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Articles by Tom Philpott

Tom Philpott was previously Grist's food writer. He now writes for Mother Jones.

All Articles

  • Ruminations on food, class, and Carlo Petrini

    “America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between,” Oscar Wilde once quipped. Fresh, yes, but is it affordable? Photo: Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market Such observations didn’t always endear him to Victorian-era Americans. Wilde’s 1881 lecture tour of the United States, while ultimately viewed as a triumph, occasionally drew […]

  • Good stuff in the new issue of the ‘journal of food and culture’

    Edible Media takes an occasional look at interesting or deplorable food journalism on the web. Anyone who loves food, and enjoys reading about it, should check out the quarterly magazine Gastronomica, which calls itself the “journal of food and culture.” It’s published by the University of California Press, but it’s no academic rag. It tends […]

  • Schwarzenegger to California farmers: Considuh this a divorce

    There’s a fair amount of debate on Gristmill about how much green cred to give the Governator — that A-list action hero of enlightened Republicanism. I don’t follow California politics closely enough to venture an opinion. But I do know that promoting a policy that will result in yet more suburban sprawl and evict small- […]

  • Why agribusiness giants are facing off over corn ethanol

    As recently as 2005, a buck fifty could get you a bushel of corn — about three days’ rations for a confined dairy cow. Today, that same bushel would run you nearly $4. Trouble in Big Ag paradise. Photo: iStockphoto That rapid price increase, inspired by a slew of federal policies that encourage transforming corn […]