Food and Farming
Canning Ain’t Rocket Science
When I arrived to help my friends Tom and Terri with their garden, they eagerly showed me a 10-pound zucchini. "I just wanted to see how big it would get," Tom said, explaining why he didn't pick it when it was smaller. "Do you want it?" "I'll take it," I replied,...
Padding the Bottom Line by Gouging the Customer
Mothers the world over have told their children a zillion times: "Stop playing with your food!" I now share their frustration. I'd like to yell at the conglomerate packagers of America's victuals: "Stop playing with our food!" Actually, they're playing with our heads,...
Michigan’s Snappy Innovation
The Farm Bill's recent defeat in the House of Representatives opens up a second chance to get food policy right — including the food aid we give struggling individuals and families. A Michigan and Ohio program could provide some inspiration. The legislation would have...
The 2013 Corporate Chutzpah Award
What's simply delicious, even if it's genetically engineered? Irony. For years, advocates of growing crops with genes from other species spliced into their DNA have claimed that this newfangled farming increases crop yields, reduces pesticide use, and provides a host...
Corporate Witchcraft
Eat Real
Is it just my friends, or is nearly everyone on an absurd diet these days? One friend says she's on a "primal" diet. She's trying to eat like cavemen and will devour wild game when she can get it. Another goes on a month-long "detox" fast each year. Somehow, he...
Casting a Spotlight on Frankenfoods
Do you have a right to know how your food is produced? Look at any label on something made for human consumption. Whether it's a bite-sized candy bar, a box of cereal, or a gallon of pickles, you'll see lots of information: a list of ingredients, allergen warnings,...
Catching Monsanto’s Drift
Bob Dylan once sent a two-word lyric to Ben Harper, a talented songwriter he admired. "Well well," was the lyric, and Dylan challenged Harper to make a song of it. He did! By adding another "well" to the title, Harper wrote "Well, well, well" — a stinging lament about...
A Rotten Bacon Behemoth
American consumers may not even notice the change if a newly proposed takeover by China's largest meat processor of our nation's leading pork company goes through. But the $4.7 billion transaction would certainly show up on our plates: in the form of farmer...
Feeding the Economy
I never paid much attention to the food stamp debate in Congress before. But I'm on food stamps myself these days, so I'm tuning in this time around. Officially called SNAP — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — food stamps are one of those things that...
