December 20, 2015:
Food Tank put together a list of their 15 favorite books from the last year, which includes sure-to-be-classics on agriculture, food politics, and food security: Food Tank’s Favorite Books of 2015
From the NY Times, a piece on drought in Iran, which is destroying food source, in particular the pistachio crop, and changing the way people live: Scarred Riverbeds and Dead Pistachio Trees in a Parched Iran
A study in Environmental Science & Policy, Investing in the Transition to Sustainable Agriculture, revealed USDA underfunding of sustainable agriculture, and was summarized by the University of Hawaii: Agriculture study shows need for more sustainable agriculture research funding
I recently discovered Nordic Food Radio, a “humanistic and scientific” blog and podcast dedicated to international food and the “edible potential of the Nordic region.” Recent episodes include The New Old Superfood, about the resurgence of the chaga mushroom, and I would kiss them before I eat them, about the Sami practice of insect eating.
While you’re cueing up the podcasts, you can also add A Short History of India’s Distinct Food Habits, a production of The Real Food Podcast in which “mythology expert Devadutt Pattanaik goes back in time to trace the origins of India’s food habits.”
Finally, reporting on allegations that a $10-a-bar chocolate company had been remelting mass-produced chocolate and selling it under their name, an article at qz examines How the Mast Brothers fooled the world into paying $10 a bar for crappy hipster chocolate –certainly a fascinating study in food branding, distinction, and the questions that come with specialty food labels.
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