New Film - "Vegucated"

The documentary Vegucated follows three heavy meat and dairy eaters as they try to go vegan for six weeks. Watch as they uncover the hidden truths about meat production and animal agriculture, and feel compelled to expose the same industry they fully supported weeks earlier. According to the film's website, Vegucated "showcases the rapid and at times comedic evolution of three people who share one journey and ultimately discover their own paths in creating a kinder, cleaner, greener world, one bite at a time." Check out the film's website here, and the trailer below. Also, click here to read Epicurious's interview with the film's director, Marisa Miller Wolfson, to find out what inspired her decision to make the documentary, how she went about making it, and what she hopes audiences will get out of it.

Epicurious - Our Favorite Vegetarian Dishes

Check out Epicurious's collection of delicious vegetarian-friendly recipes and tips:

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/howtocook/dishes/vegetarian

October is Vegetarian Awareness Month, so Happy Veggie Eating!

Farm Sanctuary - National Conference to End Factory Farming

Farm Sanctuary is hosting, for the first time, the National Conference to End Factory Farming: For Health, Environment and Farm Animals. The conference will be held in Arlington, Virginia, from Thursday, October 27th through Saturday, October 29th. It will feature "over 30 speakers from a wide range of backgrounds" and "will be unique in its exclusive focus on factory farming and the problems surrounding it." The goal of the National Conference to End Factory Farming is "to reach a broad audience of professionals and advocates from the animal protection, health, and environmental movements to collaborate on these issues."

To find out more about the conference, including how to attend, who will be speaking, and its daily program, check out the conference website.

The Atlantic - The Locavore Movement's Mistake: Deregulating Animal Slaughter

James McWilliams criticizes the locavore movement's attempt to deregulate animal slaughter and allowing backyard livestock owners to kill their own animals for food. According to McWilliams, the consequences of such a move will be dire - for both the animals and the movement in general. He warns that "by extending their mission from the plant to the animal world, those who want us to eat local risk reducing this hard-earned victory into nothing short of a bloody mess."
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September 13, 2011
By James McWilliams

http://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/09/the-locavore-movements-mistake-deregulating-animal-slaughter/244897/

Civil Eats - Americans' Views of Industrial Agriculture by the Numbers

This article reveals some positive signs about Americans' thoughts on the food industry with the results of two recent surveys of "American attitudes on issues related to agriculture, the environment, and the federal budget." Also discussed is a recent panel called "Food Dialogues," which was formed "as an effort to connect consumers with farmers and ranchers." The public's growing interest in and concern about food is a necessary step towards improving the system!
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September 29, 2011
By Donald Carr

http://civileats.com/2011/09/29/americans%E2%80%99-views-of-industrial-agriculture-by-the-numbers/

Mother Jones - California's Fruit-and-Veg Behemoth: Too Productive for Our Own Good

Tom Philpott reveals how dependent we are on California's (increasingly "water-challenged") agriculture, and urges Americans to move away from the western state and towards a more local, seasonal approach to their produce purchasing.
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September 9, 2011
By Tom Philpott

http://motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2011/09/california-agriculture-too-productive-our-own-good

Food Safety News - Ag Subsidies Fund Junk Food, Report Says

A new report by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group reveals that since 1995, approximately $16.9 billion of American tax money has fed into farm subsidies, not for fruits and vegetables, but rather, for four core ingredients of junk food: corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, corn starch, and soy oils.
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September 22, 2011
By Gretchen Goetz

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/09/ag-subsidies-fund-junk-food-report-says/

Mother Jones - Meat Industry Still Denying Antibiotic Resistance

Tom Philpott discusses the meat industry's new denial tactic in regard to the adverse effects of feeding antibiotics to farm animals: the industry blames bad science.

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September 21, 2011
By Tom Philpott

http://motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2011/09/meat-industry-antibiotic-resistance

The Atlantic - Bringing America to the Table: How to Get People Interested in Food

Author Helene York bemoans the recent flood of books about the food industry, calling them overly dire and negative, and claiming that they are "preaching to the choir" of food journalists, activists, and conscious consumers. She insists that "for the food system to change meaningfully, Mr. and Mrs. Average American have to tune in eventually." And the solution to getting through to them is not requiring them to read "ominous tomes." Instead, York suggests three alternate angles that will get the American masses to care about their food: gardening, health, humor.

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September 22, 2011
By Helene York

http://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/09/bringing-america-to-the-table-how-to-get-people-interested-in-food/245442/

Food Safety News - Media Influence on Food Safety Practices

A new study reveals the positive impact of food safety issues being reported by the media. Both the public and the industry benefit from awareness about food safety (including food handling outbreak prevention), and that awareness is at least partially due to the media's coverage of those issues.

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September 26, 2011
By Mary Rothschild

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/09/media-coverage-influences-food-safety-practices/