Free Republic

KFC will be introducing edible bowls for one its bestselling rice-based meals at certain trial branches in India in a bid to reduce the use of plastic, British daily, the Telegraph reported. The new packaging will be made of tortilla to replace plastic bowls for the American food chain’s famed “Rice Bowlz.” Considered as one of KFC India's best-selling items, the “Rice Bowlz” - made from rice, chicken and gravy - contribute to approximately 6% of the chain’s domestic revenues, the newspaper added. Dubbed as "India-first innovation," Rahul Shinde, managing director of KFC India, said the idea could expand to...

The wine-swilling co-founder of Sai Wai Xiang Halal Foodstuff Co enjoys his pork and does not follow Islam, but still sells more than $50 million-worth of food to Muslims across Asia and the Middle East. The company is at the forefront of a Chinese drive into the global halal food and beverage market, exporting as far away as Saudi Arabia. Businessman Deng Zhijun bills his wares as “products with Muslim ethnic flavour”, but has difficulty recalling some of Islam’s basic dietary tenets. “Muslims definitely don’t smoke and don’t drink alcohol,” he said over a lunch at the company, in a...

I first heard of Pliny the Younger from a fellow beer fanatic, who spoke in a hushed, reverential tone as he told me about the exorbitant lengths people go to for a glass. This year, I decided I needed to try it. But with the Super Bowl 50 fiasco forcing Beer Week to reschedule two weeks before Pliny's release, the only surefire way to get some was a trek to Santa Rosa. My first attempt was on the opening Saturday of this year's release. I'd read of the eight-hour lines, the camping in the rain, and the hotel specials to...

It’s been more than six years since Michelle Obama kicked off her “Let’s Move!” initiative to fight against childhood obesity, and children are as overweight as ever before. That’s according to a new study published Tuesday in the journal Obesity. A team led by Duke University scientist Asheley Skinner studied data from the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and found that the percentage of overweight and obese children between 2 and 19 years old has increased across the board since 1999. That comes as bad news for the Obama administration, which has sought to force children to...

It’s 3 p.m. on Arthur Avenue in The Bronx, and Filomena Magavero settles in for a late lunch inside the venerable Mario’s, a favorite Italian restaurant on this strip of Old World butcher shops, fish stores and bakeries. She sips a gin martini (“Is there any other kind?” Magavero gamely asks), and orders filet of flounder oreganata. “Fish is my mainstay,” says the diminutive and neatly coiffed Magavero, eyes sparkling. “Plus, I grew up eating legumes, and I still like my lentils and chickpeas.” As for the martini? “I have one whenever I eat out — which is about five...

House Democrats on Tuesday released letters from Pentagon officials that they said should put an end to “silly speculation” generated by Republicans that protecting a bird known as the greater sage-grouse could hamstring the U.S. military. They're hoping the new information persuades lawmakers to oppose a GOP provision in the annual defense policy bill that would block the Obama administration from protecting the sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act for 10 years. The measure also would prevent implementation of land-use plans by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to conserve the sage-grouse and its habitat. …

There’s been a virus outbreak. The population at large has been infected and a large part of it now roams aimlessly searching for its next meal — of human brains. You know the drill, you’ve watched enough episodes of ‘The Walking Dead’ so you should be fine, right? Wrong. According to the experts at Psychology Today, it won’t be the toughest or bravest who will survive a zombie apocalypse. The ones who will thrive are vegans. Here’s why vegans will survive a zombie apocalypse and meat eaters won’t: 1. The hunting problem In a world full of zombies, there are...

MIAMI (AP) — Even the wellbeing of rats, roaches and spiders are a concern for animal activists. But they also pose ethical dilemmas for owners of vegan restaurants who need to keep those pests out of their kitchens while trying to abide by no-kill values. Melanie Cochran, owner of The Wild Cow Vegetarian Restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee, was adamant about not using traditional pest control services when it first opened. For a few years she was able to keep pests at bay, but when the restaurant developed a problem, she called an exterminator even though she said it went against...

ROANOKE (WSLS 10) – Lovers of Cracker Jack popcorn will soon be in for a surprise when they go looking for the buried toy prize inside the box. The brand is bringing its 125-year tradition of including a toy prize inside to an end, replacing the toy with stickers containing digital codes. Those codes will lead customers to baseball-inspired games that they can play on their phones. “The Cracker Jack Prize Inside has been as much a part of the nostalgia and love for the brand as the unforgettable combination of caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts,” said Haston Lewis, senior director...

A 9-year-old started his own business in order to make a very special purchase. Tristin Jacobson opened up a lemonade stand to raise money to pay for his very own adoption, according to the Springfield News Leader. Four years ago, Jacobson's biological mother dumped him on the doorstep of a Missouri shelter on a cold January day. Donnie Davis got a call about Tristin, and she's been taking care of him ever since. Jacobson has always wanted Davis to adopt him, but she couldn't afford the legal fees. So this past week he opened up a lemonade stand to raise...

I've seen a few opuses (opi?) here on Free Republic the last couple of days. They are mostly of the "I'm gonna take my ball and go home!" genre. Well, those balls aren't going to do much good just sitting in the closet at home. These people should give their balls to Hillary Clinton. Hillary isn't much of a basketball player, but she will take these balls and stab them and grind them up and use them as borders for the rose garden at The White House. So, don't just take your balls and go home, give them to Hillary....

Eating nuts has been linked to a number of health benefits, such as a reduced risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Now, new findings from South Korea suggest that a nut-rich diet may also reduce a person's risk of colon cancer. The researchers found a reduction in this risk for both men and women, according to the findings, presented here today (April 18) at the American Association for Cancer Research's annual meeting. Eating a serving of nuts three or more times a week appeared to have a big effect on risk, said Dr. Aesun Shin, an associate professor of...

As a Latina who married into a Jewish family, I've long lobbied my in-laws to include beans and rice on the Passover menu. The holiday is a time when Jews avoid leavened foods in commemoration of their biblical exodus from Egypt — when they had to flee so fast, they couldn't even let the bread rise. But beans and rice aren't leavened, I've argued, so why not include them in the Seder meal? The answer I've long gotten from my mother-in-law: tradition. You see, like many American Jews, my mother-in-law is of European ancestry, or Ashkenazi. And by tradition, Ashkenazi...

In L.A., there always seem to be new ways to stuff our faces with ice cream, be it scooping the dessert onto wacky churros or loading it into waffle "taco shells." Now comes an imported trend straight from South Korea, in the form of a zany, J-shaped cone. BluTusk, an ice cream shop on the second level of a Sawtelle strip mall right by Daiso and Nijiya Market, has been selling the hollow, puffed-corn cone (aka Jipangyi) filled with soft serve since December. While the cone made a splash in New York last year when Play J food truck introduced...

One of the secrets to rich milk production in lactation has been uncovered by researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. Their studies have revealed that breast cells develop two nuclei as the breast switches on lactation to nurture the newborn. This change begins to occur in late pregnancy with the generation of vast numbers of cells with two nuclei. The research was led by Professor Jane Visvader, Professor Geoff Lindeman, Dr Anne Rios and Dr Nai Yang Fu, from the institute's ACRF Stem Cells and Cancer Division, and shows that these cells with two nuclei disappear at the...

Well, well, well .....

Kim Jong Un broadcasts 'Master Chef'-style cooking competition while North Korea starves Published April 22, 2016 Cheese-chomping despot Kim Jong Un held a “Master Chef”-style competition to find North Korea’s top cooks as millions across the nation starve. The Emmental-obsessed dictator gave the show, which was broadcast on state TV, the green light despite an estimated two-thirds of the country’s 27 million people surviving on food rations. The Commie connoisseur developed a love of European cheeses and fine wines when he went to school in Switzerland. But the tubby tyrant was served decidedly different fare during the contest as competitors...

The largest fish ever caught and approved as IGFA All-Tackle World Records. This is all about big fish. Many of these big fish are sharks and billfish as well as some other species best released. Many of these records are decades old, during a time when a different awareness and sensibility about releasing fish prevailed. While today, we prefer to photograph such fish at the boat and let them go, we feel these catches represent a valid — and eye-popping — part of the history of sport fishing. — SF Editors

Who will Hillary Clinton call while she is in prison? No private Internet for our girl while she's in the slammer. Will she call Bill? Will she call George Soros? Will she call the IRS Helpline? I'm thinking that she will call Bernie Sanders and prank him. "Hello, Bernie. I'm calling from the Association of Sanders Supporters to talk to you about joining our organization. For a mere $20 donation, you can join ASS. We like to think that you have to be an ASS to support Bernie."

We in Maryland heard some good news during the past week: due to conservation efforts and weather conditions, the Blue Crab population is going to be about 35% higher this year. This is good news for crab lovers, but especially good news for the watermen along the Chesapeake, who make their livings from the 'Beautiful Swimmers'. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/chesapeakes-blue-crab-population-grows-35-percent-dnr-predicts-robust-season/2016/04/13/8bebdcbc-0192-11e6-9d36-33d198ea26c5_story.htmlThe first time I encountered a crab, I was a teen, lying in bed asleep, when my brother came into the room, dangled a live crab in front of my face, and yelled, "Wake Up"! He had come home from a friend's house with...