazing what a few scoops of ice cream can do?

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