Welcome to Doug's Domain!

As part of my duties as an editor of Food Product Design, I constantly scour consumer and trade media outlets, as well as briefs from academic and other professional journals, for the latest information that inevitably shapes our constantly changing culture of food. I also talk food with countless people--at work and at play.

A primary driver in this consumable quest is to further investigate, understand and communicate how to make the food we eat healthier, safer and, above all, taste better. Whether it's a quick bite in the morning, a snack munched between meetings, or a leisurely dinner in the company of friends and family, I have a passion for flavor. If it doesn't taste good, why bother? But health clicks in at a quick second place.

Food has sat at the forefront of my mind ever since I hired on as a line cook at my favorite restaurant early in my college career to escape the horrid realities of dorm food (if you read CULINOLOGY®, see my back-page bit on this subject in the Sept. 2005 issue...). This is many years ago, well before today's increasingly inspired college cafeteria fare (here's a glimpse: http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2006/april5/ivy-040506.html).

Speaking of school foodservice, both consumer and trade media have whooped much ado these days about the Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act (see /news/2006/04/proposed-legislation-seeks-to-standardize-school-f.aspx). Of course, it's all for the children...

True, the desire to bring outdated definitions and standards up to speed is a noble pursuit. But is banning all "junk" food really the answer? What's the next step? Banning all sugary snacks within a one-mile radius of any public school? If a teenager wants a cupcake, they're going to find one. Legislation often simplifies the causal action and reaction equation. It's a knee-jerk response to a complicated situation. The food industry is already working to make that cupcake healthier (take out the trans, maybe replace some white flour with whole-grain, maybe some fortification...). And what about education--at school and at home? Educated moderation is the answer. There's nothing wrong with an occasional cupcake. But there is something wrong with taking the cupcakes away.