Editor's Note: Brian Scott farms with his father and grandfather on 2,300 acres of land in northwest Indiana. They grow corn, soybeans, popcorn and wheat. He blogs about it at The Farmer's Life, where a version of this post originally appeared. Corporate relationships and the use of genetically modified products are complex and controversial issues, and Eatocracy will be presenting points of view on it from more farmers, food scientists and environmentalists in the coming weeks. We invite you to become part of the dialogue.

As a farmer who is active on social media, I’ve seen a lot of posts online about how corporations control farms or how farmers are slaves to “Big Ag.” Some people claim we are beholden to companies and must sign unfair contracts to be privileged enough to use their biotech seed.  They also claim the contracts rope us into buying other inputs like pesticides and herbicides from the same company.

Others make claims about how family farmers are treated by big corporations that they see as enemies of nature, monopolizing agriculture and ruthless in their greed. It’s easy to misunderstand something if you aren’t directly involved.
FULL POST

This year, the Southern Foodways Alliance celebrates women, work, and food. As we embark on new documentary projects in keeping with this theme, we'd like to share some of the wonderful stories we already have in our archive. Today, we introduce you to Alzina Toups of Galliano, Louisiana, whose interview is part of our Down the Bayou oral history project.

Alzina Toups’ paternal ancestors came to Louisiana from Nova Scotia, as did so many Cajuns. Her mother’s family - “great, great cooks” - was Portuguese, though both of Alzina’s parents primarily spoke French at home. Alzina still peppers her conversation with French words and phrases. A woman whose faith infiltrates all areas of her life, Alzina treated us to a French prayer-song during the interview below.
FULL POST

Ashley Strickland is an associate producer at CNN.com. She likes cajoling recipes from athletes and studying up on food holidays. We ran this post in 2011, and it seemed painfully relevant this flu season.

After the “office funk” attacked for the third time this fall, I decided to take action. I needed to find an antioxidant powerhouse with the strength to fight off any and all germs and allergies. The usual suspects just weren’t cutting it and I needed a new weapon.

During my frantic search, I stumbled upon something with such a miraculous list of healthy ingredients, I couldn’t say no. And last week, I’m proud to say that green soup entered my life.

Get the recipe and the rest of the story

While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday.

If you need something to warm you up in these cold winter months, a hot buttered rum might be just the ticket (provided you’re of age, of course).

Warmed alcoholic beverages are particularly popular at this time of year; warm apple cider and mulled wine are often served to help heat up guests when, baby, it's cold outside. One of the more well-known warm beverages is the hot toddy.

Traditionally, a hot toddy combines an alcohol (bourbon, Scotch, rye, dark rum or brandy) with hot water, honey and spices. A hot buttered rum - a variation of a toddy –  incorporates, as you probably guessed, butter and rum into the recipe.
FULL POST

Pssst! Got a sec to chat?

We are utterly thrilled when readers want to hang out and talk – whether it's amongst themselves or in response to pieces we've posted. We want Eatocracy to be a cozy, spirited online home for those who find their way here.
FULL POST