Friday Faves No. 102

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

Trendy Kale has been getting around. Meet the newest celebrity offspring (above).  (Modern Farmer)

Romancing the Soybean: Agribusiness Funds 'Farmland' To Counter Hollywood Message  Says Randy Krotz, with the Farmers and Ranchers Alliance: "How do you get to millennials?...How do you get to ... a transparency generation? Let's show them a little more about how their food is raised firsthand." You can view the trailer here.  (NPR)

The EC-funded Diversify Project is trying to get more and different kinds of fished raised in Europe. But how much effort will be put into bringing buyers and tastemakers along? "Cattle, sheep, pigs and chickens make up the vast majority of meat consumed around the world, and every time someone has the bright idea of introducing something like crocodile, ostrich or coypu to the market, the general reaction from taste panels is “Mmmm, nice! It tastes just like chicken or pork or beef....In a few years’ time, will we see taste panels saying “Mmmm, nice! It tastes just like salmon.”? (Seafood Source)

The growing popularity of ancient grains has caused a spelt shortage. (Probably never thought you'd read that phrase.) Spelt flour 'wonder grain' is set for a price a hike as supplies run low (Guardian)

Can seaweed burgers and potato mayo feed a growing world population? It's just seaweed people. Compared to eating bugs, this one should be easy. (Science Nordic)

Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 84

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)

Friday Faves — notes from the new gastroconomy, No. 8

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

 

• Above, an ad from the Good Ol’ Days, When You Weren’t Fat Enough.

• Our favorite quote of the week, hands down: "Don't mess with our agricultural renaissance," says Peter Shumlin, Govenor of Vermont. We couldn't agree more. Long live Team Kale.

• Will American consumers enter a brave new world of high-end canned seafood? Stewed monkfish tripe and others from Italian chef Moreno Cedroni are now available on shelves in New York.

• East African cuisine is taking the Twin Cities by storm. Camel burgers, anyone? Last year Somali entrepreneurs sold through two tons of camel meat in four days at the Minnesota State Fair (the state fair lasted 12 days).

• Do your bit for oysters! Today, Friday, December 9, is you last chance to help save Drakes Bay Oyster farm in Point Reyes, California. They need comments of support to the National Park Service.

• What will food production of the future look like? check out this floating farm idea, where greenhouses are suspended over cities like giant balloons.