Eggs, $8 a dozen

Are organically grown foods too expensive to be a normal alternate to industrially produced foods? I think most people accept that there's some premium, often high, to be paid for organic food. And a little research tells us that a portion of that increase in price is due to government subsidies to the large-scale, environmentally unfriendly agriculture -- and no subsidies at all to the small-scale farmers who can behave more responsibly. <br /> <br />A farmer in New York -- <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/08/how-8-a-dozen-eggs-threaten-real-food-reforms/243276/">written up in the Atlantic </a>-- charges $8 per dozen for eggs: "each morning, the chickens are fed organic grain, then moved to fresh pasture in a specially made chicken mobile ... the process is so labor-intensive that bringing down the price would be near impossible." Further, bringing food into New York is itself a costly process. <br /> <br />The big question: will organic food ever be affordable to a reasonable percent of the population? The author of the article lists some possible reforms that could at least make the choice more plausible, but I wonder if any of those ideas are viable. The government is really out to lunch, and their lunch is not environmentally friendly or free of toxins and antibiotic resistant organisms. The industrial farmers and food processors don't bear the burden for the costs that result from their irresponsibility. And they have the money to influence the legislators. Alas!

Eggs, $8 a dozen

Are organically grown foods too expensive to be a normal alternate to industrially produced foods? I think most people accept that there'...

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Food Paintings at the Norton Simon Museum

The curator of the Norton Simon museum offers tours of food-themed paintings, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-norton-simon-museum-food-tour-pictures,0,5886074.photogallery">as documented by the L.A.Times</a>. This is a fascinating collection of images. I remarked on the large number of food paintings when I was at the museum earlier this summer: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><a href="http://regional-food.blogspot.com/2011/05/food-in-art-norton-simon-museum.html" style="color: rgb(85, 136, 170); text-decoration: none; ">Food in Art: the Norton Simon Museum</a>.</span> However, I chose mainly different pictures, like this one:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5744880867/" title="norton-simon1414 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="norton-simon1414" height="401" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5223/5744880867_8424e53062_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>

Food Paintings at the Norton Simon Museum

The curator of the Norton Simon museum offers tours of food-themed paintings, as documented by the L.A.Times . This is a fascinating collect...

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Time for a New Mona Lisa

<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_gEzViA-yRI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />Love that M&M character!

Time for a New Mona Lisa

Love that M&M character!

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Two-fisted Taste Test

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfLfYtDK286cJx9PtDKCiZfsiPuSviAKh3rZmQjc-jfJ9TP_U1GcgudSR_Fqz6q7CL3Cz0GPhbnGp1qTToyf5ltzWLvv5zfww7Jt_PPoG13t48F6_4oq7gMXf1XbEeQiapnaJDA-bkwO-x/s1600/biscuits7559.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636436564871222994" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfLfYtDK286cJx9PtDKCiZfsiPuSviAKh3rZmQjc-jfJ9TP_U1GcgudSR_Fqz6q7CL3Cz0GPhbnGp1qTToyf5ltzWLvv5zfww7Jt_PPoG13t48F6_4oq7gMXf1XbEeQiapnaJDA-bkwO-x/s400/biscuits7559.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 207px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>Trader Joe now sells "Bistro Biscuits" very similar to the Biscoff cookies served on some Delta Airlines flights, and available randomly at some stores. These are justifiably popular cookies, maybe even a cult item, and I'm really glad that TJ has come through. <br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRCS5A5mbxdqdIYm6WV9I4dOPmhXjm_5792O-q0G08sJH8tHdJoOhi_XCeit4Sh-XiZrfifWFx6qQ0oDc_BAlr9r2oWrtcpwXeDwlzVOiGxmGAiI34DITvKkTCONcTJu7eByEwjsBX9cNR/s1600/biscuits7562.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636436562212662866" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRCS5A5mbxdqdIYm6WV9I4dOPmhXjm_5792O-q0G08sJH8tHdJoOhi_XCeit4Sh-XiZrfifWFx6qQ0oDc_BAlr9r2oWrtcpwXeDwlzVOiGxmGAiI34DITvKkTCONcTJu7eByEwjsBX9cNR/s400/biscuits7562.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>We did the two-fisted cookie challenge, taking bites from a TJ cookie and one of the two Delta Lotus Biscoff cookies that a friend thoughtfully saved for me from a flight she was on. The TJ version might be just a tiny bit sweeter, but the taste is almost identical. The TJ cookies are slightly smaller, measuring approximately 3 inches. I ate the Delta cookie before I thought of measuring it.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQzzPR6BXk3Fo-fW3MACheOsu8IPXfLt4Pq_49NNaZz3tLs1rCSSEnUMrCT_-SAwzqO-2bfSps7TL2T2fBCM5_aJMiZ2BPOh-OY4lkn9np2xNR91zog_c1VhvLZ5EBPlcGSJWNJTzh-fGH/s1600/delta-cookies.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582615469194454338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQzzPR6BXk3Fo-fW3MACheOsu8IPXfLt4Pq_49NNaZz3tLs1rCSSEnUMrCT_-SAwzqO-2bfSps7TL2T2fBCM5_aJMiZ2BPOh-OY4lkn9np2xNR91zog_c1VhvLZ5EBPlcGSJWNJTzh-fGH/s400/delta-cookies.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>Above are the Lotus Biscoff cookies that I bought from amazon.com a few months ago (eaten up long ago of course -- see <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://regional-food.blogspot.com/2011/03/delta-cookies-hard-to-find-on-delta.html" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Delta Cookies -- Hard to find on Delta flights</a>). </span>As it happens, amazon.com now sells two kinds of Biscoff cookies, one from Lotus and another from "Gourmet Center" and the cost of the Lotus original has nearly doubled since I bought them. Lucky thing I can now get Trader Joe's Bistro Biscuits!</div>

Two-fisted Taste Test

Trader Joe now sells "Bistro Biscuits" very similar to the Biscoff cookies served on some Delta Airlines flights, and available ra...

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Chinese Woodblock Prints

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvZdi2qguIJeYhFTrw_VhRrCtQQ0AijTjMY3KclA1ry8gpJhPLuumqapBGWMFwI7qu-qsmnK0eUFFBGmLcVejZLV5-y4SQUphAVG86mMXygSHo5_AL2FZg2v5QjFNIWc3WwEhD5bOtUY7S/s1600/chinese-woodblock7558.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635640558475605986" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvZdi2qguIJeYhFTrw_VhRrCtQQ0AijTjMY3KclA1ry8gpJhPLuumqapBGWMFwI7qu-qsmnK0eUFFBGmLcVejZLV5-y4SQUphAVG86mMXygSHo5_AL2FZg2v5QjFNIWc3WwEhD5bOtUY7S/s400/chinese-woodblock7558.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 390px;" /></a><br />This afternoon we saw a remarkable exhibit of Chinese woodblock prints all dating to the past decade. I was especially impressed by this image of a family eating dinner, reflected in a spoon. I loved the detailed imagery of dishes and foods, and the suggestion of family life. My photo isn't good at all: the print is around 6 feet tall, so I took it from across the room.<br /><br />We also heard a fascinating lecture about the meaning of the prints, especially about a conceptual artist, Xu Bing, who used to work in New York but is now in China.

Chinese Woodblock Prints

This afternoon we saw a remarkable exhibit of Chinese woodblock prints all dating to the past decade. I was especially impressed by this ima...

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The Ego Trip

Last night I saw the BBC film "The Trip." The title should really be "The Ego Trip" because it's all about two boring men who think they are celebrities. The actors are supposed to be famous -- they wish. Well, maybe they are famous somewhere, not here.<div><br /></div><div>A lot of "The Trip" is improvised, with them congratulating themselves all over the north of England as they supposedly are dining in famous restaurants in order to write about the food. In fact, as Len pointed out, it's too chaotic to be fiction. Mocumentary is the best description I've seen for the genre.</div><div><br /></div><div>The claim that the two egomaniacs are exploring something about fine restaurants is a sham. There's no way they could ever write about what they were eating because all the time they are tasting the food, they are competing to do impressions of truly famous film stars and also competing to quote famous poetry about the places they are traveling. They sit in front of painstakingly plated little morsels of fish, duck, pigeon, chocolate cake, or whatever that's just come out of the kitchen of whichever restaurant they are in. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are lots of shots of the kitchen staff painstakingly sauteing and arranging the food which the two characters shovel into their mouths without seeming to notice it. Although they are supposedly in 5 different restaurants I suspect that all the shots were taken in only one kitchen. Repetitiveness is another annoying feature of "The Trip."</div><div><br /></div><div>A few images of their posturing:<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1dfcV13q3tabggqqekS9mBSdyxP3_vAjShRpqvm2G5bPo_AcB378HemI4mZaTjgW-Q_a4oHuZMT0OaoRFADkv2p3BceIQoWMX26tkkZoSRMS42GDH1H9gCvfWlP2SQYqOiNLnyLjtst8c/s1600/thetrip.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635511749922037634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1dfcV13q3tabggqqekS9mBSdyxP3_vAjShRpqvm2G5bPo_AcB378HemI4mZaTjgW-Q_a4oHuZMT0OaoRFADkv2p3BceIQoWMX26tkkZoSRMS42GDH1H9gCvfWlP2SQYqOiNLnyLjtst8c/s400/thetrip.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 380px; height: 319px;" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRkvE6V6WZfBZk1rXj55obQgbYGdJ1vpthx01pGQcNZatUABFINnFe2CMNn68DwgVcQGqh5rB_nWtL1tfk3Y6tAPNHLCF6X9FAKZO-oi0XusFTSCj_XrQOIH6tv7jA2Qebdm2W4OUT_LkN/s1600/thetrip2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635511752812278018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRkvE6V6WZfBZk1rXj55obQgbYGdJ1vpthx01pGQcNZatUABFINnFe2CMNn68DwgVcQGqh5rB_nWtL1tfk3Y6tAPNHLCF6X9FAKZO-oi0XusFTSCj_XrQOIH6tv7jA2Qebdm2W4OUT_LkN/s400/thetrip2.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 398px; height: 352px;" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiImlGX9viSdnD1k4SbXVASmRSwshgBT4rJwVZShHAuQ9RhPKCr_YDL8G6PtyKHAeKSMVbb3v-EXMnAsVH3xTXVOr55BQaugdC4HN9DLn8wNQRKoXSa5FxBnc0Cn3C13pXm9M8fNjkZELYU/s1600/thetrip3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635511746578801202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiImlGX9viSdnD1k4SbXVASmRSwshgBT4rJwVZShHAuQ9RhPKCr_YDL8G6PtyKHAeKSMVbb3v-EXMnAsVH3xTXVOr55BQaugdC4HN9DLn8wNQRKoXSa5FxBnc0Cn3C13pXm9M8fNjkZELYU/s400/thetrip3.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 311px; height: 177px;" /></a><br /></div><div>Fortunately the evening started better. We ate at Seva, which has been Ann Arbor's principal vegetarian restaurant for nearly 30 years. I think it's <i>improved</i> since I was last there -- a marvel for a local restaurant. Our 4 dinners were nicely plated but not to the extremes of the awful film:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU0RfJRJ06f0XDw9owJhi3Y7391pkoqmNhpdBQq5dZF_mmfssaXJ98Ci7DIs7N0KqVXNOSudu_Mc17HNkREvZewO_PhqAOykNYjP3hu176oe7hq4GfjTILzyZmrva8dvA6dLcMF51Ze8ja/s1600/tripdinner.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635511741276748658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU0RfJRJ06f0XDw9owJhi3Y7391pkoqmNhpdBQq5dZF_mmfssaXJ98Ci7DIs7N0KqVXNOSudu_Mc17HNkREvZewO_PhqAOykNYjP3hu176oe7hq4GfjTILzyZmrva8dvA6dLcMF51Ze8ja/s400/tripdinner.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 302px;" /></a><br /></div>

The Ego Trip

Last night I saw the BBC film "The Trip." The title should really be "The Ego Trip" because it's all about two borin...

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What's the carbon footprint of your dinner?

First, here's a graphic that's getting a lot of attention, just published by <a href="http://breakingnews.ewg.org/meateatersguide/">The Environmental Working Group</a>, a Washington lobbying organization:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span">Full Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Common Proteins and Vegetables</span></b></div><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5971413140/" title="carbon-ftprint by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="carbon-ftprint" height="411" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6142/5971413140_6ba334435c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><div>Here's a graphic (thanks, Len!) showing some of the same foods with their carbon footprint for 1000 calories instead of for one kilo:</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Greenhouse Gas Emissions for 1000 calories of Common Proteins and Vegetables</b></div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5971398280/" title="carbonftp_1000cal by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="carbonftp_1000cal" height="479" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6001/5971398280_02fa6d1fcf_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />The first graph comes from the EWG's "Meat Eater's Guide," discussing the impact of meat eating on the environment. It illustrates the carbon footprint of common foods, measured in kilograms of carbon expended to produce a kilogram of edible food. I find the idea of comparing various foods by their carbon footprint be effective, but comparing the foods by weight seems misleading. Comparing a kilogram of tomatoes to a kilogram of edible beef seems rather naive: after all, the kilo of tomatoes supplies you with around 180 calories, while a kilo of steak is 2010 calories. Comparing these to cheese is even less helpful: a kilogram of cheddar has just over 4000 calories. To me, calorie content is a better measure of nutritional value than weight, and if you look at some of the foods from this point of view, the profile is very different, as you can see in the second graphic.<div><br /></div><div>Comparing beef to lentils still gets the same result: the carbon footprint of beef is over 30 times as high as the carbon used to deliver a plate of lentils to a diner. However, in between, the differences don't come out so consistent -- cheese turns out to be a much more responsible carbon-conserving choice if you look at its calorie value.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Note:</b> calorie values are based on the information in the <a href="http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/">USDA online calorie counter</a>.</div>

What's the carbon footprint of your dinner?

First, here's a graphic that's getting a lot of attention, just published by The Environmental Working Group , a Washington lobbying...

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