As of this writing, 208,299 people have viewed this video of a subway fight being broken up by a brave, calm man eating a bag of chips. It matters not what chips they are (Pop Chips? Old Bay-dusted? BBQ?) but how his serenity inspired the couple fighting to lay down their arms and contemplate whether life is worth wasting in combat. more ›

Arch West was a marketing V.P. for Frito Lay in 1961 when, on a family vacation near San Diego, he happened upon a snack shack selling fried tortilla chips. And in a fiery blast of scorchin' inspiration, he came up with the idea for Doritos. The wildly addictive snack debuted three years later, and was the very first tortilla chip to be launched nationally—according to Wikipedia, the word "dorito" sounds similar to "doradito," which means "little golden" in Spanish. Our Spanish is a little rusty, but we always thought it meant "Oh God, did I really inhale that whole bag while watching Cops?" more ›

Conservatives have been up in arms all week over a rapper who seemingly glorifies the decadent lifestyle of food stamps and welfare. Stanley Lafleur, aka rapper Mr EBT (H-Man), watched as the video for his single "My EBT," which joyously depicts him using his government-issued Electronic Benefit Transfer card to pay for junk food, went viral this week after Drudge Report and other conservative bloggers held it up as The Reason This Country Is Going To Hell (not the champagne toasts). But Lafleur tells the News that conservatives just don't get his message: "I couldn't believe people are hating on me like I'm rubbing the benefit card in the face of taxpayers. They don't get it. My video is a parody." more ›

Here at Gothamist, we strive to keep you up to date on the most important food trends of the 21st century. That's why we've valiantly taste-tested Pop-Tarts sushi, deep-fried Kool-Aid balls, Montreal bagels, and artisanal ketchup. Today, we were sent a snack food of mind-boggling proportions: the newly released Triple Double Oreo. What does that even mean?! more ›

Since 2005, the Department of Health has been developing an initiative to provide fresh produce and low fat milk to neighborhoods that rely on the nutrition-devoid wares of their local bodega. Progress has been slow, and while the low fat milk initiative was deemed a success in 2008, the produce side of things has been anything but. Finally, the Healthy Bodegas Initiative [pdf here] is gaining some real momentum, thanks to the NY state farmers that have begun to revitalise the project. more ›

Months after it barred schools from holding most food fundraisers, the city says bake sales can go on—as long as no homemade treats with undisclosed calorie counts grace the fold-out tables. The new regulation, designed to combat ever-increasing childhood obesity, limits bake sales to "fresh fruits and vegetables, or one of 27 specific packaged items" that include low-fat Doritos, Nutri-Grain Cereal Bars (blackberry only) and Linden’s Cookies (butter crunch, chocolate chip or fudge chip cookies in two cookie packs) among other things. The city has also recently slapped health regulations on school vending machines and is considering a "Meatless Monday" school lunch program. more ›

The junk food industry is going to war against the Bloomberg administration's big public health push, spending $1 million on an ad campaign asking New Yorkers, "When did the Big Apple become Big Brother?" But Bloomberg isn't sweating the industry's measly million in ads, and defended his hands-on approach to health yesterday, telling reporters, "A little impetus from the government really does improve the public health of the average person. If you want to drink sugared drinks, you're going to have a weight problem, and maybe government should tax it to keep you from doing it." And if taxes don't persuade you to put down the Big Gulp, maybe a little trip to Room 101 will do the trick. more ›

After the NY Times article about Upper West Side mother—and anti-obesity crusader—MeMe Roth, Roth has appeared on local and national television to spread the word against cupcakes distributed at schools and other similar scourges. On Good Morning America, Roth, who has tangled with P.S. 9 administration over sweets given out during classes, said, "Just because... you send your child to school and they're in someone else's care, that does not mean you're forfeiting your rights as a parent," and doesn't want her 4th grader son and 2nd grader daughter to be touched by "second-hand obesity," since Roth bears emotional scars as the daughter and granddaughter of obese women. She told WCBS 2, "Can't kids go from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. without a donut, without, you know, just candy and cookies? It's school. It's not the carnival." While a pediatrician says some sweets in moderation are okay, Roth demands, "Show me the piece of research that says a child performs better at school and behaves better at school having eaten junk food and I will shut my mouth." Researchers, that's your cue! more ›

Obesity, especially childhood obesity, is an issue that the city takes seriously. But one Upper West Side mother's tactics at P.S. 9 have caused the school—and many other parents—to become frustrated and weary. MeMe Roth, an anti-obesity activist who gets upset by "special occasion" junk food ("cupcakes that come out for every birthday, the doughnuts her children were once given in gym"), tells the NY Times, "I thought I was sending my kid to P.S. 9, not Chuck E. Cheese. Is there or is there not an obesity and diabetes epidemic in this country?” more ›