“The Plate,” National Geographic • Oct. 7, 2016
The absolute last interview I did in China convinced me: The country has a burgeoning locavore movement, complete with farm-to-table fast(ish) food and home delivery of small-farm produce.
Tracie McMillan
Flint area talks: Oct. 4-5, 2016
Quick heads up for anyone in the Flint area: I’m coming to talk in your neighborhood! Oct. 4, 2016 (Tuesday) 5:45-6:45 Grand Blanc-McFarlen Public Library and I’m especially honored to kick off the Sullenger Dialogues at U-M Flint, the nearest university to where I grew up. It’s also an honor to be part of the rich … Read more
Common Experience:Highpoint University, Sept. 15-16, 2016
I’m thrilled to share that Highpoint University has chosen The American Way of Eating for its freshman Common Experience Program—and I’ll be spending a couple days on campus this week to talk about the book with students. Things kick off on Thursday, when I’ll be speaking to the President’s Seminar for first year students, continue with … Read more
“Southern Hunger” Lecture, Sept. 13, 2016
“Southern Hunger” Sept. 13, 2015 4:30-6:00 p.m. Stone Center, Hitchcock Room The American South is often celebrated for its rich food heritage and its powerful influence on American cuisine, but the region’s culture and politics are also linked to the darker side of food. In this lecture, will discuss how modern American food issues like hunger, … Read more
Eating China: Fast Food Surprises and Market Chaos
“The Plate,” National Geographic • Sept. 12, 2016
We’ve been subsisting a lot on hotel breakfast buffets, which the business joints we’ve been staying in offer routinely. (And do fairly well with, I might add. They’ve not yet resorted to the waffle-batter foil cups and cereal dispensers common in U.S. business motels.) But recently, for logistical reasons, we took an overnight train—which meant no breakfast on offer. And that meant our first stop was KFC for iced lattes—a treat the chain introduced in China just last year—and then to a popular Taiwanese fast food chain for a taste of domestic fast food.
Eating China: A Land of Many Grains
“The Plate,” National Geographic • Sept. 7, 2016
If you ask most Americans what grain Chinese people eat, I’m pretty sure they’d say rice.
Llike all countries, though China is not a dietary monolith. Diets here can still be deeply regional and seasonal, owing in part to the fact that most agriculture here is still quite small. In the south and northeast, water is relatively plentiful, encouraging crops like rice, that do well in that landscape. But in the drier central and western part of the country, rice doesn’t grow well at all. But wheat does.
Beyond Banjos: The Bountiful ‘Victuals’ of Appalachia
“The Plate,” National Geographic • Aug. 30, 2016
Sometimes there are cookbooks that you wish had stuck to the recipes. Witness, for example, Thug Kitchen. And then there are books like Victuals, by Ronni Lundy.
What Chili-Mango Ice Cream Says About Urban Renewal
“The Plate,” National Geographic • Aug. 24, 2016
If I ask you what Detroiters eat to cool off on hot summer days, chances are you think of two Midwestern staples: ice cream and pop. If you know Detroit you might even think Faygo or Vernors. (You may also, to be honest, think beer.)
But folks around Lawndale Street, on the city’s southwest side, have an option that might seem, to outsiders, an odd fit for Detroit: Mexican-style frozen sweets and snacks from a six-table, five-year-old shop called Mangonadas del Barrio. The shop’s namesake, a variation on a popsicle, is a godsend on a steamy August afternoon—and it’s so popular that owner Antonio Hernandez opened up a second shop in June.
I’ll Have What They’re Having, China Edition
“The Plate,” National Geographic • Aug. 15, 2016
“What are you taking with you to eat?”
This was not the question I was expecting from April, my editor here at The Plate, when I told her I’d be reporting in China this month.
Fate of Farm Pesticide Rule Far From Settled
“The Plate,” National Geographic • August 2, 2016
It might not seem controversial to require regular certification for handling highly toxic chemicals, or to restrict their usage to workers over 18 years. But proposed changes to federal pesticide rules with those provisions, which generated hundreds of public comments over the last two years are largely opposed.
