The Daily Dish: Pepsi CEO Says: 'Bugs Are The Food Of The Future'

Pepsi CEO Says: 'Bugs Are the Food of the Future'

Grubs are great, according to Big Soda. Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi said the future of food was bugs and insects, and she predicted that the edible creepy crawly trend would explode in the coming years. "Bug-related stuff is big," Nooyi told investors at the Net/Net event at the New York Stock Exchange earlier this week.  "[Experts] said the hottest thing is eating crickets." Although crickets and other bugs may gain popularity in the coming years, Nooyi said she didn't see Pepsi releasing bug-filled products anytime soon. Entomophagy — or the consumption of insects — may be popular globally, but it hasn't exactly hit the United States yet. However, in the future when climate change has dwindled our protein options, bug-filled snacks and foods could go from "yuck" to "yum."

Wake Me Up When Caffeine Sets In: Green Day's Mike Dirnt Talks Up New Coffee Brand

Mike Dirnt and Billie Joe Armstrong may still be rocking out as the bassist and lead singer, respectively, of punk-rock band Green Day, but they also just started a line of sustainable coffee. Oakland Coffee Works is introducing the first coffee packaging made of certified compostable materials to several Bay Area stores. Dirnt is calling their coffee the "fourth wave" that supports sustainable farmers and is packaged with completely biodegradable materials. "Experts told us that there was no sustainable way to package the coffee without it going stale; it needs a one-way valve to breathe to prevent coffee from going stale," Dirnt told The Daily Meal. "They said it couldn't be done but I'm stubborn when people tell me I can't do something. I push back against the status quo."

Confusing Beverage Label Blamed for 'Free Tea' Shoplifting

A man has been accused of shoplifting from a convenience store in Japan, and he's blaming a misleading label for the incident. According to Rocket News 24, a Twitter user named Domoboku witnessed an accused shoplifter fight with a store clerk, who had spotted the man taking a bottle of tea off the shelf and drinking it without paying for it. The customer yelled that he hadn't done anything wrong because the tea was supposed to be free. Indeed, what he had taken was a bottle of lemon tea that had the English-language brand name "Free Tea." The admittedly confusing brand name comes from the fact that the tea contains GABA extract, which comes from rice and is supposed to relieve anxiety and help people relax. The tea's name is supposed to imply that the tea will free people from stress, but the customer seemed to have thought that "Free Tea" meant "this tea is complimentary." The furious customer said the name was very misleading and recommended the company change it immediately.

Celebrity Chef Fined $1.3 Million for Metal Wire in Dish

Retired lawyer Barry Brett received more than he bargained for when he was served a piece of wire from a metal cleaning brush in his $32 plate of coq au vin in February 2015 at db Bistro Moderne, the Midtown Manhattan restaurant owned by celebrity chef Daniel Boulud. Brett was awarded $300,000 in damages for injuries to his esophagus after swallowing the 1-inch bristle, and the restaurant received an additional $1 million penalty for the use of cheap metal brushes near food, the New York Post reported. The hefty fine serves as a warning, not only to Boulud, but also to the rest of the food industry, of the potential dangers of metal wire brushes in restaurant kitchens. The restaurant's lawyer said he planned to appeal the verdict.

NYC Petition Calls for Legalization of 'Bodega Cats'

A new petition in New York City is calling for the legalization of bodega cats, the four-legged "security guards" that live in many of New York City's delis. The issue was brought to life after a Yelp reviewer gave an East Village deli a one-star review because of her allergies to its in-house cat. The Change.org petition, written to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, calls out the double standard that allows dogs to occupy restaurant patios but prohibits cats in bodegas. So far, the petition has received more than 4,000 signatures.