Animal Production

Hardee's Bacon Will No Longer Come From Super Sad Pigs

There are enough reasons to feel guilty about going to Hardee's. Several of their burgers approach or cross the 1,000 calorie line. Maybe Kate Upton's boobs got you there. But now. . . er, wait, starting in 2022, Hardee's customers can rest a little easier knowing the bacon and other pork bits in t ... More >>

FDA Warns on Korean Shellfish

The FDA has removed shellfish from Korea -- the official press release says Korea, not South Korea, in case you were wondering -- from its Interstate Certified Shellfish Shippers List (or the ICSSL, as all the cool kids call it). Though noting that Korean molluscan shellfish "represents only a sma ... More >>

Salmonella Outbreak Brings Down Egg Mogul

​Yesterday, Gut Check related news of one disgraced egg supplier, Sparboe Farms. An activist group covertly videotaped Sparboe employees mistreating and even killing chickens under their care. McDonald's and Target have since dumped Sparboe as a supplier.Today, we return to 2010's disgraced egg su ... More >>

Terrifying Tuna Mascots Give a Little Insight Into Fish Industry Problems

Remember back in the 1980s, when people got worked up because tuna fishing was killing dolphins? The industry eventually changed, and consumers could return to their Starkist and Chicken of the Sea assured that the only thing that died for their tuna salad was the tuna. Ah, but apparently all is n ... More >>

[UPDATED] Pilgrim's Pride Recalls Over 11,000 Pounds of Cooked Chicken

Pilgrim's PrideThe pilgrims aren't too proud, thanks to listeria fears. ​Yesterday we reported that there was a recall on 204 pounds of precooked chicken in Starbucks new Bistro Boxes for possible listeria contamination. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Or the beak of the bird. Yesterday ... More >>

Missouri Families Win Lawsuit vs. Neighbors: 200,000 Hogs, Tons of Fly-Covered Pig Poop

Who wouldn't want a few hundred thousand of these as neighbors? ​A corporate hog producer was ordered Friday to pay a total of $1.95 million to twelve families in southwestern Missouri who complained that odors and flies from the company's pig farm ruined their properties and way of life.According ... More >>

Comment of the Day: Neighbors of Corporate Hog Farms Never Win

Today's comment comes in response to a post about a dozen families from southwestern Missouri who recently won a $1.95 million judgment against a corporate hog farm in their county. The families -- who asked for $1 million a piece -- claimed that odors and flies from the nearby hog farm had ruined t ... More >>

Smithfield Pork Exposed by Humane Society, Boycotted by Bittman

Paula Deen may love Smithfield Foods pork products, but Mark Bittman's not a fan. Neither is the Humane Society of America, who released a report on inhumane conditions at Smithfield's large pig farms. Bittman took to his website yesterday to call for a boycott, and issued a plea to stop supporting ... More >>

Another Egg Recall; Missouri Included

Image viaIncredible? Edible? Not so much.​News over the wire this morning of another egg recall: 288,000 eggs from Croton, Ohio-based Ohio Fresh Eggs, distributed by Cal-Maine Foods, have tested positive for salmonella. The affected eggs were distributed in Missouri.The FDA website has a list of r ... More >>

Giant Organic Egg Farms Come Under Fire

Not all organic eggs are created equal. Mother Jones looks at organic factory egg farms, which have been investigated by the Cornucopia Institute, an organic foods advocacy group. They've filed a complaint against farms for violating organic standards, and exposes the eleven major organic egg produc ... More >>

Nestle Invests in Disease-Fighting Food Research

As the Federal Trade Commission cracks down on POM Wonderful for making questionable health claims, the Wall Street Journal reports that food giant Nestle is looking to expand their stake in "functional foods" - foods that might prevent diseases. The company's investing over $500 million into resear ... More >>

Does DeCoster Egg Farms Have (Salmonella-Tainted) Egg on Its Face Conscience?

Image via​A fascinating and deeply disturbing article in today's New York Times: DeCoster Egg Farms, the egg "empire" founded by Austin J. DeCoster that is at the center of the recent salmonella outbreak in eggs, has played a key role in the spread of salmonella over the past two decades.Farms tie ... More >>

Organization Sues to Get Bluefin Tuna Endangered Species Protection

The Center for Biological Diversity is suing the National Marine Fisheries Service for failing to protect Atlantic bluefin tuna after the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. In a press release the agency states that the species has been threatened by overfishing, with the oil spill endangering br ... More >>

Lagging Floral Industry Leads to Farming Innovations

What to do with all those vacant greenhouses? A California man turns them into aquaponic farms. The San Jose Mercury News talks to Chris Newman, who's taking spaces vacated by bankrupt nurseries and using them for aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (growing plants in water). Tennis won't b ... More >>

Chicken Nuggets - Now with More Plastic!

Perdue Farms recalls 92,000 pounds of Great Value brand chicken nuggets, which may contain pieces of plastic, Cinnabon moves beyond face-sized sweet rolls. Nation's Restaurant News reports that the mall and airport staple will evolve into a bakery-cafe concept with breakfast egg sandwiches, espres ... More >>

Fish Caught Near Chicago Freaks out Northern Midwest

​For the first time ever an Asian carp -- that dive-bombing invasive fish species that's clogging the Mississippi and Illinois rivers -- has made its way past an electric barrier and into the Great Lakes waterway. A fisherman in Lake Calumet near Chicago netted a 19-pound Asian carp Tuesday.

Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Leads Group to Seek Endangered Status for Bluefin Tuna

Last week swordfish fans rejoiced at news that the species had bounced back from overfishing. Now it's time for bluefin tuna fans to panic. The Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit conservation group, has filed a formal petition to have the North Atlantic fish added to the endangered-specie ... More >>

Atlantic Swordfish Lovers Rejoice! NOAA Says the Fish Can Return to the Plate

It's not a good time for seafood lovers, what with the Gulf of Mexico filling with bubbling crude, mercury- and bacteria-riddled marine life, and tuna populations being demolished by sashimi-crazed masses. But there is some good news. Last week the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration' ... More >>

The Morning Brew: 5.11

USDA hold poultry to a higher standard. Business Week reports, "The new standards, which outline best practices for averting poisonings, lower the allowable percentage of positive tests for pathogens in birds processed by poultry companies such as Tyson Foods Inc. and Pilgrim's Pride Corp. They are ... More >>

The Morning Brew: 5.11

USDA will hold poultry to a higher standard. Business Week reports, "The new standards, which outline best practices for averting poisonings, lower the allowable percentage of positive tests for pathogens in birds processed by poultry companies such as Tyson Foods Inc. and Pilgrim's Pride Corp. The ... More >>

The Morning Brew: 4.30

As the oil from last week's rig explosion creeps closer to the Louisiana coast, New Orleans restaurants are becoming concerned about the fate of their local seafood, especially on the verge of oyster reproduction season. The Chicago Tribune interviewed people whose livelihoods rely on Gulf oysters t ... More >>

The Humane Society and big agriculture slug it out over animal rights

The USDA's Long-Awaited Organic Pasture Access Rule: Only Two Months to Go!

image credit​Beginning in June, cattle across America will get a breath of fresh air. Last month the United States Department of Agriculture quietly issued a press release announcing that it had completed the five-year process of retooling the rules governing organic livestock practices. The ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Wednesday, 12.29

​ 2009: when food became a part of youth culture. (Los Angeles Times)Poultry company Pilgrim's Pride out of bankruptcy protection under Brazillian beef company's partial ownership. (ABC News)Alton, Illinois, elementary school boosting classroom produce consumption. (Chicago Tribune)Adult-ons ... More >>

Get thee to the Wintermarkt

St. Louis is no fun — and that's a good thing! Plus: Obama's pants, an allegedly felonious Purina fat cat and more.

The Morning Brew: Thursday, 7.23

A court rules that a hog farm owes its neighbors for the stink. (Kansas City Star)Starbucks posts a profit, beats analysts' expectations. (New York Post)See how to milk a camel! (Serious Eats)

Pet Food Executive Lived Like Fat Cat, Allegedly Bilking Nestle-Purina for $250,000

Thomas Faulkner on the Purina Cat Chow diet.The former director of marketing for Nestle Purina Petcare has been indicted on fraud charges for use of his company credit card. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Thomas Faulkner billed the company more than $250,000 in fraudulent invoices that he ... More >>

Best Read of the Morning: Appetizers for Cats

fancyfeast.com/appetizersFancy Feast's "Seabass & Shrimp Appetizers in a Delicate Broth"One of our favorite Post-Dispatch scribes, Todd Frankel, has a most delicious story out today documenting a secret operation at Nestle Purina. The project, 3.5 years in the making, is hailed as a plan to shak ... More >>

Trail of Grease Leads Cops to Ham-Handed Hamburglars

bnd.comAndrew SchneiderThank God for morons. Without them we wouldn't be able to share stories like this one from over in Waterloo, Illinois. Police say Tuesday night Andrew J. Schneider, 29, and Trent J. Gilliam, 35, drove a truck onto the lawn of the Monroe County Courthouse and hooked it up to an ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Monday, 4.27

Pork producers want you to know that you can't catch swine flu by eating pig. (AP)Food firms are concentrating ad dollars on cheaper products. (AP)A restaurant tries to pass pork as veal and gets busted. (KVOA)

Wool You Be Mine?

Dine and Splash

Stinkin' Pigs: Where's Our Earmark for Hog Odor Research?

flickr.com/photos/7305404@N06Led by Senator John McCain, whose obsession with earmarks knows no bounds, Republicans legislators are still raising a stink about that $1.7 million earmark for pig odor research in Iowa. Some lawmakers, a number of whom have gone repeatedly to the trough them ... More >>

How Do You Like Your Oysters?: This Valentine's weekend may be your best chance to eat oysters for years to come

The Pope of Pork: In tiny towns across Missouri, old-school hog farming stages a comeback — and at tables across the nation, diners rejoice

Craptastrophe: Record rainfall has created a dung dilemma for Missouri farmers

Show Review: Bottle Rockets at Blueberry Hill's Duck Room, Saturday, May 3

Malcolm is saving sardines from extinction — one spicy tin at a time

The Morning Brew: Monday, 2.25

The Morning Brew: Monday, 1.28

Michael Pollan on Sustainability

McRib Value Meal

$5.04
McDonald's
4006 Lindell Boulevard

Buzzkill

See all those little suckers? Did you know that they're an invasive species and a linchpin of modern agriculture? That they're dying off by the million and no one's sure why?

Something Fishy

rBST and Monsanto: Postscript

Eat Me

The only thing keeping the Japanese from buying the Midwest's finest beef is the USDA

Onion Rings

Outback Steak House

Fish Tale

Like escolar? This, too, shall pass -- faster than you think

Seafood

Red Lobster