Dining Out? Here’s Some Food for Thought

Dining Out? Here’s Some Food for Thought

Americans now spend more on dining out than on groceries. But while we increasingly seek out organic and fair trade goods at the store, we usually don’t think about the social and environmental impacts of dining out. We should. The last time you ate at a restaurant,...
Old McPontiff Had a Farm

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....
‘Leave’ Them Alone

‘Leave’ Them Alone

This time of year, your trees are sending you a message. Although I grew up in the Midwest, I’m experiencing it anew. After spending eight blissful years in California, I’ve returned to a state where people wear hats shaped like cheese and where leaves...
Higher Hopes for Hemp

Higher Hopes for Hemp

Take a moment and look around you. Look up. The sky hasn’t fallen, has it? People in Colorado are buying marijuana — legally — and civilization hasn’t come crashing to its knees. At this point, we’ve all seen TV journalists reporting from Colorado...
A Primer for Taming Corporate Power

A Primer for Taming Corporate Power

The 79-year-old corporate gadfly Robert Monks, the former top federal regulator over America’s pension system, earlier this year opined that Corporate America operates “for the personal enrichment and glorification of its manager-kings.” Too harsh a...