Articles by Tom Philpott
Tom Philpott was previously Grist's food writer. He now writes for Mother Jones.
All Articles
-
Locally grown food shouldn’t be just for those with cash to spare
As a critic of the globalized industrial food system, I often face charges of elitism — in part, likely, because I neglect to acknowledge the system’s clear achievements. So here goes. In the mood for good food? Look no further than your backyard. Photo: iStockphoto In human history, few pampered Roman emperors or African kings […]
-
Winter veggies served with a labor shortage and a side of rocket fuel
Last summer, plenty of drama emanated from California's Salinas Valley, epicenter of industrial vegetable production (organic and otherwise) and self-proclaimed "nation's salad bowl."
The season began amid grumbles among growers about a labor shortage. To paraphrase their complaint: Not enough Mexican workers are sneaking across the border, and ones who are are drawn into higher-paying construction jobs.
The season ended in an ignominious nationwide E. coli outbreak that killed three people and sickened hundreds of others.
About this time each year, industrial vegetable production shifts to Arizona's Yuma County, source of 90 percent of winter vegetables in the U.S. and (gasp) 98 percent of its iceberg lettuce. Let the drama begin.
-
How to pick wines that don’t taste computer-programmed
How to choose wine for the Thanksgiving table?
There will either be pressure, financial and otherwise, to grab big bottles of cheap plonk off the supermarket shelf, or conversely, pressure to consult Wine Spectator or some other "expert" source and find bottles receiving high scores. Resist both impulses. Here's why -- and how.
-
Wal-Mart may sell organic, but it also thrives on ruined downtowns and long freight hauls.
I've always been a bit appalled by the polite applause with which some enviros greet Wal-Mart's "green" initiatives. Seems to me that the only way the company could really "go green" would be to stop selling cheap plastic crap shipped in from halfway around the world in vast suburban megastores. In other words, completely change it's business model -- not, say, adopt "green" building techniques for its appalling superstores, or haul mass-produced "organic" food from California, Mexico, and China to stores nationwide, thus burning lots of fossil fuel and potentially squeezing profits for farmers and sparking consolidation and industrialization in a movement that arose to challenge same.
Deep breath.
Sometime Grist contributor Bill McKibben nails it in the latest Mother Jones.
Money quote:
