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All stories relating to Farming

A seven-patty burger, DIY mushroom farming, grain- versus grass-fed beef

The Whopping Whopper: 791 grams, 12.7 centimetres, 2120 calories, ¥1450 ($17.25)

A whopping Whopper: 791 grams, 12.7 centimetres, 2120 calories, ¥1450 ($17.25)

• When it comes to weird fast-food promotions, no one beats the Japanese. This time around, Burger King has teamed up with Microsoft, offering a gimmicky version of the Whopper to promote the new Windows 7 operating system. The burger has seven patties and looks like it presents enough logistical problems (How does it stay together? Will we need one of these?) that diners may think it’s promoting Microsoft Vista. [CNET]

• Canadian gardeners are broadening their gardening horizons, branching out into the realm of fungi. A seller of mushroom-growing equipment from B.C. tells the Globe that his sales to hobbyists have doubled over the past year. Some are having an easier time of it than others: one Winnipegger likens the mushroom-growing process to the set-it-and-forget-it mentality of investing in mutual funds, while another ended up with nothing but a mouldy bag of hay. [Globe and Mail]

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The Dish

Read All About It

September 2, 2009 | 9:03 am

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Freegans in Toronto dumpsters, NYC takes on fat, monkey brains top the squeamish list

Gross-out factor is high on the New York subway

• New York City is going visceral in its battle to keep citizens lean. A new ad campaign is being launched this month that hopes to dissuade sugary-drink consumption by upping the gross-out factor. Posters on the city’s subways feature a bottle of soda pouring globules of cellulite into an overflowing glass. [New York City Department of Health]

• The Globe and Mail has compiled a list of reader-generated spending tips for students, just in time for the start of the school year. Some were more unorthodox than others, such as “dumpster diving for food.” Turns out the idea has already been taken up by many people—vegans and vegetarians have nothing on freegans, who know that supermarkets regularly throw away lots of edible food. For freegans, “dumpster diving is more than just free food—it’s fun.” We’ll take their word for it. [Globe and Mail]

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The Dish

Culinary Curiosities

August 13, 2009 | 2:28 pm

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Why it’s worth paying $200 to eat in a field

The fabled table: daunting logistics be damned, this table is set up wherever outstanding in the field finds itself (All photos by Davida Aronovitch)

The fabled table: logistics be damned, this table is set up wherever Outstanding in the Field finds itself (All photos by Davida Aronovitch)

We are in the middle of a farmer’s field near Bradford, Ontario, but it looks like a five-star restaurant. Jim Denevan has brought his roving dinner series, Outstanding in the Field, here for one night only. The itinerant anti-restaurant takes locavore lust to the next level by staging dinners at the food source, this time with a little help from Cowbell chef Mark Cutrara, the owners of Dingo Farms (Dennis and Denise Harrison, who provide the aforementioned field) and 90 guests—growers and urbanites, who each paid $200 for their seats. This is Denevan’s first foray into Ontario, and the farmophile likes the lay of the land; he’s already planning more Ontario stops. Sadly, Denevan’s signature 1953 red bus couldn’t make the trip due to border troubles. A bemused customs agent asked, “You organize dinners on farms? Why would anyone want to do that?”

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The Dish

DIY Gourmet

July 22, 2009 | 4:22 pm

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Cooped up: A woman is in hiding as she fights for Torontonians’ right to keep chickens in their backyard

Fowl play: Sally (right), Ayr and Goldie (left) get some free time in their owner's yard

Fowl play: Goldie, Ayr and Sally get some free time in their owner's yard

A Toronto mom is in a cat-and-mouse game with bylaw officers who want to capture her illegally kept chickens and send them back to the farm. The accidental activist—known only as Toronto Chicken—is fighting to have her feathered friends legalized, saying that they are clean, quiet and environmentally friendly. Authorities disagree, saying that the chickens’ droppings could be used by terrorists to make a bomb; if Toronto Chicken isn’t stopped, organic egg grow-ops could sprout up in backyards from Rexdale to Riverdale. What’s a chicken lover to do?

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The Dish

DIY Gourmet

July 21, 2009 | 3:07 pm

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Constant gardeners: Young Urban Farmers shows us how to cheat at backyard farming

Backyard bounty: Tomatoes are just one of the 17 plants on offer from YUF (Photo by jeremiah)

Backyard bounty: Tomato plants are just one of the 17 types offered by YUF (Photo by jeremiah)

Most urban foodies would love to grow their own organic spinach, but most of us barely have time to stop at Sobeys on our way home from work. Recognizing Torontonians’ collective lack of time (read: laziness), three recent business grads started Young Urban Farmers, a service that turns clients’ yards into produce departments. For $155, YUF plants a vegetable garden of the customer’s choosing, then builds a shelter to keep out the raccoons. For $495, they’ll weed, water and even harvest the bounty. This means that naughty hosts can claim their organic salad greens are from their own garden, without ever lifting a spade.

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The Dish

DIY Gourmet

July 15, 2009 | 10:55 am

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Farming 101: Five ways for Torontonians to experience country life

Nature calls: Farming experiences are available to those looking to get back to the land (Photo by Peter Firminger)

Shopping at farmers’ markets has a way of making agriculture seem like a peaceful and tasty career path. In the daydream version of rural life, there are no painful commutes or layoff threats, just friendly barnyard beasts and bountiful produce. This is not the whole story, of course, so for those Torontonians looking for a way to get back to the land, we’ve dug up some unique opportunities that will let them try their hands at growing, without getting them too dirty. Here are five, arranged from green dabbler to committed farmhand.

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The Dish

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May 30, 2009 | 9:00 am

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Indie coffee shop cred questioned, inmates growing their own veggies, organic produce prices will continue to rise

• Toronto’s small coffee shops are opening second and sometimes third outposts in the city, raising questions about their indie credibility. [National Post]

• Mississauga Secondary School is doing away with the unhealthy pizzas and burgers in its cafeteria, instead serving its students healthy wraps, subs and soups—and winning awards in the process. [Mississauga News]

• Last fall brought a flood of tomes by celebrity chefs, but the newest releases are a batch of idiosyncratic cookbooks on Argentine- and Cajun-style cooking, and preparing the perfect taco. There must be a can-do spirit in the air. [New York Times]

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The Dish

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April 17, 2009 | 6:30 am

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TV chefs attacked for wastefulness, the dangers of at-work eating, Toronto restaurants raise money for HIV/AIDS

Ontario farming initiatives will receive over $700,000 from the provincial government (Photo by Bill Barber)

Local farmers will benefit from new provincial government funding (Photo by Bill Barber)

• Cash-strapped diners can eat out without feeling guilty on April 29, when 50 Toronto restaurants will team up with Fife House for an HIV/AIDS fundraiser. Participating businesses—including hot spots Sassafraz and Crush Wine Bar—will donate part of the day’s proceeds to the cause. Talk about win-win. [Martini Boys]

• The provincial government jumps on the locavore train, giving farming another big-brotherly boost. Ontario will spend over $700,000 on local food projects in an effort to strengthen agribusiness. [Country Guide]

• The rule of thumb is no tip on tax, and, as Corey Mintz explains, it may be no tax on tip, too. The Star food critic takes a look at the legal—and moral—issues that govern gratuities earned by servers, and the cut taken by their employers. [Toronto Star]

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The Dish

Read All About It

March 21, 2009 | 7:08 am

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Needles in meat, reaction to new street food vendors, ignoring calorie counts

The great distraction (Photo by xian)

• Supersize Me optimism notwithstanding, new research from Yale shows that fast-food consumers don’t pay attention to health information, even when it is right before their eyes. [USA Today]

• A CBC food writer takes a look at the broadcaster’s new documentary series The Great Food Revolution. The show investigates gastronomical movements, like locavorism, as well as farming practices. Will there be a segment on getting a table at Canoe during Summerlicious? [CBC]

• An urban legend comes to life at a No Frills in Guelph, where sewing needles were found in deli meat and packaged foods. And just when lunch meat was making a comeback. [UPI]

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The Dish

Read All About It

March 9, 2009 | 8:37 am

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The big potato bailout, binge drinking epidemic, the trials of a Toronto food critic

Canadian potatoes have every reason to smile (Photo by Seun Sarayi)

• Move over, GM. The Canadian spud industry is getting its own stimulus package. Potato farming will be receiving a major infusion of federal funds, with the hope of boosting production of everything from “potato plastic” to shepherd’s pie. [Fresh Plaza]

• Is binge drinking the newest national epidemic? Research shows that spring break–style consumption has seriously harmful effects on both drinkers and their entourage. And we don’t just mean table dancing to Beyoncé. [National Post]

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The Dish

Read All About It

February 9, 2009 | 7:35 am

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Lax organics standards, gardens on the Gardiner, slaughterhouses self-inspect

What does "organic" mean, in Canada? (Photo by Gabo Morales)

• The label “certified organic” should spark more questions than confidence, says former food inspector Mischa Popoff, who argues that Canada’s organic food regulations are far too lenient to ensure quality products. [National Post]

• Foodshare believes in eating locally, which doesn’t just mean buying veggies from the Holland Marsh. The Toronto-based NGO is advocating transforming our barren urban spaces—Nathan Phillips Square, University Avenue, the edges of the Gardiner—into vegetable gardens. [Toronto Star]

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