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4 ways to cut down on meat when dining out – and still make healthy choices

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> .<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/laura-marchese-1271636">Laura Marchese</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/katherine-livingstone-324808">Katherine Livingstone</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a> Many of us are looking for ways to eat a healthier and more <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-sustainable-is-your-weekly-grocery-shop-these-small-changes-can-have-big-benefits-234367">sustainable diet</a>. And one way to do this is by reducing the amount of meat we eat. That doesn’t mean you need to become a <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-you-should-eat-a-plant-based-diet-but-that-doesnt-mean-being-a-vegetarian-78470">vegan or vegetarian</a>. Our <a href="https://jn.nutrition.org/article/S0022-3166(24)00333-X/fulltext">recent research</a> shows even small changes to cut down on meat consumption could help improve health and wellbeing. But not all plant-based options are created equal and some are <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30744710/">ultra-processed</a>. Navigating what’s available when eating out – including options like tofu and fake meats – can be a challenge. So what are your best options at a cafe or restaurant? Here are some guiding principles to keep in mind when cutting down on meat. <h2>Health benefits to cutting down</h2> Small amounts of lean meat can be part of a healthy, balanced diet. But the majority of Australians <a href="https://cancer.org.au/about-us/policy-and-advocacy/prevention/obesity/related-resources/meat-and-cancer#consumption">still eat more meat</a> than recommended. Only a small percentage of Australians (10%) are vegetarian or vegan. But an <a href="https://www.foodfrontier.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Food-Frontier-Hungry-For-Plant-Based-Australian-Consumer-Insights.pdf">increasing</a> number opt for a <a href="https://theconversation.com/love-meat-too-much-to-be-vegetarian-go-flexitarian-73741">flexitarian</a> diet. <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-difference-between-vegan-and-vegetarian-225275">Flexitarians</a> eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, while still enjoying small amounts of meat, dairy, eggs and fish. Our <a href="https://jn.nutrition.org/article/S0022-3166(24)00333-X/fulltext">recent research</a> looked at whether the average Australian diet would improve if we swapped meat and dairy for plant-based alternatives, and the results were promising. The study found health benefits when people halved the amount of meat and dairy they ate and replaced them with healthy plant-based foods, like tofu or <a href="https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/blog/why-you-need-legumes-in-your-life">legumes</a>. On average, their dietary fibre intake – which helps with feeling fuller for longer and digestive health – went up. Saturated fats – which increase our blood cholesterol levels, a risk factor for heart disease – went down. Including more fibre and less saturated fat helps reduce the risk of <a href="https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/healthy-living/healthy-eating/healthy-eating-to-protect-your-heart">heart disease</a>. Achieving these health benefits may be as simple as swapping ham for baked beans in a toastie for lunch, or substituting half of the mince in your bolognese for lentils at dinner. <h2>How it’s made matters</h2> For a long time we’ve known processed meats – such as ham, bacon and sausages – are bad for your health. Eating high amounts of these foods is associated with poor <a href="https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/healthy-living/healthy-eating/protein-and-heart-health">heart health</a> and some forms of <a href="https://cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/diet-and-exercise/meat-and-cancer-risk">cancer</a>. But the same can be true of many processed meat alternatives. Plant-based alternatives designed to mimic meat, such as sausages and burgers, have become readily available in supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. These products are ultra-processed and can be <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-looked-at-700-plant-based-foods-to-see-how-healthy-they-really-are-heres-what-we-found-222991">high in salt and saturated fat</a>. Our study found when people replaced meat and dairy with ultra-processed meat alternatives – such as plant-based burgers or sausages – they ate more salt and less calcium, compared to eating meat or healthy plant-based options. So if you’re cutting down on meat for health reasons, it’s important to think about what you’re replacing it with. The <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-09/n55g_adult_brochure.pdf">Australian Dietary Guidelines</a> recommend eggs, legumes/beans, tofu, nuts and seeds. Tofu can be a great option. But we recommend flavouring plain tofu with herbs and spices yourself, as pre-marinated products are often ultra-processed and can be high in salt. <h2>What about when dining out?</h2> When you’re making your own food, it’s easier to adapt recipes or reduce the amount of meat. But when faced with a menu, it can be difficult to work out what is the best option. Here are our four ways to make healthy choices when you eat out: 1. Fill half your plate with vegetables When cutting down on meat, aim for half your plate to be vegetables. Try to also eat <a href="https://theconversation.com/were-told-to-eat-a-rainbow-of-fruit-and-vegetables-heres-what-each-colour-does-in-our-body-191337">a variety of colours</a>, such as leafy green spinach, red capsicum and pumpkin. When you’re out, this might look like choosing a vegetable-based entree, a stir-fry or ordering a side salad to have with your meal. 2. Avoid the deep fryer The Australian Dietary Guidelines <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/the_guidelines/n55a_australian_dietary_guidelines_summary_130530.pdf">recommend limiting</a> deep fried foods to once a week or less. When dining out, choose plant-based options that are sautéed, grilled, baked, steamed, boiled or poached – instead of those that are crumbed or battered before deep frying. This could mean choosing vegetarian dumplings that are steamed not fried, or poached eggs at brunch instead of fried. Ordering a side of roast vegetables instead of hot chips is also a great option. 3. Pick wholegrains Scan the menu for wholegrain options such as brown rice, wholemeal pizza or pasta, barley, quinoa or wholemeal burger buns. Not only are they good sources of protein, but they also provide more <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/five-food-groups/grain-cereal-foods-mostly-wholegrain-and-or-high-cereal-fibre">dietary fibre</a> than refined grains, which help keep you fuller for longer. 4. If you do pick meat – choose less processed kinds You may not always want, or be able, to make a vegetarian choice when eating out and with other people. If you do opt for meat, it’s better to steer clear of processed options like bacon or sausages. If sharing dishes with other people, you could try adding unprocessed plant-based options into the mix. For example, a curry with lentils or chickpeas, or a vegetable-based pizza instead of one with ham or salami. If that’s not an option, try choose meat that’s a lean cut, such as chicken breast, or options which are grilled rather than fried.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/236505/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/laura-marchese-1271636">Laura Marchese</a>, PhD candidate at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/katherine-livingstone-324808">Katherine Livingstone</a>, NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/4-ways-to-cut-down-on-meat-when-dining-out-and-still-make-healthy-choices-236505">original article</a>. </div>

Food & Wine

Eight key questions about lab-grown meat

<div class="copy"> It’s been around for a decade now — but <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/podcast/lab-grown-meat/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cultured meat</a> still faces some huge hurdles. On 5 August, it will be ten years since the world was introduced to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-23576143" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the first lab-grown burger</a>. A decade after its arrival, biotechnologist Professor Paul Wood answers eight key questions about cultured meat. <h2>What is lab-grown meat?</h2> Cultured meat, also colloquially referred to as lab-grown meat, is <a href="https://academic.oup.com/af/article/13/2/68/7123477" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the concept</a> of taking a biopsy from a living animal, selecting an individual cell type and growing these cells in large scale <a href="https://journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/ajpcell.00408.2022" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bioreactors</a>. Technically, it’s a viable alternative to growing an animal to maturity before harvesting meat from its carcass. Multiple cell types can be used from animals, such as muscle, fat or <a href="https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Fibroblast" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fibroblasts</a>. The initial stage of cell selection requires the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123745538002537" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">creation of a cell line</a> which will grow continuously in a selective culture medium. <h2>How long has it been around?</h2> The technology for the culture of cells in laboratories has been used for many decades to produce drugs like <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types/immunotherapy/monoclonal-antibodies" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">monoclonal antibodies</a> or <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7161866/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">viral vaccines</a>. The difference with cultured meat is the cells themselves are used to produce edible products rather than used as production systems for monoclonals or viral antigens. Cultured meat was first introduced back in 2013 with <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-23576143" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the unveiling of the world’s first lab-grown burger</a>, which cost a whopping USD$330,000 to produce. The first commercial cultured meat product was <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-55155741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a chicken nugget licensed in Singapore</a> in 2020. <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lab-grown-meat-approved-for-sale-what-you-need-to-know/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">In June 2023</a>, the US Department of Agriculture granted two companies — Upside Foods and Good Meat — licences to sell chicken-based products. Significant excitement ensued in the food industry with <a href="https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ind.2021.29240.ctu?journalCode=ind" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">predictions</a> that cultured meat will transform the meat industry by 2030. <h2>Is lab-grown meat commercially viable?</h2> Currently <a href="https://gfi.org/resource/cultivated-meat-eggs-and-dairy-state-of-the-industry-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">around USD$3 billion</a> has been invested in over 150 companies working on beef, chicken, pork, lamb and exotic cell-based products. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2023/03/woolly-mammoth-meatball-stunt-food-marketing/673578/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Woolly mammoth meatball</a> anyone? Upside Foods has launched its <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/01/business/lab-grown-chicken-san-francisco/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new cell-based chicken product in a Michelin star restaurant</a>, but it is only available one night a month and the price has not been disclosed. Commercial success will require significant scaling in production, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/bit.27848" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cost reductions</a> and consumer acceptance, or these products will be confined to niche markets for wealthy consumers. Cultured meat is unlikely to be the solution for the <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/6/7/53" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">increasing protein needs of developing nations</a>. The <a href="https://academic.oup.com/af/article/13/2/68/7123477" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">technical challenges</a> involve scaling up cell growth in over 10,000 litre fermentation vessels, while significantly reducing the cost of cell-culture media, the capital cost of equipment and the operating cost of high-quality sterile biocontainment facilities. It has been estimated that the cost of production of cultured meat <a href="https://cedelft.eu/publications/tea-of-cultivated-meat/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">must be reduced by over 1,000-fold</a> to match that of conventional meat production. Proponents of cultured meat like to quote the concept of <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/moores-law" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Moore’s law</a> that predicts that the cost of all new technology will be significantly reduced with time. However this law has never been applied to a biological system that has innate growth limits. <h2>Is it good for you — and does it taste okay?</h2> Currently <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-20061-y" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">all cultured meats are hybrid or blended products</a>, in which the harvested cell paste — the meat component — is combined with plant-based materials, plus vitamins and minerals to produce burgers, meatballs, sausages and dumplings. Yes, you have to add the vitamins in, and no, you can’t make a steak with it yet. From a commercial perspective this is important, as cultured meat products will compete in the commodity meat market. Cultured meat does not produce a three-dimensional steak with multiple cell types and complex taste and texture. However, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lanabandoim/2021/02/12/worlds-first-3d-bioprinted-and-cultivated-ribeye-steak-is-revealed/?sh=4b6baf0a4781" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">there are companies</a> aiming to develop whole cuts of meat using 3D printing and bioengineering technology. <h2>What is the motivation to produce cell-cultured meat?</h2> The drivers for cultured meat are that <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2018-05-06/vegan-alternative-plant-based-meat-grown-in-lab/9726436" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">animals are not slaughtered</a>, there can be less land and water usage and less greenhouse gases are produced than conventional meat production, particularly from ruminants like cattle and sheep. A lower manufacturing footprint is a terrific plus. And not killing animals is something a lot of people advocate for, but until cultured meat has been scaled significantly, it won’t be known if it’s really better for the planet or for humans. The <a href="https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2022/04/21/cultivated-meat-upside-foods-closes-400m-series-c-round-to-support-commercial-scale-plant-with-production-capacity-of-tens-of-millions-of-pounds" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">largest facility built so far</a> is a pilot plant in the USA that aims to produce around 1,000 pounds (approximately 450 kilograms) of product per week, which is equivalent to the dressed weight of three carcasses — what a single suburban butcher processes in one day. <h2>Will it be expensive to buy?</h2> The taste and texture of food is critical to consumers — but so is value for money. So, it’s not surprising <a href="https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/mapped-meat-consumption-by-country-and-type/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">chicken is the dominant choice of meat</a> currently. With high-end lab-grown meat products, both taste and texture can most likely be matched, and with supplementation with vitamins like B12 it should be possible to make cultured meat nutritionally equivalent to its traditional counterpart too. However, cost will be a major challenge and sales data indicated that <a href="https://www.freshplaza.com/oceania/article/9535792/consumers-are-not-willing-to-pay-more-for-sustainability/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">consumers will not pay any significant premium for slaughter-free or more sustainable products</a>. <h2>Who wants to eat meat grown in a factory?</h2> There are also questions around who the consumers will be for cultured meat. Vegans avoid animal products, vegetarians often reject the taste of meat and this new group of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924224421003952" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">flexitarians</a>, while interested in trying new products, are seldom converted to <a href="https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/11/16/What-do-flexitarian-consumers-want-Plant-based-innovation-opportunities-revealed" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">regular customers</a>. In the US at least, this is one of the reasons that the many plant-based meat products have only captured <a href="https://gfi.org/marketresearch/#plant-based-meat" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">1.3 percent of the meat market</a>. It is also likely that plant-based products will be a <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/agriculture/our-insights/alternative-proteins-the-race-for-market-share-is-on" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">major competitor</a> to these new cultured meat products. <h2>Who will be next to approve cell-cultured meat?</h2> While the first cultured meat products have been licensed in Singapore and the US, it is expected more will follow from other regions. Even though <a href="https://www.fao.org/food-safety/scientific-advice/crosscutting-and-emerging-issues/cell-based-food/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a recent FAO report</a> identified over 50 potential health risks with cultured meat, it concluded that the overall risk was not greater than that seen with conventional meat products. There could be delays in Europe due to the conservative regulatory approach taken in the EU. In Australia, products are <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2023-06-27/cultured-lab-meat-to-sell-in-australia-to-rival-plant-based-meat/102527330" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">expected to be approved in 2024</a>. For now though? Well, the message to Aussie meat producers is … don’t sell the farm. Image credits: Getty Images </div> <div id="contributors"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/nutrition/explainer-lab-grown-meat/">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="null">Cosmos</a>. </div>

Food & Wine

Is red meat bad for you? And does it make a difference if it’s a processed burger or a lean steak?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/katherine-livingstone-324808">Katherine Livingstone</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a> A juicy burger is a staple in many Australians’ diet. Yet research shows regularly eating red meat can increase your risk of developing <a href="https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eurheartj/ehad336/7188739?searchresult=1">type 2 diabetes, heart disease</a> and <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(15)00444-1/fulltext">certain cancers</a>. But is eating a beef burger worse for your health than eating a lean grass-fed steak? And how much red meat should we really be eating? <h2>Types of red meat</h2> First of all, it’s good to clarify that <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240074828">red meat</a> refers to all mammalian muscle meat. So that includes beef, lamb, pork, veal, mutton and goat. Then we can distinguish red meat types by how the animal has been raised and how the meat is processed. Here are some key terms to know. Conventional meat, also called grain-fed, is meat from animals that are grass-fed for part of their lives and then given a grain-based diet for the remainder. Most red meat available in major supermarkets is grain-fed. Grass-fed meat comes from animals that have grazed on pasture for their entire lives. This means grass-fed meat tends to have higher levels of unsaturated fats than conventional meat, and is why some <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/11/5/646">research</a> suggests it’s healthier. Grass-fed meat is also likely to cost more. Organic meat is seen as a premium product as it has to meet <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/export/controlled-goods/organic-bio-dynamic/national-standard">government standards</a> for organic produce. For example, meat labelled as organic cannot use synthetic pesticides or use hormones or antibiotics to stimulate growth. Processed meats have been preserved by smoking, curing or salting, or by adding chemical preservatives. Examples include sausages, ham, bacon and hot dogs. <h2>What is the nutritional value of red meat?</h2> <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/five-food-groups/lean-meat-and-poultry-fish-eggs-tofu-nuts-and-seeds-and">Red meat</a> contains many nutrients that are important for health, including protein, vitamin B12, iron and zinc. Red meat is a good source of iron and zinc as they are more easily absorbed by the body from meat than from plant foods. Red meat is often high in saturated fats, but this can <a href="https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/science/monitoringnutrients/ausnut/ausnutdatafiles/Pages/foodnutrient.aspx">range widely</a> from less than 1% to over 25% depending on the cut and whether it’s trimmed of fat or not. Minced meat typically ranges from 2% to 9% saturated fat depending on whether its extra lean or regular. To limit intake of saturated fats, opt for leaner mince and leaner cuts of meat, such as pork tenderloins or beef steak with the fat trimmed off. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5243954/">Wagyu beef</a> (which simply translates to Wa = Japanese and Gyu = cow) has been touted as a healthier alternative to conventional red meat, as it tends to be higher in unsaturated fats. But research is limited, and ultimately it still contains saturated fat. Processed meats, such as bacon, salami and sausages, contain beneficial nutrients, but they are also high in saturated fat, sodium and contain preservatives. <h2>Is red meat bad for your health? And does the type matter?</h2> It’s widely reported eating too much red meat is bad for your health, because it can increase your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. But most of the evidence for this comes from observational studies, which cannot determine whether red meat intake actually causes the condition. Most evidence is observational because it’s simply not ethical or feasible to ask someone to eat large amounts of meat every day for many years to see if they develop cancer. So let’s take a look at the evidence: Heart disease and type 2 diabetes In a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01968-z">review</a> of 37 observational studies, the authors found weak evidence of an association between eating unprocessed red meat and heart disease and type 2 diabetes. But for processed meat, a recent <a href="https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/article/44/28/2626/7188739">review</a> showed that for each additional 50g of processed meat consumed per day, the risk of heart disease increased by 26% and the risk of type 2 diabetes increased by 44%, on average. Cancer Leading international organisations have declared there’s strong evidence consumption of red and processed meat <a href="https://www.wcrf.org/diet-activity-and-cancer/cancer-prevention-recommendations/limit-red-and-processed-meat/">increases the risk of colorectal cancer</a>. For example, in a <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/49/1/246/5470096">study</a> of nearly 500,000 people, each additional 50g of red meat consumed per day increased the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%. And each additional 25g of processed meat consumed per day, equivalent to a slice of ham, increased the risk by 19%. While <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34455534/">research</a> has linked consumption of red and processed meat with increased risk of other types of cancer, such as lung, pancreatic and breast, the evidence is not consistent. It also matters how red meat is cooked. For example, cooking a steak over a high heat, especially an open flame, chars the outside. This causes <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/cooked-meats-fact-sheet">chemical compounds</a> to form that have been shown to cause cancer in very high doses in animal models, and some studies in humans have found an <a href="https://aacrjournals.org/cebp/article/16/12/2664/260099/Meat-and-Meat-Mutagen-Intake-and-Pancreatic-Cancer">association</a> with increased cancer rates. When it comes to how the animal was raised or its breed, based on current evidence, it’s unlikely the nutritional differences will have a substantial impact on human health. But research is limited in this area. <h2>How much red meat should you eat?</h2> Our national <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/the_guidelines/n55a_australian_dietary_guidelines_summary_book.pdf">dietary guidelines</a> recommend the average adult eats a maximum of 455g of cooked lean red meat per week (or less than 65g a day, equivalent to one small lamb chop). This is also what’s recommended by the national <a href="https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/diet-and-exercise/meat-and-cancer-risk">Cancer Council</a>. For heart health specifically, the national <a href="https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/getmedia/d5b9c4a2-8ccb-4fe9-87a2-d4a34541c272/Nutrition_Position_Statement_-_MEAT.pdf">Heart Foundation</a> recommends eating less than 350g of cooked, unprocessed red meat per week (or less than 50g a day). Many dietary guidelines around the world now also recommend limiting red meat consumption for environmental reasons. To optimise both human nutrition and planetary health, the <a href="https://eatforum.org/lancet-commission/eatinghealthyandsustainable/">EAT-Lancet commission</a> recommends consuming no more than 98g a week of red meat and very low intakes of processed meat. <h2>So what does all of this mean for your diet?</h2> The bottom line is that red meat can still be enjoyed as part of a <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/five-food-groups/lean-meat-and-poultry-fish-eggs-tofu-nuts-and-seeds-and">healthy diet</a>, if not eaten in excess. Where possible, opt for unprocessed or lean cuts, and try to grill less and roast more. Consider swapping red meat for lean chicken or fish occasionally too. If you are looking for alternatives to meat that are better for your health and the environment, minimally processed plant-based alternatives, such as tofu, beans and lentils, are great options.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207927/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/katherine-livingstone-324808">Katherine Livingstone</a>, NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-red-meat-bad-for-you-and-does-it-make-a-difference-if-its-a-processed-burger-or-a-lean-steak-207927">original article</a>.

Food & Wine

The cost of living is biting. Here’s how to spend less on meat and dairy

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/clare-collins-7316">Clare Collins</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-newcastle-1060">University of Newcastle</a> The cost of groceries has risen substantially <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/price-indexes-and-inflation/monthly-consumer-price-index-indicator/may-2023">over the last year</a>. Food and non-alcoholic drinks rose by 7.9% in the year to May, with biggest increases in dairy products (15.1%), breads and cereals (12.8%) and processed foods (11.5%). Meat costs rose by 3.8%, but the absolute increase was high, with a kilo of fillet steak costing up to A$60 for a kilogram. Australians spend around <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/6530.0Main+Features12009-10?OpenDocument">15% of their weekly food budget</a> on meat and half that (7.4%) on dairy products. About <a href="https://www.finder.com.au/cost-of-living-report">43% of householders</a> say grocery prices are a cause of financial stress, with half trying to reduce spending. So how can you save money on meat and dairy products without skimping on nutrients? <h2>Meat</h2> <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/five-food-groups/lean-meat-and-poultry-fish-eggs-tofu-nuts-and-seeds-and">Meat</a> is a good source of protein, iron, zinc and vitamin B12. Recommendations are for a maximum of three serves of cooked lean red meat a week. This includes beef, lamb, veal, pork, or kangaroo, with a serve being 65g cooked, which equates to 90–100g raw. This means purchasing 270–300g per person per week. Check prices online and weekly specials. Less expensive cuts include oyster blade, chuck or rump steak ($22–$25 per kilogram). They can be tougher, making them better for casseroles or slow cook recipes, like this <a href="https://nomoneynotime.com.au/healthy-easy-recipes/clares-slow-cooked-beef-stroganoff">beef stroganoff</a>. One exception is mince because higher star, lower fat, more expensive products shrink less during cooking compared to regular mince, which shrinks by 25–30%. Extend casserole and mince dishes by adding vegetarian protein sources, such as dried or canned beans and legumes. A 400g can of red kidney beans costs about $1.50 and contains 240g of cooked beans, equivalent to 1.6 standard serves. Add a can of any type of legume (black, adzuki, cannelloni, butter, chickpeas, four-bean mix, brown lentils) or use dried versions that don’t need pre-soaking like dried red lentils at about $5 per kilogram. This <a href="https://www.glnc.org.au/resource/legumes-nutrition/">adds nutrients</a> including protein, B vitamins, iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium and dietary fibre. <h2>Dairy</h2> Dairy products are important sources of protein, calcium, magnesium, zinc, potassium and vitamins A, B2 and B12. <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/how-much-do-we-need-each-day/recommended-number-serves-adults">Australian recommendations</a> are for two to three serves a day for adults and four serves for women over 50. One serve is <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/how-much-do-we-need-each-day/serve-sizes">equivalent to</a> a cup of milk or 40g cheese. Fresh milk costs between $1.50 and $3.00 per litre depending on type and brand, while UHT milk is cheaper, about $1.60 per litre. It’s even cheaper to buy powdered milk ($10 per kilogram pack, which makes ten litres), equating to $1 per litre. Making yoghurt at home costs about $5–6 per kilogram using a powder mix and yoghurt maker ($25). Once set, divide into smaller tubs yourself. Use as a substitute for cream or sour cream. Fresh yoghurt varies from $11–$18 per kilogram, with individual serves and flavoured varieties more expensive (but not always). Compare per kilogram or per 100g prices and check for specials. Cheese prices vary a lot so compare prices per kilogram. As a guide, block cheese is cheaper than pre-sliced or grated cheese. Home brand products are cheaper than branded ones. Mature cheeses are more expensive and processed cheese least expensive. But, if you cut block cheese really thick you end up using more. Block cheese ranges from $15 to $30 a kilogram, while packets of pre-sliced cheese vary from $18 to over $30. Pre-grated cheeses range from $14 to $30 per kilo, with most around $20, and processed cheese varies from $10 to $15. Extend grated cheese by mixing with grated carrot (about $2 a kilogram) and use as a topper for tacos, wraps, pasta and pizza. Use processed cheese slices for toasted sandwiches. Most recipes work adding less cheese than specified. A high-calcium alternative to cheese in sandwiches is canned salmon, but at $15–$30 per kilogram ($6–$7 per 210g can) you add variety but may not save money. <h2>3 tips to save on your food bills</h2> 1. Have a household food budget Ensure everyone is on the same page about <a href="https://nomoneynotime.com.au/hacks-myths-faqs/how-to-save-money-at-the-supermarket">saving money on food and drinks</a>. <a href="https://www.suncorpgroup.com.au/news/features/food-for-thought-australians-spend-272-billion-on-food-annually">About 50% of household food dollars</a> are spent on takeaway, eating out, coffee, alcohol, food-delivery services and extras, so have a budget for <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/discretionary-food-and-drink-choices">discretionary</a> food items. This is where you can make big savings. Your household might need an incentive to stick to the budget, like voting on which “discretionary” items food dollars get spent on. 2. Have a rough weekly meal plan Use your meal plan to write a grocery list. Check <a href="https://nomoneynotime.com.au/hacks-myths-faqs/ingredient-swaps-to-limit-supermarket-trips-during-lockdown">what you already have</a> in the pantry, fridge and freezer. If you’re not sure where to start, look at ours at <a href="https://nomoneynotime.com.au">No Money No Time</a>, <a href="https://nomoneynotime.com.au/hacks-myths-faqs/take-our-nmnt-2-week-food-budget-challenge-and-eat-for-55-a-week">either for one person</a> or a <a href="https://nomoneynotime.com.au/ebooks-meal-plans-more/feeding-a-growing-family-on-a-budget-meal-plan-1">family with young children</a>. 3. Avoid food waste Australians <a href="https://www.ozharvest.org/food-waste-facts/">waste 7.6 million tonnes of food</a> each year yet 70% is edible. Before heading to the shops, check your <a href="https://nomoneynotime.com.au/hacks-myths-faqs/creating-kitchen-space-for-christmas-and-preventing-food-waste-too">fridge</a>. Turn <a href="https://nomoneynotime.com.au/hacks-myths-faqs/managing-kitchen-stock-and-using-leftovers-to-minimise-food-waste">leftovers</a> into tomorrow’s lunch or dinner. When clearing the dinner table, pack leftovers straight into lunch containers so it’s grab and go in the morning (or freeze for days you’re too busy to cook). Use our resources at <a href="https://nomoneynotime.com.au/hacks-myths-faqs?search=budget">No Money No Time</a> for ideas on how to help your food dollars go further. If you need food help right now, the <a href="https://askizzy.org.au/">Ask Izzy</a> website can locate services in your area.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206703/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/clare-collins-7316">Clare Collins</a>, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-newcastle-1060">University of Newcastle</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-cost-of-living-is-biting-heres-how-to-spend-less-on-meat-and-dairy-206703">original article</a>.

Food & Wine

"Makes us feel sick": Angry vegan slams meat-eating neighbours

A letter from a vegan neighbour has gone viral, as they asked a close-by resident to close their windows while they cook meat. The hand-written note was published on a community Facebook page for the Perth northern coastal suburb of Burns Beach, and was labelled as an "Important message" for the recipient to "Please take seriously". The note began, "Hello, neighbour." "Could you please shut your side window when cooking, please?" "My family are vegan (we eat only plant-based food), and the smell of the meat you cook makes us feel sick and upset." "We would appreciate your understanding." The letter went viral not long after it was posted, and drew in a range of divided comments. Some people believed the request was a ridiculous ask, with many people wondering where they draw the line when it comes to catering for others. "I'd understand if they were smoking cigarettes and the smoke and smell was spreading and affecting the family's health," one person wrote. "But not liking the smell of meat, this isn't really a good reason to ask someone to close their windows." "What does she do when she takes the kids to the park, and people are cooking BBQs? Ask them to stop cooking. Audacity." Others thought the request was reasonable, and praised the writer's politeness. "I feel like this was a genuinely polite letter, and it’s true the smell of meat is overpowering," one person wrote. "It would be nice to see some respect for your neighbours, and not publicly trying to shame them for holding strong ethical morals." Another put it simply, "Be vegan. Eat meat. Each to their own!" One commenter suggested the recipient resort to good old neighbourly pettiness, encouraging them to "Write back and say you're offended and sad by what they said about your cooking and could they please move to a different room as you would appreciate their understanding." Image credits: Facebook

Food & Wine

6 things a food poisoning expert would never eat

If you want to know how to avoid food poisoning, you better listen to food poisoning expert and lawyer Bill Marler. He’s a products liability and personal injury attorney specialising in food-borne illnesses as well as the managing partner of Marler Clark, dubbed “The Food Safety Law Firm”. With twenty years in the industry, he’s won more than $600 million in compensation claims for his clients since 1998. In an article posted in the <a href="http://www.foodpoisonjournal.com/food-poisoning-information/six-foods-bill-marler-never-eats/#.VrJ3Kvl96uV" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Food Poisoning Journal</a>, Bill has revealed the six foods he refused to eat. Unpasteurised (“raw”) milk and packaged juices Unpasteurised milk, sometimes called “raw” milk, can be contaminated with bacteria, viruses and parasites. Between 1998 and 2011, there were 148 food poisoning outbreaks linked to raw milk and raw milk products in the US—and keep in mind that comparatively few people in the country ever consume these products, so 148 outbreaks is nothing to ignore. As for unpasteurised packaged juices, one of Marler’s earliest cases was the 1996 E. coli outbreak from unpasteurised Odwalla apple juice. As a result, he won’t go near raw milk or juice. “There’s no benefit big enough to take away the risk of drinking products that can be made safe by pasteurisation,” he says. Raw sprouts Uncooked and lightly cooked sprouts have been linked to more than 30 bacterial outbreaks (mostly of salmonella and E. coli) in the US since mid-1990s. As recently as 2014, salmonella from bean sprouts sent 19 people to the hospital. All types of sprouts - including alfalfa, mung bean, clover and radish sprouts - can spread infection, which is caused by bacterial contamination of their seeds. “There have been too many outbreaks to not pay attention to the risk of sprout contamination,” Marler says. “Those are products that I just don’t eat at all.” He did add that he does eat them if they’re cooked. Meat that isn’t well-done Marler orders his burgers well-done. “The reason ground products are more problematic and need to be cooked more thoroughly is that any bacteria that’s on the surface of the meat can be ground inside of it,” Marler says. “If it’s not cooked thoroughly to 160°F throughout, it can cause poisoning by E. coli and salmonella and other bacterial illnesses.” As for steaks, needle tenderising - a common restaurant practice in which the steak is pierced with needles or sliced with knives to break down the muscle fibres and make it more tender - can also transfer bugs from the surface to the interior of the meat. If a restaurant does this (Marler asks), he orders his steak well-done. If the restaurant doesn’t, he’ll opt for medium-well. Prewashed or precut fruits and vegetables “I avoid these like the plague,” Marler says. Why? The more a food is handled and processed, the more likely it is to become tainted. “We’ve gotten so used to the convenience of mass-produced food - bagged salad and boxed salads and precut this and precut that,” Marler says. “Convenience is great but sometimes I think it isn’t worth the risk.” He buys unwashed, uncut produce in small amounts and eats it within three to four days to reduce the risk for listeria, a deadly bug that grows at refrigerator temps. Raw or undercooked eggs You may remember the salmonella epidemic of the 1980s and early ’90s that was linked mainly to eggs. If you swore off raw eggs back then, you might as well stick with it. The most recent salmonella outbreak from eggs, in 2010, caused roughly 2,000 reported cases of illness. “I think the risk of egg contamination is much lower today than it was 20 years ago for salmonella, but I still eat my eggs well-cooked,” Marler says. Raw oysters and other raw shellfish Marler says that raw shellfish - especially oysters - have been causing more foodborne illness lately. He links this to warming waters, which produce more microbial growth. “Oysters are filter feeders, so they pick up everything that’s in the water,” he explains. “If there’s bacteria in the water it’ll get into their system, and if you eat it you could have trouble. I’ve seen a lot more of that over the last five years than I saw in the last 20 years. It’s simply not worth the risk.” Images: Shutterstock

Food & Wine

Meat Loaf – a complicated musical giant

Ridiculed by critics and custodians of cool, Meat Loaf’s bombastic performances were loved by millions, providing the soundtrack to the lives of various generations. The man born Marvin Lee Aday was something of an unreliable narrator. He offered contradictory accounts in interviews of such basic details as his date of birth, real name, or why and how he came to be known as Meat Loaf. According to <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/to-hell-and-back/david-dalton/meat-loaf/9780753504437">his autobiography</a>, an inheritance from his mother allowed him, as a disturbed and distressed teenager, to leave the house of a violent alcoholic father to live, first in Dallas, and subsequently California. He was cast in the original Los Angeles productions of both Hair and The Rocky Horror Show, also appearing in the 1975 film adaptation of the latter. On auditioning for budding playwright/songwriter <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/meat-loaf-remembers-jim-steinman-1160041/">Jim Steinman’s</a> More Than You Deserve musical – the title track of which would later pop up on the Dead Ringer album – Steinman identified his ideal leading man for the Bat out of Hell project. Record executives were less convinced. They thought that the pairing of a large sweaty singer with unorthodox musical arrangements, pitched somewhere between Phil Spector and Wagner, was a complete anomaly in the age of punk and disco. The odd pair were eventually signed by independent label Cleveland after getting Todd Rundgren onboard as a producer. The Texan-born singer and actor outlived his chief collaborator by less than a year. Their signing with Cleveland would be the start to a career full of hits and as many highs as there were lows. <h2>Difficult success</h2> Bat Out of Hell – one of the top five selling records of all-time – was released in 1977. Almost all the songs originated from a university project of Steinman’s based on Peter Pan. Unable to clear the rights with JM Barrie’s estate, Steinman recycled the material into Bat Out of Hell instead. Jukebox musicals typically rely on a pre-existing songbook but Bat out of Hell is best characterised as a cast album that had its first outing in the charts before the stage. Given that three of the album’s seven songs exceed eight minutes, remarkably not a moment is wasted. Epics such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C11MzbEcHlw&ab_channel=MeatLoafVEVO">Paradise by the Dashboard Light</a> and Bat out of Hell (designed to top the 1960s hit <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTjQgkHzbTk&ab_channel=John1948Ten">Tell Laura I Love Her</a> as the ultimate motorcycle crash song) are more than guilty pleasures. They encapsulate the sensations if not perhaps the realities of being a hormonal teenager in thrall to sex, death and rock‘n’roll. The album sold over 10 million copies in the US, and spent over ten years on the UK charts. Meat Loaf was not, however, mentally or physically prepared for the pressures of success or large-scale touring. After losing his voice on the Bat Out of Hell tour in 1978, he had multiple nervous breakdowns and attempted suicide. Steinman lost patience, and a planned sequel to Bat was put on the backburner. There were occasional hits in the 1980s without Steinman (for instance <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCHWD9HeRKY&ab_channel=PeterSchulz">Modern Girl</a> and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/5TvUFX8blX7LAw4nMtYji4?highlight=spotify:track:0UeoAe8yipWeSNr3zfCPfx">Midnight at the Lost and Found</a>) but Meat Loaf’s star was on the wane. Despite recording one of the most successful albums of rock’s golden age, by 1983 the singer was facing the prospect of bankruptcy. Yet by playing smaller venues and adopting more sophisticated vocal techniques, a constant touring schedule through the latter part of the 1980s transformed Meat Loaf into one of world’s most accomplished live performers. A nearly three-hour 1988 concert recording <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0gkNPhmn-0">from Edinburgh</a> shows why this period is considered his live peak by hardcore fans. It also ensured he was better prepared to reap the rewards when he and Steinman staged one of rock’s most unlikely comebacks with Bat out of Hell II in 1993, with lead-single I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t do That) topping the charts in 28 countries. The 1990s marked Meat Loaf’s imperial phase, selling out arenas and enjoying celebrity, appearing in films such as Fight Club (1997) and Spice World (1999). Yet unlike Peter Pan, Meat Loaf wasn’t forever young, often appearing lost in the new millennium. After collapsing on stage in Newcastle in 2007, he said he wouldn’t perform in concert again. In reality, he continued touring for another decade, the musical equivalent of a veteran boxer not knowing when to hang up the gloves. Steinman also launched a legal action when the singer sought to go it alone with <a href="https://ultimateclassicrock.com/meat-loaf-bat-out-of-hell-iii/">Bat Out of Hell III</a> (2006). An out of court settlement effectively gave the songwriter free rein to develop a stage version of Bat out of Hell. Despite their differences, Meat Loaf took on promotional duties as Steinman’s health prevented him from undertaking for the 2017 premiere of <a href="https://www.batoutofhellmusical.com/">Bat Out of Hell the Musical</a>. Now that so many of rock’s founding fathers have died, my current research into rock musicals such as this and David Bowie’s Lazarus sees them as repositioning one of the major forms of cultural expression from the second half of the last century. Blessed with one of rock’s most distinctive voices (admirers include Axl Rose and Kurt Cobain), quality control was never Meat’s forte. At his best, however, the Loaf was a heavyweight contender, able to hold his own alongside the world’s finest performers irrespective of genre. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/meat-loaf-a-complicated-musical-giant-175552" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Music

AI may have solved a debate on whether a dinoprint was from a herbivore or meat eater

An international team of researchers has, for the first time, used AI to analyse the tracks of dinosaurs, and the AI has come out on top – beating trained palaeontologists at their own game. “In extreme examples of theropod and ornithopod footprints, their footprint shapes are easy to tell apart -theropod with long, narrow toes and ornithopods with short, dumpy toes. But it is the tracks that are in-between these shapes that are not so clear cut in terms of who made them,” one of the researchers, University of Queensland palaeontologist Dr Anthony Romilio, told Cosmos. “We wanted to see if AI could learn these differences and, if so, then could be tested in distinguishing more challenging three-toed footprints.” Theropods are meat eating dinosaurs, while ornithopods are plant eating, and getting this analysis wrong can alter the data which shows diversity and abundance of dinosaurs in the area, or could even change what we think are the behaviours of certain dinos. One set of dinosaur prints in particular had been a struggle for the researchers to analyse. Large footprints at the Dinosaur Stampede National monument in Queensland had divided Romilio and his colleagues. The mysterious tracks were thought to be left during the mid-Cretaceous Period, around 93 million years ago, and could have been from either a meat eating theropod or a plant eating ornithopod. “I consider them footprints of a plant-eater while my colleagues share the much wider consensus that they are theropod tracks.” <div class="advert ad-in-content"> <div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca" style="display: none;"></div> </div> So, an AI called a Convolutional Neutral Network, was brought in to be a deciding factor. “We were pretty stuck, so thank god for modern technology,” says <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jens-Lallensack" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dr Jens Lallensack</a>, lead author from Liverpool John Moores University in the UK. “In our research team of three, one person was pro-meat-eater, one person was undecided, and one was pro-plant-eater. <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p224866-o1" class="wpcf7" dir="ltr" lang="en-US" role="form"> <form class="wpcf7-form mailchimp-ext-0.5.62 spai-bg-prepared init" action="/history/dinosaur-ai-theropod-ornithopods/#wpcf7-f6-p224866-o1" method="post" novalidate="novalidate" data-status="init"> <input class="wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text referer-page" name="referer-page" type="hidden" value="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/" data-value="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/" aria-invalid="false" /> </form> </div> </div> “So – to really check our science – we decided to go to five experts for clarification, plus use AI.” The AI was given nearly 1,500 already known tracks to learn which dinosaurs were which. The tracks were simple line drawings to make it easier for the AI to analyse. <div class="advert ad-in-content"> <div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca" style="display: none;"></div> </div> Then they began testing. Firstly, 36 new tracks were given to a team of experts, the AI and the researchers. “Each of us had to sort these into the categories of footprints left by meat-eaters and those by plant-eaters,” says Romilio. “In this the ai was the clear winner with 90% correctly identified. Me and one of my colleagues came next with ~75% correct.” Then, they went for the crown jewel – the Dinosaur Stampede National monument tracks. When the AI analysed this it came back with a pretty strong result that they’re plant eating ornithopod tracks. It’s not entirely sure though, the data suggests that there’s a 1 in 5,000,000 chance it could be a theropod instead. <div class="advert ad-in-content"> <div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca" style="display: none;"></div> </div> This is still early days for using AI in this way. In the future. the researchers are hoping for funding for a FrogID style app which anyone could use to analyse dinosaur tracks. “Our hope is to develop an app so anyone can take a photo on their smartphone, use the app and it will tell you what type of dinosaur track it is,” says Romilio. “It will also be useful for drone work survey for dinosaur tracksites, collecting and analysing image data and identifying fossil footprints remotely.” The paper has been published in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2022.0588" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Royal Society Interface</a>.  <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=224866&title=AI+may+have+solved+a+debate+on+whether+a+dinoprint+was+from+a+herbivore+or+meat+eater" width="1" height="1" />  <div id="contributors"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/dinosaur-ai-theropod-ornithopods/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on Cosmos Magazine and was written by Jacinta Bowler. Image: Getty Images </div>

Technology

Vegetarians more likely to be depressed than meat-eaters

Vegetarians have around twice as many depressive episodes as meat-eaters, according to a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032722010643" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new study</a>. The study, based on survey data from Brazil, chimes with <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/animals-and-us/201812/the-baffling-link-between-vegetarianism-and-depression" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earlier research</a> that found higher rates of depression among those who forgo meat. However, the new study suggests that this link exists independent of nutritional intake. It may seem straightforward to look at a link between a diet and specific health problems and assume that the former is causing the latter via some form of nutritional deficiency. Yet the new analysis, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, took into account a wide range of nutritional factors, including total calorie intake, protein intake, micronutrient intake, and the level of food processing. This suggests that the higher rates of depression among vegetarians are not caused by the nutritional content of their diet. So what might explain the link between vegetarianism and depression? Is there some non-nutritional mechanism that makes the former cause the latter? Or is the relationship down to something else entirely? First, it is possible that being depressed causes people to be more likely to become vegetarian rather than the other way around. The <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/clinical-depression/symptoms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">symptoms of depression</a> can include rumination on negative thoughts, as well as feelings of guilt. Assuming that depressed and non-depressed people are equally likely to encounter the upsetting truth of slaughterhouses and factory farming, it is possible that depressed people are more likely to ruminate on those thoughts, and more likely to feel guilty for their part in creating the demand. The depressed vegetarian, in this case, is not necessarily wrong to think this way. While depression is sometimes characterised as having unrealistically negative perceptions, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/hide-and-seek/201206/depressive-realism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">there is evidence to suggest</a> that people with mild to moderate depression have more realistic judgments about the outcome of uncertain events and more realistic perceptions of their own role and abilities. In this case, there really is <a href="https://www.bryantresearch.co.uk/insights/acceptability-of-animal-farming-practices" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cruel treatment of animals in meat production</a>. And this really is caused by consumer demand for cheap meat. Second, it is possible that adhering to a vegetarian diet causes depression for reasons other than nutrition. Even if there is no “happy nutrient” lacking in a vegetarian diet, it could be the case that forgoing meat causes depression through other means. For example, adopting a vegetarian diet might affect one’s relationship with others and involvement in social activities, and sometimes may be associated with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21361905/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">teasing or other forms of social ostracism</a>. Notably, the new study is based on survey data collected in Brazil, a country <a href="https://data.oecd.org/agroutput/meat-consumption.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">famous for its meat-heavy diet</a>. Some survey data has pointed to a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/26/world/americas/brazil-vegetarian.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sharp increase in vegetarianism in Brazil in recent years</a>, going from 8% in 2012 to 16% in 2018. However, the recent paper surveyed over 14,000 Brazilians and found just 82 vegetarians – scarcely more than half a per cent. One has to wonder if the same link between vegetarianism and depression would be observed in India or other countries where vegetarianism is more of a social norm. More importantly, as the <a href="https://www.bryantresearch.co.uk/insights/uk-protein-transition-in-4-graphs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rate of vegetarianism increases in the UK</a> and other developed countries, will we see the relationship disappear over time? Finally, it is possible that neither vegetarianism nor depression cause the other, but both are associated with some third factor. This could be any number of characteristics or experiences that are associated with both vegetarianism and depression. For example, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666317305305" target="_blank" rel="noopener">women are more likely than men to be vegetarian</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5532074/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">and to experience depression</a>. However, the Brazilian study took sex into account, ruling out this particular third variable. <h2>Not examined</h2> One variable that was not examined, but is plausibly linked to both vegetarianism and depression, is exposure to violent images of the meat industry. Preventing cruelty to animals is the <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1062072/reasons-for-becoming-vegetarian-or-vegan-in-great-britain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">most commonly cited reason</a> vegetarians give for avoiding meat. Documentaries like <a href="https://watchdominion.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dominion</a> and <a href="http://www.nationearth.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Earthlings</a> that depict the cruelty in the meat industry cannot readily be described as feelgood films. One can easily imagine that a person who consumes this kind of media would become both vegetarian and, especially when most people choose to look the other way, depressed. There are several possible reasons for the link between vegetarianism and depression. This new study suggests that vegetarian nutrition is not the cause of depression. Instead, the vegetarian social experience may contribute to depression, depression may cause an increased likelihood of becoming vegetarian, or both vegetarianism and depression may be caused by a third variable, such as exposure to violent meat industry imagery. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/vegetarians-more-likely-to-be-depressed-than-meat-eaters-possible-reasons-191707" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: Shutterstock

Body

Four'n'Twenty pies will no longer be all Australian

The iconic Aussie brand that owns Four’N Twenty pies has been snapped up by an overseas company in a deal rumoured to be worth a whopping $500million. One of the largest private equity firms based in Asia, Pacific Alliance Group has bought Patties Foods, which includes brands like Nanna’s, Chef’s Pride, Herbert Admans and Four’n’Twenty. While the exact amount of the deal is yet to be confirmed, it is reported to be in excess of $500 million and will allow PAG to expand its Australian offerings after buying Red Rooster, Oporto and Western Australia based Chicken Treat back in 2019. Patties Foods boss Paul Hitchcock said PAG's purchase would “unlock further investment and innovation”. Vesco chief Bernie Pummell said the two companies under the one roof at PAG would “enable new exciting opportunities”. Four'n'Twenty is the latest in a long line of iconic Australian brands to be bought out by overseas conglomerates. The PAG acquisition of Patties and Vesco is subject to regulatory approval from Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), its NZ counterpart, and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Image: Shutterstock

Food & Wine

ALDI looking for fresh meat (graduates)

ALDI Australia is looking to hire a fresh batch of graduates for their insanely popular program. The German retailer’s graduate program is inundated with applications each year thanks to the attractive $92,000 starting salary, a company car and iPhone, as well as five weeks annual leave. Successful applicants will undertake a comprehensive program over a two-year period while rotating through the exciting challenge of the business. “Our graduate jobs aren’t easy but the greater the challenge, the greater the reward,” their <a href="https://www.aldicareers.com.au/Graduate-Program-Application-Process" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a> reads. “You’ll have exposure to serving customers on registers, managing sections in our distribution centre, undertaking site meetings with our property team, and developing your skills as a leader - a career achievement you can be proud of.” Applicants who succeed in their training will take on the role of an Executive Manager, giving them the opportunity to run up three-to-five stores. Peter Slaven recently completed the program and is now an Executive Manager of Store Operation in NSW. “I was prepared for a lot of observation and structured training, however I was pleasantly surprised with how hands-on ALDI’s graduate program is,” he told <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/careers/aldis-insane-92000-job-for-uni-graduates/news-story/fbba33620c65bfad5a5f80df3e730155?utm_campaign=EditorialSB&utm_source=news.com.au&utm_medium=Facebook&utm_content=SocialBakers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a>. “During the program I worked in three cities and over 30 stores, building relationships with close to 500 people. No two days are the same and I learnt to adapt quickly to constant change and I am still learning new things every day.” ALDI group director of human resources and projects Hayden Rydberg said the program attracted people from all walks of life. “It’s an opportunity for ambitious future leaders to hit the ground running in a supportive environment where you will learn directly from industry leaders, all while accelerating your career with a rewarding and dynamic retail business,” he said. Applicants must be in their final year of study or recently completed a master’s degree in any subject. Applications for ALDI's 2023 graduate program close on Monday March 28, 2022. Image: Shutterstock

Money & Banking

School slammed for going completely meat free

A school’s decision to go “meat free” permanently has sparked anger among parents, with some even trying to transfer their children to different schools.Barrowford Primary School in Lancashire, England, has begun offering vegetarian dinners and urged students not to bring meat in their packed lunches.Though the school introduced the new rule last year, a letter informing parents was only sent out last week, according to <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/17631295/school-bans-meat-vegetarian-packed-lunches/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sun</a>.The school has said it hasn’t received any complaints about the new meals, but unhappy parents have taken to Facebook to share their feelings.Zoe Douglas, whose children attend Barrowford, is even attempting to transfer her children to a new school as she has “had enough”.“It is a joke. I’m looking to move mine as I’ve had enough of that school,” she said.“I think they forget that non-meat eaters and vegans have to take a lot of supplements. What supplements are they getting instead at that school?“Nothing, probably saving on food costs.”Ms Douglas is also angered by the fact the meal plan was introduced “ages ago”, but she has only just found out why her daughter returned from school talking about “disgusting” new sausages.“I only found out this week in an email,” Ms Douglas said.“Amelia ordered sausage and mash and when she bit into her sausage she said ‘eww’.“Teachers said, ‘oh, it’s a vegetarian sausage’ but they hadn’t told her before she ordered.“She ended up just having mash for her dinner. I’m fuming. She’s been on packed lunches since.”Another parent, who wished to remain anonymous, questioned why everyone couldn’t be accommodated, rather than forcing meat-eating kids to adapt their diet.“Why not accommodate the veggies, vegans, whatever and add to the menu instead of making our kids adapt?” they queried.“And to request parents pack lunches that are veggie as well, not to mention the local farmers, this is absolutely ludicrous.“No wonder my kids are starving and raid the fridge before the shoes are off.“Vegetarian is a choice for when they are older.”Other parents asked, “what happened to freedom of choice?”, while others said they were “dumbstruck” at the “absolutely ridiculous” decision.Some locals are particularly upset, due to the school’s rural location where farming is a core part of the area.Livestock buyer Alex Nutter said: “We have absolutely no hope of teaching the younger generation about our food production when primary schools are teaching them to be ‘meat-free’.“It’s very worrying what we’re up against.”Other parents have welcomed the move and see it as the school catering to the different needs of students.Head teacher Rachel Tomlinson said the decision was made to “stop climate change” in the letter sent to parents.Ms Tomlinson noted that meat and dairy products “come at a huge environmental cost” as the livestory industry has a large carbon footprint.“If you still want to send packed lunches, could you please consider meat-free options to further support us in doing our bit to reduce carbon emissions as a school community?” she concluded in the letter.When approached by The Sun, Ms Tomlinson said the decision was made to show changing daily habits can have an impact.“Our children learn about the principles of sustainable development as part of the national curriculum, and are really interested in how they can contribute to better looking after our environment,” she said.“We have been careful to approach this in a balanced way, and teach that it is fine to eat meat, but that reducing our consumption can help our planet.”Image: Getty Images

Food & Wine

Meat Loaf’s daughter remembers her dad

Amanda Aday, daughter of musician Meat Loaf, who passed away on Thursday at the age of 74, has spoken to the media for the first time since her father’s death, telling People he was a “complex man with a lot of passion who wore his heart on his sleeve”. Aday, 41, said that she and her sister Pearl "lived a very dichotomous life" as daughters of the Bat Out of Hell singer, touring arenas, travelling on tour buses, "and having all of these amazing experiences" as they travelled with their dad around the globe. When the tours were over and they returned home, however, "it was home and he was just dad," she says. "He wasn't Meat Loaf anymore." Aday describes Meat Loaf, whose real name was Michael Lee Aday, as a very involved parent, directing their school plays and coaching their softball teams. She said, "If we didn't get good grades, we were grounded, and all of that stuff. So, it was very much, when we weren't out on tour living this crazy life, it was very important to him that we were grounded in our home." <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CZA1AWMMeJC/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CZA1AWMMeJC/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Amanda Aday (@amandaaday)</a> </div> </blockquote> He encouraged his kids to think for themselves and avoid following trends. Aday said, "Growing up, when we were little, he always said he never wanted to be hip. Pearl and I would want a new pair of shoes or something, whatever was in trend, fashion-wise or whatever, and he'd always say, 'Don't be trendy. Don't be hip. Be cool, because cool is always.' And that was him." Aday revealed that Christmas was his favourite time of year, sharing that, "He would stay up all night making train sets around the Christmas tree." She also shared an anecdote from her sixth Christmas, when Meat Loaf bought her every Playmobil toy imaginable. "He stayed up literally all night and erected an entire Playmobil city and circus underneath the Christmas tree, because that's what he did. He was dad,” she told People. She also revealed that both she and her sister rushed to Nashville to be by their father’s side after receiving a call informing them that his health "was declining very rapidly, more rapidly than expected." "As soon as we could, we just went to his bedside at the hospital and just sat with him and held his hand," she said, adding that she was “very thankful” they had a chance to see him before he died. Image: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc

Caring

“WTF Woolies”: Supermarket drops meat supplier amid Covid controversy

Woolworths will no longer receive their meat from a South Australian supplier which allowed employees to continue working while Covid-positive last week, following outcry online. A Teys Australia abattoir in Naracoorte, in the state’s southeast - which has been the site of a major outbreak of the virus - allowed a number of asymptomatic employees to return to work between Monday and Thursday last week. It was understood that the plan was introduced temporarily, as the meat industry continues to struggle to supply supermarkets and fast food chains due to coronavirus. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Brunswick Woolworths 7:05am in Scott Morrison’s Australia<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ScottytheFailure?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ScottytheFailure</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/auspol?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#auspol</a> <a href="https://t.co/y8WbHudDxC">pic.twitter.com/y8WbHudDxC</a> — Dr Hunter (psychologist) (@realhuntermmm) <a href="https://twitter.com/realhuntermmm/status/1481358619262488576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2022</a></blockquote> SA Health was aware of the plan and allowed “a small group of critical staff who have tested positive” to continue working in an area isolated from other employees. In a letter sent out to employees over the weekend, Sage Murray, the general manager of operations at the facility, said the company thanked employees for their “understanding and patience during this time”. “As per our call to you today - and as confirmed by SA Health - you are required to present for work tomorrow [Monday] as normal unless you are feeling unwell,” Mr Murray wrote. “This applies even if you have tested positive to COVID-19 either by a PCR or rapid test [RAT], and also if you are currently isolating because you are a close contact. “If you have not completed a recent PCR or RAT test, you will be required to complete a RAT test before commencing work tomorrow. “SA Health will also conduct a further PCR test … during your shift.” <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Teys Australia has provided a statement regarding its COVID-19 response <a href="https://t.co/Eps26DsIoG">https://t.co/Eps26DsIoG</a> <a href="https://t.co/37qkktkDoK">pic.twitter.com/37qkktkDoK</a> — Teys Australia (@TeysAustralia) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeysAustralia/status/1482229970336620546?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2022</a></blockquote> However, Woolworths has since decided to suspend supply from Teys Australia’s Naracoorte facility. “We have suspended all supply through Tey’s South Australian facility while we work with Teys, SA Health and Safework SA to understand the protocols currently in place for their team and operations,” a Woolworths spokesperson said. “We were not involved in the decision approved by SA Health to introduce exceptional temporary Covid measures at the site last week. “We expect all of our suppliers to adhere to Covid safety protocols set by their relevant state authorities.” <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Would <a href="https://twitter.com/ScottMorrisonMP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ScottMorrisonMP</a> be comfortable working in an office where Covid positive staff are wearing yellow hairnets to show their infectious status? If not, why does he think that’s fine for meat workers at <a href="https://twitter.com/woolworths?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@woolworths</a> supplier <a href="https://twitter.com/TeysAustralia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TeysAustralia</a>? — Australian Unions (@unionsaustralia) <a href="https://twitter.com/unionsaustralia/status/1481399349162950658?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2022</a></blockquote> The supermarket giant previously said Teys Australia said that no Covid-positive workers would be working on Monday. <a rel="noopener" href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/woolworths-suspends-all-supply-with-abattoir-after-covid-fury-044853208.html" target="_blank">Speaking to Yahoo News Australia</a>, Teys Australia confirmed Woolworths’ statement, adding that no one who had tested positive within the past seven days would be at the plant. The meat supplier said approved workers with Covid who worked last week had to be separated from their coworkers for ten days after their diagnosis. All employees were also required to be fully vaccinated, wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) and practising social distancing. Workers were reportedly told to wear different coloured hair nets while at work to distinguish between Covid-positive and negative employees. Michele O’Neil, the president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, described it as “outrageous behaviour”. “Workers are being forced to wear coloured hair nets to say they are infected. This is outrageous behaviour,” she said. Others have also shown their anger over the treatment of abattoir staff, taking to social media to call for a boycott of the supermarket and prompting the hashtag “WTFwoolies” to begin trending. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> When you’re sick, you shouldn’t be at work. Period. When you’re in a pandemic, experiencing a huge wave of a highly transmissible virus, you should not be forced to work. This is outrageous <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WTFwoolies?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WTFwoolies</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19au?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVID19au</a> <a href="https://t.co/9Al9yCwfFP">https://t.co/9Al9yCwfFP</a> — Jessica Munday (@MundayJessica) <a href="https://twitter.com/MundayJessica/status/1482486790472990720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2022</a></blockquote> “This endangers all of us. Companies treating people like this will not be forgotten,” one woman tweeted. “Dear @woolworths .. I don’t mind you sending me weird items in my groceries delivery, but I DO mind you treating workers in your supply chain like they don’t matter. Get it together!” another user wrote. UPDATE: A statement from the supermarket has clarified that Woolworths is continuing to work with Teys Australia, and has only suspended supply from the Naracoorte abattoir. “We continue to work with a number of other sites and partners across the country to supply Australian meat to our customers, moving as much stock through the supply chain as possible during the current disruptions,” a spokesperson for Woolworths said. It is understood that meat supplies will no longer come from the SA facility “until Woolworths is satisfied by the measures in place under the guidelines of health authorities”. “Woolworths continues to process meat through Teys facilities in other states.” UPDATE: On Tuesday, January 18, the supermarket announced it would resume using the Naracoorte abattoir from Friday. “After consultation with Teys, SA Health and Safework SA, we are satisfied that the COVID management protocols in place at the Naracoorte site meet the relevant health requirements,” a Woolworths spokesperson <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-18/sa-woolworths-resumes-processing-at-teys-naracoorte/100763502">said</a>. “We continue to work with all our meat supply partners to prioritise COVID safety and provide quality Australian meat to our customers. “Together, we are working to move as much stock through the supply chain as possible to meet our customers’ needs during this challenging time.” Teys Australia wrote on its website that it welcomed the announcement. “The health and safety of our people is our first priority. At all times, our Naracoorte facility has operated to the highest standards and in line with the requirements of SA Health and Worksafe SA.” The meat supplier has also said no employees who have tested positive to COVID-19 in the past seven days will work at the site, which is in line with SA Health rules. Under SA Health guidelines, any employees who do test positive must also isolate for seven days, feel well and be asymptomatic before they are eligible to return to work. Teys Australia has said that any employees returning under these requirements will work and take breaks separately from other workers. They will also be required to return home immediately after finishing their shift. Image: @realhuntermmm (Twitter) / Getty Images

News

Best Aussie meat pie crowned

Image: The Today Show The coveted title of Australia’s best, no-fuss plain meat pie has been won by a WA bakery. Pinjarra Bakery takes the crown for baker of the ‘Best Plain Meat Pie’ in Australia, at The Official Great Aussie Pie Competition. The bakery, located one hour south of Perth also has three locations in Waroona, Maddington and Port Kennedy. They are reportedly “stoked” to gain the title for their much loved ‘Chunky pie’. “We’re absolutely stoked!! Best meat pie in Australia…gotta be happy with that! Thank you to the judges and everyone at @officialauspie” the bakery wrote on a post made on the competition’s Instagram page. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CSl7PU2te2c/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CSl7PU2te2c/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Pinjarra Bakery (@pinjarra_bakery)</a> </div> </blockquote> Pinjarra Bakery steals the title from the last year’s winner, Rolling Pin Pies & Cakes in Ocean Grove, Victoria. The competition holds 18 different pastry categories, including ‘Best Gourmet Pie,’ ‘Best Gourmet Sausage Roll,’ ‘Best Plain Sausage roll’, ‘Best Vegetarian Pie’ and ‘Best Apple Pie’. This year, 'Best Gourmet Pie' went to the 'Dancing Scallop Pie' baked at Paradise Bakehouse in Queensland, while 'Best Gourmet Sausage Roll' went to the 'Garlick Chicken Roll' baked at The Little Red Grape Bakery in South Australia. Founded in 1989, the competition aims to recognise the high-quality pie-making standards of Australian bakers. According to the competition website, each entry is assessed to some basic criteria. Pies are expected to have a pastry top with "good lamination" that is also "not too thick". While fillings must have absolutely no "gristle or bone" and have a balanced "meat to pastry ratio".

Food & Wine

5 food safety tips for proper food handling

Get up to speed about the proper way to handle food to minimise the risk of food poisoning. In light of recent food poisoning cases around the world – a salmonella outbreak in the US in June that sickened over 100 people was linked to contaminated pre-cut melons and several people in Australia died because of contaminated rockmelons in February – it is more important than ever to get up to speed about the right way to handle food. Closer to home, Malaysian and Singaporean netizens were shocked by a video that circulated on social media in June this year of staff at a Bangsar, KL, eatery <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3maABRgv8G4">washing plates in a dirty puddle</a>. Contamination can occur at several junctures, such as during the production of the food, the processing of raw materials, and even during the transport and display of the food. When a food product finally makes it to the kitchen, it is also in danger of cross contamination, which is the transfer of bacteria or viruses through the use of contaminated items such as knives or chopping boards. Be vigilant and adopt these 5 food safety tips to minimise the risk of food poisoning. 1. Picking up refrigerated and frozen items last At the supermarket, pick up your refrigerated and frozen items last, just before you make your way to the checkout counter. Choose chilled items that have been properly packed without any tear in the packaging. If you are looking to shed some dollars from your grocery bill, try these <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/money/Spend-Less-On-Groceries-With-These-19-Tricks-Savvy-Shoppers-Use">supermarket shopping hacks</a>. 2. Buy raw meats that have been properly displayed Never buy chilled or frozen items that have been displayed at room temperature. If you do most of your grocery shopping at the wet market*, this is particularly important. Take note of how the raw seafood and meats are being displayed. Are they in a chiller? Is there sufficient ice packed around the items to ensure they’re stored at a safe temperature? Once you get your meat home, you still have to cook it, however. Try this version of a classic stroganoff that <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/recipes/beef-and-mushroom-stroganoff">stretches a modest portion of meat</a>. * For those in Australia and New Zealand, the wet market is an Asian grocery store that sells fresh meat and produce. 3. Bringing the food home safely Our hot and humid weather can provide extra challenges when it comes to keeping our food safe. If your journey home will take longer than 30 minutes, keep your chilled and frozen items in an insulated bag and make use of the free ice that is provided by some supermarkets to keep the items well chilled. Store the items in the fridge as quickly as possible. In light of recent food poisoning cases around the world – a salmonella outbreak in the US in June that sickened over 100 people was linked to contaminated pre-cut melons and several people in Australia died because of contaminated rockmelons in February – it is more important than ever to get up to speed about the right way to handle food. Closer to home, Malaysian and Singaporean netizens were shocked by a video that circulated on social media in June this year of staff at a Bangsar, KL, eatery <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3maABRgv8G4">washing plates in a dirty puddle</a>. Contamination can occur at several junctures, such as during the production of the food, the processing of raw materials, and even during the transport and display of the food. When a food product finally makes it to the kitchen, it is also in danger of cross contamination, which is the transfer of bacteria or viruses through the use of contaminated items such as knives or chopping boards. Be vigilant and adopt these 5 food safety tips to minimise the risk of food poisoning. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.2903225806452px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7843907/food-handling-um.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/070f60984208487ea761a3e32e6bc07c" /> 4. Storing raw foods properly Raw foods should be kept separate from cooked foods while in the fridge. Different types of raw foods (e.g., meat, eggs, vegetables) should also be kept separately from each other to avoid cross contamination. If you’re not planning to cook the meat in the next three to five days, it’s best to freeze it. Get the most out of your beef buy with these delicious and easy <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/recipes/beef-skewers-ginger-dipping-sauce">beef skewers with ginger dipping sauce</a>. 5. Avoid buying pre-cut fruits If you’re concerned about the cases of contaminated pre-cut fruit, you may want to buy a whole fruit and cut it up yourself at home. Wash the fruit properly by rubbing it with your hands under running water. If you’re cutting it up, use a separate chopping board than the one you use for raw meat. In a race to eat all of your fruit purchases before they all spoil? <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/kitchen-tips/how-to-preserve-fruit">Try bottling it as a preserve!</a> By Siti Rohani Image: Getty Images and Max Pixel This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/food-home-garden/5-food-safety-tips-proper-food-handling">Reader’s Digest</a>

Home & Garden

Huge change coming to Coles

A huge change is coming to Coles as the supermarket aims to remove in-house butchers and move towards pre-packaged meat. The Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union said that 1,,524 staff who work in the Coles meat department will be impacted. However, Coles said that the restructuring is to meet the demands of the customer. "We are considering a proposal to align our meat operating models nationally in our stores, so that we can consistently deliver high-quality retail-ready meat for our customers whenever they want to shop," a spokesperson said to <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9768753/Coles-butchers-chopping-block-supermarket-moves-pre-cut-meats.html" target="_blank">The Daily Mail</a>. "Under the proposal, our fresh meat range would be supplied to stores as retail-ready products and would not require any preparation to be carried out in-store before being placed on the shelves of our meat fridges for customers to buy." The Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union Victorian secretary Paul Conway said that the move had been slow as supermarkets across the nation move away from traditional butchery services. "Woolworths had made a decision some time ago to go retail ready and Coles are now following suit," Mr Conway said. Woolworths made the decision to stop processing beef, chicken and pork in-store of pre-cut and pre-packaged meat in 2018.

Money & Banking

Slow-cooked meat pie hack dubbed a "game-changer"

A fan of a slow cooker has surprised others by using it to cook a meat pie, potatoes and mushy peas. Home cook Alison came up with the idea after seeing a similar meal online and posted it to the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/slowcookedwonders" target="_blank">Slow Cooker Wonders</a> Facebook group. "Husband's dinner tonight, hope it works!" she wrote. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842268/slow-cooker-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/7f3bbd4791454a5faa4d29fa4ff8fd04" /> <div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post-body-container"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> Many were fascinated by the idea. “I hope this comes out good, it’ll revolutionise teatime,” said one. “I need to know too, please, would be a game changer for me.” Others were surprised by the backlash, as group members were quick to criticise. “Those mushy peas (are) definitely going to run all over the pie lid and potatoes! Good idea if it works, but I would definitely put a few air holes in that pie lid or it might explode,” one group member pointed out. “Why can’t people just be kind? She’s cooking, it’s her husband. Are you eating it? No, her husband is. What’s wrong with experimenting and trying things? Jeez, get a grip,” said one. “The peas will soggy it all and potatoes won’t cook. Intrigued.” Alison did not mention how the meal went or whether her husband enjoyed it. Photo credits: Facebook </div> </div> </div> </div>

Food & Wine

Craving meat? It may be your gut talking

Have you ever had a sudden desire for meat or dairy? Researchers from South Korea have discovered the reason behind these sudden cravings, <a rel="noopener" href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03522-2" target="_blank">reported in Nature</a>. All organisms - including people - require a balanced intake of carbohydrates, proteins and fats to keep functioning normally, and these biomolecules work as both an energy source and the building blocks involved in cell repair, hormone production and other important bodily functions. “Taking in sufficient calories alone won’t do the job,” said Professor Greg Seong-Bae Suh from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KSAT). “If the diet does not include enough proteins, it can still lead to severe forms of malnutrition including kwashiorkor.” To determine the mechanisms behind these cravings, Suh and Professor Lee Won-Jae from Seoul National University (SNU) looked at how different genes affected the food preferences of fruit flies that were deprived of protein. Gut-brain communication The researchers found that a hormone called CNMamide (CNMa) was released from the cells lining the intestines of protein-deprived flies. These cells, called enterocytes, were previously thought to solely digest and absorb food. But, enterocytes can use CNMa to communicate the body’s nutrient status - or what it’s missing - to receptors in the brain’s nerve cells. This then triggers a sudden desire to eat food that contains all of the essential amino acids that are missing, which are found in eggs, fish, and meat. Bacteria lend a helping hand The team also found that certain gut microbes can compensate for mild protein deficiencies. Acetobacter bacteria, for example, can temporarily make amino acids the body is lacking, leading to a decrease in the amount of CNMa released and a drop in the flies’ desire to eat protein-rich foods. Why this matters Though the exact way that CNMa communicates with the brain receptors is unknown, these findings serve as a first insight into why living things need and want protein so much - and what can happen if it’s taken away. “We chose to investigate a simple organism, the fly, [to] make it easier for us to identify and characterise key nutrient sensors,” Professor Suh said. “Because all organisms have cravings, the nutrient sensors and pathways we identified in flies would also be relevant to mammals. This research will greatly advance our understanding of the causes of metabolic disease and eating-related disorders,” he concluded.

Body

Is a meat-only diet healthy?

Though meat-only diets have been endorsed by celebrities claiming it has cured them of chronic diseases and kept them lean, health researchers find it a bit suspicious. The diet goes against the Australian dietary guidelines, which recommend a higher consumption of fruit, vegetables, and grain foods, and cutting down on animal products to just a couple of servings a day. But would you be able to get everything you need from an all-meat diet? It kind of works on paper The carnivore diet takes the same low-carbohydrate approach of paleo, keto and Atkins diets to a new extreme, cutting everything save for animal products. There are variations, where some people only eat beef, others eat a wider variety of meat, and whether cheese and butter can be included on the menu is up for debate among followers. But, if we just consider whether you can get all the nutrients your body needs from only animal products, is it possible? Yes, or pretty close to a yes, says Veronique Chachay, a nutrition scientist from the University of Queensland. After testing different versions of a carnivorous diet using dietary composition analysis software, she found that, depending on the specific mix of animal products in the diet, most of the vitamins humans need were accounted for. “From a purely micronutrient point of view, we can’t say people cannot meet their requirements,” Dr Chachay says. But, box ticking on nutrients is only one part of maintaining good health. Fibre is known to play an important role in digestive health, fostering a diverse population of health-promoting bacteria in the gut - and this key food is absent from carnivorous diets. Experts are keen to understand more about the science behind why some people report feeling good while on these diets, even after a long time. Looking to the Inuit diet for answers Many indigenous groups from Northern America have a traditional diet almost entirely consisting of animal products. The traditional diets the Inuit and other Arctic people follow is often used as evidence to support the argument that a carnivorous diet can be healthy. Researchers who surveyed Indigenous communities in Canada found that community members ate more than a kilogram of animal products a day, and between 28 and 160 grams a day of plant foods. The research showed it is possible to live on an animal-heavy diet, says Clare Collins, a professor of nutrition and dietetics at the University of Newcastle. “[The Inuit people] had a really low carbohydrate intake, a really low vegetable intake on their traditional diet, and they ate some stuff that we wouldn’t eat, for example, they ate the organs of a lot of animals, they ate a heck of a lot of seafood, and they ate some of their meat raw, which is actually higher in vitamin C,” she says. “With some of the nutrients, because they ate a lot of these foods, they could meet their requirements.” But, Inuit people don’t have especially long lives. Though the factors that impact life expectancy can be tricky to identify, especially when studying First Nations people during modern times, Professor Collins says diet plays a big role. “Life expectancy is not high and they have very high rates of some cancers. It’s partly attributable to their genetics. And that’s exacerbated by a really high salted, smoked food diet.” She also points out that the traditional diets of the longest-lived peoples in the world include a very high vegetable intake. No matter which diet you look at, they all share a common factor: “They’re all less refined foods,” Professor Collins says. “And that’s a big thing that people don’t really want to look at.” No single answer While proponents of the meat-only diet, and all the diets that came before it, say that they are the ideal way to eat, Dr Chachay says there is no one optimal diet. Differences in our genetic makeup mean that personalised diets could be the way of the future, and Dr Chachay hopes it could even be personalised to the makeup of our individual microbiomes. Image: Getty Images

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