Bird-flu CSI: It’s official — comparison between the UK and Hungarian strains of the avian-flu virus reveals the highest genetic match, much more so than the strains found in wild birds. Press release
Dept. of About Time: A federal judge ruled yesterday that the USDA failed to adequately assess possible environmental impacts before approving Monsanto’s genetically […]

I am about to turn a corner in my life. A sharp corner. This isn’t a story about eating organic food, or even local food. This is a story about not eating any food at all.
Besides eating to survive, I have been getting more deeply involved in food and eating for about 20 years. It […]

Bacteria love bagged lettuce: Scientists are now confirming the obvious — that processing, mixing, and bagging leafy greens promotes the spread of bacteria like E. coli, just like it has in the hamburger industry. Others claim the Vegetable Industrial Complex, with its triple baths of chlorinated water, is far more hygienic than homes or restaurants […]

Rah rah for raw milk: Ignore those people claiming raw milk has cured their asthma — all unpasteurized milk is dirty and dangerous, say FDA and state health officials. But as this article makes clear, the regulators are overlooking a crucial point: how raw milk from industrial, feedlot dairies destined for pasteurization differs from raw […]

Over the past two Thanksgiving holidays, the Butter Bitch and I have found ourselves in the Oregon wine country, sampling a number of excellent wines and enjoying the scenery.
Our tour of wineries has exposed us to a number of top-flight wines and a few clunkers, reinforced our opinions of much-loved favorites, and occasionally surprised us.
Oregon’s […]

The fine folks at Fork & Bottle are hosting this months’ Wine Blogging Wednesday, in which people drink wine and blog about it. We can get behind that.
This month’s focus is on biodynamic wines. I’m still uncertain what to think about biodynamics, even after the Butter Bitch read and wrote about biodynamics. […]

Recently, Man of La Muncha and I have been seeing an increasing number of wines on the shelf of our local grocery store touted as biodynamic–far more than are labeled as organic. When we ask wine vendors about the difference between biodynamic and organic, we typically are told that biodynamic wines are “beyond organic”. […]

I like vodka. I like vodka gimlets (fresh lime juice plus a splash of Rose’s, up), vodka tonics, Cosmopolitans, Bloody Marys…
To vodka aficionados, therefore, I am a nitwit. Vodka nerds do not dilute their precious spirit with any other tastes, any more than oenophiles drink wine coolers. Remember those from high school? Ick.
So when the […]

Not only had I not eaten these things before 2006, I didn’t know what in the hell some of them were. I still don’t really know how to pronounce chevre — I usually tag on a vague “ruh” sound at the end. And tomatillos? I thought those were decorative. But I […]

Not to be outdone by a list of favorites from our old stomping grounds, we here in the Puget Sound region have our own list of fine foods to celebrate. With one exception, we had not encountered these treats before 2006.
1. Fish Brewing Company’s Winterfish: This seasonal, organic beer from Olympia - well […]

New York Times: Battered by E. coli outbreaks, three major produce industry groups are calling voluntarily for government regulation; one has worked with California officials in California on creating a formal system of farm inspections, regulations of water and soil quality and sanitation and even cease-and-desist orders for violations. The FDA says it doesn’t have […]

Post-Gazette: A reprint of yesterday’s Wall Street Journal interview with Whole Foods CEO John Mackey, in which he explains why he cut his own salary to $1, why sales are slowing, and how Whole Foods is lowering prices to compete with Wal-Mart and other entrants into the organic foods marketplace.
BBC News: This fascinating report (trust […]

Several years ago, I worked for a local natural food chain store in Portland, Oregon as a wine, beer, and cheese monger. One of my regular customers at the time was a man named Peter. Peter came in on a regular basis, bringing his absolutely adorable daughter with him. We would talk […]

Seattle P-I: Seattle-based Jones Soda — maker of root beer, cream soda and quirky drinks with flavors such as turkey and gravy — is switching from high-fructose corn syrup to pure cane sugar. Sweet! And in related news, the New York Times has an article about how several entrepreneurs are developing high-end tonic waters using […]

Visitors to the Emerald City who read the Seattle P-I’s Getaways section must think that Seattle hates itself more than an angst-ridden teenager. Once or twice a month, the section reminds Seattle residents that everything is better in Portland. The Rose City does feature a superior brewpub scene, a thriving coffee culture, and […]