Free Republic

RFK's new initiative is looking to take aim at all the junk: Rest in peace, food pyramid! Long live the Trump Triangle of health! And with health advice like this, long life is much more likely. The new website to promote the Trump dietary guidelines is realfood.gov! And, if you'll notice, it's essentially the inverse of the old food pyramid, pictured here 👇 Wikipedia/USDA Protein, dairy, and fat are now at the top of the graphic. Here's RFK promoting the real food campaign and attacking the ultra-processed food industry at today's dietary guideline announcement: The hard truth is that our...

State officials are preparing to take the land and legacy of a farmer for the crime of water “violations.” “The state wants people to think I’m an outlaw,” says Bob Greiff. “They don’t want people to know the true story.”(Photo by Ray Aguirre)The government is preparing to take the private land and legacy of an 85-year-old farmer for the crime of irrigation. Why? He watered his crops without regulatory approval. “I didn’t use a drop past my legal rights, but because I put it on the wrong field, I’m a criminal and the state wants to take everything I have,”...

If you want to live longer and feel better, stop chasing food fads. Every few months, a new “miracle” plan — keto, intermittent fasting, carnivore, raw — promises to fix everything. Most don’t. Even those that show modest benefits rarely deliver results worth the time, effort, and mental energy they demand. As an Harvard-trained oncologist and world leader in health policy, I’ve spent decades researching what actually improves health outcomes. The answer to a longer life is so simple: Good nutrition is about building about habits you can sustain for years, not weeks. While you should consult your physician before...

Cracker Barrel is barreling toward yet another PR disaster, this time angering customers throughout the South for ditching a tradition on New Year’s Day. In early September 2025, Cracker Barrel fully retreated from its proposed plans to modernize and remodel its restaurants to a more minimalist, corporate look and replace its old trademark logo, featuring “old timer” Uncle Herschel, with a boring, stripped-down version. They didn’t have much choice, as customers were enraged and their stock price had plummeted You’ve shared your voices in recent weeks not just on our logo, but also on our restaurants. We’re continuing to listen....

The MONTHLY Gardening Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the...

...awakening ancient roots, recovering water resources, restoring 43 hectares, and transforming dead lands into living ecosystems recognized by the UN. In the region most affected by drought, communities in Ethiopia are regenerating entire forests without machinery, seedlings, or virtually any money, simply by awakening ancient roots hidden beneath the soil and changing the way they use the land day after day. These communities in Ethiopia take areas considered dead land, devoid of vegetation and water, and transform them into hillsides covered with trees, shrubs, and crops, where streams flow again and the soil stops cracking. In just a few years,...

More than 2,800 pounds of grass-fed ground beef has been recalled over possible E. coli contamination. “Mountain West Food Group, LLC, a Heyburn, Idaho establishment, is recalling approximately 2,855 pounds of raw ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O26,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced. Nearly 3,000 pounds of ground beef across six states was recalled on Saturday due to possible E. coli contamination, the Department of Agriculture said. https://t.co/rVv3fSebPC pic.twitter.com/2aeSpqRZkp— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) December 30, 2025Fox Business has more: The “Forward Farms Grass-Fed Ground Beef” items packed in 16-ounce...

(Photo by Önder Örtel on Unsplash) =============================================================== When it comes to brain health, not all dietary dairy is equal. In A Nutshell * Swedish researchers followed nearly 28,000 people for up to 30 years and found those eating 50+ grams daily of high-fat cheese (more than 20% fat) had a 13% lower dementia risk compared to light consumers * Not all dairy showed benefits — milk, yogurt, low-fat cheese, and low-fat cream had no clear link to dementia risk, while butter showed mixed results depending on overall diet quality * Vascular dementia saw the biggest drop — people eating the...

The latest recall impacts Washington state-based Direct Source Seafood LLC products sold at various locations. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed a recall of more than 83,000 bags of raw frozen shrimp for potential radioactive contamination, expanding actions taken against shrimp products that were imported from Indonesia. According to an announcement last week, Washington state-based Direct Source Seafood LLC is recalling 83,800 bags of frozen raw shrimp sold under the Market 32 and Waterfront Bistro brand names “because they may have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with” radioactive cesium-137,...

The designation highlights Italy’s long-standing communal foodways, from regional harvest traditions to daily cooking practices passed down through generations.Key points: -UNESCO officially recognized Italian cuisine as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, marking the first time an entire national cuisine has received this distinction. -The designation highlights Italy’s culinary traditions as a communal, daily practice rooted in seasonality, regional identity, and shared rituals that extend far beyond individual dishes. -Italian officials and experts say the recognition strengthens efforts to protect authentic Italian products from imitation while acknowledging the global influence and widespread popularity of Italian food. -Rome’s Colosseum glowed with...

With all the complaining about inflation - and who you vote for depending on the price of a pound of hamburger - who is is the real culprit in inflation, especially food? Who is that has the "twirling mustache" in this situation? Tariffs? 80-90% of our food is domestically sourced-imports only 20%. Energy? Fuel prices have been coming down in the past year in most of the country-except for those over-taxed/regulated blue states. Labor? Agriculture is due for major automation - many crops are already machine harvested-more needs to. And, sorry Jazzie Crackpot,cotton has been picked by machine since the...

Updated: 21 hours ago TRUMANN, Ark. (KAIT/Gray News) - A man in Arkansas was sentenced after authorities found 24 dead cats in his freezer. On Monday, Boddie E. Williams, 38, entered a negotiated guilty plea to one count of aggravated cruelty to a dog, cat or equine. He was sentenced to 36 months of probation, with 24 months of supervised probation. Boddie E. Williams, 38, entered a negotiated guilty plea to one count of aggravated cruelty to... Boddie E. Williams, 38, entered a negotiated guilty plea to one count of aggravated cruelty to a dog, cat or equine.(Source: Poinsett County...

Downing a smooth, sweet morsel of chocolate may feel like the ultimate indulgence, but did you know that certain compounds in dark chocolate could actually be good for your heart? Yes, you read that correctly — dark chocolate is more than just a delicious treat; it has some sweet potential benefits for your cardiovascular health too. Before you start stockpiling candy bars, though, there's a bit more to the science than simply grabbing the darkest-looking chocolate on the shelf. As a registered dietitian, here’s what I think you need to know about the potential health benefits and drawbacks of dark...

Reviewed by Christopher P. Cannon, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Heart Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing =============================================================== Cheese consumption in this country has been climbing, reaching an all-time high of 42 pounds per person last year. Yet most cheese varieties contain a fair bit of saturated fat and sodium — two things people with heart disease are often urged to limit. Still, there's no need to banish cheese from your diet. In fact, a daily serving of this popular dairy product may be good for your heart. For a 2023 review in Advances in Nutrition, researchers pooled...

Pork might be cheap, fatty, and flavorful, but pig farming isn’t without its downsides. For starters, pigs are highly social creatures — capable of displaying distinct personality traits as well as emotions like stress and fear — and considered the fifth most intelligent animal in the world, demonstrating cognizance that rivals that of a three-year-old human child. The environmental impact of factory meat production is also astounding. Yet since the 19th century, we’ve bred, fattened, and harvested these sensitive creatures on an unprecedented scale. Now, a new startup named Mission Barns is looking for a way to change that: the...

More than 1.5 million bags of shredded cheese sold at retailers including Walmart and Target have been recalled after the Ohio-based manufacturer warned the products may contain metal fragments. Great Lakes Cheese Co., the Hiram, Ohio-based firm, initiated the voluntary action affecting multiple brands sold at major retailers. The recall, which began on Oct. 3, stems from potential metal fragments in supplier raw material — prompting what regulators describe as a downstream recall across several product lines. The FDA classified the action on Dec. 1, and the recall remains active. The affected cheese — including mozzarella, Italian-style blends, pizza blends...

The MONTHLY Gardening Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the...

KEY TAKEAWAYS * Beehive Cheese from Utah earned five bronze awards at the World Cheese Awards. * The event in Bern, Switzerland, featured 5,244 entries judged by 265 experts. * Beehive's award-winning cheeses include Apple Walnut Smoked and Barely Buzzed varieties. ======================================================================= UINTAH, Weber County — The Beehive State is known for many things, but if you asked a Utahn to list them, cheese likely wouldn't be one of the things mentioned. But Britton Welsh and Uintah-based Beehive Cheese Company are looking to change that. Beehive Cheese in November traveled all the way to Bern, Switzerland, to showcase its cheese...

A supplier of Boar’s Head cheese has issued a recall due to the potential presence of Listeria, according to the Food and Drug Administration. “Boar’s Head took immediate action to halt the purchase of these products from The Ambriola Company, notify retail partners, and ensure that the affected products are being removed from distribution nationally,” Boar’s Head said in a statement. The recall is categorized as a Class I, meaning exposure could result in serious health consequences or death. Which Boar’s Head items are being recalled? The recalled items were sold at Kroger stores in Kentucky and Indiana, and include:...

For some scientists, there’s no place more romantic than a cheese cave. When Tufts University biologist Benjamin Wolfe, then a biology postdoc, shepherded his colleague Rachel to a surprise rendezvous with her boyfriend in a Vermont cheese cave, a marriage proposal ensued. And, according to Wolfe and his colleagues’ new paper in Current Biology, so did a discovery about evolution. Some cheese varieties are ripened in caves where they attract microbes—yeast, bacteria, and fungi (molds)—which form a rind on the cheese surface. Molds like Penicillium (the same genus that produces the human antibiotic, but a different species) spur the ripening...