YumSugar

Consumers Warm Up to Humanely Raised Veal

YumSugar — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:50:04 -0700

While the vegetarian trend has continued to rise, a meat movement is also gaining popularity. The latest subject in sustainable agriculture? Pasture-raised veal. Compared to conventionally raised veal, rose veal, as it's been dubbed, is leaner, with a blush color.

Eating veal has long been an animal-welfare issue, with opponents pointing to calves confined in stalls so tiny that livestock are unable to move. But producers of pasture-raised veal argue that the meat comes from hormone- and antibiotic-free calves who drink their mother's milk, consume pasture grass, and freely roam pastures.

Animal-rights activists are against the slaughter of young animals who have strong maternal bonds - yet according to veal proponents, calves are the same age as lamb and older than pigs when they're slaughtered. Where do you stand? Would you be more likely to eat pasture raised veal?

Dairy Prices Continue to Plummet, Leaving Farmers Frenzied

YumSugar — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:00:04 -0700

It goes without saying that the economic crisis has left everyone from automakers to financial services firms in shambles. But you might be surprised to hear who the latest victims of job loss are - dairy cows.

At a time when costs of all other foods seem to be on the rise, we saw the downward movement of dairy prices as the silver lining. But as industry conditions have worsened, hard-hit farmers have been forced to contemplate whether it would be more profitable to send their cows to a slaughterhouse.

Farmers have been struggling to feed their herds, as prices for milk are currently half of what it costs for farmers to produce it. With dairymen in such dire circumstances, industry insiders are estimating that nearly 1.5 million of the country's dairy cows could be slaughtered this year as a result. The falling milk prices were caused by a weakened international consumption, a stronger US exchange rate, and the melamine scandal that broke out in China last year.

This situation is disheartening, and I wonder how many people have taken notice of it. I'll certainly make an effort by continuing to support the dairy industry. What about you? Will this news affect your dairy-purchasing habits?

Source

Foie Gras May Be Humanely Produced After All

YumSugar — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 05:50:46 -0800

When it comes to culinary controversy, there are few things more divisive than the fatty duck liver known as foie gras. The reason? The allegedly inhumane "gavage," or force-feeding process, which involves placing a metal tube down a duck's throat to deliver large amounts of food. In fact, the 5,000-year-old French delicacy has had such a bad reputation that it was once banned in Chicago, and will be banned in California by 2012.But in a recent investigative piece, Village Voice contributor Sarah DiGregorio visits the nation's biggest foie gras farm, Hudson Valley Foie Gras, and finds the process to be relatively inoffensive. She writes:

The sights could not have been more different from the horrifying images I'd seen on the Internet . . . the actual process with the tube didn't seem to bother them . . . Each waddled calmly away, looking unfazed: no breathing problems, no vomiting, and no trouble walking. Their feathers were fairly clean, and I didn't see any lesions on their feet or bodies . . . If I had seen with my own eyes that Hudson Valley produced foie gras by abusing ducks, this article would have turned out very differently. But that just wasn't the case.

I found myself relieved to read at least one perspective demonstrating that the production of foie gras was far less harmful than PETA and its opponents have portrayed it. Were you surprised by DiGregorio's investigation? What impact do you think this will have on the foie gras industry?

Source

Organics Industry Plagued by Recession and Scandal

YumSugar — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:30:45 -0800

It's only January, and the organic industry is already having a bad year. Not only have producers been losing consumers due to the hefty price tag of organic food, but the industry has struggled to maintain its integrity.

With organic feed prices at an all-time high, farmers in the UK are lobbying the government to temporarily relax organic feed standards to assist livestock producers who are currently paying twice as much for organic feed as they would conventional. In California, state investigators have discovered that California Liquid Fertilizer, an organic farming treatment, had been spiking its fertilizer with a synthetic product banned from organic farms. The tainted fertilizer infiltrated up to a third of the organic market, including produce giants such as Earthbound Farms, for up to seven years. Following the incident, investigations have begun into other organic fertilizer distributors in different states.

With these issues now in the spotlight, it's my feeling that consumers will be left confused about organic standards of quality, and distrustful of industry practices. Does this affect your preferences about shopping organic?

Source

Animal Rights Proposition Passes in California

YumSugar — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 10:15:24 -0800

Yesterday, California passed the most far-reaching farm animal treatment measure to ever be placed on the ballot.

Proposition 2 passed with an estimated 62 percent of the vote in early returns and will affect 20 million farm animals in California, America's largest agricultural state. It requires farmers to give animals space to turn around, spread their wings, stand up, and lie down.

This ballot measure, which was sponsored by the Humane Society of America, goes into effect in 2015 and will entail, among other things, phasing out gestation crates for breeding pigs and veal cages for calves. Opponents, however, fear that the measure will actually bolster the market for cheaper, out-of-state agriculture where farmers aren't under the same regulations.

Did you vote on this measure? How do you feel about this animal rights victory? Do you think it sets an example for other states?

Source

PETA Leads Zombie Protest Outside Manhattan KFC

YumSugar — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:30:26 -0700

Animal-rights activism group PETA has come out with yet another inflammatory campaign. This year, they kicked their off Halloween festivities a few weeks early: On Saturday, more than 100 people gathered outside a Herald Square KFC dressed as blood-drenched zombies, holding signs that said, "I'd rather be dead than eat at KFC!"

The protest was part of the Kentucky Fried Cruelty campaign, which addresses concerns about KFC suppliers' treatment of chickens on farms and slaughterhouses. "Even flesh-eating zombies have nothing on the Colonel's cruelty," says PETA's Dan Shannon. "We're urging consumers not to set foot inside a KFC restaurant until the company stops these abuses."

Did any of you see the protest? Do you consider it to be effective at sending an important message, or is it just another obnoxious PETA ploy?

Source

PETA Releases Disturbing Pig Farm Video

partysugar — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:15:22 -0700

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.

Source

Let's All Be Outstanding in the Field

YumSugar — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:00:00 -0800

The other day, CasaSugar tipped me off to a really cool organization called Outstanding in the Field. Their whole purpose is to dine at the source, right on the fields that deliver the harvest. Back in 1999, chef Jim Denevan - who also happens to be a well-respected artist - began staging dinners at organic farms around Santa Cruz, Calif. He said:

Senses are heightened in the fresh air. And it's not every day you get to sit next to the person who planted the beans, raised the lamb, and shaped the cheese on your plate.

Once word started to spread about these dinners, everyone in the food community - including many well-respected Bay Area chefs - wanted in. Soon, there were outdoor dinners at many of the areas local farms. However, that wasn't enough. Now the folks at Outstanding in the Field take their mission on tour. They're currently working on their 2008 farm dinner schedule, but they've got the cities in place already. Dinners will be held from California to New York and at many places in between. Tickets range between $150-$200, but it includes a five course meal with wine pairings, as well as a tour of the host farm. I don't know about you, but I know I want to go to one of these!

Source

Nudo Is Neato! Adopt an Olive Tree of Your Own!

YumSugar — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 10:01:39 -0700

There's a little olive tree in my mom's backyard; the harvest isn't huge, but it allows her to create her own style of pickled olives and oils. If her olive harvest has you feeling jealous, then listen up and adopt your own olive tree. For £65 (~$130), the Nudo olive grove in Le Marche, Italy, lets folks "adopt" a tree for a year. You can let them assign any tree to you, or you can choose a specific part of the grove. Once the tree is yours, you will reap the benefits twice a year. The spring package contains a minimum of 1.5 liters of extra virgin olive oil, and the autumn package contains lemon infused extra virgin olive oil, and three different olive oil soaps scented with mint, rosemary, lemon and lavender. However, if you think that might be too much olive oil for you to handle, you can always purchase their olive oil directly.

San Francisco Restaurant Eliminates Taxes and Tips

YumSugar — Thu, 21 May 2009 15:00:07 -0700

Earlier this year, we broached the question of whether it was fair for establishments to impose a built-in surcharge for large dinner parties - and many of you were strongly opposed. But how would you feel if taxes and gratuities were eliminated altogether?

Frank Klein, owner of San Francisco's Fish & Farm, thinks the idea has potential to succeed in times like these. According to San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic Michael Bauer, Klein will remodel Fish & Farm, reopening with a new menu that has all-inclusive prices.

The restaurant's new tabs will have "no surcharges, no extras, no nothing above what it says on the menu. We are going to become the anti-surcharge restaurant." The waitstaff will still be adequately compensated because the computer will automatically deduct sales tax and 18.5 percent gratuity for every check.

Although this isn't a new concept - it's standard in many countries like France - it's uncommon to see in America. At a time when many Americans feel nickel-and-dimed, does this strategy have the potential to succeed - and catch on in other restaurants?

Source