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Posts Tagged ‘Food’

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Culinary Flirtation

In Chicago, Food, News, NPR on March 28, 2013 at 1:57 am

Illinois of all states is leading the push to ban lion meat, yes, lion meat. Apparently food enthusiasts are on the prowl for good lion, but at what cost to the lion population? NPR takes a look at the trend, its consequences, and how Illinois is a main player. Read the story here.

An Arizona restaurant sold lion meat burgers in 2010 in an attempt to drum up business during the World Cup soccer tournament held in South Africa.Matt York/AP/npr.org

An Arizona restaurant sold lion meat burgers in 2010 in an attempt to drum up business during the World Cup soccer tournament held in South Africa.
Matt York/AP/npr.org

“Turns out that Illinois was really the key actor in it all, both in terms of acquisition of lions, slaughter of lions and then, ultimately, the packaging of lion meat.”

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Gluttony useful response to scarcity

In Food, Health, NPR on February 2, 2013 at 2:06 pm

An evolutionary look at why, in times of economic hardship, we may be “hard-wired” to eat foods higher in fat and calories – even though we know better. Read more here.

[nytimes.com]

[nytimes.com]

“Evolutionary biologists have long speculated that in prehistoric times, when the blueprint of modern human behavior was created as our ancestors struggled for survival, gluttony may have been a useful response to scarcity: If you knew — or feared — a famine was coming, it made sense to tuck away as many calories as possible to prepare for it.”

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A look at Lincoln’s Inaugural menu

In Food, History, NPR, Politics, Pop Culture on January 21, 2013 at 9:46 pm

A day behind, but still worth sharing. Smithsonian Magazine writer Megan Gambino recently wrote about Lincoln’s menu for his second inaugural ball – which ended in some-what of a food fight.  Listen to the NPR story here.

“The floor of the supper room was soon sticky, pasty and oily with wasted confections, mashed cake, and debris of fowl and meat…”

Menu for Lincoln's 2nd inaugural ball, March 6, 1865 [Smithsonian Institution / NPR.org]

Menu for Lincoln’s 2nd inaugural ball, March 6, 1865 [Smithsonian Institution / NPR.org]