Best Food Facts TASTE Tour influencers were challenged to discover where the foods came from and how the processing happened. Touring farms, soy processing facility, influencers witnessed sprawling fields of produce, met the farmers, and watched soybeans be processed to make different products.

ICYMI, soy is a plant-based source of protein that is in many favorite dishes. But grocery shoppers still have questions about soy. Does it contain estrogen? Has soy been linked to breast cancer? These are just a few of the many questions the 2019 TASTE Tour aimed to answer. With the help of experts — including Julie Garden-Robinson from the BFF expert network — bloggers went home with not only a refreshed outlook on soy and soy foods but also an inspired approach on how to incorporate more soy into their daily lives. Want to know more about the experience? Check out this video:

#BestFoodFacts

Spending three days in Ocean City, Maryland, bloggers followed soybeans from the farm to the processing plant and beyond to the dinner table. They had the opportunity to taste, hold, interact and eat soybeans. Bloggers learned about the growing and harvesting process, saw where the soybeans arrived at the processing facility to be processed, refined and turned into oil. They also enjoyed gourmet meals that featured soybean products.

Scroll on to hear more from the influencers themselves about their #BestFoodFacts TASTE Tour experience:

• I had such a great time in Maryland learning about soybeans. It was not something I really knew about before this trip. Now I’m excited to incorporate more soy products into our diets. It is such a great source of protein, which should definitely help me fill up my growing teenage boy!– Erin Sellin, Dinners, Dishes & Desserts 
• I’m not proud to admit that I truly knew very little about soybeans, what products are derived from soy, and the health benefits before my trip. My mind was BLOWN and I’ll never look at a little soybean plant the same way again. Soy is such an under-appreciated source of vitamins and minerals, and has zero cholesterol. It’s truly heart healthy, and is so much more than just soy sauce. – Becky Hardin, The Cookie Rookie
• I love cooking with soy. I grew up eating foods like tofu, Asian-style soy milk, tofu skins, edamame, and miso. They are my comfort food. Although I’ve eaten soy practically my entire life, I had little knowledge about how they’re grown and processed. That’s why I was incredibly excited when Best Food Facts invited me to their 2019 TASTE tour in Ocean City, Maryland, to learn more about soybean farming and production. – Lisa Lin, Healthy Nibbles
• On my two-day soybean tour, I learned a TON. My head is still processing all the things that I learned about soy farming and the technology that is used to make it such a sustainable and healthy food source. – Lisa Longly, Wine and Glue
• Up until this point, I hadn’t ever really given soy much thought. However, it’s been another food source I have taken for granted until now. – Lynne Feifer, 365 Days of Baking & More
• One of my favorite parts of the trip was learning about the many health benefits of soybeans. They’re naturally cholesterol-free and high in protein and fiber. They’re also rich in B vitamins, phosphorus, and iron. The nutritionist we met with was able to put to rest some of the myths and concerns surrounding soy, and I can absolutely say I’m excited to introduce more soy into my cooking! – Cathy Trochelman, Lemon Tree Dwelling
• I grew up eating soy as a child and as an adult, I do have a lot of soy in my diet. From soy milk to tofu and soy sauce, it’s in my regular cooking. I had an awesome opportunity to work with Best Food Facts. – Julie Tran Deily, The Little Kitchen
• Before my trip to Maryland, I did not know very much about soy and the many health benefits that it provides. I am excited to incorporate more soyfoods into our family meals and snacks. – Jocelyn Brubaker, Inside BruCrew Life
• Soy is good for you! It is a delicious, wholesome plant, that has gotten a bad rap, but that has been consumed for centuries by some of the world’s healthiest populations and has a lot to offer nutritionally. – Rachael Yerkes, Eazy Peazy Mealz

Looking for more content about the tours? Check out these posts:

Lynne Feifer, 365 Days of Baking & More

• Soy – One Little Bean Can Do So Much
• Dairy-Free Pumpkin Muffins
• TASTE Tour 2019: 365 Days of Baking & More – Lynne

 Becky Hardin, The Cookie Rookie

• Edamame Recipe with Everything Bagel Seasoning (Everything Edamame)

 Rachael Yerkes, Eazy Peazy Mealz

• Miso Salmon
• Kale, Edamame, Quinoa Super Salad
• TASTE Tour 2019: Eazy Peazy Mealz – Rachael

 Lisa Longley, Wine and Glue

• Edamame Hummus
• Vegetarian Chili Recipe
• TASTE Tour 2019: Wine & Glue – Lisa

Julie Tran Deily, The Little Kitchen

• Vegetarian Dumplings

Lisa Lin, Healthy Nibbles

• Spicy Roasted Edamame

 Jocelyn Brubaker, Inside BruCrew Life

• Fun Facts About Soybeans
• Sugar Free Vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe

 Erin Sellin, Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts

• The Truth About Soybeans
• Parmesan Garlic Roasted Edamame

Cathy Trochelman, Lemon Tree Dwelling

• Pad Thai
• Soy Glazed Shishito Peppers

The 2019 Best Food Facts TASTE Tour was sponsored by BestFoodFacts.org and United Soybean Board.

The post 2019 Best Food Facts TASTE Tour Recap appeared first on Best Food Facts.

A new discovery is creating a lot of interest gene editing. CRISPR is a technology that allows scientists to make precise changes in genetic code. To find out more about this scientific discovery and its potential uses, Best Food Facts asked blogger Lynne Feifer of 365 Days of Baking to bring her passion for food into the research lab and explore CRISPR technology.

Lynne interviewed Dr. Rodolphe Barrangou in his laboratory at North Carolina State University. “I tend to think of myself as a CRISPR expert and CRISPR enthusiast, as well as a food scientist,” he said.

Lynne asked Dr. Barrangue to explain what CRISPR is.

“CRISPR is actually an acronym, which stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats. It’s a very cumbersome name arguably, but at the same time a very catchy and easy to remember acronym,” he said.

Dr. Barrangou explained that this gene-editing technology works much like a text editor that changes a letter in a word.

“CRISPR in many ways is a molecular scalpel that enables scientists to cut DNA. You can very precisely, very selectively, very efficiently cut DNA. That’s what geneticists do. They find a particular sentence that is unique in the book of life in the DNA code of any particular cell, look for the mistake and then replace this mistake and edit it out with this corrected version,” he explained.

There are many ways that it can be used.

“It’s a question of when, not if, CRISPR-based technologies solve the biggest challenge of medicine, things like curing HIV, curing Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy, curing cancer, curing people who are sick,” Dr. Barrangou said.

Lynne looked further into the potential for CRISPR as it relates to treating disease and making food healthier. Check out the other videos in the series: How Can CRISPR Treat Disease? and How Can CRISPR Improve Food?

The post What is CRISPR Technology? Part 1 appeared first on Best Food Facts.

Blogger Lynne Feifer of 365 Days of Baking has been learning about CRISPR gene-editing technology and its potential. Lynne is usually in her kitchen stirring up new recipes, so she was very interested to learn how CRISPR might be applied to make foods better. She started her journey with Dr. Rodolphe Barrangou who explained how this gene-editing tool works in Part 1. Part 2 looked at how CRISPR could treat disease.

“As a food blogger, I get a lot of my followers coming to me asking for diabetic recipes, gluten-free recipes, allergenic recipes. How does CRISPR fit into that?” Lynne asked.

“Enter CRISPR to the rescue,” Dr. Barrangou said. “If you are allergic or if you don’t like this particular compound in this particular trait, we can inactivate it. We can make gluten-free wheat. We can make hypoallergenic nuts. If we know what the gene is, we can take it out or turn it off or turn it down.”

That’s exactly what Dr. Jessica Lyons and her team are researching at the University of California Berkeley. Their research is focused on using CRISPR technology to remove a deadly compound in the cassava plant, which is also known as yucca.

“Cassava is a really important staple crop for about 800 million people in tropical and subtropical regions of the world,” Dr. Lyons said. She noted that stunting in children under age 5 caused by malnourishment is prevalent in the regions where cassava is widely consumed. However, the plant contains compounds that can cause people to be poisoned from cyanide if the root has not been sufficiently processed.

“If people are relying on cassava and they’re ingesting the cyanide over time, they can get these neurological disorders. The best known one is called konzo and it causes paralysis of the lower extremities,” Dr. Lyons said. “For people who eat plenty of protein in their diet, the cyanide is not as much of a threat. But for people who don’t have much to eat besides cassava, then the cyanide poisoning is more of a threat.”

In the lab, she is working to remove the compounds that cause poisoning.

“We’re going to use CRISPR as a tool to knock out some genes that are very important for the pathway that result in these cyanogenic glucosides. We expect that by knocking these genes out, we’ll remove the cyanogenic glucosides from the root and so the cassava will not release the cyanide any more,” Dr. Lyons said.

Lynne observed that Dr. Lyons is very passionate about the project and asked why. “I’ve been the recipient of a great deal of privilege in my life and I’m aware of that. I think that my work on projects like this are a great opportunity to use the knowledge and the resources and skills that I have to have a positive impact on the world,” she said.

Lynne said her experiences learning about CRISPR had been enlightening.

“After my series of conversations with researchers, it is clear to me CRISPR technology has the potential to make a positive impact on the world in human medicine, disease prevention and food improvements –- and that’s only a few of the possibilities,” she said.

The other videos in the series are What is CRISPR Technology? and How Can CRISPR Treat Disease?

The post How Can CRISPR Improve Food? Part 3 appeared first on Best Food Facts.

There’s no shortage of inspiration here. Read on to learn more about Heather and what inspires her!

What inspired you to start blogging?

I had notebook after notebook of stories, anecdotes, recipes, stories about recipes — and when I had a month off of work in 2008 due to a surgery, I decided to start typing all of this up. Little by little, I showed a few friends and family members. I was then asked to write a column in my local newspaper, which was eventually syndicated. After three years, I started doing weekly and monthly cooking segments from my home kitchen. Later, I started appearing more in local media and weekly on a popular local radio show. At that same time, I started a podcast called Around the Kitchen Sink, which aired for three years — every week. Now I focus more on food choice and agritourism, visiting farms and food producers throughout the Midwest and Indiana, and sharing along the way for my readers.

What is your favorite food to eat?

I could live off of a good dip, hummus or salsa.

What is your favorite food to cook?

I make a lot of stir-fry’s, all-in-one meal skillets and Mediterranean-style foods.

Favorite kitchen/cooking hack?

Gosh, I am not sure. Recently, I perfected the “place a plate on a dozen cherry tomatoes to slice in half” trick and didn’t shoot them all over the floor!

Favorite kitchen gadget?

I am a pretty big fan of any Microplane brand zester.

When it comes to ingredients, what will you always splurge on?

I will always buy good oils, vinegars, chocolate, cheese and herbs/spices.

Can you share with us a #foodfail moment?

I fail almost every time I am on TV. Luckily, no one knows but me! There will always be something that burned, dropped or is raw. It just has to look good on TV!

What is your favorite part of being a food blogger?

I love the interaction with my readers and seeing the good I can do in small ways. It’s like a ripple effect.

Who are some of your favorite food bloggers?

That’s like picking a favorite child!

The post Meet Heather from Basilmomma appeared first on Best Food Facts.