Animal Production

Is There A Prison Monkey Rodeo?

Eased Trade Restrictions Good for Texas Cattlemen; Bad For Texas Fajitas?

A news release from the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association announced the recent lifting of restrictions on U.S. beef exports to Japan should be good for Texas cattlemen. According to the USDA, Japan will now allow imports of beef from cattle less than 30 months of age, as opposed to t ... More >>

Meatless Mondays at USDA Out-and-Out "Treason," Ag Commish Staples Says

Imbroglios don't get more prosaic than this: A USDA newsletter suggests its employees practice "Meatless Mondays," thereby shrinking their ecological footprint. Skip the Salisbury steak at the cafeteria and eat a plant instead. Take into account the ever-swelling asses of the American public and th ... More >>

Mmm, Science: Lab-Grown Burgers Aren't Far Off, But will Anyone Eat Them?

Meatless Monday, oddly enough, has me thinking about meat more than ever. Apparently I'm not the only one. The New York Times recently held an essay contest for readers. The subject: "Is it ethical to eat meat?" A loaded question, no doubt, and one bound to inspire passionate responses from just ... More >>

How America Fell in Love with the Chicken Breast, and Why We're Finally Falling Out of It

Earlier this week the Wall Street Journal published an article noting the increased demand for chicken legs at grocery stores. The story claims that shoppers have been driven by TV cooking shows that celebrate dark meat's richer flavor and softer texture. Finally, people have realized: It tastes bet ... More >>

Pink Slime Economics: A Local Cattleman on How Beef Prices will Rise, and Why That's OK

Yesterday the farming trade publication Farm Futures carried a story on the potential rise in beef prices after the recent uproar over pink slime, or LFTB (lean finely textured beef). CattleFax, a beef industry research group, estimates the pink slime news cycle "is costing the U.S. beef industry $1 ... More >>

In Dallas, a Happy Marriage Forms Between New Brewers and Old Dairy Farmers

My extent of beer knowledge is limited. I know that I like it on occasion. I know that Jesse Hughey knows a lot. I know that there is new stuff popping up all the time. And I know that if you want to be a brew master, you should grow a fuzzy beard. But one thing I didn't know anything about was "s ... More >>

Roll Red Tide: Still No Good News for Oyster Lovers from the Coastlines of Texas

Steven Doyle​Red tide, the naturally occurring algae bloom that causes toxicity in shellfish, continues to plague the state's coastline -- keeping Texas oysters out of local restaurants and threatening the $18.5 million Texas oyster industry. The state closed the entire coast of Texas to oyst ... More >>

Oh My Cod: A Dying Breed Means Your Fish and Chips May Soon Get More Expensive

OMC!!!​I headed over to the Libertine Bar this weekend to indulge in their weekend fish and chips special with a few cold Boddingtons. The move was a preemptive measure based an article published in The New York Times this weekend, which hints that cod fisheries could be in trouble. The story ... More >>

The Problems with Smithfield Pork and the Way to Guilt-Free-ish Bacon

Be nice to her before you fry her delicious parts.​McDonald's is closing out its second week of McRib season, giving the Atlantic a hook to ponder the evils of its pork supplier, Smithfield Foods. The article points out that in the midst of Smithfield's increased welfare practices intended to ... More >>

Hammered by the Drought, Texas Ranchers Are Running Out of Cows to Send to Slaughter

Brandon Thibodeaux​Since we started catching rain in pans and writing down measurements, Texas has never gotten so little rainfall as we have this year. As we reported in our recent story on the cattle industry, we're in uncharted territory. That's why, in August, experts were anticipating ano ... More >>

Pilgrim's Pride Chicken Plant, Employer to 1,000 Locals, Officially Shutters Today

Photo by Leslie MinoraAfter 26 years as a mechanic at Pilgrim's Pride, today is the last day of work for Victor Recindos and his 1,000 coworkers.​Victor Recindos has aged 26 years by the calendar's count since first becoming a mechanic at Pilgrim's Pride chicken processing plant just south of ... More >>

The Long, Dry Fall of the Texas Rancher

Ranchers are struggling to hold on to their herds during the driest year in Texas history.

USDA: Historic Drought, Liquidated Herds ... and Fewer August Feedlot Placements?

​None of the commodity-on-the-hoof gurus saw this one coming. They had predicted another fat increase in feedlot placements, not unlike July's USDA Cattle On Feed report. Yet here we are, and the Beef Engine of America is in the midst of an historic drought, our forage exhausted, our ranchers ... More >>

Lessons in Recessionomics: Beef Prices, a Historic Drought and Hamburger

As my grandfather would say, "It's drier than a popcorn fart." We're smack-dab in the middle of the worst one-year drought ever. The costliest too. Feed prices are nearly unaffordable. Stock tanks are drying up. But the final boot to the gut of the Texas rancher never came. It's the strange artifac ... More >>

A Spoonful Of Honey May Not Keep Your Allergies Down, But It's Tasty Enough To Try

​I've been eying the weather channel a lot lately. Not for the temperature, but for the pollen count, which apparently will begin an upward march as soon as the mercury begins to wane and the fall allergy season kicks off. Allergies aren't good for food critics, as you might have heard. I've ... More >>

Egging the Question

Catfish Industry Promises Shortage Will End in June

The catfish shortage that's lately beset North Texas should be over by June, a catfish industry spokesman says. The Catfish Institute​As NBC's local affiliate first reported, all but one location of Babe's Chicken Dinner House locations have scratched catfish from their menus, citing inadequa ... More >>

Catfish Industry Fighting for New Labeling Laws in Texas

​The catfish industry is targeting Texas as the next state to adopt country-of-origin labeling legislation. The Catfish Institute's president Robert Barlow is now in Texas, rallying support for a bill introduced by state Senator Glenn Hegar. The proposed law, modeled after similar legislation ... More >>

Putting Oyster Drills and Other Odd Creatures on Seafood Menus

Jenny Wang​Even sold under the retro name of "Gulf oysters" and pawned off for rock-bottom prices that makes oystermen shudder, oysters are still awfully sexy. The same can't be said of oyster drills, one of the many trash fish and overlooked shellfish spotlighted in a Foodways Texas panel on ... More >>

Southern Cheeses Snubbed at Good Food Awards

The cows certainly are happy in California.​Southern cheesemakers were shut out of the Good Food Awards, a new initiative to recognize the best-tasting artisan edibles made in accordance with sustainable principles. In a weekend ceremony hosted by Alice Waters, eight awards were given in the c ... More >>

Half-Shell Fans Beware, the Future
For Gulf Oysters is Murky

​A waiter at City Diner and Oyster Bar in Corpus Christi broke the appalling news to my wife, in-laws and me last weekend as we made a trip to the coast: No fresh Texas oysters on the half-shell. Not one. Sorry, he said. Dealer prices a week into the start of Texas' oyster harvest from public leas ... More >>

Though Untainted by Oil, Texas Gulf Fisheries Still Suffer BP Spill's Effect

​Seafood industry watchers say it's still too early to assess the long-term effects of this summer's gulf oil spill, but agree the disaster spelled a setback for Texas' fishermen, oystermen and shrimpers. Speaking at a panel this morning at the Southern Foodways Alliance's annual symposium, f ... More >>

Wyland Chooses Land-Locked Metroplex for Sustainable Seafood Eatery

Dolphin won't be on the menu, though they look mighty tasty.​The one-named Wyland, whose renderings of marine life have graced postage stamps and 737 jets, is diving into the culinary world with a sustainable seafood restaurant in Fairview. Wyland's Ocean Blue, an eatery-slash-gallery, is ope ... More >>

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

Veggie Guy: How Vegan Are You?

Off limits?​I find it rather off-putting when militant vegans say things like, "How vegan are you?" or "[I'm] a true vegan." Hmm...guess I didn't realize this was a competition. Fact is, no one living in modern day society can be completely vegan. As one of my pals puts it, "If you're breathing ... More >>

Down On The Grass-Fed Farm: The Beef May Be Better, But It's Still Damn Hard Work

Jayme RutledgeMarguerite Robbins with her cattle.​ Sweat pours down Marguerite's sun-baked face. She feels briars scratching through her dusty jeans. The buzzing and biting of mosquitoes is maddening. So is the old fence lining one of the back pastures. It's broken again. Marguerite stops wha ... More >>

Food For Thought 5.1.09

"It's killing our markets. Where they got the name, I just don't know." (Iowa hog farmer Francis Gilmore on the effect of swine flu on the value of his product. Since the outbreak and spread of this virus, hog prices have dropped from a $62 per 100 pounds average to $59 per 100 pounds, on ... More >>

Oyster Lovers Unite

Now may be your best chance for a little raw love

A Case of Hives

Couple encourages local homeowners to be sweet on bees

Wine Obscenities

Drink up with lower mark-ups

Bronc, Stock and Barrel

Before E-mail

Writing when posting didn't mean blogging

Arty Party

There will be dancing in the streets downtown all weekend

How Now Mad Cow?

For Texas cattle ranchers, "What's for dinner?" is a touchy question

Grazing Pains

Does grass-fed beef really taste better?

Feeding Frenzy

Some high-demand fish are in danger of extinction--and restaurants are caught in the middle

Buzz

Java jive

Off the Killing Floor

Dallas-based Supreme Beef wins a major round in its court battle with the USDA

Slaughterhouse Jive

Dallas-based Supreme Beef fought what it believes are unfair regulations, only to wind up on the USDA's killing floor

Saddle Up

See how the other half lives at the Stock Show

Bay botch

Oysterman Joe Nelson says pollution is slowly killing Galveston Bay. Is anyone listening?

Pig in a poke

With mostly tasty meat, Texas de Brazil stumbles over swine

Fish story

Environmentalists and some high-profile Dallas chefs say ocean food supplies are in crisis. But is their disaster cry simply publicity bait?

Pelted!

When an animal rights activist came up against Neiman Marcus, she had more than some dead fur to contend with

Bull--it's what's for dinner

The cows aren't the only ones pumping out manure in windy Amarillo, where Oprah is giving the cattlemen a lesson in steer wrestling

Honey, I shrunk the movie

Ulee's Gold chases the yawn at the end of the rainbow

Fouled nest

Chicken king Bo Pilgrim meets his critics on his home turf

Hot Dish

Bo? Hell no!

Chicken king Bo Pilgrim wants to bring a new plant and new jobs to East Texas. But East Texans say they want no more of his filthy business.