Corn cronyism: Tom Philpott lifts the tortilla curtain to reveal the cesspool of corporate cronyism that has spawned out-of-control prices for the Mexican diet staple. It’s a twisted tale that Philpott unravels with his usual care and clarity. Not to suck up (more than usual, that is), but we just don’t know how he cranks out this kind of detailed reporting every week. In related news, in addition to Archer Daniels Midland’s role in the price inflation, others have accused Cargill of hoarding white corn. Meanwhile, the Associated Press has a lame story on how Mexican farmers are benefiting from ethanol-driven corn prices.
Plastic fantastic idea: Water bottles are eminently recyclable, but supply can’t keep up with the deluge of them. Andrew Leonard looks into this, and Ikea’s proposed 5 cents fee per plastic bag. Salon
Calling the Food Network — your audience is missing: Dr. Vino learns from a trusted source that the Food Network isn’t at all fazed by Anthony Bourdain’s latest slaps upside the head, because “it is very unlikely to ever have a show on wine or even organic foods on the air. They don’t want to alienate any of the non-drinking viewers or preach to anyone about the wonders of organic foods.” Dr. Vino
They should have thrown it back: Fishermen who were in search of endangered Patagonian toothfish (aka Chilean seabass) caught a colossal squid instead — 45 feet long and weighing half a ton. If calamari rings were made from this squid, they would be the size of tractor tires. Associated Press
Bee seizin’: An op-ed by Verlyn Klinkenborg sounds the alarm over reports of the new pollinator problem called colony-collapse disorder. New York Times
Slow news day bonus:
Full-bodied candidates: In what’s supposedly the first of his series on leaders and the wines they drink, Dr. Vino views the 2007 French presidential contenders through a wine glass, darkly (and hilariously). Dr. Vino
Co-opportunity knocked: John Birdsall calls attention to a story on a would-be Berkeley food co-op in the current Edible East Bay. We haven’t read it yet, but we like how Birdsall lovingly shreds the idea to pieces like it’s a used paper napkin. East Bay Express blog
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Humor:
February 28th, 2007 at 5:16 am
White corn or yellow corn is important in the short term in Mexico, in the longer term it may be less important as the corn which the US diverts into ethanol will have to be subsituted in food products by other types of grain. I suggest this might push the price of other grains up which could lead to price inflation globally.