Raw Deal on Raw Milk

This is not a joke

Vermont law makers recently passed a bill doubling the limit on the sale of raw milk from 25 quarts to 50 quarts per day; and lifted the groundless ban on advertising. At $5 to $7 a gallon, 50 quarts per day is still just a small step in significantly affecting the viability of Vermont farms however, it is a leg-up. [Source]

But it sure sounds like one to me. Fifty quarts a day is next to nothing. Why doesn't Vermont simply make it legal for dairies that pass inspection to sell raw milk and let the public decide how much milk it wants to buy?

Foie gras protest draws 80

About 80 protesters upset about the repeal of Chicago's foie gras ban are holding a candlelight vigil outside City Hall Friday night.

Besides candles, the demonstrators also are holding up signs with photos of ducks that were overfed to produce foie gras. One grisly photo showed a duck with a beak that allegedly was broken when a feeding tube was jammed down its throat.

The signs read: "Delicacy of despair" and "Too cruel to swallow."

But not many people are around to notice the protest, which began hours after City Hall closed for the week.

Clout Street - local political coverage | Chicago Tribune | Blog

Food for Thought

Pictures of street food in Beijing set to an alarmingly dim-witted soundtrack. (It works for me. What'd you think?)

Redneck Seafood Platter

Breaking News: Chicago Foie Gras Ban Repealed

City Council reverses foie gras ban

Posted by Dan Mihalopoulos at 2:05 p.m.

With Mayor Richard Daley running the vote, the Chicago City Council on Wednesday repealed its controversial ban on foie gras.

Over the shouted objections of Ald. Joe Moore (49th), the ban's sponsor, the council used a parliamentary manuever to put the ordinance on the floor for a vote.

The council voted 37-6 to repeal the two-year-old ban, which critics argued had made Chicago--and the City Council--a national laughingstock.

Ald. Thomas Tunney (44th), a restaurant owner,forced the vote on the measure that prohibits restaurants in the city from serving the delicacy made from the engorged livers of ducks or geese.

Moore, whose pleas for a debate were ignored by Daley, warned fellow aldermen "tomorrow it could happen to you."