White Bread Is a Loser, Lay’s Localwashes, Bittman’s Plastic Shard Soup Conundrum

Published on Thursday, August 5, 2010, by Lessley Anderson and Roxanne Webber / Edit Post

Wheat Bread Finally Wins: According to Nielsen Co., wheat bread dollar sales were higher than white bread sales for the first time ever. Wonder Bread sales are down 5 percent; Sara Lee 10 percent. Just in time for the collapse of global wheat production. via Chicago Tribune and the New York Times

Homemade Products Go Legit: The governor of Michigan signed legislation that allows people to sell food made in their home kitchens commercially as long as it doesn't need temperature control for food safety. Will other states follow suit and begin to legitimize the growing horde of underground food producers? via Epicurious

USDA Says They Might Do Something: After a series of town hall–style meetings where it heard farmers' grievances, the USDA has announced some potential new rules aimed at weakening the despotic hold of Big Ag. Shockingly, there was a massive backlash from Big Ag. via Civil Eats

Michele Obama to Congress: Get Off Your Ass: In a Washington Post Op-Ed, Michele Obama rallied Congress to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Bill. The bill, set to expire in September, would improve the nutrition of school lunch and breakfast programs but would require millions of dollars Congress has yet to secure. via Washington Post

A Good Read: Does your apocalypse pantry include candwiches, sushi push-ups, and the infamous cheeseburger in a can? Time to get shopping. Francis Lam lays out the nastiest prepackaged survival foods in a funny slideshow for Salon.com.

Thread of the Week: Mark Bittman asks readers whether he should out the restaurant that served him corn soup with plastic shards in it "as a person whose name carries a little influence in this industry." The resulting debate raises interesting questions about the relationship between Internet reviews and restaurants.

Deaths, Firings, Recalls, and Other Endings:

  • Michael Batterberry, founder of Food & Wine and Food Arts magazines, died at 78.
  • Corn and peppers bound for Chipotle restaurants in California, Nevada, and Arizona were recalled from a processing plant in Washington for possible listeria contamination.

    • Debuts, Openings, and Other Beginnings:

  • Taco Bell launched "street food inspired" soft tacos that come in "beef carne asada" and "pork carnitas." How about a side of redundancy sauce?
  • Lay's potato chips rolls out a new campaign, where it is wheeling a mobile greenhouse around the country full of real potato plants and actual farmers the public can "interact" with. "Localwashing," sneers Grist.com, to our amusement.
    • ALLCrib Sheet
    POST A COMMENT |4 Comments

    COMMENT

    • A bacon sandwich is only a bacon sandwich when 'Wonder Bread' or the like is used.

      In England anyway.

    • When I was a teen I worked for a local organic bakery, and learned to sneer at white bread. It was years before I learned for some things it's actually preferable -- you want the muted taste of white bread so that you can better taste the ingredients of your fillings. Soft crab sandwiches are a good example, and the heirloom tomato and artisan bacon sandwiches that I live off of during tomato...+READ

      When I was a teen I worked for a local organic bakery, and learned to sneer at white bread. It was years before I learned for some things it's actually preferable -- you want the muted taste of white bread so that you can better taste the ingredients of your fillings. Soft crab sandwiches are a good example, and the heirloom tomato and artisan bacon sandwiches that I live off of during tomato season.

      There is a place for Wonder bread. I never thought Id hear myself saying that, but there you go.-COLLAPSE

    • Ha, Freudian slip indeed! It has been corrected. Thanks, Caitlin!

    • "Wonder Bread sales are down 5 percent; Sandra Lee 10 percent." Freudian slip? Methinks that should be Sara Lee, not Sandra Lee.