Animal rights activists PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has released a highly unsettling, undercover video that shows the mishandling of pigs on an Iowa farm. Among other things, in the clip — which I couldn't watch all the way through — workers hit female pigs with metal rods and slam piglets on a concrete floor. The farm supplies pigs for pork giant Hormel, who has acknowledged the abuses as "completely unacceptable." While PETA claims that pig farm abuse is widespread and common, leading animal welfare expert Temple Grandin disagrees:
I've been on many good farms, and the pigs are handled gently. This was blatant, deliberate animal cruelty. These people are sick. They need to be prosecuted. There are certain people that enjoy hurting animals and they should not be working with them—period.
Being a carnivore, I have to agree with Grandin and hope that the meat I purchase is from humane farms. It will be interesting to see what becomes of the video and if the USDA steps in as it did with the California slaughterhouse that mistreated cows earlier this year.
When I made microwave popcorn the other day, it sparked a conversation in the office about sneaking food into movie theaters.
Considering the majority of you like to eat popcorn at the movies, I'm wondering how many of you sneak in your popcorn? While I've never done the deed, I have plenty of friends who do, because store-bought popcorn is a fraction of the cost of movie-theater popcorn. I will admit to occasionally having snuck in my own candy and water, though. Fess up: Do you sneak food in, too?
In a world of oversize food — genetically modified apples, super-size fries, and venti coffees — one thing may be coming up smaller: grocery stores.
According to the New York Times, grocers across the country from Safeway to Wal-Mart are turning to stores with smaller square footage. Supermarket retailers, like Jewel-Osco, who is building a smaller-format store in Chicago, are hoping to capitalize on an untapped segment of time-starved shoppers who are looking for an affordable meal to go without menu prices, or who just want to pick up a handful of grocery items.
These chains aren't shuttering the warehouse-sized predecessors, but hoping to gain market share as competition grows cutthroat. Both convenience stores and drugstores such as CVS are selling more groceries and fresher prepared foods, and British retail giant Tesco began stateside expansion last Fall.
We've all been in crazy situations, and I want to know how you handle entertaining fiascoes and bad restaurant behavior. I'll present a situation and you tell me what you would do. Here's the latest scenario:
You're at a small (but popular) restaurant that sells burgers and sausages to go. When you place your order you're told by the abrasive girl at the counter that your wait will be at least 15 minutes.
Ten minutes into your wait, she suddenly cries out to everyone present:
Hey, listen up everybody! The tip jar is right here, and if you could make a generous contribution that would be great . . . dollars only, please!
What would you do?
To see what I would do in this situation — and it happened to me! — read more
When it comes to baked pastas, most people think of lasagna or macaroni and cheese. However, ziti, a thick, tubular pasta, is ideal for baking, especially when coated with a dense, rich sauce.
This comforting version is made with turkey sausage and canned tomatoes. It's a no-fuss, simple dish that's sure to win over even the most finicky eaters. To make this for your family tonight, get the delicious MyRecipes.com recipe and read more
Did you know that this month is All-American Breakfast Month? To celebrate, I've put together a quiz full of my favorite breakfast items. I'm going to flash a picture of a classic morning meal, and you'll have to identify the dish. Are you ready? Let's do it!
Enamora
Pringle
Manoush