The Ethicurean was founded in May 2006 by me (Bonnie Powell) and my friends JC Costello, Erika Bodoin aka Omniwhore (who came up with our name), Kathryn aka Corn Maven, and the Butter Bitch and Miss Steak (who prefer to remain anonymous due to their corporate jobs). Since then, nine more writers have joined us; we now have contributors in six states plus Montreal and Sydney. (Meet/contact the Ethicureans.) We have more than 50,000 unique visitors a month, and over 500,000 page views.
What we have in common is that we spend a lot of time thinking about food. Not just about how to prepare it, or how it tastes — although those things are very important to us — but to exploring where and how it was grown and by whom, how it got to our plate, and the less obvious effects of our consuming it. Being an Ethicurean means simply trying to "chew the right thing." Some of the things we write about frequently include:
- News: We publish twice-weekly Digests of important news stories, features, commentary, and blog posts from U.S. and international sources. We also review relevant books and movies about food politics. (NOTE: these are currently on hold due to a medical problem the Digest editor has preventing her from the keyboard-intensive work necessary)
- Food policy: We keep tabs on the Farm Bill, the $280 billion piece of contorted legislation that every five years determines the big picture for not just agriculture, but eating in this country. We also monitor states’ attempts to encourage or inhibit things like raw milk sales – see the category Politics — and changes in federal labeling of practices like "grass fed." While we believe that voting with your fork (and wallet) is an effective way to start reforming your personal food chain, it’s going to take changes in national policy to really have an effect. Which is why we’ll often call on you to contact your Congressional representatives and let them know you care about a certain topic.
- Food safety: We watch out for major recalls related to E. coli and other bacterial problems, and keep you updated on the hamburger Threat Level. We also track genetically modified foods, and meat and milk from cloned animals, which we believe should be labeled — but isn’t.
- Labor: We support a living wage and intelligent immigration policy for farm laborers, meatpackers, and other essential workers in the food chain.
- Cooking: We celebrate it, not treat it like a chore from which packaged, processed foods can "save" us. We regularly feature recipes from fresh, seasonal ingredients.
- Eating: Being an Ethicurean isn’t about "shouldn’ts" and "don’ts," but about enjoying as much deliciousness as possible. Some ways to do this: Patronizing farmers markets, where you can ask why some of the mushrooms on offer are organic and others not, and what to do with a rutabaga or green garlic; taking field trips to visit farms and find out firsthand how they grow, raise, or make their food, and under what conditions. We like to eat out, so we offer restaurant reviews that attempt to quantify the guilt-to-goodness ratio of their menus.
- Humor: Food politics can be depressing, given how broken our food system sometimes seems. We believe satire, silly videos, and really bad puns are the best palate cleansers.
We welcome guest posts, new contributors, and questions from readers. We’re not preachy…or at least we try not to be. We’re aware that not everyone has the time or resources to grow, cook, and eat as much SOLE food as we do. But we think every bite counts.
Food, Farming, & Food Politics events calendar
Humor:
February 13th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
I’m looking for a local meat source near San Diego, CA, and don’t have the freezer space for a whole pig or cow. Do you know of any “CSA - model” or food co-op meat sources in this area or tips on how to get one started?
February 13th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Check out the food safety article in this months American Vegetable Grower Magazine. Under Federal Marketing order as per the Fresh Produce Safety Act of 2007. All produce growers will be subject to inspection under guidelines set forth by Wal-Mat, McDonalds and Walt Disney Co. They include “cameras, employee identification,fences with locked gates, security guards, area patrol, unathorized entry signs, etc. All for a lack of management caused by the faliure of gov agencies to control wildlife. This will do for the small produce grower what NAIS will do for small livestock producers.
February 20th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
With respect, two points: First, since ethics by definition is about what one ought to do and ought not to do, it seems odd to say that “Being an Ethicurean isn’t about ’shouldn’ts’ and ‘don’ts’…”
Second: The logo of the Ethicurean pig with the bib is an example of what has been called “suicide food”:
http://suicidefood.blogspot.com/
– the attempt to make animals appear as eager advocates of their own deaths and consumption. I think an ethical consumer would esCHEW this attitude, which really is a matter of pulling the wool over one’s own eyes. Notice too that the Ethicurean pig is obviously feminine and cute: an example of what Carol J. Adams, author of The Sexual Politics of Meat, calls “the animalizing of women in contemporary cultural images and the sexualizing of animals used for food.”
http://www.triroc.com/caroladams/slideshow.html
If we’re going to try to be conscious about our food choices, then we’ll have to admit that these choices can rarely be separated from ethics.
February 20th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Taylor:
If ethics were so easily boiled down to “thou shalt nots” that we could all agree on, the world would be a much simpler and better place. What we mean is that our do’s and don’ts may not be the same as yours, depending on what culture you are coming from. I personally don’t care so much if people share my exact values, as long as they have some well-considered ones of their own.
Re: the pig — yes, we are shamefully aware of the suicide-food angle, and if we were starting the site all over again given all that we know now, might choose a different logo. It’s funny you bring up the Suicide Food blog, because I’ve been meaning to ask that guy to do a Q&A starting with our pig as Exhibit A. And although I own Adams’ book, I haven’t yet gotten through it.
Thanks for the thoughtful criticism.
Bonnie
February 20th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Funny, I’ve never thought of our pig as female. Go figure.
March 2nd, 2008 at 3:04 pm
In the April issue of Eating Well, there’s a little blurb on the definition of “ethicurean”, courtesy of the Ethicurean. Not that you’re new to being in the press, but Yay for you guys!
June 12th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
This site looks great. I’m adding you to my blog roll.
September 9th, 2008 at 4:41 am
I added you ages ago and am thrilled that I found you so early on…. I am interested in the history of food, where it began and what it tastes like. I love to eat and I wish the world were filled with people like you guys.
I would eat a pile of burgers (I loathe fast food) for the opportunity to visit your guys. Thanks for one of the most interesting sites on the net!