I am beyond mortified. I might have missed out on my chance to join a CSA this year.

For three years, I ran a Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) program - a volunteer-run cooperative where members pre-pay to receive an entire season's worth of organic, fresh produce from a local farmer and pick it up once-a-week from a central location. During that time, CSA-related thoughts dominated vast swaths of my brain, crowding out other important information like friends' birthdays and the need to wash my bath tub.

I would complain regularly - even daily at certain times of the year - about people who could not get their act together in time to register for the CSA. Outwardly I was compassionate, of course, but inside I had no sympathy for those people who would send me frantic emails the night before vegetable pick ups started asking, "Is it too late to sign up?" What did they think this was, Fresh Direct?

After all that experience, you'd think I'd be a *pro* at signing myself up for a CSA. The first gal to send in her check. Ehh..well...no.

Sometime last week I woke up with the vague notion that it was probably time to register for this year's season, which starts in June. Checkbook in hand, I went to my CSA's website to find out where to send my form and money. I was shocked to see the following words flashing across the screen like an "F" on a term...

Last week, waiting in line at Starbucks in New York City and perusing the refrigerated food case (mmm...pre-portioned cheese plates), I noticed something was different. It took a second for me to put my finger on it - like realizing that a friend got a haircut or is wearing glasses. But then it was all I could see: calories! Next to each cranberry scone and piece of chocolate-drizzled coffee cake was a small plaque bearing the name of the treat and the number of calories it contained.

As of March 31, all chain restaurants in New York City (restaurants with 15 or more outlets - Mc Donalds, The Olive Garden, TGI Fridays, and the like) were required to start posting calorie counts for all menu items in the hopes of enabling consumers to make informed (and ideally healthier) decisions. CNN reported in January:

"The Department of Health argued in October that "calorie information provided at the time of food selection would enable New Yorkers to make more informed, healthier choices.""

Although no Starbucks or Mc Donald's exec would openly admit to playing a key part in America's obesity problem, there's not much left to say once their menu items' offensive calorie counts are all but circled in red pen. Perhaps that's why, as City Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden," put it to the AP, "Some chains have worked hard to deny customers information they need to make healthy food choices." The New York Restaurant Association, New York's largest...

Napa Valley has a problem - their grapes are drunk.

Grapes - the region's cash crop and tourist draw - grow best under a warm summer sun that is tempered by a kiss of cool air at night. When the weather gets too hot for too long, however, the grapes can "cook" on the vine, resulting in an alcohol content more fitting to a firey grappa than the mellow cabernets the region is known for.

Unfortunately, rising temperatures seem to be the norm in Napa these days where, according to the NY Times Magazine: "most Napa winemakers agree that 10-year averages are the hottest in memory." As a result, Napa grape farmers are being forced to rethink every growing technique they thought they knew to save their crops. The NY Times Magazine reports:

"The mandate is clear: undo everything that was done in the name of ripeness during the 1990s. Those cabernet clones imported from Bordeaux because they ripen so easily? Rip them out and plant something more reluctant. Vines positioned near the ground to soak up radiant heat? Install a trellis system and pull them higher. Wineries have started planting vineyards on a northeast-southwest axis, which minimizes strong afternoon sunlight. They add cover crops - clover, bell bean - to compete with the vines and prolong the fruit's maturation process. And they're removing fewer leaves. "We used to try for as much sun as possible, but we've backed off," says Doug Shafer of Shafer Vineyards. "Shading has become...

Scene from inside a fancy restaurant circa 2015:

Man: (scanning the menu) - What are you thinking of getting dear?
Woman: Hmmm...the pasta looks good, but I think I'd actually prefer a steak.
Man: Do you know where the meat comes from?
Woman: Of course! I always inquire about the source of the meat I eat. It's from vat 13 at Acme Labs!

This scene may sound like fodder for a science fiction novel, but according to Wired, test tube meat may end up on consumers' plates in the not-too-distant future.

Grown in bioreactors, the in vitro meat would be created to mimic the texture and flavor or real meat, from to ground chuck to filet mignon. As of now, scientests say that they have a ways to go before reaching the desired results - but they're making progress. Wired reported: "Researchers can currently grow small amounts of meat in the lab, and have even been able to get heart cells to beat in Petri dishes. Growing muscle cells on an industrial scale is the next step."

The most fascinating (and also disconcerting) thing about in vitro meat is that, according to the folks who believe in it, it will be good for both consumers *and* the environment. The UN projects that the rising middle class across the globe will double meat consumption by 2050. And with the way the meat industry is, more cows = more feedlots, more risk for mad cow disease and more, ahem, gaseous pollution....

Absolut - the Swedish vodka company known for its brilliant, bottle-themed ad campaigns, found itself in a heap of trouble recently for the following advertisement:

The ad shows a pre-1848 map (before the Mexican-American War) that depicts California, Arizona and other U.S. states as Mexican territory. The words "In an Absolut world" are overlaid on the image, suggesting that the borders portrayed on the map are superior to actual existing borders. According to the Reuters, the ad was regionally focused - published in Mexico, but not in the United States. Still, American media outlets unsurprisingly picked up on the ad, instigating a shitstorm of response from customers who left a slew of fiery comments on Absolut's blog. Comments ranged from support for Absolut:

"The ad was witty and apropriate for its audience - Mexico! All the contoversy is hillarious. Besides, there is no such thing as bad publicity! Continue to push the envelope and get conversations started. It's the guilty people that have all the rage. Viva Mexico, Viva US, Viva Absolut, Viva Peace!" - lu

to threats of boycott:

"What a stupid Ad. Does anyone at your company have a clue. [sic] I refuse to support a company with my hard earned American cash. Someone really thought this Ad made sense? Well here's a toast with Grey Goose that all your tequila drinking Mexican consumers like the ad!" - absolutly an ex-absoluter

to flat-out, reactionary racism:

"[The Mexicans] are too lazy to build a country...