- NYT op-ed: let’s pay folks to cook at home, they’ll never figure it out otherwise [Amy Alkon on Kristin Wartman attempt to revive old Wages for Housework campaign with foodie spin] “You don’t have a moral obligation to cook” [Maggie Koerth-Baker]
- “The Making of the Obesity Epidemic: How Food Activism Led Public Health Astray” [Helen Lee, Breakthrough Institute via Julian Morris] Research suggesting benign effects of slight overweight slammed by public health profs who fear it might complicate desired policy narrative [Nature; more from Trevor Butterworth on Walter Willett vs. Katherine Flegal] Lessons of Denmark’s fat tax [Christopher Snowdon, IEA]
- Will ‘elf-and-safety spell an end to Gloucestershire’s annual Cooper’s Hill cheese-rolling event? [Telegraph]
- Bloomberg’s NYC health dept. can’t find restaurateur to operate a cafe in its headquarters, too many rules [NY Post]
- Curbs on Italian imports relaxed: “The war on salami finally ends” [David Frum]
- Most senseless cheese ban ever? In the case of Mimolette, it mite be [Hans Bader, earlier]
- Diversity in apple varieties has plunged in the past century, right? Maybe not [Alex Tabarrok]
Filed under: agriculture and farming, food safety, obesity, public health
3 Comments
“Bloomberg’s NYC health dept. can’t find restaurateur to operate a cafe in its headquarters, too many rules”
Reminds me of George McGovern’s try at running a bed and breakfast. Compliance with regulation bankrupted him within a year (http://www.liberalorder.com/2012/10/george-mcgovern-an-enlightened-senator-perhaps.html). There’s no cure for this condition, only commentary as we circle the drain. An an exit plan for our families.
From the Kristin Wartman NYT article on paying to cook: “It’s nearly impossible for a single parent or even two parents working full time to cook every meal from scratch, planning it beforehand and cleaning it up afterward. This is why many working parents of means employ housekeepers. But if we put this work on women of lower socioeconomic status (as is almost always the case), what about their children? Who cooks and cleans up for them? ”
Lie. Only a person in the bubble that is the snotty east coast rich enclaves of DC, NY, Boston, et al would think such drivel. The writer needs to get out into the real world.
Cooking a full, healthy meal and cleaning up isn’t a huge chore unless one makes it so. Hellooooooo. Anyone heard of a slightly over exposed Food Network personality – Rachael Ray? 30 minute meals, try ’em, they’re good, easy and quick to prepare. How about Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee. With a little forethought and pre-preparation on the weekends, it would be a snap to have a full week of meals, from scratch.
Oh, and Ms. Wartman, if those on the lower economic rungs are ever to escape upwards, they can’t afford to piss away all their scarce money on restaurant or pre-made store bought meals. My goodness, does she even procure food herself? It’s FAR less expensive to make from scratch. I just made an enormous lasagna this weekend for under $2 a serving. Toss in some toasted, buttered bread or rolls (dimes each) and about 50 cents of steamed veggies and a full, scratch made, better than restaurant dinner was had for about $3 per person. Compare and contrast to the cheapest lasagna dinner that one can get out – at least $10 / head. Another one is pancakes – from scratch, as in flour, baking powder, butter, eggs and milk. It’s about 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of pre made mix. Steak under the broiler, with a 50 cent baker potato in the microwave and steamed veggies – call it 1/3 the cost of going out and ready in 15 minutes.
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