The 10 biggest food stories of 2017

As 2017 draws to a close, it’s time to sit back and take stock of all the absolutely ridiculous events and circumstances that we had to deal with this year, many of which would have seemed unimaginable even a few years ago. It’s a year that saw many people paying more attention to politics than they had for decades, and because topics like the immigration crackdown and the repeated attempts to repeal Obamacare dominated the headlines (rightfully), there were plenty of huge food-related news stories that you might have missed while you were worrying about, say, a raging wildfire or hurricane or the prospect of nuclear war. We’ve rounded up the top 10.

The 10 Biggest Food Stories of 2017 (Slideshow)

Every day, The Daily Meal’s intrepid news team is on the hunt for new developments in the world of food, and in 2017 we’ve published more than 2,000 news stories this year to date. Needless to say, that’s a massive amount of news, and it runs the gamut from slightly silly (Lorde Admits to Running Secret Instagram Account About Onion Rings) to slightly gross (Starbucks Door Handles Are 31 Times More Germy Than New York City’s Subways), from tragic (Famous French Fitness Instagrammer Dies From Exploding Whipped Cream Dispenser) to uplifting (John Legend Pays Off $5,000 in School Lunch Debt for 99 Seattle Schools), from creative-trendy (KFC Handed Out Fried Chicken Bouquets This Valentine’s Day) to destructive-trendy (Hannity Fans Are Smashing Their Keurig Machines to Protest Brand Pulling Ads).

But some news stories rose above the typical one- or two-day news cycle and stayed in our minds all year long. Many of the biggest news stories of the year were ongoing events, ones that couldn’t be ignored because they changed an aspect of the food world in one way or another, some bad, some good. Some revolved around individual chefs, some revolved around restaurants, some reflected the way that politics seeps into every aspect of our lives, and some were tragedies that affected millions of lives. Looking back on 2017, these 10 events were the biggest food-related news stories of the year.