Food and Farming
A Bacon-Wrapped Cholesterol Bomb
Let me say one word to you: Bacon. Not only is it delicious, it's practically irresistible — I even know vegans who sneak bites of the stuff. And these days, it's hard to avoid the pork strip. It's in snack foods, on school lunch trays, and in bars, breakfast joints,...
Betting the Farm on a Lie
Few things sell ideas in American politics like a good farm story. Just ask Representative Dave Reichert. He held a hearing recently on the impact of the estate tax on farms and small businesses. An outspoken critic of the tax, Reichert was inspired by a recent story...
Genuine Corporate Posers
Near my home in Austin, Texas, there’s an old refurbished motel with a keep-it-real attitude that's expressed right on its iconic marquee: "No additives, No preservatives, Corporate-free since 1938." More and more businesses across the country are adopting this...
A Nation of Cereal Killers
Cereal’s gone full circle since the invention of corn flakes by nutrition guru John Harvey Kellogg. Kellogg ran a sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan. An advocate of vegetarian eating, he sought an easy way for patients to consume healthy breakfasts of whole grains....
This Trade Deal Will Make You Sick
Food is more than just what we eat. It connects us to each other and our environment. And how we treat it is of tremendous importance to our democracy. Right now, the future of our food is being decided behind closed doors. The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), a...
The Lobbyists at Your Dinner Party
Remember the old food pyramid? Until "MyPlate" replaced it a few years ago, the U.S. government's official dietary advice for Americans fit neatly into that triangle. The government recently moved toward updating those standards again. And the result isn’t nearly as...
Eating Local in the Wintertime
"Has nobody in this bleeping town heard of a kale salad?" I wanted to scream. That’s the anguish of a Californian convert transplanted to Wisconsin in the dead of winter. As I remind anyone who tries to assure me that Madison is a lovely town and Wisconsin has...
A Sweet Spot
I don’t have any cute photos of my daughter’s chubby face smeared with frosting from her first birthday party. Already pregnant with my son, I’d become a child nutrition zealot in response to my double dose of motherhood. Instead of wrecking a big sugary cake, my bald...
Old McPontiff Had a Farm
Old songs occasionally need to be refreshed with updated verses. Here's one: "Old McPope, he had a farm /E-I-E-I-O/ and on that farm he had a cow…a donkey… chickens…ostriches…and rabbits…/E-I-E-I-O!" Who knew that the Pope had a farm? Well, he does. Fifteen miles...
Here’s the Beef
