weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food
- In her ongoing series “Les Temps Modernes” (“Modern Times”), French artist Anne-Catherine Becker-Echivard creates elaborate dioramas of everyday life that are populated by human-like figures with fish heads (like above). This one reminds us of Lucy and Ethel in the choclate factory. (Laughing Squid)
- Could QR codes revolutionise transparency in food supply chains? Honestly, probably not. They're too high-maintenance to scale, but they are pretty cool. (Guardian)
- The New York Times is running a series of articles called Leaving the Land: Picking Death Over Eviction. The series looks at how "China’s government-driven effort to push the population to towns and cities is reshaping a nation that for millenniums has been defined by its rural life." (New York Times)
- 2014 has been declaered the International Year of Family Farming by the United Nations. "Supporting the success of family farms—and increasing the incomes of family farmers—will significantly raise the overall standard of living. Research from Oxfam shows that investing in small farmers also creates a ‘multiplier’ effect that extends beyond the farming sector — farmers spend a big share of their income in other sectors, including construction, infrastructure, and manufacturing."(Dawn)
- Not just for hipsters anymore, the Four Seasons luxury hotel chain is showcasing its culinary talent through the "Taste Truck" which will be making stops throughout California, as well as Scottsdale, Arizona and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Food-related events have been found to drive traffic to the properties. This food truck promotion follow series of pop-up cooking classes the hotel chain has offered. (Luxury Daily)
- An exploration on whether we all, at least people living in rural areas, should take a look at eating roadkill as an ethical meet. "If the roadkill is fresh, perhaps hit on a cold day and ideally a large animal, it is as safe as any game. Plus, not eating roadkill is intensely wasteful: last year, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company estimated that some 1,232,000 deer were hit by cars in the United States. Now imagine that only a third of that meat could be salvaged. That’d be about 20 million pounds of free-range venison, perhaps not much compared to the 23 billion pounds of beef produced in the U.S. in 2011 but significant." (Modern Farmer)
