Food and Farming

America’s Good Food Movement
What better day than Thanksgiving to celebrate our country’s food rebels?

Fracking our Thanksgiving Feast
My family has raised dairy cows on our farm in Monroe County near Kendall, Wisconsin, for almost 150 years. We’ve weathered the Great Depression, low milk prices, droughts, floods, and snowstorms. Despite difficulties, the dairy and related industries generate $26.5 billion in revenue, 174,000 jobs, and fresh, healthy milk, cheese and butter to the state each year.

Why the Chicken Crossed the Road
Thanks to the industrializers of American agriculture, we finally know why the chicken crossed the road: To run away from the factory farm.

This Week in OtherWords: Halloween Fare
This week in OtherWords, we’re running several commentaries about the scary stuff we eat.

The Spooky Side of Chocolate
This Halloween, many of the chocolate goodies handed out to American children dressed as goblins and witches will have a ghoulish history of their own.

The Ingredient Haunting our Candy
This Halloween, keep an eye out for “milk protein concentrate.” Avoid buying any treats made with it and don’t let your children eat candy or anything else made with this additive.

Tricky Treats
Kids look forward to Halloween all year. They obsess over their costumes, dwell on decorations, and plot how to bag as much candy as possible when they go trick-or-treating. Even though I’m very concerned about good nutrition, I love handing out chocolates to all of the little ghosts, witches, and princesses who come by.

Trick or Mistreat

The Risky Business of Eating in America
Long before human beings decoded the human genome or split the atom, they discovered that arsenic is very good at killing things. The ancient Romans prized it as a murder weapon because it could be mixed into food or drink without altering its color, taste, or smell. Plus, a tiny dose kills without fail.

This Week in OtherWords: A Genetically Engineered Food Special Edition
This week, we’re running three commentaries and a cartoon regarding the growing number of genetically modified foods that land on our plate whether we realize it or not.