Ethics
Law and Order: Four Food Crimes
After stealing $1,500 worth of cooking oil from a Burger King, two men were apprehended siphoning off oil from a Golden Corral
January 05, 2012 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Can a Picky Eater Change Her Ways?
Most expand their culinary horizons as they get older, but a few people hold fast to limited diets of safe, familiar things like chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese
December 16, 2011 |
By Lisa Bramen
Disease Found in Wild Salmon
Are farmed salmon the source of a viral infection off the coast of British Columbia?
October 20, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Is it Safe to Eat Roadkill?
Enough with the jokes already. Some people are serious about looking to the roadside for an alternative to mass-market meats
October 18, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Law and Order: New Culinary Crimes
Burglary, felony theft, criminal mischief, abusing a corpse—last month alone was rife with food-related crimes and convictions
October 06, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Shark Fin Soup in Hot Water
California is on the road to becoming the fourth state in the union to ban shark fin soup on account of the ecological impact rising demand is having on shark populations
September 20, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Inviting Writing: Food and Independence
Deciding what, how or where we eat is one of the earliest ways we assert our individuality. Do you have a story to share?
September 12, 2011 |
By Lisa Bramen
Law and Order: More Culinary Crimes
Those who live outside the law sometimes meet their downfall through their relationship with food
August 23, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Inviting Writing: Mastering the School Cafeteria
Over the course of 12 years of eating with fellow classmates, any student can learn a set of new life skills
August 22, 2011 |
By admin
The Ecological Effects of Eating Frog Legs
As Kermit said, "All I can see are millions of frogs with tiny crutches"
August 11, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
What Is the "Right to Farm" and Who Has It?
A few years ago, while driving through rural Washington County, New York—a picturesque area that has attracted retirees and city-weary escapees—I noticed a sign declaring it a "right to farm" area. A city person myself until recently, it struck me as strange that anyone would feel the need to decla...
April 06, 2011 |
By Lisa Bramen
Renaissance Table Etiquette and the Origins of Manners
Art and culture flourished throughout Europe during the Renaissance. It was the period when Michelangelo wielded his chisel, Galileo defied preconceived notions about the universe and William Shakespeare penned some of the most enduring dramatic works. It was also a period that saw the evolution of...
March 29, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Count Rumford and the History of the Soup Kitchen
Every December, the Salvation Army deploys bell-ringers to shopping areas to collect donations for the needy, acting as jingling reminders that not everyone has a roof over his head or food in her belly, much less gifts under the tree.The ringers' iconic red collection kettles, which represent soup...
December 29, 2010 |
By Lisa Bramen
A Cultural History of Candy
Samira Kawash writes the blog “Candy Professor” and is working on a book about the cultural and social history of candy in twentieth-century America. She spoke to Smithsonian’s Amanda Bensen about Americans’ tricky relationship with treats Amanda: At this time of year, even people who don’t eat a l...
October 29, 2010 |
By Amanda Bensen
Reverse Trick-or-Treating
I know a lot of adults—not me, of course—who buy their favorite Halloween chocolates secretly hoping that trick-or-treater turnout will be light and they can polish off the rest themselves. This is especially true of people who don't have their own children to pilfer from.If a relatively new practi...
October 22, 2010 |
By Lisa Bramen
A Showcase School Garden in D.C.
When I was new to D.C., many people gave me the same advice, "Avoid Anacostia."Separated from the District's heart by the Anacostia River, the southeast swath of the city loosely known as Anacostia has long been associated with high rates of violent crime and poverty.But after finally venturing acr...
October 14, 2010 |
By Amanda Bensen
Is Your Local, Organic Food Neither Local Nor Organic?
I hate to be a cynic, but I suppose it was inevitable: With consumers today increasingly willing to pay a premium for local and/or organic food, it was only a matter of time before the scam artists of the world exploited shoppers' good intentions.Just in the last couple of weeks, two separate inves...
October 06, 2010 |
By Lisa Bramen
A Quest for Conch
Uh oh! Did I just eat an endangered species?Fortunately, the queen conch (Strombus gigas) isn’t quite endangered (yet). But the species has been over-harvested in the Florida Keys, leading to a drastic decline (pdf) in its reproductive capabilities. The state of Florida has placed a moratorium on c...
August 17, 2010 |
By admin
Whales on the Table
The International Whaling Commission talks being held in Morocco this week have fallen apart. The 88 member nations have been discussing the possibility of softening a 24-year-old moratorium on whaling, one of the first and most important international protection treaties. Despite the ban, people i...
June 24, 2010 |
By admin
Would You Eat a Lion Burger?
Lions are often called magnificent, majestic, the "king of beasts." They're not often called "meat."But lion meat has been on the menu of several U.S. restaurants in recent years. In South Philadelphia, one restaurant tried serving lion for about six weeks in 2008. As this article explains (with th...
June 23, 2010 |
By Amanda Bensen
