December 2008
14 posts
a union at Wal-Mart -- in Canada →
grocers urge Obama to nix paid sick leave, keep... →
kids near bodegas are fatter, eat less well →
Interesting American Journal of Public Health study showing that when teens go to school near fast food outlets and corner stores, they eat less fruits and veggies, drink more soda, and are more likely to be overweight.
This is one of those studies that we journalists love because it basically bolsters common sense: If people have easier access to junk than fresh food, they’re more likely...
WatchNew Ads Dub Corn Syrup OK in Moderation! - AdGabber
cakes gone wrong →
A cheap shot, I know, but sooo funny.
Thanks to Oscar for the suggestion.
eating on $1 a day is kinda lame
Criticizing teachers who’re eating on $1 a day to point out the economics of food isn’t the sort of thing that’ll win me friends. But here goes anyway.
In September, Chris and Kerri — two vegan, social justice teachers — started a blog about their pledge to eat off $1 a day for a month. Mostly they ate rice, beans, tortillas, oatmeal, and homemade bread with jam and...
corner store upgrades in LA →
Nice little AP piece, via AP, on food access issues in LA. There’s a deeper story here that doesn’t get mentioned—the growing trend towards trying to boost healthy food in poor areas by reconfiguring bodegas, rather than bringing in massive supermarkets.
cruel blow to food movement: Madoff's ripple...
Food activists are likely mourning one of their own this morning: the Fair Food Foundation. The killer? Bernard L. Madoff, fraudster extraordinaire.
The fledgling grantmaking enterprise sent an email to supporters today:
The Fair Food Foundation is ceasing operation as a grant making foundation. The funds of the donors to the Foundation were managed by Bernard L. Madoff, a prominent financial...
Chemicals used on crops can make you obese →
The journal Bioscience runs a study showing that a common pollutant—tributyltin—can disrupt cellular behavior, turning on genes that “cause the growth of fat storage cells and regulate whole body temperature.”
What’s in a brand name? Less than you think →
MSNBC’s Today show ran a little sociological experiment, and found that most people can’t tell the difference between Tropicana and store-brand OJ. Could this be an indication that mass-produced food all tends to taste the same? hmmmm.
death and pantries
My Grandfather passed away quicker than we’d expected, leaving us after only two weeks in a nursing home. The event has brought me home to ex/suburban Michigan, and my sisters and I spent the first day at Grandma’s assessing the contents of her freezer and pantry. (And, of course, cooking—and, to my considerable delight, trying to use what’s already on hand—but more on that...
food and solid soul
Perhaps you only read this blog because you like food. that’s OK.
But there are other things to obsess over in life besides food. For a while my main obsession was actually music. Not playing it, i am sad to say, but listening—and, when the spirit strikes, dancing—to it.
And there is little that moves the spirit like a bit of heavy, rolling soul and funk. At least for my...
a lil' hoity toity
On a visit to Michigan a couple years ago, my family went out for a very nice meal at the Fenton Hotel. It’s a relic of when there were actual “railroad towns,” so nobody stays there any more, but some enterprising folks have made a nice run of the restaurant. Its got dark wood and sturdy chairs in the dining room, and it sits across the tracks from a shuttered grain elevator. The houses nearby...
a recession dinner special
Hello friends. Did you hear the news? We’ve officially been in a recession since last December.
Part of me feels relieved to hear this because it means I’m NOT crazy! There’s something to be said for having big fancy government agencies validate my experience. I like to think of this as being akin to appearing on Oprah—just a little less cuddly, and with far fewer people peering...