Nutraceuticals (Strawberry-Kiwi Baked Ziti)

Orange juice laced with Anchovies? Kinda. In today's New York Times, Julia Moskin examines Nutraceuticals, or ingredients derived from food for a particular health benefit (like Omega-3 fatty acids you get from anchovies). Modern technology allows us to separate the nutrition of some beneficial plant, animal or bacteria and stick it in some other food for purposes of 'fortification'. This is nothing brand new per se, but the make-up of some new foods definitely begs questioning. Is it weird to have powdered beets in that jar of peanut butter? or Am I really eating anchovies when I drink this O.J. because they've neutralized the fish taste and the nutraceuticals are good for me? As Moskin writes:

"Are we really that close to a world in which food functions as a nutrient delivery system, made possible by microencapsulation and fine-spray coating? And what would this mean for food and human nutrition?"

First off, food has always functioned as a way for us to gain nutrients. But Moskin does make an interesting point, one that makes me think of a futuristic space travel diet where you pop a pill that gives you everything you need to survive. Yet at the same time, we are seeing a trend towards locally grown, organic foods. However, to be able to invest in this trend, you must have enough money to spend on higher priced organics. In the end, the average American family is going to eat what's in the supermarket and if that's full of nutraceuticals that big industrial food corporations are pushing, then our food will be pushed even further from nature. It certainly makes you feel like you should be mindful of what you're putting in your body.

Check out the whole article here.

Also, how cool is this illustration (it was published with the article) by Thomas Herpich. He is on point!

Another: