Michael Ruhlman • July 25, 2012
One of the curious things about doing a semi-ridiculous reporting project—say, leaving behind your life to go work undercover as a farm worker, Walmart produce clerk, and Applebee’s kitchen wretch—is that near-strangers confront you with grand, existential queries. Like: What’s the most important thing you learned?
The Washington Post • June 29, 2012
I dare you to celebrate the Fourth of July without a hamburger. What food better conveys the values of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness than an all-American beef patty, grilled in the sunny confines of a grassy back yard?
A burger on the grill says: I have the day off to celebrate this great country, and I am going to relish it.
Slate • June 27, 2012
A few years ago, the chef and organic pioneer Alice Waters did a spin on 60 Minutes that managed to showcase exactly why foodies get branded as elitist. “Some people want to buy Nikes, two pairs,” she said in a casual moment at a farmers’ market. “And some people want to eat Bronx grapes and nourish themselves.”
This was vintage foodie-ism, a smug and irritating noblesse oblige transposed onto a discussion of our meals. That didn’t change the fact that much of everything else Waters said was right: The way we eat is making us sick; it’s a good idea for kids to learn to cook; even, in a more formal moment, “good food should be a right and not a privilege.” But her aside about sneakers made it unlikely that anyone not yet onboard with Waters would listen to her in the first place.
Credit whomever or whatever you like — foodie journalists, celebrity chefs, the depressing state of the American economy — but Americans are increasingly cooking at home, according to a recent poll, reports trade magazine Progressive Grocer. Two key findings: (1) Americans are cooking more In fact, seven in 10 Americans say they are cooking more … Read more
What I find most interesting about Target’s expansion as a grocer is that its produce offerings (not unlike Walmart’s) tend to be slim and of not-the-best-quality-ever. I’m completely comfortable with people making use of canned and frozen produce, but there’s something about shifting our food supply away from things-we-can-eat-as-they-are and toward things-someone-else-makes-and-sells-us that makes me incredibly … Read more
In the likely event that you were not at one of my events in Southern California over the last week, you may avail yourself of the links below, where you will be able to watch video to your heart’s content: Is Eating Well Just for the Rich? A conversation with KCRW’s Evan Kleiman Hosted by … Read more
I’ve been besieged with emails about the NYT’s cover piece yesterday on food deserts, so here are a couple quick thoughts: (1) Food deserts have always been a crude measure Keep in mind that this is a fairly new area of public policy. I’ve long though that food deserts are a crude measure at best; … Read more
In the hubbub of book publication and tour, I nearly missed this survey of Detroit corner stores holding both liquor licenses and SNAP certification. Done by the Restaurant Opportinities Center Detroit (full disclosure: They are sponsoring a book event with me on Thursday) in conjunction with Doing Development Differently in Detroit (D4) and Metropolitan Organizing … Read more
This Lempert Report snippet indicates that: Supermarkets that don’t yet focus on dollar stores and the trip threats they pose, better wake up. They’ve proliferated in the down economy. The top four dollar chains in the United States (Dollar General, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree and 99¢ Only) have 21,500 stores – already more stores than … Read more
Follow Tracie
