Fruit wars

What I talk about when I talk about the war over avocados, genetically engineered beer yeast, and when doctors might ask us about our food rules.

Welcome to this month's paid newsletter. To all my free subscribers (who I adore) you’ll be able to read a small portion. Enough to glean a bit of useful information. The next free newsletter will arrive in everyone’s inbox on Friday, November 10th.

The topic today is about the conflict breaking out over the avocado crop in Mexico, which grows about 80% of the global crop. It’s also about one small towns decision not to plant the crop at all. Before I dive into the story, here are my tidbits to kick us off.

Photo by www.quotecatalog.com.

The tidbits:

1. How often do you know what yeast strains were used to create your favorite beer or wine? Um, how about never. Do you care if the strains are made using genetic engineering? GMOs are already included in our diets, yet people are still upset over this decades old battle. Despite the pros and cons about GMOs, an increasing number of companies are editing unique yeast strains to make beers taste – for example – more tropical or with less diacetyl, an off flavor sometimes found in hoppy beers. One company even figured out the gene for hazy—hazy on, hazy off.

2. Food is critical to our health. One of my oft-repeated lines is that I know more about food than my doctors, which I’d like to see change. What if in the future our doctors asked a series of questions aimed at getting at “the complex task of assessing diet related health risks” and our ‘foodlife,’ or our total relationship to food, in order to learn more about who we are? Here’s an interesting take on this idea and what those questions might be. 

3. The Farmlink Project connects farms with surplus to food banks around the country. They have an incredible ability to move massive quantities quickly, but they need help. Please consider donating to the non profit.

Where you can find me:

1. I wrote about investment into cell-cultured meat for Fast Company. I interviewed several investors in the space and it was eye-opening to hear what they think about the current landscape.

2. Coming soon in Sierra Magazine: A piece that digs into whether alternative proteins live up to their promise.

Back to this weeks paid newsletter.