Growers and Grocers

Let me begin with full disclosure - I have never had foie gras. According to Wikipedia, foie gras is French for “fat liver” and “is the fattened liver of a duck or goose that has been overfed. Along with truffles, foie gras is one of the greatest delicacies in French cuisine—it is very rich […]

Dried gamet sheets
Photo courtesy of ilocostimes.com
Harvesting gamet is not for the faint of heart. Nor is it for the slow-footed. Citizens of Burgos, Ilocos Norte, a province north of Manila can attest to this, as they have lost three members of their community to gamet harvest since 1970. Others have been injured. Only the well-trained […]

The principal of supply and demand regulates a lot in the business world from prices to availability of goods. A recent decision by Wal-Mart to carry organic milk under its store brand label at a discounted price is likely to drive organic milk costs down across the board, experts say.
The New York Times reported Saturday […]

All over the USA, consumers now know that E.coli bacteria can be found in foods other than ground meat – even in vegetables. A major outbreak of E.coli has been traced to pre-packaged spinach. Although initial analysis has linked the illness to “Natural Selection Foods” spinach, marketed by Earthbound Farms, as of Friday, FDA officials […]

I had a bit of trouble obtaining a copy of Eat Here: Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket, by Brian Halweil. First, I checked my local library. Then I checked the local Barnes & Noble, who drove off all of the independent booksellers in my hometown a while ago. Then the not-so-local Borders. Finally, I […]

I have been tantalized by honey for months. In June, at an outdoor market on the Loire river in France, I carefully deliberated over a set of four jars of varietal honey. Every type of honey, I was learning, has a flavor distinct to the flowers that were pollinated by the bees that […]

The Associated Press recently reported that Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream was pressured to replace their egg supplier by the Humane Society. The basis for the pressure was the Humane Society of America’s objections to the treatment of the chickens used to produce the eggs. Ben and Jerry’s ultimately relented and switched suppliers […]

It’s often very difficult to walk away from something that means a great deal to you, particularly when you feel as if you’re not quite done with it. That’s very much been my attitude towards Growers and Grocers of late, and my decision to leave WellFed for other writing opportunities.
See, I sort of feel […]

Hopefully, you’ve already read Sara Maamouri’s review over on Fit Fare of Grub by Anna Lappé and Bryant Terry.
When our copy of Grub arrived in the post, I thought Denise had ordered another cookbook. The subtitle intrigued me: “ideas for an urban organic kitchen.” So I picked up the book and was surprised to see […]

Donavan Hall is a writer living on Long Island. He’s a veteran beer drinker, beer brewer, beer traveler, and beer podcaster. He writes about beer for Well Fed’s The Spirit World and other publications including A Good Beer Blog, Lenndevours, and his own blog, Catch & Release. You can listen to Donavan talk about his […]