This is a really, really great idea, and hopefully it will become part of the way we eat; I just wished a fast-food joint hadn’t come up with the idea first.

McDonald’s restaurants in Australia are testing out a free iPhone app that lets consumers know EXACTLY where the food they’re about to eat comes from.

But really, don’t you think that if you’re seriously concerned about what you eat and where it comes from, you wouldn’t be eating at at McDonald’s? I’m just saying.

The App is called “TrackMyMacca’s” (the Aussie nickname for McDonald’s). It uses GPS tracking, food packaging codes and image activation software to cross-reference with McDonald’s supply-chain data.

The App then lets diners know which farm, bakery, ranch, or food plant the ingredients originated. It even provides the name and a photo of the farmer, fisherman or rancher.

If a diner just wants to know about a specific ingredient, say, the hamburger buns, they can ask for specific details. The App gives them information like “Fresh buns are the building blocks of a good burger. That’s why our Martin Place restaurant could have up to three deliveries a week. You’ll find our bakers at the Fresh Start Bakery, not far away in Liverpool, New South Wales.”

Okay, I admit this is great marketing, which McDonald’s has been known for since the beginning of time. Still, at least the company is recognizing that more of us want to know WHERE OUR FOOD COMES FROM! And that, ladies and gentlemen, is ultimately good business.

Here’s a look at a YouTube video demonstrating the App. Let me know what you think:

You already know this week’s big food news… they’ve banned oversized sugary drinks in New York and the makers of pink slime have brought a libel suit against ABC News.

But here are a few other interesting items you may have missed…

I’ve eaten live eels, fried grub worms and lamb eyeballs… but I think I’ll take a pass on Candy Corn Oreos. Thank goodness my pal Mike Sula at the Chicago Reader took the bullet for me. 

The Food Network’s neon-coiffed Guy Fieri just opened the latest celebrity restaurant in New York. One of the appetizers: “Guy-talian Nachos,” which include pepperoni, ricotta crema and something called “fried pasta chips.”

Letting us know how many calories each item contains isn’t going to stop most of us from ordering that Double Cheese Burger and Biggie Fries at McDonald’s… we want what we want.

And this woman claims she lost more than 80-lbs eating exclusively at Starbucks. Right.

Have a great weekend!

The drought is still killing the corn, Obama’s giving the farmers more money and some glove parts found in Johnsonville Turkey Sausage have sparked a huge recall. 

But seriously, here’s what really happened in the food world last week:

They’re growing meat in the lab. Looks like Dad will be grilling synthetic burgers a lot sooner than we expected.

Don’t ya think taking pictures of what your eating in a restaurant is getting just a teensy-tiny bit old? Not to mention talking on your cell phone while dining… Here’s one LA restaurant’s solution.

OK, look… who doesn’t love curly fries? Even McDonald’s knows you love them. But there’s only one Mickey D’s in the whole world where you can get ‘em.

Oh yeah, the drought and that problem with the corn. Well, for some farmers, this might not be such a bad thing.

And finally, this week would’ve been chef and TV personality Julia Child’s 100th Birthday. She had a tremendous sense of humor…which is apparent in this clip from The David Letterman Show.