Barack burgers coming to Canada, locavorism under attack, the world’s best canned foods

Barack burgers coming to Canada, locavorism under attack, the world’s best canned foods

Barack Obama, burger lover (Photo by art_es_anna)

• President Barack Obama’s favourite burger joint, Five Guys Burgers, is coming to Canada. OK, we don’t know for sure that it’s his favourite, but he made headlines by eating there in May, a few months after his wife did the same thing. Torontonians looking to emulate the coolest president of all time (sorry, Taft) will have some travelling to do—the burgery’s first international venture is opening in Medicine Hat. [National Post]

• The New York Times has gone gaga over the Obamas’ first state dinner, which was rife with locally grown vegetables and culturally diverse foods, proving that the president is not just a burger-gobbling Philistine (see above). The meatless dinner was also lauded by guests, which included Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and composer A.R. Rahman. [New York Times]

• The soundness of the principles behind the locavore movement has once again been thrown into question, this time by a new study that looks into the life cycle of salmon production. The global study focused on fish, but researchers say its conclusions can be applied to other farm-produced foods. Factors other than location should be considered when assessing the enviro-value of food, including how it was produced and transported. Buying frozen fish can, apparently, be greener than buying fresh. [Globe and Mail]

• Three Ontario entrepreneurs found their calling when they realized that local farmers were having trouble selling their crops, despite the popularity of the 100-mile diet. As such, they’ve set up the 100 Mile Market, a “brotherhood” dedicated to collecting the wares of local farmers who are too busy to worry about marketing, and getting them to customers who are too busy to worry about sourcing food. [Toronto Star]

• For shoppers who just aren’t buying into the buy-local movement anymore, there is a whole world of canned food awaiting exploration. The Telegraph compiles a list of the weirdest items, including canned cheeseburgers and giant bug–chili paste. But a quick glance at the tinned whole chicken slithering out of its receptacle like a newborn baby (weird fluids and all) is probably enough to convince anyone that eating fresh is the way to go. [Telegraph]