May 15th, 2013
11:45 AM ET
Share this on:

Looks like Mc Donalds' McRib won't be the only pressed pork patty in town.

Burger King is about to offer up some competition. The fire-grilled burger-maker unveiled its summer BBQ menu on Wednesday, which includes the Rib Sandwich along with 12 other items.

The menu, also featuring a Memphis BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich and a Carolina BBQ Tendercrisp Sandiwch, will debut on May 21.

While a Burger King publicist wouldn't confirm if this menu is intended to lure customers away from the McDonald's McRib, the Burger King rib sandwich does bear a BBQ-themed resemblance.

Read - Burger King's answer to the McRib

Previously:
McDonald's got its start as a barbecue restaurant
Taking a ribbing – testing out McDonald's cult sandwich

Posted by:
Filed under: Burger King • Fast Food • McDonald's


Iron Maiden to launch its own beer
March 15th, 2013
03:30 PM ET
Share this on:

Legendary heavy metal band Iron Maiden finally has its own beer.

The famed London-based band, which has been around for nearly 40 years, is collaborating with a venerable British brewery to produce its own beer, named Trooper after one of Iron Maiden's classic songs.

Iron Maiden and Robinsons, a 175-year-old family-owned U.K. brewery, plan to release Trooper in May.
FULL POST

Posted by:
Filed under: Beer • Business and Farming News • Sip


Corn shortage forces farmers to feed cattle candy
October 10th, 2012
10:30 AM ET
Share this on:

Cattle farmers struggling with record corn prices are feeding their cows candy instead.

That's right, candy. Cows are being fed chocolate bars, gummy worms, ice cream sprinkles, marshmallows, bits of hard candy and even powdered hot chocolate mix, according to cattle farmers, bovine nutritionists and commodities dealers.

"It has been a practice going on for decades and is a very good way to for producers to reduce feed cost, and to provide less expensive food for consumers," said Ki Fanning, a livestock nutritionist with Great Plains Livestock Consulting, Inc. in Eagle, Neb.

Read the full story on CNN Money - "Cash-strapped farmers feed candy to cows"

Posted by:
Filed under: Business and Farming News • Disaster • Drought • Environment • Farms • News


In wake of anti-American protests, KFC shuts all Pakistan restaurants
September 21st, 2012
01:15 PM ET
Share this on:

Yum! Brands is shuttering all of its KFC franchises in Pakistan in the wake of anti-American protests there, after one of its KFC restaurants was attacked in Lebanon last week, the company said Friday.

"Our KFC restaurants in Pakistan are closing as a precautionary measure," said Yum! Brands spokesman Christopher Fuller. "They will continually monitor the situation to decide when to re-open."
FULL POST

Posted by:
Filed under: Fast Food • KFC


August 9th, 2012
10:00 AM ET
Share this on:

The drought that's drying up the Heartland isn't just an American problem. It's causing food prices to surge worldwide.

Food prices jumped 6% in July, after three months of declines, according to the United Nations' monthly Food Price Index released Thursday. The main drivers behind the increase? Grain prices. And more specifically, corn prices, which have hit record highs in recent weeks.
FULL POST

Posted by:
Filed under: Business and Farming News • Disaster • Drought • Environment • Farms • Heat • News


As the drought continues, food prices continue to rise
July 30th, 2012
10:00 AM ET
Share this on:

The drought that's spreading across the Midwest is already squeezing consumers, and it's only going to get worse, as the rising cost of soybeans and corn leads to higher prices for meat, peanut butter and other staples.

The price of ground beef could rise to about $2.88 per pound this year, a 4% jump from last year, when the average price per pound was $2.77, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And if you want steak, get ready to pay 25 cents more per pound for sirloin, with the average price rising to $6.47.

Meat prices had already been moving higher, even before the drought took hold.

Read the full story on CNN Money - Get ready to pay more for your steak

Posted by:
Filed under: Disaster • Drought • Environment • News


Safeway to phase out gestation cages
May 10th, 2012
01:30 PM ET
Share this on:

Safeway is the latest corporate giant to publicly shun the use of tiny cages that immobilize pregnant sows which have been condemned by animal rights activists.

The grocery giant joins some of the largest companies in the country with its vow to phase out the use of these cages, called sow gestation stalls, to keep pigs confined.

"Gestation stalls have been criticized in recent years due to animal welfare concerns," Safeway said in a statement announcing its plans "to have a gestation stall-free supply chain."

Read - Safeway shuns tiny pig cages

Previously - Burger King goes cage-free

Posted by:
Filed under: Animal Rights • Food Politics • News • Supermarkets


Starbucks customers bugged, company nixes insect dye
April 19th, 2012
03:00 PM ET
Share this on:

Want some crushed bugs with your Starbucks frappuccino?

Well, you'd better get on it, because soon it will be too late. The coffee franchise announced that it's phasing out the use of insects as food coloring in its drinks and food products.

Starbucks President Cliff Burrows wrote, in a Thursday blog, that Starbucks is "transitioning" away from the use of an insect called the cochineal.
FULL POST

Posted by:
Filed under: Chain • Coffee • Insects • Restaurants • Sip • Starbucks • Taboos


McDonald's to phase out gestation crates
February 15th, 2012
03:45 PM ET
Share this on:

McDonald's said it will get its pork suppliers to phase out the use of immobilizing cages for pregnant pigs, a move that was applauded by the Humane Society of the United States, but not the pork industry.

"McDonald's believes gestation stalls are not a sustainable production system for the future," said the fast food chain in a press release. "There are alternatives that we think are better for the welfare of sows."

Animal activists oppose the use of gestation stalls, which are cages that keep individual sows in close confines while they're pregnant.

"Confining pigs in gestation crates is arguably the cruelest practice in factory farming," said Josh Balk, spokesman for the Humane Society of the U.S. "These are iron maidens that are barely larger than the pigs' own bodies."

Read - McDonald's phasing out tiny cages for pigs



February 8th, 2012
01:45 PM ET
Share this on:

McDonald's extreme-green shamrock shake is going nationwide for the first time, the fast food franchise revealed on Wednesday.

The leprechaun-colored shake is currently available at every one of McDonald's 14,000 U.S. restaurants, according to company spokeswoman Ashlee Yingling.

The shamrock shake itself isn't new. It's been offered by McDonald's restaurants at or around St. Patrick's Day since 1970. But in the past, only certain restaurants offered the familiar green shake.

Read - McDonald's shamrock shake goes nationwide

Posted by:
Filed under: Business and Farming News • Fast Food • McDonald's • News


| Part of