Using a sort of high-tech “X-ray” called spectral imaging, Eshet Eilon’s machines report on nutrition information, ripeness, quality, and even when – or whether – a piece of fruit will get ripe.

◼ How much fat in that avocado? Israeli machine knows for sure - Times Of Israel

“Our sorting machines check everything there is to know about fruit — how much sugar, protein, or carbohydrates are in fruit, how ripe it is, whether there are any diseases or fungi, and other information that until now exporters could only guess at,” said Tamir. “Ours is the first fast sorting machine that can check every single piece of fruit that goes into a shipment, ensuring that buyers know what they are getting, and that the fruit shipments don’t get sent back because they aren’t up to standards.”

Venezuelans wanting to buy food are marked with a number based on their birthdate and assigned a place in line.

Venezuelans wanting to buy food are marked with a number based on their birthdate and assigned a place in line. pic.twitter.com/xB0KcG9EOp

— The Lie Of Brian (@DefendWallSt) February 6, 2015

Should Michelle’s Healthy Food Standards Be Applied to Food Stamps?

◼ Dan Joseph asks supporters of Michelle Obama’s healthy food standards if those same standards should be applied to the kinds of food items that may be purchased with food stamps. Suddenly, these democrats have to change their tune. - Conservative videos

◼ STUPEFYING HYPOCRISY OF LIBERALS - Patriot Update

Yuck: 83% of nation's schools report more lunches dumped by kids

◼ As school children continue to protest Michelle Obama’s push for healthier lunches by dumping their full trays into garbage bins, the nation’s school boards are joining in to demand that the Obama administration let them off the hook of serving the costly and tasteless meals. - Paul Bedard/Washington Examiner

Great. The Obama Administration wants you to stop eating chocolate in your S'mores. Seriously.

◼ Is nothing sacred? Forest Service says drop chocolate, add fruit to your s'mores - Todd Starnes/FOX

Instead, they want you to eat fruit.

The U.S. Forest Service wants Americans to make healthier S’mores by replacing the chocolate with fruit, according to a blog post meant to commemorate National Roasted Marshmallow Day (apparently there is such a thing, it was observed on August 30 this year).

“There are some innovative ways to roast the little white treats that can help cut down on the amount of sugar intake by the kids, thus making bedtime a little more doable,” the USFS wrote last week in a blog titled, “How Does Your Marshmallow Roast?”

“Think fruit,” they said. The Forest Service suggested either banana chunks or grilled pineapple — as if a piece of fruit is a suitable replacement for milk chocolate.

“You will still get a tasty treat but by substituting with fruit, it is healthier – as long as you watch the amount of marshmallows used,” the USFS wrote. “If you want to cut down even more on calories, try using slices of angel food cake instead of graham crackers.”

Angel food cake? It’s culinary heresy, I tell you.



◼ US Forest Service Asks: How Does Your Marshmallow Roast? - Posted by Kathryn Sosbe, Office of Communication, U.S. Forest Service/USDA Blog
◼ U.S. Forest Service Issues Recommendations For Making Smores - Politico
◼ GOP Leader McCarthy to Forest Service: Don’t tell me how to make a s’more - Colby Itkowitz/Washington Post

“This perfectly captures what is wrong with our government. Hard-earned tax dollars supporting bureaucrats who can’t pass up an opportunity to tell us how to live our lives,” McCarthy continues. “For the things that government is supposed to do – like confront terrorist groups – we don’t have a strategy, but for things Americans are supposed to be able to do for themselves – like figuring out the best ingredients for s’mores – government bureaucrats have that figured out.”

New York City’s Soda Ban Struck Down

◼ New York City’s “soda ban,” which prohibited merchants from selling most sugary drinks that were more than sixteen ounces, has met its end. The state’s highest court ruled the ban was illegal today, overturning an attempt to reinstate the law. - Daily Signal

Former mayor Michael Bloomberg tried to restore the controversial ban after lower courts struck it down as an overreach, but the New York Court of Appeals denied the effort.

“We hold that the New York City Board of Health, in adopting the “Sugary Drinks Portion Cap Rule”, exceeded the scope of its regulatory authority,” Judge Eugene Pigott Jr. wrote in the decision.

The judge claimed that the board of health “engaged in law-making and thus infringed upon the legislative jurisdiction” of New York’s City Council in its attempted ban.

“This was a bad day for the food police and a good day for individual freedom,” said Daren Bakst, The Heritage Foundation’s Research Fellow in Agricultural Policy.

Gasoline at U.S. Pumps Set to Hit Six-Year Seasonal High

◼ Gasoline in the U.S. climbed this week, boosted by a surge in oil, and is expected to reach the highest level for this time of year since 2008. - Bloomberg

The pump price averaged $3.686 a gallon yesterday ◼ ($4.04 - $4.39 locally)

And when fuel goes up, everything goes up. ◼ Consumer prices rise sharply in May - USA Today

◼ PRICE OF MEAT, CHICKEN, FISH SOARS TO ALL-TIME HIGH - CNS

Meanwhile:
◼ 47% of Unemployed Have 'Completely Given Up' Looking for a Job - National Review
◼ 180K More Women Unemployed in March - CNS
◼ Illegal Alien Population Exceeds Unemployed - CNS

Students Fed Up With Michelle Obama’s School Lunch Overhaul — Menu-Item Snapshots Spell Out Why

◼ link - Dave Urbanski/The Blaze

First, about one million public school students said “no way” to their cafeteria menus after Michelle Obama’s anti-obesity campaign led to anger and frustration over food that apparently many American kids didn’t want to stomach.

◼ Meanwiches and stinkburgers: Ticked-off kids blame Michelle Obama for pitiful school lunches [pics] - Twitchy

You call this a fucking "lunch"? @BarackObama @MichelleObama pic.twitter.com/jsKW70A1xw

— Tanner (@T_Wilss) March 31, 2014

@MichelleObama so this is the "healthy school lunch"... pic.twitter.com/qgxL5ez9zh

— Tyler Clements (@TylerClements6) April 3, 2014

@MichelleObama my school lunch while eating with my daughter. Only other choice was a scoop of salad. This is sad! pic.twitter.com/5iPvg2nsAa

— Megan Howell (@Howelady) March 14, 2014

USDA to Grandparents: Read Government Bedtime Stories to Encourage Healthy Eating

◼ The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is giving advice to grandparents on how they can get their grandkids to eat healthier, including instructions to give them “hugs” instead of treats, and read government bedtime stories. - Washington Free Beacon

...“Show your grandchild games, activity sheets, and other fun ways to learn about good nutrition at My Plate Kids’ Place,” the USDA said. “For a bedtime story, read The Two Bite Club.”

“The Two Bite Club,” which is available in English and Spanish, is a USDA “educational storybook” about a family of cats that uses government charts to determine its food intake. The story encourages children to try two bites of foods in the USDA’s “My Plate” food diagram. After trying broccoli, yellow apples, low-fat yogurt, and “hard-cooked” eggs, the children in the story get certificates of participation.

“I am so proud of myself. I tried some new foods and I learned about My Plate,” a cat says at the end of the story....

Michelle Obama: America's Moms Are 'Confused and Bewildered,' 'Defeated' by Grocery Shopping

◼ In pitching new, improved nutrition labels at the White House on Thursday, first lady Michelle Obama tried to identify with women who do the grocery shopping for their families. - CNS News

"So there you stood, alone in some aisle in a store, the clock ticking away at the precious little time remaining to complete your weekly grocery shopping, and all you could do was scratch your head, confused and bewildered, and wonder, is there too much sugar in this product? Is 50 percent of the daily allowance of riboflavin a good thing or a bad thing? And how on Earth could this teeny little package contain five whole servings?"

Turns out that Jan 20th is National Cheese Lover's Day

◼ Via Cypress Grove Chevre