Stuffed and Dangerous: Chicken Kiev Stalls Critical Salmonella Reforms
In 2015, I wrote about Stewart Parnell, the former Peanut Corporation of America executive sentenced to 28 years in prison for knowingly shipping salmonella-tainted peanut butter that killed nine people and sickened over 700. It was a landmark case at the time—a rare moment of accountability in an industry too often shielded from consequence. Stewart […]
Colorado’s Organic Innovations
After living in a tiny Italian fishing village, I had grown accustomed to my local produce vendor, Yolanda, a gruff, dusty woman who boldly set up her fresh produce stand a few feet from the local supermarket. The town sheep herder thought nothing of stopping our so-called morning rush-hour traffic to guide his flock across […]
Is Your Honey, Honey? Glut of Fraud Raises Questions
It’s been decades since I wrote an article for the Denver Post with this headline about fraudulent honey (see the link below for the article). Sadly, it’s still true. These many years later, the problem still exists, so much so that at the 2025 International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations meeting in Denmark, the organizers didn’t […]
Make Mondays Nice with Soup
Happy Once, Happy Twice, Happy Chicken Soup Mondays I believe every day is a gift, but I dread Mondays. I know God created light on Monday. Time magazine tells me CEOs get up at 5 am to work out and plan their very successful week over French press coffee and Vitamix green juice. Job coaches […]
Comte’ Cheese, The Savory Jewel of the Jura
On a visit to the Jura Massif region of France, I fell hard for its beauty, tranquility, and dedication to making great food. Foods that began as a necessity centuries ago, like Comte’ cheese, have survived into modern times. The region’s food may be less known than that of other parts of France, but it […]
Apricots and the Precocious One
This recounts a story of a wild apricot tree growing near our new home in Italy, which sprouted from a slice of bumpy asphalt and bore a bounty of sun-warmed fruit. A local explained the tree had likely sprouted from apricot pits discarded by nearby residents. My seven-year-old son adopted the tree, and it quickly […]
Eater: Is Jail Time the Solution to America’s Food Safety Problem?
In 2015, Stewart Parnell, former owner of the Peanut Corporation of America, was sentenced to 28 years in prison, and his brother Michael Parnell received 20 years, for their roles in knowingly shipping salmonella-contaminated peanut butter. The outbreak, which occurred over eight years earlier, resulted in nine deaths and over 700 illnesses. Prosecutors presented extensive […]