From the monthly archives:

April 2010

Retire Ronald? Or reclaim responsibility?

April 29, 2010 Bureaucratic

I first heard about the “Retire Ronald” campaign on April 1, so I assumed it was an elaborate April Fool’s prank. The website looked legit, and famous foodies were listed as advisers, but I couldn’t believe that anyone would spend so much time and energy trying to bring down a clown.                  Of course I’ve since learned that it’s real, a project of [...]

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“Food Inc.”: Family viewing?

April 21, 2010 Brainy

In honor of Earth Day, PBS is showing the movie “Food Inc.” tonight. So I’m pulling out a review I wrote for one of my columns last spring. Are you planning to watch? Or recording it to watch later with your kids? (See our plans below.) You’ll never look at food the same way again. I promise. [...]

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The art of local food: kindergartners, Kahlo and kale

April 15, 2010 Brainy

It’s April. Not exactly high time for local foods in western New York. But there we were with my daughter’s kindergarten class at the public market, counting dollars (five each) and loading up on produce for an art project later that afternoon. I’d stumbled across a contest called Be Aware of New York Agriculture, which asks kids [...]

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Let’s ban the phrase “picky eater”

April 13, 2010 Brainy

It goes like this: Kids are picky eaters. They won’t eat food that’s green, brown or good for them. They are strong-willed little creatures who cannot be swayed. We must give up, give in, and feed them nothing but juice, crackers and white-bread sandwiches with the crusts cut off. Sigh. Is anyone else as tired of the term [...]

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Color me annoyed

April 9, 2010 Consumeristic

I’m working with my daughter’s school on a project about local food, so Wednesday I stopped in for a little show-and-tell about the sort of food that grows in New York vs. elsewhere. (Apples and grapes, natch. Pineapples and mangoes, nada.) I’ll admit I had visions of doing my own Jamie Oliver-style Q&A, complete with a dramatic reveal and confused kids. But thankfully my 5- [...]

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Preachy little foodies (and how not to have one)

April 7, 2010 Brainy

Sure it’s great to teach kids where food comes from and why healthy eating matters. But how do we make sure they don’t morph into pint-sized proselytizers who lecture other kids and make them feel bad because mom didn’t pack an organic apple? I thought about this last week after a comment on my post about teaching kids about industrial [...]

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Dyeing to know: Easter egg science lesson

April 2, 2010 Bureaucratic

Of all the food additives and ingredients that make me sweat, food coloring is the worst. Because, you see, it’s all about looks. Food manufacturers don’t claim that artificial colors improve the “integrity of food and beverage products,” as they do with high-fructose corn syrup. (Seriously. Read this.) They don’t claim that fake colors help [...]

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