Food

Love brunch but looking for a vegan option? Look no further than banana peel bacon! Not only is it delicious, but banana peels are packed with essential nutrients and also help reduce food waste. To make it, look for ripe bananas with lots of brown spots and marinate the peels in coconut aminos, olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, maple syrup, and salt. The result is a crispy side dish with a slightly sweet banana taste that pairs perfectly with tofu scrambles and sweet potato hashes. So the next time you’re brunching, don’t forget the banana peel bacon! Read full article here

Gentrification is often seen as a process of “whitewashing”, but in reality it is a complex meaning-making process. It is driven by a desire for an “authentic” identity amongst gentrifiers, but this false authenticity can be damaging to minority communities. The concept of “omnivorousness” highlights how this authenticity is often on the terms of the gentrifier, and can lead to the exclusion of minority cultures. Thus, it is important to understand the ideological aspects of gentrification to deconstruct the conflict between the white and Black spatial imaginaries. Read full article here

A new study has demonstrated how high-fat diets can cause dramatic changes in the bone marrow of mice, driving the production of inflammatory immune cells. These changes in the bone marrow, which can occur within three weeks, are thought to be the precursor to the inflammatory monocytes that invade fat tissue in obesity, and could provide insight into how obesity is linked to insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and other complications. Read full article here

Did you know that plantains contain more starches than any other type of carbohydrate? A 1-cup serving of sliced cooked plantains holds 48 grams of carbohydrates, mostly from starches, sugars and fiber. With 22.9 grams of starches, 21.6 grams of sugars and 3.5 grams of fiber, plantains are a great source of fiber, potassium and vitamins A and C. Not withstanding that, Plantain can provide a number of health benefits and reduce the risk of certain diseases. Read full article here

The food biotech industry is soaring, with a market size of over $23 billion USD and predicted to almost double by 2025. With increasing food demand and environmental pressures, genetic engineering and cellular agriculture are emerging as promising solutions to create robust and climate-resilient crops, and reduce animal-based food production. However, regulation and public acceptance of such technologies varies greatly across countries, with the EU having stricter measures in place than the US. It’s time for public and policymakers to come together to agree on a coordinated approach to use technology to solve global challenges. Read full article here

Public institutions such as prisons, schools, and hospitals could be the driving force of a global shift towards veganism, according to a team of researchers. Their report proposes that if 20% of global meat sales were replaced with plant-based alternatives, an impressive 8 million square kilometres of land currently used for livestock farming could be repurposed for climate-positive projects. By introducing mandates for public institutions to serve more vegan options, the alternative protein sector would be able to scale up and reduce its costs, allowing the public to adopt the trend. Read full article here

Move aside Dom Perignon, the real inventor of champagne was an English knight. Every time you crack open a bottle of champagne, you can thank Sir Kenelm Digby. He was a real 17th-century Renaissance Man with diverse intellectual interests, including wine and bottle-making. Not only did he pioneer the classical method for making champagne, but he also invented the iconic champagne bottle shape. Read full article here

Can’t take the heat from your Sriracha sauce? Sriracha is refreshing compared to what Kelly Joel Myers ate at the World’s Hottest Pepper Eating Contest. The contest features 10 rounds of increasingly spicier chilli peppers. However, after those 10 rounds, there was a tie, and they needed three tiebreakers to end the heat-fueled battle. The last tiebreaker featured the infamous Carolina Reaper and the Dragon’s Breath pepper, which have 1.64 million Scoville heat units (SVU) and 2.28 million SVU, respectively. For comparison, the cayenne pepper has 40,000 SVU. Read full article here