Ancient Shopping List Shows Early Man Really Loved Meat
The Onion: "Ancient Shopping List Shows Early Man Really Loved Meat" (links to audio) Posted at 8:22 AM Central Time

Why we're fatter
"We all agree -- and despair -- that obesity is on the rise. America has been getting fatter for the past century, and the problem has worsened over the past 35 years. We also all know the obvious explanations. Who would discount the role of new food-marketing practices, like super-sizing or pushing soda sweetened with corn syrup? Or the decrease -- even elimination -- of physical activity in school and in adult life? An important new paper, though, cautions us to be skeptical that corn syrup and sitting around are the only factors that matter for understanding the obesity epidemic." Posted at 8:30 AM Central Time

Hilarious...
We got yet another link on MetaFilter. Posted at 8:21 AM Central Time

Calling all Vermonters and Idahoans!
Vermont! Idaho! Where are you? I just finished my book about this grocery list collection but there's something missing: A list from Vermont and a list from Idaho.

Chapter 19 is supposed to include a list from all 50 U.S. states and I have 48 of them (plus D.C.) -- but I still need these two. So this is my final request.

C'mon Idaho, c'mon Vermont, send me a grocery list and it will end up in my book (which will be available from F+W Publications in April 2007).

And now that the book is done I plan to upload a few hundred more lists to the site, so get ready for a big update.

UPDATE: I got a list from Vermont and Idaho! Thanks everyone! Posted at 12:59 PM Central Time

Hungry for Whole Foods
"The hunger of some residents for the cachet of Whole Foods is stirring unease among working-class residents who worry they will be forced out by new affluence and among longtime retailers who are struggling with rising rents and sagging sales... 'It would be more beneficial for the whole community if some of those lobbying for Whole Foods were to devote their energy to supporting the Columbia Heights farmers market,' said Elizabeth McIntire, a longtime neighborhood activist, referring to a farmers market suspended by all the construction activity." Posted at 8:46 AM Central Time

Free books: It's the July GLC giveaway!
UPDATE: The GLC Giveaway books for July are gone. Congrats to Zen O. and Aubrey M. -- enjoy your free books! | The first person to write in and request one of the books linked below gets it for free during our 7th Monthly GLC Giveaway of 2006. Limit one per person -- and you must request a specific book. First come, first served. You also must include a snail mail address -- but we won't use your email or postal address for anything other than sending you the book. Email me for a free book while they last!

It's hot out there, at least here in the Midwest. Let's cool off with ice cream and ice!

Gone! Sent to Zen of Richfield, Minnesota!
Ice Cream: The Delicious History | "From ice harvesting to gelato, to the origin of the sundae and the ice cream soda, to Baked Alaska (first called 'Alaska, Florida' of all things) and ice cream bombes, Powell mixes together everything ice cream for a sweet, breezy blend of food history, personal anecdote and cookbook. Few readers will finish this volume without wanting to down a double-scoop waffle cone, but as there's little history here that's new, it may also leave them hungry for further reading." —Amazon.com (List price: $19.95)

Gone! Sent to Aubrey of Forest Hills, New York!
Ice: The Nature, the History, and the Uses of an Astonishing Substance | "This book is just plain amazing. One would think that no one could write a 560 page book on frozen water and make it not only interesting, but fascinating. I found myself turning the pages and reading despite myself. Mariana Gossnell has a style that leads one on from wonder to wonder. Indeed 'Ice: The Nature, the History, and the Uses of an Astonishing Substance' is a masterpiece of science writing. From a pond freezing over in winter to the ice on Jupiter's moon Europa and the ice in comets (indeed at least half of the water currently on earth may have originated in these deep space travelers) here is everything everyone might have ever wanted to know about this amazing substance and a lot more beside." —Amazon.com (List price: $30)

UPDATE: The GLC Giveaway books for July are gone. Check back in a few days for more free books during the GLC August Giveaway.

Love,
The GLC Crew and keaggy.com Posted at 7:22 AM Central Time

Reimagining the Grocery List
"I keep seeing products designed to help people keep track of food they have and items they need from the grocery store. Eventually, these products all have a business model that involves showing ads or printing coupons from the device. Seems reasonable. The latest one allows users to voice input information to add to the shopping list." Posted at 8:24 AM Central Time

GLC on CBC Radio 3 (again)
Thanks for the link, CBC Radio 3! Posted at 8:22 AM Central Time

GLC Audio: The feature you never asked for
Hear GLC reader Jason recite a grocery list:

powered by ODEO Posted at 6:56 PM Central Time

Organize that shopping cart
"Yes, even grocery shopping can be organized. Why? There's something to be said for getting home and being able to enjoy nacho chips that aren't in a million pieces. Below are some tips for how to have an orderly shopping trip: Designate each layer in the grocery cart for particular items -- the small space for your purse, child or flyers; the second, larger space for cold items such as dairy, eggs, meat; and third largest section for large items like bulk soup, toilet paper and pantry items." Posted at 8:36 AM Central Time

Request for submissions: Be part of my book
OK folks, I'm really close. I still need grocery lists from the following U.S. states: Idaho, Oklahoma, Vermont | Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Wyoming. Just 14 13 11 8 7 6 4 3 more!

I now have New Mexico then realized I'd prefer to use my Oklahoma list in another chapter. So, Oklahoma? Are you out there? Send in another!

If you've found (or find) one in a grocery store in any of these states, send them to me and they'll probably end up in the book I'm working on. Or you can just send me one of your own lists -- I just want to have a list from all 50 states in the book. Even if your state is already claimed, send your list to me. It'll go on the web site no matter what and I may like it better than the one I already have for the book. (International lists are welcome too!) C'mon! Hurry! Posted at 8:49 AM Central Time

Eat Your Hybrid Veggies
"Innovation is sweeping through the farm sector, bringing surprises that go beyond exotic fruits jet-shipped from the ends of the earth. In many cases it is consumers who are influencing produce breakthroughs, just as they forced agribusiness to take organic food seriously. Years ago seed companies courted farmers with new seed varieties that promised big harvests of veggies that could stay fresh for seemingly impossible lengths of time. Today's consumers are less interested in, say, rubbery tomatoes that last forever on a shelf, and more attracted to healthful produce that actually tastes good." Posted at 7:12 PM Central Time

Flavored U.K. KitKats leave Nestle with bad taste
"KitKat bars have been among the best-selling candies in Britain since they were invented here in the 1930s. One of the chocolate-covered wafers is eaten every 47 seconds in the United Kingdom, KitKat says. So it was natural for its maker, Nestle SA, to apply to KitKat a marketing strategy that is becoming increasingly popular at food companies world-wide: extending a popular brand into new flavors and styles... The experiments flopped. In just two years, KitKat's overall sales in the U.K. dropped 18 percent..." Posted at 7:30 AM Central Time

Food Reference: Food History, Trivia, Cooking Schools, Recipes
Food Reference is a ridiculously interesting and useful web site for those of us interested in all things food. The site features "articles and trivia about food, recipes, quotes, events, cooking schools & tours, food art, cookbook reviews, humor & poetry, crosswords" and more. Posted at 7:15 AM Central Time

Yayhoo for Yahoo 9!
Welcome Yahoo! TV viewers who saw the GLC on The 9 for Thursday July 13th! If you've found any grocery lists on your trips to the market, scan them send them my way. Or just send me yours. You could end up in my new book: "Milk, Eggs, Vodka: The Lost Grocery Lists of America." (International lists are welcome too!) Posted at 2:15 PM Central Time

The Knowledge For Thirst
A new weblog about sodas and other fun drinks: "The Knowledge For Thirst is two gentlemen giving each other updates on what they've been drinking recently. Joshua Allen eats things only so he can get thirsty. Kevin Fanning's palate is so sensitive he can differentiate between 1% and 1.5% real fruit juice." Posted at 6:53 AM Central Time

Seduced by sales? You may need retail therapy
"We've all been there: You go into a store for a legitimate purchase and suddenly the clearance rack beckons. On 'Today's Money,' we take a look at the seduction of sales. 'Today' financial editor Jean Chatzky was invited on the show to offer tips on how you can avoid the discount splurge." Posted at 7:39 AM Central Time

My grocery list system, a gift to the world
"I'm hugely proud of my grocery list system. I've worked on it for many years, evolving it into a highly refined state. It's time to offer it to the world. Behold The Hines Household Grocery List!"

Brian's list is quite nicely organized; it's interesting to see other peoples' systems. My book will include a page (and downloadable PDF) featuring what I call "The Ultimatest Grocery List" -- the end-all be-all of ready-to-go lists. Just you wait. Posted at 8:34 AM Central Time

Back away from the self-checkout station
"We are a nation of do-it- yourselfers. We self-help. We self-medicate. We self-destruct. We light our own fireworks. We grill our own hot dogs. We brew our own beer. We prize the independent spirit. Go forth, young man, with your power tools and plywood and build yourself a patio. Go forth, young pioneer, with needle and thread and reattach the limb that was accidentally lopped off during the construction of said patio. In celebration of that kind of irrepressible self-reliance, American retailers have introduced the ultimate in independence technology: the self-checkout." Posted at 9:45 AM Central Time

Organic Therapy
"'Modern farming, with its chemicals and pesticides -- which are there purely for the sake of increased yield and increased profit -- are not doing us a favour,' [Guy] Dauncey explains. 'Since we started modern farming, the quantity of nutrients in the soil have fallen by an average of 50 percent just since 1950-because farmers are no longer treating the soil with manure and nitrogen-fixing cover crops.'" Posted at 6:38 AM Central Time