Weekend Reading: Fast Food Gimmicks, Beer Label Design, and a Climate Change March

What we’re reading, cooking, and clicking this week

Did you get sick of hearing your mom tell you carrots were good for your eyesight when you were told to eat your veggies as a kid? If you need help remembering what other fruits and vegetables are good for you and why, Dr. Akilah El has come up with this handy guide showing the visual similarities between certain foods and the internal organs they help maintain. Examples include walnuts for our brains and kidney beans for—what else?—kidneys. [Dr. Akilah El, Celestial Healing Wellness Center] —Judy Haubert, Food & Prop Stylist, @judyhaubert

Fast food gimmicks come and go, but last week's launch of the black cheeseburger from Burger King forced us to look back on a few of those failed items we might not have ever known existed. Warning: you may gain 5 pounds just by looking at item number 8! [Bustle] —Michellina Jones, digital producer, @michellinajones

The huge People's Climate March is happening on Sunday, September 21 in New York City, and scores of food justice groups are involved. Oxfam America is just one of the food-related organizations concerned about the way climate change is increasing hunger globally. From 1 to 2 PM at the Climate Block Party space at 38th Street and 11th Avenue, Oxfam will have a food truck set up handing out free samples of delicious food that is threatened by climate change. [Oxfam America] —Betsy Andrews, executive editor, @betsyandrews

Surprise, surprise. Diet sodas aren't good for you. According to the New York Times, researchers have found evidence that artificial sweeteners may alter gut bacteria and the body's ability to regulate glucose. [New York Times] —Mari Uyehara, senior editor, @mariuyehara

In a photographic survey of hospital food from eight different countries, NPR's The Salt blog examines the varying levels of care and quality differing hospitals put into feeding their patients. The meals seem to reflect the importance of food in each country, or perhaps they just support well-known and long-held stereotypes: English hospital food looks atrocious, while Japanese looks pretty damn near wonderful. In any case, the salt reports, there seems to be a rising interest in improving the quality of hospital meals across the board. [The Salt] —Oliver Erteman, digital editorial assistant

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I have a minor obsession with food packaging design and labels, so I very much enjoyed stumbling upon this smackdown of modern beer label designs, delivered by design legend Milton Glaser in the New York Times magazine in March. Well, smackdown might not be exactly the right word, since he does have some good things to say about a few of them—but it's entertaining nonetheless. [New York Times] —Laura Sant, assistant digital editor, @mizsant

I am a fairly indecisive person when it comes to food choices, so when I plan a meal out at a restaurant, I usually spend hours reading the menu at home before I go. As you can imagine, I was stoked when restaurants began to shorten their lengthy menus. The trend nowadays, The Washington Post_ reports, is for simple menus, focusing on quality over quantity. I'm all for it. [_The Washington Post] —Farideh Sadeghin, Test Kitchen Director, @sadeghin