Of Grub and Grabbing

The concept of "grabbing" a bite or the drink is "just the most soulless and desperate submission to the marketing industry's money-spinning fantasy of busy modern life."

In Defense of Waiters

Waiter-turned-author Phoebe Damrosch says that waiting profession deserves more respect, not to mention better wages and health insurance. She recommends a European-style service charge to cover those costs.

Times Presses Congress on Antibiotics and Livestock

The New York Times editorial page is calling upon lawmakers to pass legislation that would allow veterinarians to prescribe antibiotics to treat individual farm animals or prevent disease, but restrict routine feeding of antibiotics to farm animals.

Watersgate

Is there a war being unfairly waged against Alice Waters, as Laura Shapiro writes at gourmet.com, or, as Eat Me Daily argues, are her actions open to legitimate criticism, to the consternation of the established media?

Op Ed: Is Eating Local Earnest or Elitist?

I initially found myself amused reading about all of the "local food" shenanigans reported in Kim Severson's front-page article, "A Locally Grown Diet With Fuss but No Muss,"  published in today's New York Times. It is funny that we have come to this point in our food culture where people would hire out personal gardeners, invest in an animal share, or plan a wedding with catered food grown within 100 miles of the altar. Why not poke fun at the trendiness of those who want their food local, but don't want to get their "hands dirty" farming. What a bunch of suckers.

But, does anyone want to get their hands dirty farming anyway, rich or poor? The entire food industry rests on this simple notion. Most Americans buy their food in supermarkets, and while I'm a great supporter of farmer's markets, they are insufficient to supply all of my food. My local farmer's market is open only from July to October, and when it is open, it operates only once a week. The produce is great, but there is no fish and little meat available

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