weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food
- Food advertising jazz age-style (above) with a 1929 promotion for Runnymede eggs served aboard the Graf Zeppelin (found on the great vintage image site Retronaut).
- Farm Free or Die! Maine Towns Rebel AGainst Food Rules "Local food activists don't want to eliminate regulation; they just want to self-regulate at the community level among people who know and trust each other." Similar efforts are happening in the UK “Food and farming aren’t just about market economics and just getting people calories in their body; it’s got this huge social and cultural dimension to it.
- Baked ham? New marijuana-fed pork from near Seattle won't get you high, but it's rumored to be delicious — and the pigs aren't complaining. "Asked if feeding marijuana affects the pigs, such as perhaps giving them munchies, Gross said can see no effect on the pigs. Already all pigs do is sleep and eat, he said."
- In other pork news, Iowa-based La Quercia has launched its version of the famous Spanish jamón ibérico, Spallacia, made from acorn-fed Tamworth pigs.
- The trend of donut-love carries on with California's answer to NYC's Cronut: the Mochi Donut. They come in flavors such as strawberry shortcake, cafe au lait, double mango and raspberry custard. And if you don't believe that uber-donuts are a full-on craze, the Cronut now has its own black market.
- Artist Ben Frost uses MacDonald's french fry containers as a pop art canvas to explore the relationship between capitalism and pop culture.
- Counterfeit Food More Widespread Than Suspected "Investigators have uncovered thousands of frauds, raising fresh questions about regulatory oversight as criminals offer bargain-hunting shoppers cheap versions of everyday products, including counterfeit chocolate and adulterated olive oil, Jacob’s Creek wine and even Bollinger Champagne. As the horse meat scandal showed, even legitimate companies can be overtaken by the murky world of food fraud."
- Food Entrepreneur Is A New Breed Of Afghan Business Owner "I'm very optimist for after 2014, because 10 years ago, woman were not able to work outside of home, especially during the Taliban regime. And right now, we can see lots of the women, that they have their own business. And also, we can see lots of change."
- Pretty auaponics: London-based urban farming business growUP have just shared images of their successfully launched shipping container aquaponics farm in the Marlborough playground as part of the Chelsea Fringe, an alt garden festival.
- After a large die-off directly related to spraying, Oregon residents are planning a funeral to memorialize dead bees and advocate for them.
