FERN’s Friday Feed: Who asked for seltzer with ashwagandha?
Welcome to FERN’s Friday Feed (#FFF), where we share the stories from this week that made us stop and think.
I just want a normal drink
The Atlantic
“Part of the reason functional drinks have exploded,” writes Yasmin Tayag, “is the same reason that there are lots of protein bars and low-sugar snacks: If it sounds healthy, more people will buy it. Americans are ‘increasingly interested in health,’ [Ernest] Baskin [a food marketing specialist] said. That’s how you end up with something like Bai—a line of ‘water beverages’ infused with antioxidants and electrolytes—and prebiotic sodas that contain ingredients including live bacteria and fiber. Even Nestlé’s Nesquik, a chocolate drink I enjoyed as a child, comes in a ‘protein power’ version. The fact that these drinks can be sold at a premium has endeared them to stores, Baskin said. A single can of Celsius energy drink or Olipop prebiotic soda costs $3 at Target. Of course, as in all things wellness, whether any of these products actually does what it says to do is far from guaranteed.”
We need to talk about Trader Joe’s
Taste
“After six months of conversations with five founders of small to midsize food brands,” writes Adam Reiner, “it appears to be an open secret in the consumer packaged goods industry that Trader Joe’s outsources inspiration for new products by targeting emerging brands under the guise of recruiting them to manufacture private-label items. Private labeling is the ubiquitous (and often clandestine) practice of consumer food brands creating exclusive products for third-party retailers … According to these sources, Trader Joe’s commonly solicits product samples and even asks for potential recipe adjustments—a revealing and time-consuming exercise for bootstrapped founders—before inexplicably abandoning the negotiations and releasing its own private-label versions of similar products at lower prices.”
U.S. ag policy is underwriting an ecological catastrophe
Democracy Journal
“In 2021, a team of … scientists, led by geomorphologist Isaac Larsen, began publishing a series of papers examining the scale of soil erosion in the U.S. corn belt,” writes Tom Philpott. “It accounts for around 90 percent of U.S. corn production, and about 80 percent of soybeans … In turn, these corn belt crops suffuse the U.S. food supply, providing feed for the factory-scale livestock farms that deliver nearly all of our meat … and the bulk of the sweeteners and oils that make America’s ultra-processed diet so palatable. They also help us move around, literally … [M]ore than a third of U.S. corn output gets burned in our gas tanks in the form of ethanol … Given our reliance on the corn belt for sustenance and transportation, it would be comforting to think, as [Agriculture Secretary Tom] Vilsack suggests, that its soil is being managed in a way that ensures future bumper harvests. Robust soil health in our heartland would support Vilsack’s pitch on the global stage: We’ve cracked the code for sustainable agriculture amid climate change—so farm as we farm, and the food supply is safe. The work of Larsen and his team exposes this idea as a dangerous delusion.”
Saving a sea-monkey sanctuary
Hakai Magazine
“Someone approaching the shores of Utah’s bleached-out and odiferous Great Salt Lake for the first time might be inclined to call it dead. This is not the case. Only half of it is at death’s door. The other half could reach the threshold in the next decade. I learn all this,” writes Paul Greenberg, “soon after boarding a research vessel at a marina, 30 or so kilometers from downtown Salt Lake City … The extreme saltiness is … hard on aquatic life, which is why this isn’t exactly a ‘fishing’ trip (there haven’t been any fish in Great Salt Lake in 14 millennia). But, as they say in Jurassic Park, ‘life finds a way.’ The life that is here is worth tens of millions of dollars and represents a critical part of global food security. Just past 10 a.m., Baxter drops anchor while Aranda unfurls a 2.5-meter-long sampling net, letting it dip below the surface. Then, in a motion meant to be precisely duplicated site by site, week by week, year by year, she draws it up smoothly and extracts a pink cloud of 1-centimeter-long wriggling creatures from the very much alive waters.”
U.S. does baby formula industry’s bidding around the world
ProPublica
“The U.S. endeavor in Thailand was part of a decadeslong, global effort to protect the United States’ significant formula production and export business. ProPublica reviewed thousands of pages of emails and memos by U.S. officials, letters to foreign ministries, correspondence from industry groups and academic research. We also interviewed health experts and government leaders in nearly two dozen countries, including former U.S. officials. Together, the reporting shows the U.S. government repeatedly used its muscle to advance the interests of multinational baby formula companies, such as Mead Johnson and Abbott, while thwarting the efforts of Thailand and other developing countries to safeguard the health of their youngest children,” writes Heather Vogell. “Just last March, at a meeting in Dusseldorf, Germany, U.S. officials opposed a reference to formula advertising bans in a new international food standard for toddler milk. The move came after industry lobbying.”