Just like in many other parts of the world, industrial chicken farms are putting small breeders out of business in rural India. They just can't compete with the immense economies of scale that the industrial farms have cultivated. Of course, the giant farms keep the birds in unhealthy conditions and then feed them all sorts of antibiotics to keep them healthy.

The Guardian reported last week on a new way that rural Indians are fighting back, and it turns out to be an old way. They are turning to a native chicken breed that is better adapted to the area, can be raised outside, and has a strong immune system so the birds don't get sick as often. Due to all of this, the giriraja breed is easier and less expensive to raise, so even poor rural families can have a few chickens for food and maybe a little bit of profit.

What do you think about returning to native chicken breeds?

As with everything else these days, the price of glass is going up. Some wine and beer bottlers have already switched to less glass-intensive bottles and a French champagne maker is experimenting with the same idea.

Mumm, is experimenting with bottles that are 65 grams lighter than regular champagne bottles (which are about twice as heavy as wine bottles), in an attempt to cut down on costs. The company is currently storing the test bottles for two years to make sure the thinner glass can withstand the pressure that is produced by the bubbly. If they do determine to use these lighter bottles, Mumm will also have to get approval from Comité Interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne, the trade association that represents grape growers and champagne producers.

If the bottles survive and the CIVC approves the change, we'll be seeing these new, thinner champagne bottles around 2010. The question is, if Mumm gets CIVC approval, will other champagne bottlers will be quick to follow?

[Via the Guardian]

The foodie quiz is a fun little way to waste a couple minutes of the morning and maybe have a little laugh or two while you're at it because it is certainly not a serious quiz in any way. If it were serious, it is highly unlikely that one of the answers, right or wrong, would suggest that the correct solution to a minor restaurant dilemma is to "grab the waiter by his neck, shove him in a tiny crate, which you load into the hold of a plane bound for Auckland, while shouting: 'How would you like it, you animal abusing spawn of the devil?'"

The quiz is intended to test your knowledge of general foodie issues, kitchen trends and food movements. I scored 42 out of a possible 45 (the higher the score, the better), which apparently makes me a "gastro-warrior." Take the quiz and get back to us here in the comments to let us know how you fared!

The Guardian recently featured a piece about the increasing amounts of soy in European and American diets. While many associate soy with centuries-old Eastern traditions, The Guardian article points out that soy products like tofu and soy sauce differ from the soy milk and soy burgers of today in that the older foods have been tempered by fermentation. Several sources in the piece voice concerns about phyto-estrogen levels in unfermented soy products and their possible links to cancer and unusual hormonal development. Some experts warn that the newness of such products is a cause for caution as their longterm effects have yet to be studied in depth.

Sarah mentioned that some studies show that British shoppers are clueless about seasonal produce. I think it's a fair bet that many people, in many countries are similarly unaware of the prime season for at least one fruit or vegetable.  Without getting into the various issues surrounding why it is or is not best to buy seasonal (local) produce, there are two ways to figure out what's in season quickly.

First, you can visit a local farmer's market. You'll be able to find fruits and veggies at the peak of their season without too much problem. Stock up on things that freeze well, like berries, so you don't have to worry about seasonality when you get a craving.

The second way is a little more fun.

The Guardian recently featured several excerpts from Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser's new book Chew On This, a kid-oriented exploration of the fast food industry. Schlosser uses plain English and, of course, plenty of alarming statistics to show young readers the basics of fast food marketing and food processing. The Guardian samples focus on television marketing (American kids watch an average of 25 hours of TV each week, Schlosser says) and how McDonald's has changed the soft drink industry. According to Schlosser, 20 percent of one- and two-year-olds in America drink soft drinks daily and the average American adult drinks 500 cans of soda each year.

I have made strawberry milkshakes at home before. I like them thick, so I use strawberries and ice cream, sometimes thinning it with a touch of milk. Occasionally, I will add in some chocolate. Other people like to use yogurts or add sweeteners, like honey to their shakes. Chances are good that no one makes a McDonald's-style shake at home, though. Why? According to the Guardian, that shake has 59 ingredients, most of which are verging on unpronounceable and found in the "artificial strawberry flavoring."

That milkshake probably contains the following: "milkfat and nonfat milk, sugar, sweet whey, high-fructose corn syrup, guar gum, monoglycerides and diglycerides, cellulose gum, sodium phosphate, carrageenan, citric acid, E129 and artificial strawberry flavor."

That flavoring, on the other hand, has:

Growing up, many children are told to clean their plates during meals. This is partially because parents want their children to finish their vegetables and mostly because no one wants to waste food. The most popular reason to clean your plate? "Because there are children starving in Africa." Whether this sort of statement has an effect on children is difficult to say, but it did have an effect on a restaurant in London.

The Obalende Suya Express, a West-African barbecue restaurant, is enforcing a £2.50 fine for patrons whose eyes are bigger than their stomachs and leave food on their plates. They host an large, popular buffet every Sunday night and the restaurant owners noticed that people were taking food just because it was available, even if they had no intention of eating it. The owners said that they felt guilty dumping out all the wasted food at the end of the night. Now, large red signs warn the customers about the fine. The money collected from the fines goes to Oxfam, a poverty-relief charity.

The only downside? When customers learn to take only what they are willing to eat, the charity won't be getting as many contributions - not from this restaurant anyway. Other restaurants, including chains like TGI Fridays, donate food and goods to charity already, but perhaps this will encourage more business to do so when they can.

According to the Guardian's News Blog, next Saturday's edition of the paper will come with a DVD copy of Morgan Spurlock's fast-food-bashing documentary Super Size Me. The DVD giveaway was also mentioned in a recent Guardian article about Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser and the alleged "crisis management" responses from McDonald's concerning Schlosser's upcoming children's book Chew On This and a film adaptation of Fast Food Nation. The Guardian blog post asks readers to send in their recommendations healthy fast food options in Britain.

The singleton's hatred of Valentine's Day is only outweighed by that of chefs, apparently. As the Guardian discovered, chefs do not look forward to what is one of the busiest nights of the year. Special menus cause irritation, as do heart-shaped cutters and moulds for shaping the food. Some chefs and restaurant staff expressed equal exasperation over the doe-eyed couples and the couples for whom the honeymoon has long been over, though Sally Clarke, who runs Clarke's, in London, said she enjoyed seeing the looks of delight on the faces of customers who find a pink ring box passed over the table at the end of the evening.

The chefs and staff would probably feel more warmly towards the holiday in future if they had to suffer through one with no customers, since the only thing worse than a customer who is so lovestruck they neglect to tip, is a customer who doesn't come at all.