Section » Cornification of America
In defense of corn
It's cold, gray, and raining buckets here in Northern California, causing me to feel distinctly snacky. Problem is, the SOLE food lifestyle doesn't really support the quick, salty, fatty comfort food like I crave right now. I eyed a persimmon – too healthy. A couple of walnuts failed to satisfy. Then, while digging through the cupboard in search
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Digest – Features: Food in ’08, immigration ideals, NPR on hormone-free labeling
Dietgeist predictions around the media: The Philadelphia Inquirer sees more "local, fresh, natural, organic" offerings on our horizon (although we shudder to think we might be getting them from convenience
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The blame frame, part 2: Who wins, and who whines, when corn prices rise
In my last post, I took a lengthy look at the role that farmers play in the livestock production system. In case you didn't make it that far, here's my conclusion: In their role as feed-growers and animal-raisers, farmers
Digest – Blogs: Salatin opines, Windy City to ban chickens, organic processors doing their part
Everything he wants to say should probably be illegal: The inimitable Joel Salatin riffs on the pitfalls of “sound science.” (Food Democracy) Buy fresh, buy local ingredients: Lainie deconstructs new
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YERT goes to Iowa: All-corn, many-corn, and no-corn challenges
2007 is shaping up to be the Year of the Ear. Check out this corny segment from our acquaintances on Your Environmental Road Trip (YERT), who took a highly entertaining detour into Iowa's maze of maize. AKPC_IDS += "2418,";
Digest – Features: A woman’s place, corn-grower Q&A, Farm Bill failure looms
Uber-mom Frau Farmer: A profile of the very appealing sounding (to us anyway) Shannon Hayes, who is a third-generation farmer as well as a "newly minted paradigm, an exemplar of the pastoral." (New York Times) And don't miss
“King Corn” preview and discussion in Berkeley draws crowd
Michael Pollan with "King Corn" stars Curt Ellis and Ian Cheney, and director Aaron Woolf, along with a corny hat that Pollan had in his backpack. As expected, Tuesday night's special event for "King Corn," featuring Michael Pollan and the
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Bay Area events: “King Corn” filmmakers to chat with Michael Pollan, audiences
Like the maize from which it takes its name, the documentary "King Corn" is conquering America. The film's message — that maybe, just maybe, the U.S. is growing too much subsidized cheap grain — obviously contains enough kernels of truth to
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“King Corn” is really about zombies
BoingBoing's Xeni Jardin has an entertaining interview for bbTV with the "King Corn" guys, shortly after their screening for Congress. Although they look like they're getting used to
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Good cob, bad cob: “King Corn” isn’t against the grain
We feed ourselves very cheaply now. You see those tremendous fields of corn out there, corn as far as the eye can see? That's the age of plenty. —Earl Butz, former secretary of agriculture, in "King Corn" A terrific new documentary called "King Corn" is opening this Friday
Digest – News: Cloned-food label bill, China rejects U.S. pork, squirmy fishy bait
Lots of links piled up, lots of good stuff (especially in the Commentary edition). Note: Just one more week and the Digest editor will get her life back, and the news feed will return to its more regular schedule ... What will the symbol look like?: The first law requiring cloned food (or its progeny)
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Digest – Features & Blogsnacks: Joel Salatin offers seminars, Johanns talks
FEATURES Growing genius: BusinessWeek reporter and raw-milk-detective David Gumpert looks at "Omnivore's Dilemma" sustainable-farming poster guy Joel Salatin, whose Polyface Farm is leasing another 700 acres to keep up with demand. Hmm. Does Polyface's $700,000 annual revenues include those
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Digest – News & Commentary: Kids brainwashed, FDA f*(&s up again, cheap food safe
NEWS Brand aids: In a research study, preschoolers were given identical foods for a taste test, one set in a plain wrapper, the other in a McDonald's wrapper. The children overwhelmingly preferred the latter, even though it was identical. (MSNBC via AP) Hard
Digest: Pig slop, China trends, Planck’s constant crusade
NEWS File under "WTF?!?!": Buried at the end of a FarmPolicy.com post are a bunch of excerpts from a truly astonishing Wall Street Journal article (subscription
Digest: More China troubles, save the fish, Ohio farmland dropping
NEWS Mission impossible: Mission Foods Corp. and Tyson Foods have quietly told their suppliers they want no more ingredients from China — but complying is next to impossible. A look at China's role as the world's leading supplier of many food flavorings, vitamins and preservatives. (Los
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