The UC Food Observer chooses a handful of important stories for you to read each work day. Typically, we offer this on Fridays, but with so many important and wonderful stories out there, we’ll be providing a wrap several days a week.
Today we’re providing links to a number of pieces about food culture, as well as an important piece about H.R. 1599, the GMO labeling legislation currently wending its way through the U.S. House of Representatives. On the menu, in no particular order:
1. A stunning piece and a must-read. Community Cookbooks: Asian-American Food Selfies. Nina Ichikawa (@ninaeats). Nina was the inaugural food and agriculture editor for Hyphen magazine, and has written for Al-Jazeera America, Grist and Civil Eats. She serves as the policy director for UC’s Berkeley Food Institute. This piece is one of the stories behind the PBS feature documentary, “Off the Menu: Asian American.” The documentary is directed by Grace Lee and co-produced by CAAM and KQED.
2. A story, some pictures and recipes to beat the heat. Tea sommeliers are the new thing in food pairing. Ina Yang (@CaptainIna0238) reports for NPR’s The Salt. Interesting piece. New York Times food correspondent Kim Severson (@kimseverson) is on a road trip to Alabama. Stay posted on her food discoveries via her Instagram posts. Russ Parsons (@Russ_Parsons1) whips up some no-cook pasta sauces to help you eat well and beat the heat; find the recipes in the Los Angeles Times.
3. Why everyone should stop calling immigrant food “ethnic.” Lavanya Ramanathan (@lalamasala) pens a thought-provoking piece for the Washington Post.
4. ICYMI, Anna Roth (@annaroth) writes for Civil Eats about H.R.1599, a controversial bill focusing on GMO labeling.The official title of the bill is “The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015.” But may opponents have nicknamed it the “Deny Americans the Right to Know (DARK) Act.” To stay abreast of breaking news about this bill as it moves through the House, head to Twitter.
5. Breadfruit may be on the verge of overcoming its past and making a comeback. Could what some term a “superfood” help alleviate food insecurity in the Pacific Islands? Kelsey Nowakowski (@kelseynowa) writes for National Geographic’s The Plate.
Have a great day.