OMG, eaters, there's a new player in the genetically modified food wars: The discovery of microRNA, tiny bits of ribonucleic acid that can bind themselves to protein in your liver cells and affect your body's uptake of cholesterol from the blood. It's been linked to diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's, and diabetes. And it may reveal a way that genetically modified food could influence our health -- for very complex reasons you can read about in The Atlantic.

Does the discovery of microRNA prove that GM food is dangerous? Well, it's complicated -- and it's very controversial. But every time I hear news about genetically modified foods, I think two things: Why are we still not requiring food companies to label GM foods, and how do I find non-GM foods in the meantime?

Oh boy, I really could have done without this news this morning: The fungicide carbendazim has been detected in our orange juice. The FDA says that it "will start testing for fungicide," which has been found in low levels in orange juice. But nothing to be alarmed over -- they also say they "aren't concerned" about the levels of contamination, but just want to test to make sure the contamination "isn't a problem."

Remember the arsenic in apple juice controversy? Part of the problem was that, while the US does not allow the use of arsenic as a pesticide in the US, we still import juice from other countries where it's used. Well, it's the same story with orange juice. The US has not approved the use of carbendazim on our citrus farms, but we still import juice from other countries, like Brazil, where it's used. So here we go again.

News flash! More and more men are doing the grocery shopping -- this according to an article in the Chicago Tribune. OMG, retailers have noticed that men sometimes go to the store! And buy food! DID YOU KNOW!?! 

Yes, actually. I live with one of those men they're referring to and I can attest from personal experience that he does indeed do the grocery shopping at times. Like most moms, I appreciate it when my husband does the grocery shopping. In theory. Mostly. Okay, fine, I kind of cringe when my husband leaves for the store. It's not so much because he doesn't know how to buy food. He's a perfectly capable adult! It's just that he doesn't buy the same foods I buy.

Remember when Dr. Oz did that expose on arsenic in apple juice? And the FDA freaked out? "There is no evidence of any public health risk from drinking these juices," they said. Then on Good Morning America former Oz classmate Dr. Richard Besser accused him of fearmongering. But Dr. Oz would not be stopped. The FDA tried to poke holes into Dr. Oz's study. They claimed that the levels were "essentially harmless." They said most of the arsenic was the safer, "organic" kind from crushed-up apple seeds. Dr. Oz stood by his results.

Now Consumers Union is ganging up on the FDA, too. They did their own test and BOOYAH! Looks like team Oz and arsenic-haters win another round. FDA, I think YOU owe Dr. Oz an apology. There's arsenic in them there apple juice!

It's been a bad week at the supermarket. First, Smucker's recalled its Natural Peanut Butter Chunky because of a possible salmonella contamination, and now Ready Pac Foods is recalling bagged salads in 15 states for E. coli bacteria. I don't know what we are going to eat at my house! We kind of live on peanut butter sandwiches and bagged salads.

Today was National Clean Out Your Fridge Day! Not unlike Talk Like a Pirate Day and National Pancake Day, no one is actually forcing you to participate. However, if you're like me and you find yourself buying four jars of peanut butter because you can never see the first three, you might want to use today as an excuse to get rid of the clutter in there. I did, and what I found could actually have a serious impact on my health -- and not just in the "you could get food poisoning from eating that expired ham" kind of way.

You see, that's my fridge right there, before I celebrated National Clean Out Your Fridge Day. Yep, that's a chicken right next to the milk. Ewwww.

I know my grocery bills have been skyrocketing, but now I have proof that we're all spending more and saving less at the groc shop. The American Farm Bureau informs us that this year for Thanksgiving, you can expect to spend 13 percent more on all the fixins' than you did last year. That's a huge jump! Just think if our cost of living went up 13 percent every year.

While the list compiled by the AFB encompasses a dinner for 10 including "turkey, cranberries, pumpkin pie mix, pie shells, whipping cream, peas, stuffing, rolls, sweet potatoes, whole milk, and other items," there are ways you can keep those costs down. Last year this list would run you $43.37 (which is not bad, actually, for feeding 10 people), and this year, it will run up your bill to $49.20.

Which is why you should do these three things right now to save on the big day.

As someone who believes we should all know exactly what is in our food, where it comes from, and how it was made, I'm surprised by my reaction to this legislation before the U.S. Senate. Senators Patrick Leahy (Vermont, of course) and Susan Collins (Maine) want stiffer penalties for those fakers who pass off imitation maple syrup as the real deal. Currently the crime is a misdemeanor, and they're looking to make it a felony.

Look, I think anyone passing off fake stuff as real should be punished, and I certainly don't want to give my family crappy fake maple syrup that's loaded with corn syrup. However, can we get some perspective here, people?