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    Woman feels burned by McDonald’s

    Would you like fries with that?Photo: lille abe via FlickrWe love our McDonald’s stories (as evidenced here, here, and, oh yeah, here), so it’s no wonder that this one jumped out at us: McDonald’s Happy Meal “came with cigarette.”  According to the U.K. publication Metro, Nicky Holloway found an unused cigarette in the Happy Meal […]

    Jen Harper Culture

  • The sweetener lobby: still a powerhouse in the school lunch debate

    For the sweetener industry, shovelling empty calories to your kids has been very, very good business. They’d prefer not to stop. “Healthy Schools” legislation written by D.C. Councilmember Mary Cheh comes up for its first committee vote today after months of deliberations and with one very conspicuous missing element: no regulation of sugar in school meals.  Removing the […]

    Ed Bruske Food

  • Ask Umbra on birth control, single-serve coffee, and sanitizing countertops

    Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, In light of Lisa Hymas’ current series on GINKing, can you fill us in on the most eco-friendly forms of birth control currently available? Keeping It Kid FreeSeattle A. Dearest Kid Free, Indeed the “green inclinations, no kids” (GINK) posts have caused quite the stir. I’ve only […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • A teacher openly crusades for better school food–and gets seared

    Colorado teacher Mendy Heaps: dangerous lunchroom radical–or fruit-cart-pushing concerned citizen? Mendy Heaps, a stellar English teacher for years, had never given much thought to the food her seventh-graders were eating. Then her husband, after years of eating junk food, was diagnosed with cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure and suddenly the french fries, pizza, and ice cream being […]

    Ed Bruske Food

  • What a D.C. private school can teach us about public-school lunches

    Meal time at the Washington Jesuit Academy. Photo: Ed Brukse This is the third of three articles detailing how food made from scratch using local ingredients is served to students at the Washington Jesuit Academy in Northeast Washington, D.C. The first is here; the second here:  Prior to hiring Fresh Start Catering a year ago to […]

    Ed Bruske Food

  • My family (yours, too) needs rich social spaces–not cars–to be happy

    Lisa’s fantastic essay, “Say it loud: I’m childfree and I’m proud,” had 196 comments last time I checked. If you haven’t read it, you really should. I’ll wait here. … It got me thinking. Pardon a weekend ramble. Me and my little resource hogs.I’m a father of two boys and I’ve absolutely loved it. I […]

    David Roberts Culture

  • Ask Umbra on eyewear, faux eco efforts, and Easter baskets

    Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, I need to replace my eyewear—the lenses need updating and the frames are damaged—and I’m wondering what the most sustainable choice is. Frameless seems likely, but if I want to go with a frame (Coke bottle lenses, anyone?) then is metal the way to go? Blindly,Hope K.Providence, […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • Sorry, we can’t cook: D.C. schools say ‘no’ to more veggies

    Cheer up, kid — the chicken nuggets and tater tots are sticking around. In a move that could signal a serious fault line in the argument for more vegetables as a tonic for childhood obesity, drafters of “Healthy Schools” legislation pending before the D.C. Council have scuttled a push for additional produce in school meals […]

    Ed Bruske Politics

  • New study says school food may make kids fatter

    A new study from the University of Michigan finds that kids who eat the food served in schools are more likely to be overweight or obese than peers who bring lunch from home, and also are more likely to suffer from high levels of “bad” cholesterol. The study, which examined the eating habits of some 1,300 […]

    Ed Bruske Food