Food Section: Nov. 7, 2007

Leftover pumpkins and the disaster that is the Farm Bill. For some reason, that's what all the food writers want to talk about this week. A few other stories:

Rebel, Disgraced, Tries to Pull Off Rebound by David Hochman (NY Times): If your friends haven't already forwarded you the link, the NY Times has written an expose of new Seattleite Michael Hebberoy.

Music to Drink Wine By by W. Gray Blake (SF Chronicle): An intriguing story about a man who claims that music changes the way your wine tastes.

Why Does a Salad Cost More Than a Big Mac (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine via Serious Eats): Hurrah! A graphic I've been wanting to see for years now. USDA subsidies vs. the USDA pyramid.

Finally, something I had to comment on:

Wow! You Can Be a Food Blogger by Traci Vogel (Chow): One of the contributors to Chow's "Grinder" media blog writes a snarky analysis of Regina Schrambling's admittedly patronizing and out-of-date article in the LA Times about how anyone can become a food blogger in a few easy steps. Said blogger then whines that Schrambling should instead have written �Of Course You Can Be a Food Blogger! But Here Are 20 Reasons You Shouldn�t.� So let me get this straight. Established food bloggers, who for years have piled on any print-media food writer who's complained about the reputability, experience, or talents of bloggers (and believe me, there are a lot of journos who have needlessly mucked about in this swamp), are beginning to tell aspiring food bloggers that it's too late to get into their club? Why, that gives me such a self-righteousness high that I think I can stop drinking coffee for the rest of the day.

UPDATE: Wow, I hadn't read this article at the time I posted:

Is the Way We Raise Our Food Giving Us MRSA? by Alex Koppelman (Salon): Well, the up side is that perhaps you can feel less guilty for having given your kid antibiotics for her last earache.