Food

 WhoWhatWhy - The American food and beverages industry generates a billion dollars a day and is controlled by these 10 companies, in order of influence  spending:  PepsiCo,  CocoCola,  Mars,  Mondelez,  Kelloggs,  Nestle,  General Mills, Danone, Unilever, and Associated British Foods (a private non-US holding company, with 2023 earnings of £19.8 billion, also known as Wittington investments). In 2023 alone these companies spent more than $15.5 million to lobby against public health.  

CNN - Made from leavened batter or dough cooked between two patterned plates, waffles are thought to be one of the oldest desserts around.Often topped with honey, whipped cream, syrup or jam, they’re ideal for breakfast, or a snack, sometimes savored on the run.

Hugely popular in northwestern European countries, as well as the US and Asia, they can be crispy, sweet or salty, with deep or shallow grooves. But where do they actually come from? Experts say the origins of this sweet or savory treat date back millennia.

And while their roots can be traced back to Ancient Greece, Giorgio Franchetti, author of the book “Dining With The Ancient Romans,” believes waffles are derived from a particular delicacy of Ancient Rome. “They are very likely the descendants of the popular ‘crustulum’ (‘crustula’ plural,) which were sweet biscuits adored by the ancient Romans,” Franchetti, a food scholar of ancient Rome, tells CNN.

“The term, in Latin, clearly suggests that these biscuits were crispy, with a crumbly crust that melted in the mouth.” There are no known historical documents on how crustula were shaped, but Franchetti believes they were likely flat biscuits, made with the same basic ingredients as waffles and baked inside two heated irons.The preparation method for crustula is thought to be identical to that of modern-day waffles, although it’s unclear whether crustula originally had the iconic grooves.