U.S. Department of Agriculture

City of Dallas Looking for Someone to Turn its Feral Hog Problem Into Delicious Bacon

In recent years, as North Texas' feral hog population has exploded, Arlington, Irving and other suburbs have taken to rounding up the swine and selling them for bacon. Now, it's Dallas' turn. Robert Wilonsky brings news this morning that the city is looking for someone to harvest its feral hogs.

Looming Worldwide Baconocalypse? Texas Has The Solution.

First we have the Mayan calendar to contend with. Then, Miley cut all her hair off. Now, there's another apocalypse to contend with ... Bloomberg Business reported today that because of a dramatic rise in grain prices around the world, feeding pigs over their projected lifetimes costs more than wha ... More >>

In a Hidden Texas Farming Village, the Making (and Selling) of a Cambodian Bumper Crop

Cambodian immigrants are growing and selling a plant so invasive it's banned in several states. How did you think that water spinach ended up in your bowl?

Meatless Monday Conquered At Seven Mile Cafe

While I wait for the USDA to sort out its feelings about Meatless Monday with breath that is most certainly bated, I continue the valiant search for meatless dishes that don't suck and aren't cheese nachos from 7-Eleven. This week, I couldn't ignore the dull roar of ballyhoo any longer and decided 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 >>

USDA Promotes Meatless Monday Before It Doesn't

See also, from Unfair Park: *Meatless Mondays at USDA Out-and-Out "Treason," Ag Commish Staples Says An internal USDA Newsletter has some Republican tweeps in an uproar. On July 23, the USDA posted a five-page newsletter for employees, offering tips and status updates on "greening efforts" includin ... More >>

Embracing Gluttony: The Hot Mess at Pecan Lodge

We've decided to take a look at a few of Dallas' most glutton-friendly dishes and do something you probably really don't want us to: count calories. Total buzzkill? No. More like "smart calorie allocation." So, let's get smart. Say you have 2,000 calories, more or less, at your disposal everyday; ... More >>

The Meat Industry is Still Trying to Get Over the Pink Slime Thing. It's Not Going Well.

Meatingplace is a trade publication for, you guessed it, the meat industry. NPR reported last week that the magazine's most recent cover screamed in bright pink "SLIMED," followed by the subhead "What the hell happened." In her article, April Fulton at NPR outlined what four editors of Meatingplace ... 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 >>

Beef Products Inc. Wants Us to Eat Pink Slime for the Jobs. Sorry, But We'll Pass.

Processed-meat fever came to a head over the weekend. It started with a full-page ad, which appeared on Friday in the Wall Street Journal (and is on display below), paid for by Beef Product Inc. The company branded itself a paragon of food safety and cited "pink slime" libel as a threat to 3000 jobs ... More >>

Thursday, March 8, is National "What's on My Plate?" Day. Fat, Carbs and Salt, Mostly. Mmm.

​In an effort to raise awareness of the importance of choosing nutritious foods, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has deemed March 8 as National "What's on My Plate?" day. The idea is to snap a photo of breakfast, lunch or dinner and post it on #MyPlate or Flickr. In a press release, Agricultu ... More >>

At Vspot Vegan Cafe, Making Meatless Work for the Buckle of the Beef Belt

And no, it's not hard to find.

On Meatless Monday, Defending Chipotle

Nearly every time I knock the food at a chain restaurant, a few commenters jump to and tell me why chains are great. Often those comments brand me as a chain-hating snob who only wants to eat trendy food, served by a waiter with bad facial hair and a fedora. But that's not true. Mostly I just want t ... More >>

Genetically Modified Salmon Coming to a Store Near You (Although You May Never Know It)

Short of earning a Ph.D in bio-tech science, making sense of genetically modified (GM) or engineered (GE) ingredients in America's food chain is almost impossible. Primarily because by law GM foods aren't required to be labeled as such. So you literally need that degree along with a boatload of data ... More >>

We Found Someone to Try Meatless Monday. Poor Someone.

FlickrSee that green thing over there? You're supposed to eat it, apparently.​You may have heard of this whole Meatless Monday thing. It's a simple idea: to abstain from eating meat for just one day a week. It's not a radically new concept; the term was coined during WWI as a slogan (along wit ... More >>

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 >>

College students, in meat lockers across America, compete to see who's the best judge of slabs of beef, pork and lamb.

Wanna Know Why We're Fat? Let the Feds Draw You a Map.

Fast food state -- see the pretty, pretty purple.​The only thing worse than coming back from vacation is beating the rest of the world back to work -- especially if you're a reporter waiting for return phone calls. It's been a quiet day in the office. But all that time spent in silence hasn't ... More >>

Turnips, Happy Meals and Tainted Eggs: The Year's 10 Biggest National Food Stories

​Food lovers must talk with their mouths full, since there was plenty of discussion of many, many food-related topics in 2010. But a few national stories struck us as most important. Let us know what you think. 1. The food safety bill The massive food safety bill had been left for dead when the ... More >>

Eggs: Are They the Ickiest Common Food Around?

​My counterpart at the Houston Press recently tweeted about how pleased she was when an entrée arrived topped with an egg. Eggs, most culinerati agree, make everything better. Chefs have lately been cracking eggs with abandon. It's not just burgers and salads getting the cooked egg treatment ... More >>

If Not For Illegal Immigrants, Would It Cost Us More To Eat?

On The Range: Machacado Con Huevos

​On The Range is a weekly exploration of the history and lore of Texas menu items.Growing up, the most magical place in the world was not Six Flags, Playland Park, or Disney World. Nope, not even the State Fair of Texas. You see, the place near and dear to every child's heart--before the inventio ... More >>

Bye-Bye, Sugar High

Reporter Megan Feldman Goes Without Refined Sugar. Her Life May Never Be The Same. When my doctor recently recommended I stop eating refined sugar as part of a broad plan to curb a bout of allergies and eczema, I didn't think it'd be such a big deal. "Sure," I said, thankful it wasn't something mo ... More >>

So What Exactly Are You Eating When You Order Fajitas In A Tex-Mex Restaurant?

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 >>

Food For Thought 3.25.09

"Because it sells, food companies are slapping it on anything. And consumers believe natural equals nutritious. Actually, it's a bit like Alice in Wonderland. It means what I want it to mean." (Julie Miller Jones, professor of food safety and nutrition at College of St. Catherine in Minnesota on th ... More >>

Neighborhood Services

Goods things here are worth waiting for

The Elephant in the Room: The Dallas Zoo's Response to Concerned Citizens

Giving Up The Goat

ACS to Fork Over $2.6 Mil to Feds

TXU's Winged Friends

Dare Call It Prime

The fare is disappointing at this upper-end steak house

How Now Mad Cow?

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

Out Back

Jasper's revels in the new age of backyard cuisine

EU Brew

Old Coppertank space in Deep Ellum to get new life

Wabbit Season

Animal rescuers try to find a Texas home for Miami's unwanted bunnies

Fly Cook

Jeff Moschetti joins team ZaZa

Right and Wronged

The taste of victory is bittersweet for a local meatpacker who challenged the USDA

Catch Those Tigers

Years of little or no regulation have made Texas a place where big cats prowl--and sometimes kill

Sour Victory

Supreme Beef wins in federal appeals court, but not soon enough to save its plant

Corraled

The USDA backs off its tough new meat-inspection standards. That's a good thing, beef producers say.

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

Animal-free Farm

Ducks and chicks and geese better scurry from Samuell Farm

Seeds of Discontent

Can growing protests stem the tide of genetically engineered crops?

Silent Scream

Mute and immobile, Alice Joy Taylor couldn't cry out when fire ants attacked her in her nursing-home bed, but would anyone have heard her if she did?

Fat Is Good

Is prime beef really prime?

Crying fowl

Wildlife activists claim that the managers at Samuell Farm Park are abusing the land, its animals, and anyone else who gets in their way

Oldie but goodie

Lawry's The Prime Rib: an old wrinkle ahead of its time