Reading List for October 18-22

Good Morning, and Happy Friday!

1. "Tiles, Farms, and the Dead Zone" from the NYTimes
An opinion piece that's short, sweet, and to the point:

"Sacrificing life in the gulf [of Mexico] for corn in the fields [of the Midwest] is a trade-off that has to stop."

2. "Tips for Picnics on the Tailgate" from NPR's Kitchen Window
(includes recipes for Garlic-Tomato Soup, Pork Kebabs, Pickled Beets with Feta, and Yogurt Cake with Blueberry Sauce)

"Cahn calls a parking lot full of tailgaters 'the last American neighborhood' and refers to the parties as 'the new American community.' The character of the event seems to vary somewhat from locale to locale depending on the city and team. In some places, there's a great deal of food sharing and tasting; in others, the meal itself is more private. Whatever the case, it's a party."

3. "State of the Organic Union" from The Atlantic
A report from the 3rd Annual Organic Summit in Boston from a (strong) organic supporter

4. "25 New Healthy Foods That Aren't" from Eat This, Not That (in Men's Health)

"As Americans have become more health conscious, so has the food industry—or at least restaurants and manufacturers would like us to think so. Most often, this means using buzz words such as 'grilled' and 'whole wheat' to make their products appear healthy. But if you actually look at the numbers and give the ingredient list a glance, you'll see that these claims don't tell the whole story."

5. "Conflicts of interest mar food producers' independent inspections" from The Washington Post

"With food-borne illness and recalls rising, the use of private inspectors has grown rapidly in the past decade as companies try to protect themselves from lawsuits and tainted products that can damage their brand names. But experts agree that the inspections often do not translate into safer products for consumers. 'It's a business strategy, not a public-health strategy,' said David Acheson, former assistant commissioner for food protection at the Food and Drug Administration under President George W. Bush." ...

"Suppliers 'will hunt down the fastest, cheapest, easiest and least-intrusive third-party auditor that will provide the certificate' that will allow them to sell their product, Acheson said. 'Until that model flips, there will continue to be a false sense of security in terms of what these systems offer.' "

6. Not exactly "reading," but definitely fun to look at (from the blog D Street Design)

• "Good Enough to Eat" - funny sculptures of animals and people made out of food
• "Børk! Børk! Børk!" - a new cookbook from IKEA featuring (surprise, surprise) minimalist food photography

Hope you have a great weekend!