Eat This Newsletter 111: Foodstuffs
Hello
If you're reading this, relax. You're already entered for the prize draw of a copy of Peter Hertzmann's new book, 50 Ways to Cook a Carrot. Probably. (There's a chance, of course, that someone forwarded this email to you, in which case, thank them and, if you still want to enter the draw, go and subscribe yourself; there's a link at the bottom).
Feeding chaos
Anglia Ruskin University in the UK has published what it calls a Global Chaos Map. It is based on counting the deaths, including suicides, associated with "violent social unrest" linked to natural resources such as food, fuel and water. Why? Well, the project says:
By recording past events of unrest or deaths related to access to natural resources, the project gives us valuable insights into patterns of unrest and global trends – and the factors that contribute to regions being vulnerable, now and in the future.
I'm reminded, of course, of one of the early episodes here, on Food prices and social unrest, and glad to see that the Chaos Map cites the research Marc Bellemare told me about in that show. The question, of course, is what, if anything, to do with any "insights" the map offers. Rethink the global food system? Unthinkable.
The price of cheap food, nth edition
Say you did want to rethink the global food system by, maybe, restricting the wanton use of antibiotics to boost profits and cover up the deficiencies of meat production? You would still have to contend with criminally-minded farmers and the criminals who supply them. The Guardian broke the story of a shipment of Chinese antibiotics seized at a UK airport, which were destined for use at a large poultry farm in Northern Ireland. The farm's chickens go to Moy Park, a processing company that supplies UK retailers including Tesco, Ocado and Sainsbury’s.
The antibiotic in question was amoxicillin, a form of penicillin that is banned as a growth promoter but can be prescribed by vets to treat diseases. Bizarrely, attempts to reassure eaters focussed on the lack of antibiotic residues in the chicken meat. I'm much more concerned about spreading antibiotic resistance to what remains a very important class of antibiotics. Of course, residues will do that too, but in a very minor way compared to what happens on the farm.
A follow-up article raised the point that "Post-Brexit, the UK will no longer be part of the EU’s unified system of controls and checks, including the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed for reporting food safety issues within the EU." No doubt that's a good thing.
Answers in a thread
An article, extracted from a book, asked How Do We Preserve the Vanishing Foods of the Earth?. My compadre Luigi took to Twitter for his perfect response: Let me count the ways .... And, because Twitter, that link goes to a nifty app that saves the whole potentially-vanishing thread for posterity. You see where this is going.
Xylella marches on
The latest round of monitoring has turned up 73 More Xylella-Infected Olive Trees in Puglia. So far, so expected. Five of the trees are right by the road outside the town of Fasano, suggesting that the insects that spread the disease may have hitched a ride. Another newly infected tree has set the record for highest altitude infection. What's also interesting is that the President of the regional growers' association is pushing strongly for grafts of resistant varieties onto the huge old trees of the Bari plain. Of course, he wants the Region to make that happen, a triumph of hope over experience, given that he also blames the Region for allowing Xylella to get a hold in the first place.
That's all for now.
Jeremy