weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food
- If your eyes aren't burning from the French Orangina ad to the right (a play on words, Poulpe=Octopus / Pulpe=Pulp....she is "pulpeuse" or...poulpeuse perhaps...), check this out. You may never look at sushi the same way again. Fugu & Tako, Short Film About A Man Who Turns Into A Pufferfish
- Producing our food is more dangerous than being a stunt man or police officer. The most dangerous occupation: fisherman. Farmers and ranchers came in at number four.
- An amendment to the 2012 Farm Bill would make commercial fishermen eligible to qualify for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Services Administration (FSA) Farm Operating Loan Program. The proposed amendment includes “commercial fishermen” within the definitions of “farmer” and “farming.”
- Small-Scale Slaughterhouses Aim To Put The 'Local' Back In Local Meat including new facilities owned by a co-op of farmers or ranchers. The whole idea is to have quality control and humane processing for local cattle, hogs, sheep and goats that provides consumers in the state with [the] locally produced products they are demanding. Having a producer-owned plan will help keep dollars, ranchers and farmers in our communities."
- Tom Philpott of Mother Jones joined Fresh Air (click through to listen) Assessing Consumer Concerns About The Meat Industry
- We're fans of the Michael Pollan approach that if a food has health claims tacked on it, it isn't real food, but big companies like Nestle are fighting that. "The unit is due to work closely with the Nestle Health Science company and research institute set up last year that is pushing a drive into medical foods at a time of growing overlap between "Big Pharma" and "Big Food" as many drug companies are investing in non-prescription products including nutrition."
- While not a strictly food news item, our minds are reeling with the possibilities of showing consumers where their food comes from with augmented reality systems that can make print look like Harry Potter's newspaper.
- A loving homage to rhubarb, Rhubarb’s Ruby Submission: Hard, acid rhubarb reliably softens with heat. If only people did the same. "Trust the English, who are in many ways the masters of both pudding and perversity, to take something so unpalatable and turn it into dessert."
