eat local

The new face of poverty is fat

Posted 21 weeks 15 hours ago by Philip Brewer

Shopping, Health and Beauty, Food and Drink

Depression-era family

Twenty years ago, I parked at a supermarket, near where a poor family had just parked. I knew they were poor, because they looked like poor folks are supposed to look: Their clothes were worn (but mended and clean). Their car was an aging sedan. They were recycling a trunkful of aluminum cans. As I locked my car, they took the handful of change they got for the cans, and headed in ahead of me. There were three of them--man, woman, child--and all three were skinny. It's unusual to see that now. The new face of poverty is fat.

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Trade versus localization

Posted 29 weeks 6 days ago by Philip Brewer

Lifestyle, Green Living, Food and Drink, Consumer Affairs

Scene at a farmers market

Localization--eating locally grown foods and buying locally produced goods--has become trendy just lately. For the past twenty years, though, globalization has been the dominate force. The tension between trade and localization is not a new one.

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Poem on opting out

Posted 31 weeks 4 days ago by Philip Brewer

Extra Commentary

Sunflowers

A while back I wrote a piece on Opting out of the money economy, a topic I've long been interested in. Because of that long interest, the poem "Getting By" by Gary L. Lark caught my ear when it was on the most recent Writer's Almanac.

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Opting out of the money economy

Posted 41 weeks ago by Philip Brewer

Filed Under: Personal Finance, Lifestyle

Boat on pond

It's a quirk of mine that I've always found the idea of opting out of the money economy to be interesting.

I've got a bunch of books on the topic. Books like Possum living: How to live well without a job and with almost no money and How to Survive Without a Salary: Learning How to Live the Conserver Lifestyle.

It's mostly the idea that I find appealing. When I look at the details--the hard trade-offs involved--I find that I come up short of wanting to live that way. But there's a lot to learn from these people, their books, and their lifestyle.

Continue reading "Opting out of the money economy"

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A whopping 6lb cheeseburger for free...if you can finish it.

Posted 52 weeks ago by Paul Michael

Filed Under: Deals and Coupons, Food and Drink

big burger

Actually, I'm being a little untruthful. The full weight of the burger is closer to NINE POUNDS. 6lbs is just the meat. You have to admit it, Americans do everything bigger...but is it better? Certainly not for your arteries, but then again, this is not a daily treat.

Continue reading "A whopping 6lb cheeseburger for free...if you can finish it."

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