According to the International Herald Tribune, the Center for Food Safety is challenging a recent Food and Drug Administration study on cloned foods.

"There isn't the science to show that these foods are safe," said Charles Margulis, a spokesman for the Washington-based center and author of the report. "I think the agency was heavily influenced by the biotechnology industry."

The FDA disagrees.

"There's not a single shred of data to suggest that food derived from clones or their offspring is in any way unsafe," said Val Giddings, a scientist who consults with biotechnology companies.

Rather than panic about the cloning of food, or panic that there isn't enough effort to clone food, my thoughts drifted towards what effect cloning might have on food.

Imagine having an onion soup made from the best Vidalia onions that have ever been grown. Wouldn't it be a boon for the market to be able to clone those onions for the future? Granted, most of the flavor of said Vidalias comes from the growing conditions, but there has to be some genetics involved. Perhaps a better example would be beef or pork. Imagine going to your local favorite steakhouse and asking the waiter for the genetic tag for the steak you just ate.

I would jump at the chance to be able to specify the lineage of the steak I had last night. Is this a bad thing?

As promised on this weeks Wingin' It Voicemail show, we have a recipe to post.

A couple of shows back, Kris brought in Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Quick-bread. At the time, I could not think of any pumpkin-flavored dish that I had enjoyed, so I tasted this one with a little trepidation and was really surprised. The flavor of the pumpkin was fairly reserved, not overpowering like a pumpkin pie. The chocolate chips and nuts gave a little sweet punch to an otherwise mildly sweetened bread. All in all, I really liked it.

As Kris and I work more on the first show (or zero-eth, or minus eighteenth), there might be more tidbits, recipies or information showing up here, so stay tuned!

On Wingin' It today, we were asked where people should send recipes if they'd like to contribute. As promised, the addresses recipes@foodgeeking.com and stuff@foodgeeking.com have been created. Feel free to submit your favorite recipes for addition to the site or possibly as a featured recipe on an upcoming show. We will contact you for permission first, of course.

Since I also comitted to releasing the first recipe when the Wingin' It voice mail show comes out on Tuesday, consider this to be the "Zero-eth" recipe. We also have a voicemail line for those who prefer talking more than typing. The number is 206-20-EATS-8, or 206-203-2878.

As we get ready to record and launch the first Podcast, I'm noticing food-related articles around the Web more often. The Economist recently ran an article about Pepsi and Starbucks trying to revitalize their brands. This response highlights my biggest problems with Starbucks:

In Starbucks' case, it's not the ambience that puts off consumers, it's the coffee. If only they roasted it a bit less. My colleagues agree that if they had another option they wouldn't buy Starbucks but, since there is a Starbucks on nearly every block around our office in the District, our options are limited.

I've had several questions from people I know asking why Starbucks torches their coffee, and the answer is "Consistency". Starbucks wants a consistent cup of coffee, just like McDonalds wants the Big Mac to taste the same wherever you go, so they over-roast it to remove any minor flavor variations in the beans. I prefer Seattle's Best Coffee over Starbucks, as they roast for flavor rather than consistency.

With Starbucks locations on every block, as the commenter points out, it's a bit difficult not to grab a cup from them. Even though the coffee has some problems, it's still better than Foldgers.

I've finally finished the templates and Drupal content types and configurations, so Food Geeking is here!

Over the next couple of weeks, Kris and I will be working on the first show and figuring out exactly which of the 51,386 ideas from last weekends's discussion will be used. We're expecting a show between 20 and 45 minutes in length, several different segments that will rotate through the show, and other stuff we're not ready to disclose as of yet. More after the break...