Archive for February, 2009
Learning to share: “Dinner at Your Door,” by Alex Davis, Diana Ellis, and Andy Remeis
Not quite two years ago, as our local meat CSA was in the works, I gathered with a few people to discuss “The Omnivore's Dilemma,” the Ethicurean, CSAs, and local food in general. One person
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Digest – News & Features: Tomato pickers make Gourmet, MiPo in MoJo, Obama on payment limits
Update: now with working URLs! (sorry and thanks Patrick!) We Digest food-politics news both tasty and ewww for you twice a week. Send articles (and puns!) to t1 Comment • Read more »
Digest – Blogs & Commentary: Gardening delight, garden delisted
The force that through the green fuse drives the flowers: Food politics news can be depressing. Cheer yourself up by reading this wonderful, funny account of Dylan, a.k.a. "the Best Little Gardener in Deep East Oakland." This made our night, anyway. (Clebilicious.com;
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CSA to deliver education along with produce
God willing and the creek don't rise, I'll be picking up my first CSA delivery of the year in late April. When I do, it will be the 16th consecutive spring that the Rolling Prairie farmers have unloaded their goods and distributed them to subscribers in Lawrence, Kansas. Those facts — the 16th year
This is what democracy looks like
Today is a big day for all of us who believe not only in sustainable food and agriculture systems, but also in the democratic process. The months since the election brought an outpouring of engagement from citizens urging the Obama Administration to appoint change-makers to lead our country. And it paid
All steriled up: Produce safety guidelines throw sustainability out, keep toxic bathwater
Readers may remember back in November when I announced the first installment of a two-part post on produce safety. It's taken me a few months to get around to it, but here we are: part 2! Photo of a "sterile farm" courtesy of the
Digest – News: Meat on the move, the chains of biotech, resources for organic
Drop it like it's hot: Brazilian beef giant JBS, which snagged Smithfield's beef business last March, abandoned plans to purchase U.S. National Beef Packing Co. on Friday. The JBS/National Beef merger was under anti-trust investigation by the Justice Department, which celebrated JBS' decision and claimed
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Digest – Blogs, etc.: Frogs in the coal mine, what the government’s not telling us
Don't ask, don't tell: Tom Philpott wonders why, after two studies released last month showed detectable levels of mercury in products containing high fructose corn syrup, the FDA by its own admission has no plans to look into the issue. How nice that the agency would rather trust the claims of an industry
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What the health?: A review of “101 Foods That Could Save Your Life”
In the past year or so, the local college has started a Wellness Series of lectures designed to discuss various health topics designed to appeal to all members of the community. Unable to attend any of last year's, I thought I might try to catch at least one this time around, so recently I dragged a
Digest – News & Features: Grass-fed emits more CO2 than grain-, wheat threatened, Grandin creates certification
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Digest – Commentary & blogs: School food programs need to start from scratch, Vilsack unCOOL’d, NYC foodshed
Trays important: Alice Waters and Chez Panisse Foundation director Katrina Heron urge the Obama administration to fix the National School Lunch Program not by throwing a little more money at it, but by starting from scratch. Which means a lot more dough: enough for schools to afford to cook and serve
Saving for college, one potato at a time
Countless parents are deeply anxious — and rightfully so — about how their children will be able to afford college, even if they diligently contribute to education savings funds for them. To help, many teenagers find jobs as soon as they are legally old enough, which usually takes time away from
Digest – News: Dairy cows on the moove, Big Corn throwdown, a locavore loses it
Industry pail-out: California's dairy industry announces a plan to cull 300,000 dairy cows, or roughly 1/6th of the state's herd, in an attempt to raise market prices for milk from the $0.97/gallon producers have received recently. Mass sell-offs have happened before, but often the cows were bought by
Digest – Blogs: Sweet analysis, rural internet woes, good food in the city
Never let them see you sweet: Tom Philpott looks into a new Tufts study that finds corn subsidies may have been a boon to the HFCS industry, but they alone don't make bad food cheap. Australia has similar obesity patterns but eats sugar instead. What we need to do, Tom says, is figure out "how to disincentivize
A valentine for my farm
It's that time of year...we are inclined to dig up our innermost feelings for our loved ones and shower those lucky souls with evidence of that love. Cards, candies, and caring words in celebration of relationships. I am doting on the relationship that keeps me alive and well. Often neglected and in
