The New York Times - Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables

Another excellent opinion piece by Mark Bittman. He suggests taxing junk food (soda in particular) and subsidizing fruits and vegetables (instead of the current subsidization of corn and soy, both of which are used in highly processed foods and soda). His argument is highly convincing for its exploration of the many predicted benefits to America's financial and physical health, and the use of tobacco as a precedent for his propositions.

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July 23, 2011
By Mark Bittman

"What will it take to get Americans to change our eating habits? The need is indisputable, since heart disease, diabetes and cancer are all in large part caused by the Standard American Diet. (Yes, it's SAD.)..."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/opinion/sunday/24bittman.html

Farm Sanctuary's Walk for Animals

This fall, thousands of people in cities across the US and Canada will gather for the 2011 Walk for Animals by Farm Sanctuary. The walks are a fun and  way to raise funds for Farm Sanctuary as well as to raise awareness about the abuse of farm animals. As states on the event's website, "the Walk for Animals is a positive way to speak out on behalf of animals who cannot speak for themselves and to make a real difference in their lives."

To find out if there's a walk near you, click here. Also visit the event's website to find out more about the walks, what they support, and how else you can get involved if there isn't a walk near you.

LA Times - Michelle Obama, Wal-Mart and the 'food desert' problem

Discusses the problem of the lack of access to fresh produce in low income neighborhoods (now given the name "food deserts" as a result) and lists some programs being developed to increase that access.

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July 22, 2011
By Daniela Hernandez

"What a first lady, a chain store and others are doing to try to make fresh fruits and vegetables more available in poor communities."

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/22/news/la-heb-fruits-vegetables-poor-communities20110722

Chicago Tribune - Meat labels: A lot of fine print to read

A helpful guide to current labels found on meat products, and an introduction to various other initiatives to help consumers be more informed about the origins of the meat they eat.

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July 13, 2011
By Steve Cavendish

"Dan Buskirk knows the path meat takes to arrive on your table. And the Michigan State University animal science professor knows that consumers increasingly want to be informed of that route as well. 'People want to know where their meat comes from,' Buskirk says..."

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-07-13/features/sc-food-0708-meat-labeling-20110713_1_meat-labels-beef-grades-usda

The Atlantic - How 'Conscientious Carnivores' Ignore Meat's True Origins

James McWilliams questions the ethics and motivations of those who choose humanely raised meat over a meatless diet, and whether their actions have any impact on reforming the meat industry. Although I generally disagree with his argument, he does raise some valid and interesting points about this recent phenomenon of the "conscientious carnivore."

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July 12, 2011

By James McWilliams

"If there's one phrase I'd like to put to pasture it's the increasingly popular designation of 'conscientious carnivore.' As with so many other expressions in the food movement's growing lexicon of culinary virtue, this one euphemistically makes a harsh reality with a soothing, but ultimately damaging, rationalization..."

http://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/07/how-conscientious-carnivores-ignore-meats-true-origins/241828/

CNN Eatocracy - How animals are raised for food

Bruce Friedrich of Farm Sanctuary divulges a list of five lesser known (and perhaps surprising for that reason) facts about the meat industry.

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July 8, 2011

1. The average American eats more than 30 land animals, and countless sea animals.
2. The egg industry is even worse than the veal industry for animal welfare.
3. Broiler chickens are given more drugs than any other farmed animal.
4. There is no national legislation to protect 98.5 percent of farmed animals.
5. Farmed animals are interesting individuals, just like the dogs and cats who we know a bit better.

Click here to read the full text accompanying each fact.

Mother Jones - The Spam Factory's Dirty Secret

This piece exposes some of the extreme health risks and appauling labor standards experienced by workers in a hog processing facility. A long article, and at times difficult to read for its gruesome details, but nonetheless very illuminating and well worth reading.

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By Ted Genoways

July/August 2011

"On the cut-and-kill floor of Quality Pork Processors Inc. in Austin, Minnesota, the wind always blows. From the open doors at the docks where drivers unload massive trailers of screeching pigs, through to the 'warm room' where the hogs are butchered, to the plastic-draped breezeway where the parts are handed over to Hormel for packaging, the air gusts and swirls, whistling through the plant like the current in a canyon. In the first week of December 2006, Matthew Garcia felt feverish and chilled on the blustery production floor. He fought stabbing back pains and nausea, but he figured it was just the flu--and he was determined to tough it out..."

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/06/hormel-spam-pig-brains-disease

Civil Eats - Landmark Agreement to Help Millions

Amazingly, the Humane Society of the United States and the United Egg Producers (primary trade association for the egg industry), two organizations traditionally at war about the treatment of laying hens, announced last week an agreement that will put into effect an end to battery cages, and will implement a series of other reforms that will greatly improve the lives of laying hens. The details of the agreement are laid out in the article below by the president and CEO of the HSUS.

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July 8, 2011
By Wayne Pacelle

"The goal of The HSUS is not endless campaigning or conflict with political adversaries, but to find a place where we can forge solutions that produce tangible and meaningful outcomes for animals and show a new way forward in society. And that means sitting down with people who see the world differently than we do, even sitting down with industries that we’ve had deep disagreements with in the past. Yesterday, we put that principle into practice. I participated in a press conference that I thought could only occur many years into the future: a joint event with The HSUS and the United Egg Producers (UEP)..."

http://civileats.com/2011/07/08/landmark-agreement-to-help-millions-of-hens/

NY Times Opinionator - Banned from the Barn

Mark Bittman explains why more visibility within the meat industry is necessary by describing what hides behind factory farm walls. Despite the horror, Americans shouldn't be shielded from it, specifically with ag-gag laws like the one Iowa recently failed to pass.

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July 5, 2011
By Mark Bittman

"Iowa’s ag-gag law failed to pass before summer recess last week: a good thing. The ridiculous proposition, which died along with similar ones in Minnesota, Florida and New York, would have made it illegal to videotape or photograph in the agricultural facilities that house almost all of our chickens and pigs. Sadly, a lack of idiocy is not the same thing as a presence of wisdom, and the demise of ag-gag won’t give us a clearer view of food production. We need more visibility, not less..."

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/banned-from-the-barn/

The Atlantic - 5 Essential Reads on Food Politics

I've added all of these books to my wish list, and will post accordingly as I read them!

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July 8, 2011
By Marion Nestle

"Publishers are turning out so many food-related books that it's hard to keep up--so we've identified a handful not to miss..."

http://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/07/5-essential-picks-for-a-food-politics-bookshelf/241621/

Here's the book list in short:

• The Butcher's Guide to Well-Raised Meat by Joshua and Jessica Applestone, and Alexandra Zissu
• Cultivating an Ecological Conscience by Fred Kirschenmann
• Fair Food by Oran Hesterman
• Farm Together Now by Amy Franceschini and Daniel Tucker
• Milk by Deborah Valenze

LA Times - America just keeps getting fatter

A new report called "F as in Fat" shows that obesity rates in the U.S. are still on the rise, as well as diabetes and high blood pressure. Americans just need to put down the forks, as my dad would say.

(Special thank you to Austin for bringing this article to my attention!)

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July 7, 2011
By Melissa Healy

"America continues to get fatter, according to a comprehensive new report on the nation's weight crisis. Statistics for 2008-2010 show that 16 states are experiencing steep increases in adult obesity, and none has seen a notable downturn in the last four years. Meanwhile, cases of Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure that health experts have long warned would result from the nation's broadening girth and sedentary ways are becoming increasingly widespread, according to the report, titled 'F as in Fat,' released Thursday..."

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/07/health/la-he-obesity-report-20110708

A growing trend of ex-vegetarians becoming mindful meat eaters places new emphasis not on no meat, but rather, certain meat.

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June 30, 2011
By Zara Kessler

"Are you a vegetarian? Stats say you're probably a woman. You probably bid adieu to four-legged creatures for ethical reasons. And you'll probably be a carnivore again in no time..."

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/06/30/return-of-the-meat-eaters-many-lapsed-vegetarians-become-ethical-omnivores/

Civil Eats - A "Real Food" Guide to MyPlate

Check out the infographic below, a "Real Food" guide to the most recent USDA dietary guidelines depicted in their new MyPlate logo.

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June 28th, 2011
By Kristin Wartman

"In my recent critique of the new USDA dietary guidelines, I wrote that we’ll never see a real food version of MyPlate as long as the food industry holds sway over the guidelines and USDA continues to promote industrial foods. While this is true, there’s no reason we can’t create our own “Real Food” version of MyPlate to promote what we think is healthy and what’s not..."

http://civileats.com/2011/06/28/a-real-food-guide-to-myplate-infographic/

Plate to Planet: Making the Connection Between Food and the Environment

Farm Sanctuary has a new project site called Plate to Planet, which teaches the environmental impact of our food choices, and how small steps we take can make a big difference. The site features facts, interviews with experts, and the video below narrated by Jason Schwartzmann.