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Geopolitics Syria Crisis

Marah’s Diary, Part 1: Childhood Hunger In Syrian War

As part of a collaboration between Syria Deeply and Rookie, we’re publishing the memoirs of a teenage girl living in the midst of Syria’s war. Marah, as she’s chosen to be known, lives in a city under siege. She was 15 years old when the uprising began. This is the first in her series of articles. My city was once magnificent. In spring, it bloomed. We used to wake up to the sound of birds chirping and to the fragrant scent of flowers. Today, spring is here again. But what kind of spring is this? We now wake up to […]

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blog Food / Travel

Welcome To 7-Eleven Island: Unpacking Taiwan’s Culture Of Convenience

A visitor from mainland China reflects on Taiwan’s love affair with the always-open, eternally stocked convenience store.

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Food / Travel

Buona Notte To The Birthplace Of Tiramisu

TREVISO — This kind of news is hard to swallow: the historic Beccherie restaurant in Treviso that created tiramisu decades ago, will close its doors March 30. Gone will be the original version of the legendary dessert that has become a worldwide symbol of Italian cuisine. That’s because the economic crisis has been tough on […]

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blog

One Roast For The Road

A popular street food in the mountainous regions of Ecuador is hornado — a slice of roasted pig usually served with potatoes. If that doesn’t make your mouth water, you can still settle for a bottle of Coke. We’ve found the ubiquitous brand even in the most remote corners of the world.

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Economy

In Japan, The Uncertain Future Of The World’s Largest Fish Market

TOKYO — The mackerel comes from Iceland, the salmon from Norway or Chile, and the king crab is from Russia. Less than half of the 2,000 tons of fish and seafood that passes through Tsukiji Market is caught in Japanese nets. The world’s largest fish market is a bustling trading center, with its early-morning auctions […]

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Impact: Organic Revolution Society

5 Organic Projects Taking Root Around The World

Organic fever has been taking over the world over the past few years, appealing to some but shunned by others. Sustainability is a word often linked with organic, as well as all things environmentally-friendly, that surely must benefit all of us. Here’s a short profile of five places embracing both concepts with the aim of […]

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Food / Travel

This Culinary Movement Has Legs: Insects On The Menu

Worms, crickets and the like are showing up at fine European eateries. But this is not just a gastronomical fad, as population growth means finding new sources of protein in unlikely critters.

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Food / Travel Society

Protest In A Pita: Bargain Falafels Help Israeli Middle Class Stave Off Crisis

TEL AVIV — The Israeli middle class is tired of paying a full hour’s salary for a few bites of street food — and the market is reacting. Cofix, a leading coffee to-go chain, broke all the rules and came up with the symbolic price of 5 shekels ($1.40) for either a cup of coffee, […]

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Society

Not ‘Lovin’ It’! Brazilian Parents Want Ronald McDonald Out Of Their Children’s Schools

SAO PAULO — A Brazilian version of Ronald McDonald, the famous clown mascot, has taken to visiting nursery schools, kindergartens and primary schools. The well-known face of the fast food chain has been performing shows for young children and even babies, at both public and private schools. But not everyone is so amused. A growing […]

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Economy Food / Travel

Salmon Roe Woe In Russia Could Spark Caviar Trade War

To satisfy Russian apetites, frozen shipments of the low-end *red caviar* have come in from Alaska. Not all are pleased.

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Future Society

China Pays The Price For The Toxic Risks Of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Meanwhile, Japan and South Korea cash in thanks to rigorous health standards and smart labeling.

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blog Food / Travel

Berlin Restaurant Sparks Debate With Ban On Food Instagrams

BERLIN – Denise from Sossenheim does it. “Mmm…,” it says under the picture of ochre-yellow lentil soup. David from Berlin does it too. On his Facebook page he shows what looks like the pizza he ordered for lunch with the words “Super Pizza” written underneath the image. For many young people, photographing their food and […]

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Society

Nestle And The Chocolate Factory

In the French city of Noisiel, the old Menier chocolate factory is a grand architectural landmark of the industrial age. It’s now the luxurious headquarters of Nestle France.

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blog Society

Veggies Against Violence: Reaping The Rewards Of Argentina’s School Gardens

BURZACO – Carrot leaves are poking through the soil, the lettuces are green and leafy, and the spring onions are standing tall: these vegetables are being nurured at secondary school No. 56 in Burzaco, 25 kilometers south of Buenos Aires. And as the vegetables have put down roots, classroom violence has been on a sharp […]

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Society

Give And Take: Italy’s Experiment With A Cash-Free Supermarket

MODENA – A place like this — where milk costs one point and olive oil four points instead of nine euros, where you can buy food even if you don’t have the money to do so — seems possible only here, between the Torre della Ghirlandina (the bell tower of the Cathedral of Modena) and […]

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Food / Travel

Top 10 Outrageous Dishes From Around The World

Some like to travel for the breathtaking sights, some want to discover exotic new cultures. But the real adventure often comes delivered on your plate. We know our classics, here at Worldcrunch: the French eat frogs and the Cambodians eat bugs. We went a bit further than that. Way further. Now, fasten your eatbelts as […]

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Society

French Fry Rebuff: Congolese Return To Traditional (And Healthier) Diet

Edged out for a time by greasy, imported food, traditional meals are staging a comeback in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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Global Gourmet

The Gatherer: Cedric Denaux’s Secrets To Wild Cuisine

SAINT-PAUL-TROIS-CHATEAUX – Three steps in from the side of the path are enough for Cédric Denaux to identify a veritable pantry. Where we only see a field of flowers and weeds exploding in springtime chaos, this botanist-cum-cook spots the pointed flower of the buckhorn plantain, the bubble-shaped one belonging to the bladder campion, a tuft […]

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Global Gourmet

Fresher Than Raw: Extreme Foodies Savor Fare That’s … ALIVE!

Eat that octopus before it slithers away, call the maggots to your turning cheese, and other moving selections from the living menu.

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Geopolitics

Anti-GMO Map: World Cities March Against Agro Giant Monsanto

An estimated two million people took to the streets in cities all around the world on May 25 for a worldwide day of protest against agro-biotech giant Monsanto and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) in general. The “March Against Monsanto” movement denounced GMOs as harmful to human health and the environment. Their claims, listed on their […]

Categories
Future

Weight Loss Breakthrough: Researchers “Activate” Fat-Burning Cells

DIE WELT (Germany), NATURE COMMUNICATIONS (UK) Worldcrunch BONN – The equivalent of pressing a button that activates your body’s fat-burning mechanism…and watch the pounds disappear. It sounds like advertising hype, but researchers at the University of Bonn and their colleagues at Germany’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices believe it may be revolutionize the […]

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Food / Travel

New Rankings Of World’s Top 25 Restaurants, A Global Tour

Worldcrunch LONDON – The annual list of the world’s 50 best restaurants is out… and the Internet is officially HUNGRY! Spain’s El Celler De Can Roca in Girona beat out Noma in Copenhagen, which had taken home the top spot for the previous three years. The list is organized by Britain’s Restaurant magazine, with the […]

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Future

New Study: Animals Just As Hooked On Junk Food As We Are

AAP, PLOS ONE (Australia) Worldcrunch SYDNEY – A new study from Australian scientists has concluded that animals are just as tempted by tasty treats as we humans are. In an article published in the PLOS One journal on Wednesday, researchers found that rats exposed to what they call a “cafeteria diet” increased their bodyweight by […]

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Society

Dumpster Diving Behind A French Bakery – The Freegan Movement Takes Off In France

LYON – Those familiar with the Freegan movement know that dumpster diving to find food to eat is nothing new. But organizing free food distributions to denounce food waste is a novel form of Freeganism – as practiced by the activists from the Gars Pilleurs organization founded by two young men from Lyon, east-central France. […]

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Ideas

How Old Fears Of Famine Keep China’s One-Child Policy Alive

Food shortages are almost always a problem of supply, not demand, but don’t tell that to some top Chinese officials maintaining a tight grip on national family planning policy.

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Food / Travel

Why Are There Radioactive Wild Boars Roaming Northern Italy?

CORRIERE DELLA SERA, LA STAMPA (Italy) Worldcrunch VERCELLI – This northern Italian city is more than 2,000 kilometers away from Chernobyl, so it’s almost impossible to imagine how the very same radioactive particles ended up here — or in the innards of 27 wild boars. Caesium-137 is a radioactive isotope, formed by nuclear fission on […]

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Society

After Michelin Stars, Italian Chef Sends Out-Of-This-World Menu Into Space

Vac-packed pesto risotto never tasted so good!

Categories
Food / Travel

“You’d Think We’re Selling Rat Meat!” Tough Times For Europe’s Horse Butchers

MUNICH – Horsemeat passed off as beef – across Europe, the food scandal continues to make headlines. On the food circuit in Munich, at Kaspar Wörle’s horsemeat butcher shop, it hasn’t caused much of a stir – except for the fact that the phone has been ringing uninterruptedly since the scandal broke. “People want information,” […]

Categories
Food / Travel

UK’s Most Popular Frozen Lasagna Contains Up To 100% Horsemeat

THE INDEPENDENT, THE GUARDIAN, THE DAILY MAIL, BBC (UK) Worldcrunch LONDON – British government food officials have warned the public not to eat frozen beef lasagna sold by the Findus brand after tests showed they contained up to 100% horsemeat. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has ordered all British companies to test their processed beef […]

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Society

The Obese Of Congo: When Wealth Leads To Weight Gain

After a nearly 10 percent jump in obesity, the first efforts have been launched at educating Congolese about both diet and exercise. But skinny to many means sick — and poor.

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Society

Fries With Your Bug Mac? You May Already Eat Insects Without Knowing It

TOULOUSE – Will we be forced to eat spiders, larvae, crickets and other creepy-crawlers in the near future? In the face of mounting demographic pressures, we may be faced with this question sooner rather than later. “With 20 billion cattle, twice the number of the 1980s, the earth has reached its maximum number of ruminants. […]

Categories
Society

My Pen Pal Was A Japanese Cannibal

In 1981, Issei Sagawa, a Japanese student in Paris killed and ate a fellow students. A French classmate stayed in touch with Sagawa, and now tries to make sense of the macabre.

Categories
Economy

Spain’s Crisis Hits The Stomach: Steady Drop In Food Spending

CLARIN (Argentina), EL PAIS, EL DIARIO DE LEON (Spain) Worldcrunch MADRID – Unemployment, rising taxes and falling wages have combined to change the calculus for more and more people in Spain. Increasingly, according to new studies, Spanish households are dealing with the economic crisis by reducing the quality and quantity of foods they eat. According […]

Categories
Global Gourmet

Elysee Aromatic – Journey Into The Wine Cellar Of France’s Presidential Palace

PARIS – The wine cellar of the French Presidential Palace – the Elysée – where President François Hollande now resides, is not that far from the command center of France’s nuclear arsenal. Its location remains just as much a mystery. Except for authorized personnel, it is impossible to visit the wine cellar, with the entrance […]

Categories
Future

Roses In The Desert – How Qatar Hopes To End Its Dependence On Food Imports

DOHA – Jean-Pierre Moreau is growing flowers in the desert. Just 30 kilometers west of the Qatari capital of Doha, roses, gladiolus, chrysanthemum are blooming. At the request of Hamid Khalifa al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar, the Frenchman produces four million flowers a year, with the help of 60 employees mostly from Nepal and India. […]

Categories
Food / Travel

Presidential Kitchen Secrets – What State Menus Tell Us About World Leaders

-Essay- BEIJING – “Eat, drink, man and woman – the greatest human desires reside in them…” It is an ancient Confucian proverb, meaning that food and love are basic to human nature. Were the public invited to vote on what they’d like most to know about their nations’ leaders I’m convinced it wouldn’t be their […]

Categories
Food / Travel

How DHL And Germany’s Post Office Plan To Conquer The Online Food Delivery Business

DIE WELT (Germany) Worldcrunch BERLIN – By 2016 Deutsche Post wants to have its own national online food retail operation up and running. A spokeswoman said the company has been planning the move for some time and that the challenge was setting up a system of outlets around Germany that would stock a wide selection […]

Categories
Future

Nuclear Fish From Fukushima? Don’t Fret, Japan’s Got A Net

ASAHI SHIMBUN (Japan) Worldcrunch FUKUSHIMA – Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant is considering erecting a giant net to prevent radioactive fish from heading out to sea. In surveys conducted through October at the request of local fishery cooperatives, TEPCO found that the radioactivity levels of species of fish caught […]

Categories
Food / Travel

Mezcal Worms, Snails And Chili Sauce: Mexico’s Hot, Haute Cuisine

MEXICO CITY – There are a lot of good restaurants in Ciudad de México – Mexico’s capital city (its name sounds a lot more dashing in Spanish than the English Mexico City used by most). Authentic Mexican cuisine is excellent, and Mexicans like to eat well – with little room to spare. So forget everything […]

Categories
Food / Travel

Great News From Mediterranean Diet Experts: French Fries Are Good For You!

NAPLES – Great news for all connoisseurs of French fries – that is, practically everyone: if it’s done correctly, frying is not bad for your health. Researchers at the Federico II University of Naples and from the nearby “Dolce & Salato” professional cooking school, have conducted a study that shows that frying isn’t bad, if […]

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