Food and Farming
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
You’ve Got Food
Armed with hefty grants from the Pentagon, squads of food technologists are on a mission to supplant nature with a great leap forward into the Brave New World of synthetic foodstuffs. Not satisfied merely to tinker with the genetic makeup of nature's products, these...
The War on Hen-Pecking
Chickens had plenty to celebrate on New Year’s Day. Supposedly. After a long wait, California’s 2008 ballot measure to improve conditions for laying hens finally went into effect. Instead of living in cramped cages that give each bird less room than a sheet of paper,...
Your Holiday Guide to Avoiding Slave Labor
Pope Francis got into the holiday spirit this year by calling on shoppers not to buy products made by modern-day slaves. This is, of course, excellent advice. Odds are, most of us — whether Catholic or not — would love to take it. But how? Most products don't come...
Chris Christie’s Pork Barrel Politics
As the weather turns colder in this month of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and the Winter Solstice, our hearts grow warmer and our thoughts turn to kindness and goodwill toward all. Unless, of course, you're Chris Christie. The governor of New Jersey is a mighty big...
