BARBS

We Americans are apparently going to snack our way out of the recession.

According to the latest research from marketing firm Packaged Facts, U.S. sales of packaged snacks will reach $81.6 billion by 2013 (up from $68 billion in 2008). And, Packaged Facts predicts, “salty/savory snacks should continue to eat away at the lead enjoyed by sweet snacks in sales.”

Why are we snacking with such gusto? Here’s their take:

Despite the dampening effects of global recession, consumers are snacking more than ever, thanks to pull-backs in restaurant dining, harried lifestyles that reduce opportunities for sit-down meals, and a growing consensus that several small meals or snacks during the day are actually healthier than the three-squares paradigm.

I’m not sure “salty/savory snacks” are what nutritionists mean when they suggest several small meals during the day instead of three squares.

In addition, as the sluggish economy fans job-loss fears, health insurance woes, and environmental and social justice anxieties, snack consumers are embracing a “value” mentality that prizes quality and “whole” ingredients, “better for you” recipes, and green production practices. While low prices are always a draw, consumers are looking for snacks with fewer additives or preservatives, and even spending extra dollars for organic and premium snack treats that can boost their flagging spirits over the long climb back to prosperity.

So, the tranquilizer for worries about unemployment, global warming and whatever “social justice anxieties” are, is expensive treats.

Fat is the new broke.

It isn’t often that I find myself in agreement with the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page. But today (actually,I’m talking about yesterday’s paper but I’m only getting to it today), I do.

In an editorial titled, “The Fat of the Land,” the Journal takes the government to task for its role in stoking America’s obesity epidemic, an epidemic that has become an increasingly large part of the nation’s health care spending — which the Obama administration is trying to tamp down.

The editors point out:

• 72 million Americans — that’s one out of every three — are obese.
• Obesity is associated with diabetes, heart disease, some cancers and other chronic illnesses.
• In this week’s “Weight of the Nation” report, the Centers for Disease Control estimates that obesity now accounts for 9.1% of all medical spending — $147 billion in 2008.
• The CDC also estimates that the annual per capita increase in Medicare spending attributable to obesity is 36%; for Medicaid, it’s 47%.

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I’ve been finding lots of good stuff out there as I spin around the Googles.

On why it’s premature to give up on journalism education: here’s a Q&A with CUNY’s J-School Dean Steve Shepard, who’s really talking the “new media” talk these days. Then there’s this good analysis from my former college classmate Will Bunch, who now runs the Attytood blog, in an OJR piece entitled “Don’t Dismiss Journalism Schools Just Because Newspapers Are In Trouble”:

“You can look at it two ways,” Bunch says. “The core values of journalism aren’t really changing. You have to understand what makes a good story, how to report it, and how to report fairly and with integrity. It was the exact same with Joseph Pulitzer’s newspaper 150 years ago or with newfangled websites. That hasn’t changed.”

“What is radically different are important secondary things that schools have to account for. Journalists today need to understand that news is now a two way conversation between you and the audience. Don’t talk down to the audience. Audience members are active participants—they comment on stories, participate as sources, and provide information and tips. Schools can maintain their core values and work on that.”

“Schools also need to teach that journalists need to think as entrepreneurs. You don’t just write a story; you have to find an audience for it. That’s been ignored by many journalists, and it’s critical today.”

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I learned today that Domino’s Pizza — the chain where just days ago two employees were arrested for making that gross video showing them putting cheese up their nose — is rolling out a new product designed to “enhance the brand.” Are you ready? It’s bread bowls filled with pasta.

These carb bombs come in five varieties: Mac-N-Cheese, Italian Sausage Marinara, Chicken Alfredo, Chicken Carbonara, and Pasta Primavera.

The idea, apparently, is to help override “the pizza veto” [subscription may be required] — that’s what it’s called when one person who doesn’t want pizza nixes the idea for an entire group. Does Domino’s really think that somebody who vetoes pizza will order a big puffy ball of dough that’s been scooped out and filled with pasta?

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There’s a ragged-edge snippet of paper that’s been sitting on my desk for the past several weeks. It says, “All things good are simple.” I only know that I wrote it down after seeing it someplace, and I have been keeping it in plain view because it really does sum up how I feel about just about everything in life: all things good are simple; most things not-so-good are also the wrong kind of difficult.

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Still just messing around (aka practicing) with shooting and editing. Here’s today’s haul from my various food stores:

A poignant post on food addiction and compulsive eating, and lots of worthwhile comments, over at PastaQueen’s blog today.

Today was Egg Day at my “Techniques of Fine Cooking I” class at the Institute of Culinary Education.

Have so many eggs ever before been consumed by so few in such a short period of time? In just about half a day, Chef Jane helped us make — and, of course, eat — poached eggs, scrambled eggs, omelettes (both French- and American-style), hard-boiled eggs (in a salade Nicoise with fresh tuna prepared three different ways), eggs benedict, and deliciously sweet egg-y souffles (banana, orange, and chocolate).

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There’s a really powerful audio slide show on the New York Times website today. It’s called “Patient Voices: Eating Disorders,” and it features the voices and photographs of eight people — women and men — struggling with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, and other disordered behaviors around food.

This is a high-interest topic for me, so I’m not surprised that I found this feature especially moving, but I also recommend it as an effective example of the use of new media tools to tell human stories.

While out here on the West Coast, I was reminded today of a restaurant in Brooklyn Heights, Henry’s End,  where I once had a meal good enough, well, to be remembered on the other side of the country. But imagine my surprise when I looked it up on Menupages.com, and learned the restaurant is now having a Wild Game Festival.

Here are some of the, um, delicacies on the dinner menu:

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