Birds of a Feather
An eatery in Tennessee has something new to crow about. Gus’ Fried Chicken Restaurant has a daily, well-combed visitor. Three months ago, the red rooster began showing up across the road from Gus’, crowing his defiance at the fried chicken joint. So far, the rascal has been able to avoid both the deep fat fryer and the local Animal Control. (Associated Press)
A Bacon Obsession
The bacon-worshipping duo behind BaconSalt, Baconnaise, and the Bacon Coffin will soon be starring in their own show. Justin Esch and Dave Lefkow’s show will be focused on – you guessed it – bacon, as well as the over-the-top guerilla marketing they use to promote their products. (Huffington Post)
More Bad News for Salmon
A federal evaluation has found that three lawn pesticides that are commonly used in California are jeopardizing the survival of West Coast salmon. The NOAA Fisheries Service’s study is a response to lawsuits, filed by conservation groups and salmon fishermen demanding that the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency enforce restrictions on pesticides around salmon streams.
The three herbicides that were studied were oryzalin, pendimenthalin, and trifluralin, which are used to control weeds on lawns and road shoulders, in orchards and vineyards, and on farm fields growing soybeans, cotton, corn, and Christmas trees, as well as other crops. (Associated Press)
Serving up a Better Economy
Rebounding faster than the overall economy, the restaurant industry has added 560,000 new jobs since March of 2010. More than 200,000 of those jobs were created in the last six months. From March of 2011 to March of this year, restaurant employment jumped 3.2 percent, more than double the 1.5 percent increase in total U.S. employment during the same period. (Huffington Post)
A New Jungle
Formerly the meat packing capital of the world, Chicago’s stockyards are now an industrial park with a green focus.
On the third floor of an old meat-packing plant, the fledgling world of aquaponics is taking hold in the form of vertical farms set up in old warehouses. Plants and fish live in a symbiotic relationship, the waste from the fish fertilizing the plants, as the water is filtered and recirculated. (Huffington Post)