Eating ethically isn’t especially easy.
For one thing, it means cutting down on my meat consumption, at least until I find more sources of meat that my stomach can stomach, now that it is actually attached to my brain. Also, Noshette is a born-again omnivore and it still getting her meat-feet wet, so we are eating tofu […]

Batten the hatches, there’s a deluge o’links today.
MAJOR NEWS: Following on his decision last month that the USDA failed to take seriously concerns that genetically altered seeds could migrate to other alfalfa crops, U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer in San Francisco has ordered that the sale of such seeds be stopped for now. Monsanto […]

Horses were long my favorite farm animals, but recently I’ve been smitten by pigs. There’s just something about their quivering heart-shaped noses, their doglike intelligent eyes, and their curvaceous butts that really gets me. These days, I also like to eat them, nose to tail — someday Miss Steak and Corn Maven and I […]

Another reason processed food may make us fat: Some preliminary research is indicating that environmental exposure to common chemicals — including pesticides and those used in food and beverage containers — may trigger obesity. The NIH’s National Toxicology Program is reviewing bisphenol A, a chemical used in cans for food; concerns about its estrogenic effects […]

Sometimes chewing the right thing just isn’t enough. Time to vote with our voices.
This week the House Budget Committee will vote on a budget resolution that establishes spending priorities, including for the Farm Bill. As the Center for Rural Affairs puts it:
Our chances for winning major farm bill reform or increased funding levels for sustainable […]

A while ago, I mentioned Food and Wine’s feature on eating locally, and noted that I had sent a few recipes of my own for their consideration. I’ve not heard back from them, and with winter drawing to a close, I decided to share one or two that can be enjoyed through much of the […]

Rice flows: Rick Weiss has another excellent feature, this time on rice farmers’ frustration over seeds’ contamination with genetically modified varieties unapproved for human consumption. Biotech proponents are asking “what’s the big deal?” and claiming no harm has come to human health. (But since U.S. genetically modified food isn’t labeled, how can we track its […]

Note from Dairy Queen: The following is a guest post from our friend (and Berkeley neighbor) Marc, who writes regularly for Eat Local Challenge, Growers and Grocers, and his own blog, Mental Masala. We’re hoping that despite his many other obligations, he’ll become a regular contributor to the Ethicurean: in addition to being a top-notch […]

Growing food is an art: Amy Franceschini, a San Francisco graphic designer and visual artist, is trying to revive the victory gardens planted during World War II. San Francisco Chronicle
The man who gave us Thunderbird & Boone’s Farm: We were ignoring the news that nonagenarian wine mogul Ernest Gallo has died — until now. Jon […]

…and other interested parties: the Food and Drug Administration is holding two public hearings about the safety of fresh produce, one in Oakland on March 20 and another in College Park, MD, on April 13. The participant registration deadline is March 12 for the Oakland hearing and April 6 for College Park.
The purpose of the […]

Bill McKibben — the writer, thinker, activist, and all-around awesome guy — will talk about his new book, “Deep Economy,” with food-chain chronicler Michael Pollan on March 19 at Berkeley’s First Congregational Church. Tickets are $10, available online or at local independent bookstores. Don’t live in Berkeley? Go see him at the many other readings […]

Guilty on all counts: Some fascinating market data in this little article about the 2007 National Grassfed Beef Conference in Pennsylvania. The majority of consumers purchasing grassfed beef are women who are younger, highly educated and more affluent. “The consumer is looking for more than cheap products, they are looking for attributes or an […]

Horizon Organic (the largest organic milk producer in the U.S.) today announced it had published a new set of guidelines governing “Standards of Care” on its company-owned farms.
Under fire from the Cornucopia Institute, a family farm watchdog group, and others for keeping cows in feedlots — and even going so far as to fake their […]

Last Sunday I made bacon and eggs for breakfast.
Nothing earth shaking about that — but I didn’t buy the bacon from the farmer’s market or even Farmer Joe’s. Actually, I made the bacon myself — from a 2 lb. package of pork belly I received through Operation Pork.
The pig who provided the pork belly was […]

The chicken AND the egg: It looks like in poultry, antibiotic resistance may be transmitted down family lines — at least in chickens, researchers have found. Banning their use on the farm may be too little, too late. USA Today
And speaking of antibiotic resistance: Washington Post reporter Rick Weiss, who broke the story about the […]