News
Food in the News: 8/28-9/03
Sep 4th
Shit continues to hit the fan in the food world, and I wonder when everybody is going to snap out of it. We’ve got to return to our roots — local, organic, family farm production is our salvation. It’s the only way the world will become a better place.
City kids get a lesson in bacon, bloodshed (Chicago Tribune)
Kids learn where their meat comes from, and what is has to go through to get onto their plate.
Related video: Children react to animal slaughter
New York City restaurateurs under seige (Wall Street Journal via Slashfood)
Masaharu Morimoto is the latest in the string of high-profile chefs and restaurateurs getting slapped with lawsuits alleging that “restaurants are depriving low-level employees of due tip wages in violation of state and federal labor laws,” joining Chris Cannon, Mario Batali, and David Bastianich, among others who have been served with similar suits.
Skinny celebs selling out for fatty fast food (The Stir)
The Stir calls out the rail-thin models and actresses who are willing to pretend they love the likes of heart-stopping Double Downs and mystery meat McRibs in the name of the almighty dollar. Oh, and they throw Charles Barkley under the bus, too.
Cleaning the henhouse (New York Times)
An honest look at the idea of raising your own chickens for egg production. Given the recent salmonella outbreak, no doubt due in part to the fact that 95% of egg-laying chickens in the United States are raised in unsanitary battery cages, no larger around than a single sheet of paper, homegrown eggs can be a great solution for those with the space.
Food in the News: 8/21–8/27
Aug 28th
It has been a busy week for me, starting to promote my upcoming Sriracha cookbook via Twitter (@SrirachaBook), and getting more and more serious with my second book, the details of which will be posted here on the blog as soon as they are finalized! I’ve also been trying to persuade all you nice folks to take a few precious seconds out of your day to vote for my Anthony Bourdain essay, “Opposable Thumbs Up”. (It only takes a few seconds, and you can vote for me EVERY day to help my chances of winning!)
While all this was happening, plenty of other stuff has been going on in the crazy world of food, and I’d like to take a minute to catch you all up!
Math Lessons for Locavores (The New York Times)
This Op-Ed piece by Stephen Budiansky caused quite a stir amongst bloggers and supporters of the local food movement. Some thoughtful rebuttals:
Math Lessons for Budiansky (The Ethicurean)
The Myth of the Rabid Locavore (The Huffington Post)
Eating Locally, and Other Victimless Crimes (Eyes Wide Stomach)
Wright Egg Recall–550 Million Reasons to Support Pasture-Based Farming (Animal Welfare Approved)
McDonald’s Burgers Don’t Age (GOOD Blog)
Two Foodies to Win John Lennon Peace Award (Slashfood)
Giving Students a Better School Lunch (The Los Angeles Times)
You Could Be Serving Eggs From Contaminated Farms in Iowa (The Arizona Republic)
Currently Reading:
A History of Beer and Brewing
Ian S. Hornsey
Wright Egg Recall–550 Million Reasons to Support Pasture-Based Farming
Food In The News: 8/14 – 8/20
Aug 20th
So, this may just be the answer to my less-than-frequent blog posts. I read an awful lot of articles about food, whether stumbling on them organically, or finding them via my friends on Facebook, Twitter, and the like. Every Friday, I’ll post the most interesting items I find for your approval, and maybe a book recommend if I’m in the middle of one. Read on!
Development Threatens One of World’s Oldest Fruit Seed Collections (Civil Eats)
228 Million Eggs Recalled Following Salmonella Outbreak (Associated Press, via Yahoo! News)
Why There’s More To Cookbooks Than Recipes (The Observer, guardian.co.uk)
Hunger and Obesity – Two Sides of the Same Broken Food System (Ecocentric)
Raw Milk: Northeast Organic Farming Association Fights Massachusetts Dept. of Agricultural Resources Herdshare Crackdown (The Complete Patient)
School Children Warned Against Energy Drink Boost (Eat, Drink, and Be)
Currently reading:
Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook
Anthony Bourdain
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New Wine Grape Varietal: Petite Pearl
Dec 16th
Petite Pearl Grape Cluster (from PetitePearlGrape.com)
Imagine yourself surrounded by sprawling vineyards, basking in warm sunlight and savoring the natural beauty of your favorite wine region — perhaps Napa Valley, Bordeaux, or Rioja. OK, now take away the “warm” part of the equation, and welcome to Minnesota wine country. They make wine in Minnesota? Oh yah sure, you betcha. They even have an American Viticultural Area (AVA) appellation for the Alexandria Lakes region.
Between the research at the University of Minnesota and the members of the Minnesota Grape Growers Association, several cold-hardy wine grapes have flourished despite temperatures that would ruin most other varietals. Petite Pearl is the newest to join the club, joining the likes of other hybrid grapes such as Frontenac, Frontenac gris, La Crescent, and Marquette.
The new Petite Pearl grape has been shown to resist winter temperatures as low as -32°F, and is resistant to many diseases and molds that can plague vintners. While Petite Pearl has been under development for several years, it will not become commercially available to wineries and vineyards until the 2010 season. It will be a few years before we see any bottles bearing the new grape varietal name, but early tastes sound promising.
Low acid levels make Petite Pearl ideal for northern red winemaking and a valuable blending component. The wine has a dark garnet color. It shows complexity in aroma and flavor that can be easily shaped by yeast selection and blending. Moderate levels of French oak are suggested. The wine tastes of ripe fruit and has soft mid-mouth tannins. This elegant wine will only improve as additional skilled winemakers discover its great potential. — Bevens Creek Vineyard & Nursery
Space Barley: Beer From Space? Kinda…
Dec 6th
Sapporo Space Barley Beer
Sapporo has announced the limited release of “Space Barley,” widely touted as a beer made from barley grown in space. With only 250 six-packs being sold (at a cool $110 each), a lottery is being held to randomly select the lucky buyers. But is this really some sort of extraterrestrial brew? Well, sort of…
Sapporo, partnered with Okayama University and the Russian Academy of Sciences, sponsored research aboard the International Space Station to explore “Studies of Impact of Extreme Environmental Stresses on Barley.” The barley that was grown in space joined the ranks of wheat, soybeans, potatoes, lettuce, and peas — other foods that have been grown beyond the realm of our atmosphere. After being monitored for five months, the barley returned to earth and its progeny was planted in terra firma. Three generations of the original Haruna Nijo malting barley have been grown on earth altogether, and it was this last generation (the fourth overall) that was used to produce Sapporo’s Space Barley beer.
So it may not quite be a true space beer so to speak, but at least it’s not a complete gimmick. The proceeds of the sale of Space Barley will benefit “promotion of science education for children and the development of space science research,” with all earnings being donated back to Okayama University.
