The UC Food Observer chooses a handful of important stories for you to read each work day. Typically, we offer this on Fridays, but with so many important and wonderful stories out there, we’ll be providing a wrap several days a week.
On the menu, in no particular order:
1. The vegetable detective. A molecular biologist is finding what could be dangerous levels of heavy metals in plants…and they’ve shown up in most organic varieties. Todd Oppenheimer writes for Craftmanship (@craftmanshipmag).
2. What it takes to make a living raising ethical meat. Farmers Rebecca Thistlethwaite and Jim Dunlop have written a book called “The New Livestock Farmer: The Business of Raising and Selling Ethical Meat.” It provides key information to beginning farmers. Caroline Abels writes an informative piece for Civil Eats.
3. A crime of passion: when the love of yogurt burned too bright. Dan Charles (@nprDanCharles) pens a must-read piece (and a sad one) about how choosing the wrong investors led a yogurt maker to destroy his business … and end up in jail.
4. California measure would allow work permits for farmworkers here illegally. Kurt Chirbas (@kchirbas) writes for the Los Angeles Times.
5. ICYMI, read our piece about gleaning and the work of Food Forward.