'promoting junk food..'

So how can I possibly avoid the Olympics? Answer, I can't.
So a word on sponsorship. So the only 2 official partners/sponsors of the 2012 Games with regard to food are Cadbury and McDonald's. any people have criticized this as 'promoting' junk food. Now, okay, I do see their arguments however surely we can look beyond these standard stereotypes. I can't really comment on Cadbury although I hope that their dairy sourcing is as ethical as it can be, but that's a different blog for a different day.

However out of all of the fast food chains out there, McDonald's are probably the best of a bad bunch. They were one of the first places to get their food ingredients and nutrition information out to the public.They are the first to admit when something isn't going right and also they try and change to appease their diners. Whether this is switching to Fair Trade coffee, opening 24 hours a day, or treating their staff very well indeed. Their website is good and easy to understand and it also has facts about the importance of a balanced diet. They even have a 'nutrition' calculator on their website?! Yes okay they do whack a hell of a lot of sugar into their products, but they are honest about it. We have to respect that. Oh and their an enormous international giant - so they must be doing something right.
Honesty is the best policy - as always.

(team) gb

'think outside the box..' campaign post #1

More and more meat purveyors are relying on boxed meat. Now why is this? It's because every carcass only has a certain amount of rib eye, a certain amount of fillet and sirloin? So for instance if you want a 3 bone rib of beef you can't use the same piece for rib eye steaks. So most butchers top up their carcass meat with boxed beef (shock horror - some don't even get beef in). Boxed beef is cut by giant meat plants that then distribute the loin and rib, or packed fillets, or whole rumps...like a butcher's butcher. 

Okay, so why not get in extra carcasses? Because the amount of trim/excess fat/gristle/bone would be enormous. The bain of the butcher - waste. However I want to suggest that it is do-able. It has to be. So how do we get around this problem? Right, as the consumer we have to start eating other parts of the beef, is has to be cost effective. And if you know how to cook it - I can assure you - you won't want  fillet ever again.

gb