Last night’s No Reservations marathon entered deep into my psyche, evidently. Or maybe it was the barrage of ads for Andrew Zimmern’s Bizzare Foods. I dunno, but here’s what went down:
Last night I dreamed I had somehow come into a plastic wrapped package containing a huge, highly rustic cookie-like deal, silvery in color. I took it over to Mr. Bourdain and asked him if he thought it might be the makings for a low mountain range on a model train layout, or perhaps even something edible.
At which point he broke off a bit and stuck it into his mouth.
He chewed thoughtfully for a while, but in the end couldn’t tell which it was. Like the real man he is, he didn’t spit it out or anything.
Awesome.
Speaking of odd things you put in your mouth and Andrew Zimmern, did you know he had a blog? This month he’s urging you to comment on another of the USDA’s proposals for natural meat that’s “about to get keelhauled” by industrial producers who want you to think their industrially mistreated beef is “natural.” Zimmern writes:
As Swain and Liss suggested to me, let’s urge the USDA to write a definition for “naturally raised” that: “requires farm animals, including poultry, to be raised in a manner that is consistent with the biology and natural behavior of the species; disqualifies farms that use gestation crates, farrowing crates, battery cages, calf crates, slatted floors and liquefied manure, and other equipment or facilities typical of unnatural factory systems and requires that animals have free access to continuous range on fresh pasture or woodlands or, in inclement weather, be able to move freely in comfortable housing and clean bedding until outdoor conditions improve.”
Can I get a big AMEN! Mr. Zimmern provides information so that you can comment on the government’s proposal: You, Me, and the USDA