Laura Rizzardini

Artificial coloring: Cosmetics for food

Americans are all about visual appeal. The risks of grooming vary from slight such as lipstick, eyebrow tweezing, and shaving through moderate such as hair coloring, hair plugs, and dermabrasion to serious such as Botox, liposuction, and face...

Bottled water: Pure convenience

The minerals in a favorite brand of bottled water may improve its taste, but not its nourishment. Tap water offers the same hydration, but not the same convenience. Americans love packaged foods. No matter the lightness of...

Raw foods: Taste not just nutrition

Hamburgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, pizza, and even quesadillas are, of course, all cooked foods. Their crunchy texture, fat, juicy moistness, and heat add greatly to their flavor. In contrast, the crisp, cool, and bland flavors of vegetables...

Too rich or too thin: Body image in America

America provides an abundance of foods rich in sugar and fat. It’s faster and less expensive to begin your day with bacon and eggs on a biscuit at the local drive-through restaurant than to eat fresh...

How to have drinks with a teetotaler

Even though the days of the martini lunch are history, many adults meet over drinks after work or enjoy them with dinner. Given the anesthetic qualities of alcoholic beverages, imbibers are likely to be uncomfortable with abstainers. Wine...

Tolerating gluten intolerance

Scientists aren’t sure, but think high American standards for cleanliness are responsible for gluten intolerance and allergy. Gluten is a component of wheat, rye, oats, and barley. People with celiac disease must be satisfied with rice...

Dishwashers: Washing away the family?

When mealtime required extensive preparation and clean-up, eating was much more than necessary nourishment. It was a cherished and shared ritual. Families not only ate together, but they cooked and cleaned up together. Mealtime required silverware...

Let them eat cake: The culture of Ding Dongs

American fast food may be defined as hamburgers and hotdogs, but we’re no shirkers when it comes to dessert, either. Ding Dongs, Twinkies, Little Debbie Snack Cakes, and Oreos are all well-established American snacks. ...

Bar codes: The beginning or the end?

Americans value their independence as much as their time. Self-service check-out at grocery stores attempts to rival the efficiencies of fast food restaurants. For those who dread the new or the chatty cashier, the parent shopping...

What's in a name? Should Americans eat "pink slime"?

Marketers excel at emphasizing the positive. Would even the most dedicated omnivore continue to eat hamburgers if the emphasis was upon fat and cholesterol rather than hot and juicy flavor? The power of definition is highlighted by the...

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