Changing Political Palates

There's been a lot of talk lately about what, and where, the First Family eats. Whether it's about their organic garden, their in-house chef, their "politically palatable" restaurant choices, Michelle's cooking comments or simply what's on Barack's burger, the media—and the public, apparently—gobbl...
June 02, 2009 | By Amanda Bensen

Downsizing Livestock with Mini-Cattle

The other day, the Los Angeles Times did a story on the increasing number of ranchers and farmers raising miniature cattle to cut costs and produce meat and milk more efficiently.These cows average 500 to 700 pounds, about half the weight of their full-figured counterparts, but they are not genetic...
May 29, 2009 | By Lisa Bramen

Sustainable Seafood

I don't know about you, but I tend to eat more seafood in the summer, perhaps because it's so easy to grill. But it's tricky to know which seafood to eat. A Smithsonian Associates panel discussion I attended this spring, on "sustainable" seafood, had some good advice, although it also demonstrated ...
May 11, 2009 | By Amanda Bensen

Food Matters on Earth Day

Lately I'm reading a book called "Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating," by Mark Bittman (a.k.a. NY Times' "The Minimalist"), and Earth Day seems like the perfect time to tell you about it.Bittman's thesis is simple but sobering: What you choose to put on your plate has a direct impact on the...
April 22, 2009 | By Amanda Bensen

A Feast for the Eyes, if not the Stomach

Ever order a burger or some other food that looked mouth-watering and perfect in the advertisement, only to be disappointed by the sad, disheveled pile of slop you were presented? It makes you wonder why the real thing can’t look as good as the picture. Well, it could, if you were willing to wait ...
March 05, 2009 | By Lisa Bramen

Cooking the Tree of Life

Tomorrow is the final day of Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday month. Most people only get a daylong birthday celebration, but most people didn’t put forth a revolutionary theory that’s influential two centuries later, now, did they? One of the more interesting food-related events commemorating the ...
February 27, 2009 | By Lisa Bramen

Food fight: Fish or "sea kitten?"

Written by guest blogger Abigail Tucker, Smithsonian magazine staff writer:Filet of sea kitten in butter sauce, anyone? PETA’s recently launched “Save the Sea Kittens” campaign aims to rebrand fish as cuddly companions rather than swimming repositories of Omega-3 fatty acids. The Web site presents ...
January 22, 2009 | By Amanda Bensen

Swiftlet Nest Farming Proves Good for Business... Maybe Too Good

Up there on the weirdest-things-you-can-eat list has to be bird's nest soup. It would be weird enough just to eat your standard twiggy-grassy robin's nest, but this predominantly Chinese delicacy is made almost entirely from the goopy spit of a southeast Asian bird called a swiftlet (check out a co...
January 15, 2009 | By Hugh Powell

Cochineal Coloring: Is that a bug in your food?

The Food and Drug Administration has decided that consumers have a right to know when there's a bug in their food (or lipstick). Well, sort of—under the new rule, ingredient labels on many food, beverage and cosmetic products will soon get more specific than simply "artificial color," or "color add...
January 07, 2009 | By Amanda Bensen

Should Sugar Be a Controlled Substance?

Americans love sugar. It's a longstanding affair: Christopher Columbus carted sugar cane from the Canary Islands to the Dominican Republic, where the crop thrived, with the unfortunate result of fueling the slave trade. After the industrial revolution made sugar cheaper for the masses, Americans' c...
January 06, 2009 | By Amanda Bensen

Food in the news: the FDA Fish Fight, New Agriculture Secretary, and Burger King Cologne

--The Washington Post mentions the inter-agency controversy brewing over whether the government should discourage moms and kids from eating certain types of fish. The FDA thinks the benefits of consuming brain-boosting omega 3 fatty acids may outweigh the risks of mercury contamination, but the EPA...
December 19, 2008 | By Amanda Bensen

The Truth About "Value Meals"

News flash: Fast food is bad for you!Okay, you probably already knew that. But in a recession like this, isn't it tempting to bite at anything labeled "value?"I just noticed on one of my favorite food blogs, The Food Section, that a DC-based nonprofit called the Cancer Project published a report th...
December 12, 2008 | By Amanda Bensen

Choosing Civility in a Rude Culture

Professor Pier M. Forni has devoted his career to convincing people to conduct their lives with kindness and civility
December 01, 2008 | By David Zax

Turkeys Are Having a Pretty Bad Month

The NYTimes ran a story last week about the latest animal-abuse scandal reported by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The group has released what it says is an undercover video of a turkey-breeding farm in West Virginia where workers punch, kick and generally bully the birds in th...
November 26, 2008 | By Amanda Bensen

Wish They All Could Be California Chicks...

You may have missed it in the frenzy of election-related news this month, but Californian voters just approved a proposition that could make your omelette more expensive (as well as more ethical). Pregnant pigs, veal calves, and egg-laying hens will all gain more rights in California under the Prev...
November 21, 2008 | By Amanda Bensen

Stem Cell Pioneers

Despite federal opposition to embryonic stem cell research, the promise of medical benefits, academic freedom and profits in California is luring scientists to the field
December 2005 | By Jon Cohen

Ailing? Just Add Cells

Now we can grow the cells from which all others derive, but ethical questions are involved
January 01, 1999 | By John P. Wiley, Jr.

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