Food and Farming
Subsidizing the Idle Rich While Poor Kids Go Hungry
To hear some politicians tell it, America's welfare system is facing a grave crisis: Millions of poor people, they say, are idling away their time eating lobster and relaxing on cruises. Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, for example, recently signed welfare reform rules...
Wisconsin’s Grocery Dictators
Republicans may like to rail against big government. But here in Wisconsin — where conservative lawmakers just introduced a bill to dramatically restrict what people can buy with their own food stamps — Republicans want to cook up a new kind of nanny state. This isn't...
Kraft’s Mac and Cheese: Less Toxic, Still Bad
Kraft made news the other day with this announcement: Beginning next year, its macaroni and cheese will no longer contain artificial preservatives or colors. That’s nice. One of the favorite foods of American kids will more closely resemble something that actually...
PETA’s Cruel and Unusual Crush
The provocative animal rights group PETA famously despises cages. Press statements from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have described birdcages as a "death sentence" for avian pets, likened crating dogs to incarcerating them, and condemned the cruelty...
The Right to Eat
There’s one group of people in this country who probably get less sympathy than anyone else: felons. If you’re a convicted felon, very few Americans care about your plight. Can’t find a job or an apartment because of your record? Too bad, we tell them, you shouldn’t...
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...
