Where are the mid-size farms?

In an article from Grist, Hole in the Middle, Tom Philpott suggests that the insignificance of real sustainable food available in the US is due to a lack of a market for mid-size farms, that could conceivably provide a reasonable amount of food that small farms simply cannot produce. This was an interesting article, but I wish the author had speculated more about how to possibly create this market that was an alternative between farmer's markets and corporate national grocery chains. He suggested that local movements are the main efforts attempting to salvage these farms. Because the mid-size farms already lose money on the production of their food crops, they do not have the means to invest in restaurants etc. What if there were governmental policies that supported these farms instead of massively subsidizing corn, depleting any revenue for mid-scale farmers?

Thank you Zach S. for the article.

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Food Facility 2005

An interactive performance art piece and working restaurant created in Amsterdam in 2005 by Marti Guixe that imitates the function of Google. In the restaurant with no central kitchen you order food, it is then fetched from local fast food and delivered to you. Read the artist's comments on the project, and about the inner workings of the project. It seems to have been a temporary project that is no longer in function.

Margaret Mellon to speak at Wash U

There will be a Wash U lecture in Wilson 214, Mon 14th, 4 pm:

Come hear Margaret Mellon of the Union of Concerned Scientists speak about concentrated animal feeding operations and their threat to human health. Mellon is the Director/Senior Scientist of the Food and Environment Program.

Her statement:
"It's time to stop looking at agricultural biotechnology through rose-colored glasses. This is a novel technology that poses serious risks to the environment."

She has expertise in antibiotics in livestock and food, biotechnology, consumer impacts on the environment, genetically engineered foods. The reception will have a taste test between grass-fed and CAFO beef. come and eat some meat!

Which steak tastes best?

In this Slate article Mark Schatzker sets up a study to see which steak tastes the best. He describes the qualities of beef that may affect the taste such as aging process, hormones, and marbling. Find out which steak won!