Posted in Belly laugh, Current events on Sep 11th, 2008
This 9/11 anniversary week saw some twisted food stories. Samak Sundaravej, prime minister of Thailand, was ousted for accepting payment for his cooking show. The poor guy just gets off on being on camera kvetching about food. Give him a break! Although the consequences aren’t too grave (he may be appointed as his own successor), [...]
Posted in Current events on Sep 4th, 2008
Cool! Bates College got funding to support “local, organic and natural food” on campus–among other things. I guess the debate about cost (a true problem for higher ed budgets though arguably a good investment for individuals) is now moot over there. Long live organic cafeterias!
Posted in Current events on Jul 24th, 2008
It seems that investigators looking at the salmonella outbreak had jumped into the right party dip, but landed a few centimeters off. While the first supposed culprit was Mexican tomatoes, the discovery of a contaminated jalapeno pepper has them looking at a slicker, spicier suspect. I’m not clear on how one contaminated veggie can change [...]
Posted in Current events on Jul 8th, 2008
Wondering what’s up with the global food crisis? Hint: According to at least one NGO, it was avoidable, and those eight leaders hanging out in Toyako had a lot to do with it. For more, check out Cereal Offenders, fresh from ActionAid.
Posted in Current events on Jun 20th, 2008
To avoid dependence on fossil fuels, we drill more. Or we grow bio fuels and buy away our guilt with carbon offsets. To get ourselves off sugar, we create miraculous substances like NutraSweet and Splenda. The same goes for fat, the frantic reworking of which gave us such joys as transfats and CoolWhip.
But where is all this innovation getting us? If [...]
Posted in Current events, Uncategorized on Jun 10th, 2008
You’ve probably heard the news by now: tomatoes are making people sick. Over 160 cases of salmonella poisoning in 14 states may be linked to contaminated ‘maters. Cherry and grape tomatoes and the ones on the vine are likely safe, and of course the ones from your farmers’ market or greenhouse are, too. But [...]
Posted in Current events, Gardening, Green living on Jun 1st, 2008
So you know that picnic I mentioned in the last post? It was for the birthday of Ms. Abbie Turiansky, who CNN just happened to feature in a segment on Clagett Farm’s CSA last week. It’s nothing new for me to have a friend on the news because, you know, I associate with so [...]
Posted in Aminals, Current events on May 14th, 2008
“Eat good meat and source it well. Acknowledge where it comes from. And respect the fact that the animal died for your dinner.”
If I were to eat meat, these principles articulated by author Scott Gold are what I would live by. Some thought-provoking books on the omnivorous lifestyle (including Gold’s) came out this spring and the WaPo did [...]
Posted in Current events, Philosophizing on Mar 10th, 2008
I say “tar,” you say “jhay!”
Tar-jhay!
Tar-jhay!
Yes, Target is here. The oft-Frenchly-pronounced-with-irony big box sailed in last week to anchor DC USA, the first non-snooty mall in the District.
And it’s got a café.
Posted in Aminals, Current events on Feb 27th, 2008
Cheesy, but exciting: Parmesan now has authenticity.
The European Court of Justice ruled yesterday that Parmesan cheese can join the ranks of Champagne and true Balsamic vinegar as a food that’s only legit if it comes from a certain city or region. For Parmesan, the place is Parma, Italy, where folks have been making the popular [...]
