weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food
- Happy Summer from the Pork Fairy. These bathing beauties make an uninhabited island in the Bahamas their home. (Treehugger)
- Another reason not to underestimate smaller regional markets: the chefs are spreading out. A shortage of qualified cooks to work in top New York kitchen has risen to newsworthy levels. The reasons are the same as they ever were — low pay and high rent — but now there are so many other scenes to be part of. (NPR)
- Despite the economic slow-down, the food business is still booming in the US. "Specialty food sales in the U.S. alone grew 13 percent to $85 billion in 2012. And Americans consumed a record $34 billion worth of wine last year." (Inc.)
- In a problem that could be fixed in the stew pot, urban farmers are abandoning hundreds of fashion chickens. Really, it was only a matter of time. (Jezebel)
- Biotech corn seeds that were supposed to keep pests away are faltering, causing an upswing in pesticides. "Steiner, the Nebraska crop consultant, usually argues for another strategy: Starve the rootworms, he tells his clients. Just switch that field to another crop. 'One rotation can do a lot of good,' he says. 'Go to beans, wheat, oats. It's the No. 1 right thing to do.'" (NPR)
- Nursery food is good for you, or at least the nostalgia it inspires. "Nostalgia has been shown to counteract loneliness, boredom and anxiety. It makes people more generous to strangers and more tolerant of outsiders. Couples feel closer and look happier when they’re sharing nostalgic memories. On cold days, or in cold rooms, people use nostalgia to literally feel warmer." Bring on the mac & cheese and a fluffernutter. (New York Times)
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"The alien-like crab -- nicknamed the "Hoff" in honor of David Hasselhoff's similarly hairy torso -- was discovered in 2009, living on the perimeter of hydrothermal vents thousands of feet beneath the Indian and Arctic oceans." Really, you can't make this stuff up. (LA Times)
