weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food
- Guerilla Wi-Fry: Burger King left giant, eight-foot-long fries lying on the streets of New York, Los Angeles and Chicago (above), along with free wi-fi in the area, to promote its new crinkle-cut fries. (Design Taxi)
- China buys 5 percent of Ukraine's total land — about 9 percent of its farmland — to feed its growing population."China eats about one-fifth of the world’s food supplies, but holds just 9 percent of the world’s farmland after rapid industrialization. The country has already purchased farmland in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia, but the deal with Ukraine represents its biggest investment in foreign farmland to date. (UPI)
- Spotting opportunity from above, airline pilot launches rooftop farming startup in Hawaii where most food is imported and costs are high. (Seedstock)
- Korean exporters are looking to make sojus the next "it" liquor, capitalizing on the growing hip-ness of all things Korean, from kimchi to K-Pop, Gangnum Style to ingredients round-ups in Food & Wine. (NPR)
- We've posted about independent Scottish brewery Brew Dog before because we love their irreverent style. Now US consumers are going to get to know them better through a show on the new Esquire network (see video previews) where they travel around the country making new beers and evangelizing for craft brewing. Audio clip on the show from The World. (PRI/The World & Esquire)
- Global chocolate prices are up due to surging demand. "People are going back to an impulse buy....Chocolate was resilient but not recession-proof...The very high-end products got the brunt of consumption declines during the recession." (WSJ)
- October 2 is National Kale Day, with a whole supporting web site celebrating all things kale (actually way more about kale than you would have thought possible).
- Can Processed Food Be Healthy? This radio segment explore whether industrial food science can be harnessed for good, from fake meat to seaweed chips. (On Point)
