Section » Digest
Strengthening the “weakest link” in the local meat infrastructure
Friend of the Ethicurean Sam Fromartz looks at a new wave of small slaughterhouses that are appearing in Virginia. He focuses on True & Essential Meats of Harrisonburg, a new partnership of former landscape architect Joe Cloud, his mother, and Joel Salatin (of Polyface Inc., who was profiled in Omnivore's Dilemma). True & Essential, which is
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Research shows possible connection between pesticide use and skin cancer
Health researchers have been unable to explain why several studies have found an excess risk of melanoma and other skin cancer for farmers. Farmers spend time in the sun — which is a major risk factor — but could it be something else? New research suggests that exposure to certain pesticides could
Great food with “a side of sustainability” in L.A.
City of angelic eateries: Some prominent restaurants in metro Los Angeles are striving to become more "sustainable" — a term without a legal definition at this moment and all too often used as a meaningless marketing term — through all sorts of new programs. The relocated Grace, for example, will
Tracking the co-evolution of grass and humanity
High on grass: "We live in the age of grass," writes Olivia Judson, a research fellow in biology at Imperial College London, on the New York Times' Opinionator blog. Indeed, some of the crops that helped make humans an agricultural creature and create our complex civilization are grasses: wheat, rice,
The manurification of America
A perfect shitstorm: On some farms, animal manure can be a valuable asset, a way to improve the soil in the fields. But for today's massive factory farms — and, increasingly, the nation's air and waterways — manure is a huge liability, reports the Post's David A. Fahrenthold. Decomposing manure from
Manure digesters clash with air quality requirements
Cracking down on methane labs: When animal manure decomposes, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide (on a mass basis). To avoid these emissions, some are installing manure digesters, in which bacteria convert the waste to methane gas. The methane is then burned in
Victory for Florida tomato pickers, or a sneaky worker-around?
Many months ago, thanks to a vigorous, multi-level campaign, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) secured pledges from big buyers like Burger King, Subway, McDonald's and Whole Foods to pay an extra penny a pound to Florida's tomato harvesters, bringing the per-bucket wage from 50 to 82 cents. (Workers
Fertilizer overuse can acidify soil
Another reason to dislike the N-word: Fertilizer overuse creates many problems, like aquatic dead zones, resource depletion and blue-baby syndrome. One impact that
GMO wheat could be the next big thing—or maybe not
Sheave ho! Of the top three grains produced in the U.S., only No. 3 wheat (after corn and soybeans) is not overwhelmingly dominated by genetically modified varieties. In fact, you won’t find GM wheat in the United States at all. Henry Miller
Animal welfare hot topic at Kansas Livestock Association convention
Moan on the range: Multiple speakers at the Kansas Livestock Association convention recently addressed public relations injuries to the livestock industry, thanks to animal welfare groups and others. The good news is that speakers acknowledged that the industry would
Voluntary effort to shift children’s advertising deemed unsuccessful
Ad news bears: Three years ago, a group of large food and beverage companies launched a voluntary initiative to change their advertising during TV programs favored by children. They were supposed to advertise more healthy foods and drinks, and fewer nutritionally deficient ones. Not surprisingly, the
Words on the street food
A sampler of dispatches from the street-food universe. What this got to do with Ethicureanism? Well, unlike most fast food, good street food is made from fresh, real ingredients by independent sole proprietors. And it fascinates us because it's like the "farming in the middle" conundrum: how can talented
Sustainable food movement has a class problem
The flavor of fairness: When a recent UC Santa Cruz study asked grocery shoppers on California's Central Coast to rank their concerns about the food system, respondents prioritized animal welfare above the treatment of human workers on the farms. This is but one example, says Bay Guardian reporter Caitlin
Food as performance sport
Iron stomachs: True/Slant Matthew Greenberg takes on the Food Network again, exploring — with the help of media experts — "why
Scientists monitor tuna by measuring toxins
Toxins tell tuna's tale: The Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) population is split into two groups, with the 45 degree meridian acting as a rough dividing line. Some fish swim across the line to feed or spawn, and scientists and fishery managers would like to know how many fish make the ocean
