There will be no set of Digests for Thursday morning as hoped because I just accidentally deleted it. If I can face reconstructing it, maybe Saturday.
And yes this is the real time.

There hasn’t been nearly enough fun around here lately. Our last attempt at making you smile — despite Farm Bill delays, Monsanto victories, the co-option of the EPA, and tragic transgenic pigs — caused quite a brawl in the comments section. (22 and counting!)
So, it’s Friday. Start the weekend off right with this beguiling little […]

The Spring 2008 issue of Meatpaper, the magazine’s third, is out and it’s even better than the first two. One of the two editors (Sasha Wizansky and Amy Standen) admits she has gone back to vegetarianism, and perhaps coincidentally there is a complicated new awareness to the array of articles and a little less fetishization of the flesh. If you think about meat, really think about it, you must also contemplate death, and that is what the most interesting of the pieces in this issue do.

Agribusiness stocks rose sharply today, following the announcement this morning of a new technique that transforms conventionally raised produce into organic, instantly and at almost no cost.

Check out “Keep on Shoppin’ in a Label-Free World” — a SOLE food-centric twist on the the Neil Young song that was written and performed by Dan Sullivan, a senior editor at the Rodale Institute’s NewFarm.org.

Grants, surveys, contest, etc.

What a rip off. The ennui I get at the grocery store only costs 25 cents a dozen.
—Jeff Donald, Exeter, NH
Congratulations to Jeff, whose entry in our first-ever caption contest was the clear winner amongst the Ethicurean judges. (We ranked our five favorites and then added up how many points each got.) Tying for […]

The latest in a series of interpretive paintings done by 5-year-old Frederick, inspired by his mother’s reading "The Omnivore’s Dilemma" and summarizing it for him. (See #1, Children of the corn | #2: Chicken Little at Magic Mountain | #3: Sequoia National Pork)
To counteract billions in marketing dollars, parents must start young.
When the subject […]

In the aftermath of the Hallmark/Westland slaughterhouse exposé, henceforth to be known as Downergate, there has been much outrage. Let there now be outraged laughter … assuming your sense of humor is as sick as mine.
I think this animated editorial cartoon about Doreen the Downer Cow, "The Omnivore’s Nightmare" by Mark Fiore, deserves an award. […]

Guest contributor Ali sent us this photo, which she took last fall in Pittsfield, MA. We worked on writing a caption for it, but got worn out after discussing the source of the paper, the type of ink, whether the printers were fairly paid, and what they should have eaten for lunch.
We invite you to […]

The latest in a series of interpretive paintings done by 5-year-old Frederick, inspired by his mother’s reading "The Omnivore’s Dilemma" and summarizing it for him. (See #1, Children of the corn and #2: Chicken Little at Magic Mountain.)
Michael Pollan’s chapter about boar hunting reminded some of the people in this house of my […]

Cocina Poblano. Regional Mexican cuisine complete with a live tortilla bar and a wide selection of high-end tequilas comes to Jack London Square. 499 Embarcadero West (at Washington), Oakland; (510) 451-4700. Lunch, dinner daily; weekend brunch.
—San Francisco Chronicle

I don’t have the budget or time to travel the world seeking dining adventures like Tom Parker Bowles […]

Since emerging as an independent program, the Eat Well team has been working feverishly to develop some new tools to make it easier for North Americans to find good food. Among the new developments, all of which should be on the internets in time for summer:

On our recent Pollan Painting weekend, my five-year-old son Frederick and I read with interest about the slaughter technique used at Joel Salatin’s natural poultry operation. Frederick  has some personal knowledge of poultry slaughter but was curious about commercial slaughter operations. A Google image search of “chicken slaughter” inspired him to paint this:

[See his first […]

From the February 4, 2008, issue:

More Ethicurean-related New Yorker cartoons here and here.