After a year of volatility because of avian influenza, smaller cattle herds and weak exports, a quiet rebuilding year is welcome.

Is the time right for foodservice operators, particularly upscale casual restaurants, to adjust their menus to a post-recession reality?

Poultry, pork and beef processors are experimenting today with more automation and robotics in cutting and deboning operations, which will, they hope, lead to increased speed, efficiencies, worker safety and food safety.

"Trying to slice bacon with a dull blade is like having a screen door on a submarine — in either case you are in trouble,” says Mike Bliss, vice president of operations at Butterball.

Barbecue used to be so much simpler: pick up a bottle from the condiments aisle for a home marinade or pick the standard Southern or Midwestern sandwich off the menu.

Processors use post-harvest pasteurization methods to put another barrier between their product and Listeria — their clean, sustainable qualities are an added benefit.

Cooking, chilling and freezing systems are a necessary component of the post-harvest process.

This winter, Foster Farms announced that a strain of avian flu was discovered at one of its commercial turkey ranches.

Chipotle’s organic tofu Sofritas, Panera Bread’s Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich and Burger King’s BK Veggie burger are all popular and all lacking one thing: meat, which isn’t an accident.