Archive for March, 2009
Unfair fare: Why prices for meat from small local farms are too high
Editor's note: New York part-time farmer Bob Comis sent us a link to a post on his Stonybrook Farm blog for consideration in the Digest, but we liked it so much we asked him if we could publish an edited version in its entirety. His opinions are going to raise some hackles, not to mention hocks, but
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Digest: Monsanto blog launched, more food news from White House
New media = new image?: Monsanto has been a punching bag in the blogosphere for years. We should know. Now, the biotech giant has not only launched an ad campaign aimed at food's "thought leaders," it's digging into its deep pockets to fund a new Facebook presence, Twitter stream, and a blog, Monsanto
Postcard from England: Farm Collective opens cafe
Earlier this month I spent 10 days in England, visiting friends from grad school in London, Hove (near Brighton), and Diss (near Norwich). I was there for fun, but it was impossible not to see with Ethicurean eyes just how far ahead of America the UK is when it comes to chewing the right thing. Here's
Digest: Times et al on food movement’s “arrival,” dairy drama, Murphy profiled
Busy days; we're playing catch-up on news this week. Send URLs we shouldn't miss to 1 Comment • Read more »
On your market, get set…: Building Local Roots in Ohio
There must be something in the Ethicurean (tap) waters. As much as we love to eat and write about SOLE food, more and more of us are finding ways to put not just our money, but our time and energy, where our mouths are. From our
Meet menhaden – before this ecologically critical fish vanishes
By Alice Friedemann Ever heard of menhaden? Probably not, although perhaps you're familiar with the fish’s other names: bunker, pogies, mossbacks, bugmouths, alewifes, and fat-backs. You may be surprised to learn they’re the most important fish in the Atlantic and Gulf waters. Menhaden are the vacuum
Marlow & Daughters butcher shop: “This meat is our reputation”
A recent Coolhunting.com video highlights Marlow & Daughters, an old-world
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Digest – News: Anti-biotics, working for the (corporate) man, and the price of obesity
More squealing from the porkers: The National Pork Producers Council objects to federal legislation introduced Tuesday by Rep. Louise Slaughter (no pun intended, really), the only microbiologist in the U.S. Congress, that would restrict the use of medically-important antibiotics in livestock production.
Digest – Features & Blogs: Convention frenzy, local meat gets scrapped, and Michelle’s big announcement
O-yeah: Michelle Obama tells Oprah that she's planning a veggie garden on the lawn of the White House in order to "use it as a point of education, to talk about health and how delicious it is to eat fresh food, and how you can take that food and make it part of a healthy diet." The President won't be
Fatal attraction: Humanity’s love affair with fish like the Chilean sea bass
Recently I was snared — or hooked, snagged, or netted (pick your favorite fishing pun) — by a book that shows humanity's enormous capacity to affect ocean life. We can nearly wipe out an entire species in just a few decades thanks to new technologies and taste trends. Take the Chilean sea bass, Dissostichus
The slaughter bottleneck in buying local meat
Last fall I wrote a piece for Mother Jones' sustainability issue, on how the lack of small-scale slaughter facilities hampers both local meat production and distribution. It was bumped from that issue, along with all the other food coverage, and finally appears in this month's March/April special package
A recent California transplant builds a garden with help from fellow zero-wasters & frugalistas
By Stephanie Paige Ogburn As the general economic malaise coincides with impending spring fever, recession gardening has come into vogue. Stories of record-high seed sales pepper the news, along with musings about modern-day
Digest – News: The California conundrum, Monsanto at large, and tuna testing (not to be tried at home)
A new growth export market - the revolving door: U.S. government agencies are imploring foreign countries to bring their food safety regulations up to the (arguably pretty low) U.S. par, but the buck doesn't stop there: countries like India are being pushed to develop regulations on GM crops, industrial
Digest – Blogs: Tomato truths, legislation lies, and the murky waters of sustainable shrimp
The price of tomatoes: Tom Philpott follows up on his trip to Immokalee, Florida with the second of a two-part post, examining how tomato pickers survive on $50 a day. The answer? With much difficulty. (Grist) That's the internet for
No comment, no say: lend your voice to shaping four big food & ag policies
Photo from Iowa, courtesy of factoryfarm.org. It's easy to get cynical about our ability to influence policy or policymakers - especially when we don't have lots of money or a well-dressed K St. lobby firm to throw around. But I'd venture to say that with all the change-making, democracy-taking action
