Appalachian Encounters

NPR's Robert Krulwich examines some data that shows how fish populations have drastically changed in the past 100 years and wonders, do we eat animals into extinction?

Or do we unconsciously adjust? Maybe, deep down, we sense that some foods are no longer plentiful so we make it the fashion to eat less of them? Do we reset our appetites from generation to generation?

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Over at Eatocracy, the thoughtful Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern shares a beautiful essay about how he was affected by his recent open-heart surgery.

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August Müller

Remember Amanda Hesser's sobering advice for aspiring food writers on Food52?

I can no longer responsibly recommend that you drop everything to try to become a food writer. Except for a very small group of people (some of whom are clinging to jobs at magazines that pay more than the magazines' business models can actually afford), it's nearly impossible to make a living as a food writer, and I think it's only going to get worse.

Earlier today, Hesser manned a live chat with Good Food Jobs and offered more words of wisdom.

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André Karwath

The Master Cleanse involves temporarily replacing food with a concoction of lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and maple syrup. It has been around for many years and is still a go-to detox for people looking to cleanse their bodies or lose weight.

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Evan-Amos

Remember our look at "handmade" cloning last week? Josh Ozersky explores the meaning (and loss of meaning) of the handmade-small-batch-artisan language:

It obvious to everyone, of course, that "artisan," when applied to Dunkin' Donuts bagels or Tostitos chips or Domino's pizzas, is a laughably transparent ploy -- a shameless buzzword used by marketers in their endless, desperate lather to sell more bad products.

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ori2uru

Want to take a quick break from our live May Day coverage? The Financial Times looks back at its long-standing column, Lunch with the FT.

It's a fun look at the golden days of the celebrity interview. FT journalists drank cocktails at hotel bars with celebrities (who weren't even promoting a project!) and dropped hundreds of pounds on fancy lunches around the world (the article has a chart of its most expensive meals). But this sort of lunch culture didn't last long:

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Rainer Zenz

There's a story behind vegetable oil taking over the American pantry, and it has nothing to do with health or flavor. In the early 1900s, Procter & Gamble found a way to market excess cottonseed oil, and it forever changed the way we shop, cook, and think about food.

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Laitr Keiows

Over at Slate, Rachael Levy discusses the virtues of a long, leisurely lunch, the kind she had while living in France. But her colleague Rachael Larimore DOES NOT AGREE.

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Butcher's Shop by Annibale Carracci

If you're not already reading the Billfold, the excellent new blog from the Awl family, you should be. Case in point: this awesome post, in which a butcher takes a vegetarian on a meaty tour of Chinatown and Soho. Together, they examine cheap cuts like chicken feet and trotters, discuss the industrial farming system, and get a little goofy.

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Microcosm Publishing

Zinn + Foer

Milkshakes meet mind control, acid dropping, and American hegemony in Michael Hoerger and Mia Partlow's new book, Edible Secrets: A Food Tour of Classified U.S. History, which makes the case that food and government conspiracy go hand in hand.

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