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Articles by Beth Bader

The coauthor of The Cleaner Plate Club: Recipes and Advice for Getting Real Kids to Love Real Food, forthcoming from Storey Books, Beth Bader has been a photojournalist, writer, and shark wrangler. As much activist as cook, she is, most of all, a mom determined to make the world a better place for her child, one meal at a time. She blogs at Expatriate's Kitchen and contributes to EatLocalChallenge.com and EatDrinkBetter.com.

Featured Article

Mmmm … this is what’s for dinner? Photos: Beth BaderDinner Saturday night with my father-in-law is always “Steak Night.” And before he picks up his fork, he always says, “Wonder what the poor people are eating tonight?”

It’s a harmless statement, really. Kind of like my grandfather’s favorite explanation for how he takes his coffee: “Hot and dark like my women!” (Cringe.)

But if I ever did really wonder what the poor people are eating tonight, I don’t have to anymore. It’s “Beef.” As in, that very generic-looking can of commodity meat with no branding and no label. The ingredients: “Beef, salt.” The source of that meat is probably close to if not the same as the “beef” that ends up in the dog dish. I can’t say for sure, as the label gave no indication of what cut of beef it was or where it came from.

I do know, however, that THAT can is what “the poor people eat” because I, along with 20 friends and coworkers, packed more than a thousand grocery boxes for them at a recent volunteer day for Harvesters Community Food Network, Kansas Cit... Read more