Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 82

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)

Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 66

weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food

• Pinkhouses, like at right, could be the more energy-efficient future of vertical farming. "A photon is a terrible thing to waste...So we developed these lights to correctly match the photosynthesis needs of our plants. We get almost 20 percent faster growth rate and save a lot energy."

• Luxury Daily goes over the seven deadly sins as applied to QR codes, and they're right on. "Gluttony Just because they exist does not mean that you should engorge your marketing collateral with QR codes."

• Michael Pollan on Why Bacteria Aren’t the Enemy and the cheesemakers and fermenters who are “pacifists in the war on bacteria.”

• A powerful use for spoiled food: Kroger Co.'s anaerobic digester in Compton takes unsold food from Ralphs and Food 4 Less and converts it into 13 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year.

• In a display of branding gone bad, Nutella's parent company Ferrero want to ban World Nutella Day as an unlawful use of it's mark.

• A thoughful piece that explores How Twitter is Reshaping the Future of Storytelling "For people who love compelling writing, there’s something tantalizing about lines being shared one at a time. A line on its own changes a reader’s relationship to the very texture of the syllables and ideas. Twitter story experiments aren’t shackled by the linear requirements of paper."

Polish to Speak at Tokyo Creative Cities Conference

 QR codes are branded onto tortillas at Taranta in BostoOn November 23, Polly Legendre will represent Polish Partnerships at the Creative City and Global Economy Conference in Tokyo as part of a panel on Innovative Society Empowered by Art, Design and Imagination. 

Polly will be presenting on the role of technology as a key driver in the new gastroconomy — where food culture and the economy meet. She will discuss how innovations from social media to QR codes have allowed a whole new chapter of the good food movement to flourish, from fishermen who tweet about their catch to chefs who turn QR codes into plated art.

The Creative City and Global Economy Conference will explore the role of universities, cultural institutions, not-for-profit organizations and public/private partnerships in realizing a truly innovative society.The focus will be on Art, Design, Food, Education and the creative use of information and communications technology, social media, new technologies and social entrepreneurship.

Hosei University, Keio University, Kanazawa Institute of Technology (Toranomon Campus in Tokyo) are the hosting institutions of the event and the steering committee consists of professors from these institutions. Major funding is provided by the Center for Global Partnership, Japan Foundation, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, in conjunction with special support from the American Embassy in Japan and additional funding from Hosei University.

The conference takes place at Hosei University, Ichigaya Campus, and is free and open to the public.

Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 4

a weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food

 

• Now you can feed the multitudes, with Grilled Cheesus (above).

• The Wall Street Journal wrote on chefs and twitter in @Foodies: Peak Into My Kitchen. "It's a power tool. Before you had to [spend] a quarter-million dollars in ads to do this."

• Trying to find opportunity in the crisis of invasive species, one Illinois company Schafer Fisheries is catching asian carp and making fillets, fish sticks, nuggets and fertilizer.

• Young entrepreneurs are finding inspiration in the past, from Sheep Lawn Mowers to raising chickens. “It’s a gateway to that whole rural dream...And with the type of recession we’re having, there’s stability in it.”

• Why stop at 140 characters when you can bring consumers to a world of information. QR codes provide the anti-tweet for wine and other foods. "I’m looking forward to the day when I will be able to scan a QR Code on a barrel of cheese and be transported to a farm instead of a news review."

• Give 'Em Shell: oysters make new homes at the Oyster Recovery Project on the Chesapeake Bay. Be part of their Shell Recycling Alliance.

Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy

a weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food

 In Ghana, smart phones bring traceability and bargaining power for farmers

• Stroke of genius or hungry architects — Amazing Prefabricated California Roll House Adapts Easily to Harsh Desert Environments

• Refugee families tend an urban farm and farmers' market stand in San Diego when the uprooted put down roots. You can watch video of the farm on the IRC's San Diego channel.

• Mix beer and social networking in a less dangerous way and join Untappd, the social network for beer lovers.

• In Ghana, smart phones bring traceability and bargaining power for shea growers. "The phone is very useful – we do not have to walk long distances to get the prices… and the barcodes stop bags of nuts from going missing or getting lost."

• If you want to eat like a chef (meaning lots of late night options and the best hole-in-the-wall joints) check out the new mobile ap Chefs Feed.

• “You tear the limbs from the head...It’s pretty badass.” It sounds like a zombie how-to, but it's really advice on cleaning squid from the founder of SirenSeaSA, a San Francisco-based, seafood subscription celebrating local fish. You can read more about it in Fish Out of Water.