Welcome to Food Week August 29, 2025. Either the tariffs are going to stick and we are going to have inflation or not and then… I don’t know, recession without inflation? In addition, we learned that MAHA is taking from the Michelle Obama playbook. Micro-organisms abound this week and lot more. Enjoy!
MACRO
- Appeals courts rule Trump’s tariffs illegal. Surely the ruling will be appealed.
- After the hype, a leadked document says Make America Healthy Again is mostly voluntary compliance and education. Seems to me I remember Michelle Obama trying education about 10 years and people losing their minds.
- Famine in Gaza grows.
RETAIL AND CONSUMER
- The highest protein meats. Some of you will be disappointed.
- Walmart, other retailers will pass along tariff costs to consumers. If the tariffs stick, prices on everything will go up. .
- Liquid Death is the belle of the Brand Ball.
- Considering the public Grocery Store.
- The secrets of buying liquor at Costco.
RESTAURANTS AND FOODSERVICE
- Another manufactured controversy: Cracker Barrel changes its logo, which makes sense because having a lazy old guy on your logo is like a stop sign for anybody under 50. But the President glommed on and now they are changing it back.
- I was prompted to order by a waitress last week to order medium rare plus (for someone else) This article says that is BS; other steak ordering tips.
- Another example of AI taking an over: Man crashes system by asking for 18,000 cups of water at Taco Bell drive through.
- Most people thin waiting more than 30 minutes for food delivery is too long.
- The best pizza in every state.
FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
- A nutrient supplement to prevent colony collapse in honeybees.
- Screwworm jumps species.
- Argentina and Uruguay soybean growers benefitting from trade war.
- Napa wineries under stress from climate change. Wildfires to boot.
- Lobster supply under stress due to global demand.
DRINKS
- 49 states in the US have declining levels of alcohol consumption. Then there’s Tennessee.
- I have seen Mellow Corn whiskey and never knew what it was. Apparently it’s a favorite among bartenders.
- The Wisconsin version of the Old Fashioned is having a moment. Increase in diabetes to follow.
- Using Pastis.
- The Honey Deuce. The signature cocktail of the US Open. The Tall as a Tree and twice as Shady. The Prickly Pear Margarita. The Chi Chi (Rodriguez).
FOOD WEEK August 29 LAGNIAPPE
- Vibro was bad enough – now Gulf Oysters can contain flesh-eating bacteria. It can kill you. Yikes. But the CDC Food Net system will no longer monitor campylobacter, cyclospora, listeria, shigella, vibrio and Yersinia.
- Most expiration dates are about product quality. But some foods present an actual threat.
- The difference between shrimp and prawns.
- If you have a genetic aversion to cilantro, try carraway seeds.