A recent study found that US per capita food waste has increased by about 50% since 1974. We now waste over 1400 calories per person per day in America, enough to feed 200 million people. Meanwhile, we have an obesity epidemic, the USDA reports that one-in-seven Americans went hungry last year, and the New York Times just released a major piece on the soaring use of food stamps. What the heck is going on?
Here’s the dilemma: I live in Boston, and despite the fact that high quality, grass-fed local beef is readily available, it’s simply too inconsistent and too lean to make a decent burger out of. Even local short ribs have barely any marbling.
Tony Maws has figured out how to do it.
The food supply crisis and the proper counterattack is emerging as one of the great debates of our time. Particularly timely is a great video that many missed last year: Google.org hosting a discussion between Hugh Grant, CEO of Monsanto, and Michael Pollan, on how the world can feed itself. It’s hardly as predictable as you might think.
The fact that breasts—which project far above the body of the turkey—cook much faster than the legs, means that by the time the legs are the requisite 165°F, sections of the breast are well above 180°F. The consequences are familiar to all of us: dry, withered white meat that only a boatload of gravy can rescue.
Since when did we start craving fresh mozzarella, sushi, or Power Bars? It’s my pet-hobby to identify the decade when an American food item became mainstream. Like clothing, food has its fads, fashions, and permanent additions. As we near the end of the decade, here’s my attempt to categorize the 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s in terms of food. Thirty years of food alone reveals trends in how Americans perceive class and health.
What happens when the ideal of rural poverty alleviation meets the harsh sands of Pakistan, and the reality of earning an ROI? In this GoodEater interview, Joel Montgomery, an Alabamian, Yale-grad Acumen Fellow, tells the story of helping to build an drip-irrigation social enterprise in one of the driest agricultural countries in the world.
Want to make turkey burgers that taste juicy an meaty without hiding behind herbs, spices, or cheese? Here’s how.
There are a few things in life that—no matter how many times I’ve seen them—always make me ask, “Why?” Turkey burgers are one of these.
Could I figure out a way to make a turkey burger that tastes seriously meaty without masking its flavors under a veil of herbs and spices?
Provided you aren’t afraid of a little dog piss or the occasional case of lead poisoning, the city (both Boston and New York!) offers a wide range of forage-able edibles. You just have to know where to look. Ginkgoes are in season right now.
Monday, November 30, 2009
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