U.S. Department of Agriculture

Hemp-farming registry bill passes; first plants are bound for the ground

A bill to register hemp farmers with the state has been approved by lawmakers. Now all it needs is the governor's signature before a nine-member committee can begin assisting the Department of Agriculture in developing a process that will allow the good people of Colorado to engage in widespread pla ... More >>

Think Mommy Dearest was tough? Consider these divas of the animal world

And you thought you had it bad when your mom said, "No cookies until after dinner"...at least your mother didn't devour her young! According to Brian Aucone, vice president for animal care at the Denver Zoo, a wide variety of animals have been documented killing and occasionally cannibalizing their ... More >>

Benjamin Percy's Red Moon elevates werewolves to literature

With Red Moon, noted author Benjamin Percy dives into genre fiction with a story about werewolves that live among us, feared and reviled and relegated to the fringes of society. The book fuses literary muscle to a skeleton of horror to create a rare breed of werewolf novel that offers a lot more to ... More >>

From Oreos to margarine: Five terrible foods -- and how we got stuck with them

There are some foods that are so vile that it defies belief that they ever got created -- let alone stuck around through always-changing markets and tastes. Necessity is the mother of invention, in some cases with shortages and substitutions, but imitation can be flattery, or just cooked up to make ... More >>

Hemp symposium tonight in Loveland to cover growing it, selling it and what to expect

Thanks to Amendment 64, industrial hemp is on its way to becoming a legitimate crop in Colorado. Tonight in Loveland, hemp industry bigwigs will gather to discuss how hemp is grown and processed, the market for the crop and what farmers interested in growing it can expect. (For instance, hemp does ... More >>

Top ten hemp legends: Which myths are true -- and which went up in smoke?

Did Henry Ford really make a car out of hemp? Was the Declaration of Independence written on hemp paper? Did Abraham Lincoln use hemp oil in his lamps? The hemp plant, a variety of Cannabis sativa that's the subject of this week's cover story "Green Acres," is steeped in lore. Some hemp legends ar ... More >>

Hemp for Victory: Watch 1942 USDA film encouraging farmers to grow crop during WWII

This week's cover story, "Green Acres," is all about hemp: its past (outlawed by the feds), its present (resurrected thanks to Amendment 64) and what advocates say is a promising agricultural future. That past includes a push by the federal government during World War II to encourage farmers to g ... More >>

Mark DeNittis lands at Cook Street School of Culinary Arts -- as the Director of Culinary Curriculum

If you're Mark DeNittis, you don't wallow in pig shit when the USDA pulls the pork from underneath your livelihood. Instead, you pick yourself up, eat a sausage or ten (and porchetta, to boot) and map out a future that brings you back to what you love most: the classroom. See also: - Exclusive: Il ... More >>

Crystal River Meats to provide beef for U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree lighting ceremony

About a month ago, the government seized five tons of Colorado-grown plant life, and on December 4, members of Congress plan to light it up. No, not that kind of plant life. It's the lighting of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, and although they won't have the munchies, those in attendance will cert ... More >>

Even a miracle may not bring Bill Lee's animals back

See also: Bill Lee, mall Santa whose animals were seized, gets two of his reindeer back

Whole Foods partnering with local ranchers to serve organic meat in stores, schools

Whole Foods is providing Colorado with a whole lot of local beef these days. In Basalt, a newly opened franchise is teaming up with Crystal River Meats, a Carbondale-based sustainable food company, to provide youth in the RE-1 school district with natural ground beef for school lunches throughout th ... More >>

Eating and living organic: Q&A with Brian Freeman, co-founder of Grower's Organics

Colorado stands at the forefront of the nation's organic movement, and Grower's Organic is helping to lead the way, finding organic suppliers and then connecting these farms with retail outlets, delivering fresh fruits and vegetables to more than 150 restaurants, grocery stores and local co-operativ ... More >>

Mayor Hancock debuts new summertime food program for kids

A new program that will provide free meals for schoolchildren this summer starts this week, according to Mayor Michael Hancock. Hancock was at the Curtis Park pool yesterday to announce the Summer Food Service Program, and passed out free lunches to children in the area. "This collaborative pro ... More >>

Jared Polis hopes to reverse "pizza is a vegetable" loophole

Representative Jared Polis wants to introduce legislation that promises to reverse Congress's controversial decision to keep pizza lsbeled a "vegetable" in school lunches. "What Congress has done, believe it or not, is defied logic," Polis said in front of a crowd of lunchtime students at Louisville ... More >>

Lasley Elementary gets a new salad bar as part of HBO's The Weight of the Nation

Lakewood mayor Bob Murphy stood in front of Lasley Elementary students today and talked about how the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff view obesity as a national security issue, since 27 percent of all applicants for the armed forces are too obese to serve. The rest of the festivities were more upbeat, bu ... More >>

Marijuana: Initiative 70 would make pot use a right, regulate it like tobacco

Last Friday, the Cannabis Alliance for Regulation and Education began collecting signatures for Initiative 70, the third legalization measure to be proposed for the November elections. We caught up with spokesman Rico Colibri, who broke down his proposal and why he feels it is Colorado's best option ... More >>

Elway's, Udi's and Cru proposals for DIA approved by council committee for vote

​Denver International Airport has always been sadly lacking a real taste of Colorado cuisine (witness the cup of Nobel Sysco green chile I downed on Concourse A last Friday). And that makes the presentation before Denver City Council's Business, Workforce and Sustainability Committee yesterday ... More >>

End of a ban on slaughterhouse inspections could have gourmands horsing around

Former Westword critic Jason Sheehan was interested in trying horsemeat, "considered a staple in France, a delicacy in Japan and a treat among Italian, Dutch and Belgians." But he couldn't find a source in this country -- and then in 2006, Congress banned funding of horse-meat inspections, essential ... More >>

Beaujolais and Beyond, CANniversary and more on this week's culinary calendar

​Oskar Blues is celebrating its CANniversary, the coveted Beaujolais varietal gets released, and there's a lot more in food-and-beverages happening in this week's culinary calendar. Here's a taste of what's ahead:

Diana DeGette and Henry Waxman request listeria outbreak investigation

U.S. Representative Diana DeGette didn't just fall off the turnip truck. She's been concerned about food safety throughout her tenure in Congress, and yesterday, she and California Representative Henry Waxman sent a letter demanding a full investigation into the listeria contamination that's already ... More >>

Top five things Taco Bell could use to fill the other 64 percent of its "seasoned beef"

Taco Bell has kitchens, but we dunno what's cooking​Taco Bell's beef tacos are mostly filled with meat...mostly. Or maybe not so much. That's the meaty claim in yet another fast-food lawsuit -- but this time, it's not about supersized asses or a coffee-seared crotch. And strangely enough, so f ... More >>

Taco Bell: "Thank you for suing us."

​This pissing match just keeps getting weirder. In light of lab tests alleging that Taco Bell's "meat" is actually only 36 percent meat, Louisiana-based law firm Beasley Allen filed suit against the Mexican fast food chain for false advertising. Angry and insistent that the claims are totally ... More >>

Funkwerks brewery gives Fort Collins another reason to love the Belgians

www.funkwerks.com​When Gordon Schuck and Brad Lincoln were trying to decide where in the United States to open a small brewery that focused solely on Belgian-style saisons, one town kept rising to the top of the list: Fort Collins. "Because of New Belgium, you have a lot of people around town ... More >>

Jeff Fortin's tale of dog breeding woes makes him our Shmuck of the Week

​Jeff Fortin surrendered his dog breeding license last week -- much to the delight of animal lovers, who have been complaining about him for years. But he didn't do so before euthanizing 1,200 dogs at his Oberlin, Kansas puppy breeding business, where an outbreak of distemper in December kept ... More >>

New Year's resolutions from Max MacKissock, Matt Selby, Mark DeNittis, Michael Long and twenty-one more Denver/Boulder chefs

Lori MidsonBrad Rowell, chef at Colt & Gray, resolves to eat twenty percent less pork fat per day and replace that with twenty percent more Schlitz​ Haven't made your New Year's resolutions yet? That makes two of us. But instead of focusing on ourselves, we prodded more than two dozen Denver/ ... More >>

Panorama Meats picks Kiowa Valley Organics' beef for Whole Foods

http://www.panoramameats.com/​ Panorama Meats, the country's largest grass-fed, organic beef supplier, has selected Kiowa Valley Organics to supply the Whole Foods Market on Pearl Street in Boulder. The California-based Panorama selects farms if "they follow Panorama's raising protocols, whi ... More >>

Martin Luther King Jr. Early College wins EatWell@School culinary competition

The winning team plating the winning dish​LiveWell Colorado sponsored a nine-week after-school culinary program with three Denver high schools that culminated in the winning team from Martin Luther King Jr. Early College taking home first place at the competition last Friday. The all-female te ... More >>

Ted's Montana Grill feeds the once-struggling bison-ranching industry

Ted Turner: savior of the bison industry?​Twelve years ago, bison ranchers in the West were feeling fenced in. While demand from restaurants and consumers for steaks, roasts and other prime cuts was just beginning to increase, nobody wanted the rest of the beast -- the parts that get ground u ... More >>

Five songs Lindsay Lohan might want to leave off her iPod when she heads to court tomorrow

​Lindsay Lohan, America's freckled-faced-sweetheart-turned-hot-freakin'-mess is in boiling water yet again. Ms. Lohan is facing thirty days in the slammer after testing positive for cocaine during a mandatory drug test last week. The actress is scheduled to appear before a judge on Friday who ... More >>

Fire bans announced (a little late) in Boulder, Larimer County -- and JeffCo and Golden, too

​It took the Fourmile Canyon fire and the Reservoir Road fire to convince Boulder County and Larimer County to put fire bans in place; click here to read about the former, here to learn about the latter. Kudos, then, to Jefferson County and Golden, which have prohibited burning prior to blazes ... More >>

Pat Boone pounds his All-American meats for conservative causes

patboonemeats.com launches November 1, so this photo will have to do for now, Boone fans.​Pat Boone, that icon of pure American goodness, has partnered up with a Colorado Springs company on a line of Pat Boone All-American Meats and will start selling his "delicious, tender, juicy, USDA, hand- ... More >>

Blech! Five worst foodborne illness outbreaks in recent U.S history

A Flickr photo​In July, up to two dozen people contracted salmonella after dining at The Fort in Morrison. The likely culprit? Rattlesnake cakes -- specifically, the presence of uncooked eggs in the dish, which has since been removed from the menu. Seems that Montezuma doesn't discriminate be ... More >>

Elway's Downtown: Not just for steak and seafood

​Elway's Downtown might not be the first restaurant that comes to mind when you start thinking of veggie-friendly options. First of all, the Elway's brand has always been more about steak and seafood than tofu and Bibb lettuce -- but I was pleasantly surprised when I sat down for lunch the oth ... More >>

How Colorado cooled the controversy between the Humane Society and big agriculture

Colorado Egg Producers make an egg-celent gesture

Shauna Ahern​One in eight Coloradoans will struggle to put food on the table this holiday season, and 99 percent of food banks in the state have reported an enormous surge in the need for emergency assistance. Kudos, then, to the Colorado Egg Producers, whose Good Egg Project is lending a hel ... More >>

Columbine Steak House keeps the home fires burning

The Old Blinking Light grows its own ... beef?

The restaurant garden is so trendy, the concept is almost becoming commonplace. Potager has a garden. So does Colterra. Bistro One and Root Down plan rooftop gardens this spring.But gardens have their limitations. In a garden, you can grow fruit, herbs and vegetables.You can rep these to the public, ... More >>

Pouring on the high-fructose irony

Cooking tips from Mr. James Carville

The Commerce City Pizza Crop Circle: A Sign That Extraterrestrials Love Pepperoni?

Papa John's Gets a Pizza the Action

Steaking a Claim

What's old is new again at Emil-Lene's.

Bite Me

Green Achers

Cattle Drive

Saddle up, and head south for a taste of the West at Texas Land & Cattle Steak House.

Say Cheese

Prepare for a stirring experience at the Swiss Haven Restaurant.

High and Dry

Even in the best of times, farmers and developers fight for Colorado's water. And this summer's drought is far from the best of times.

Going With the Flow

As spring melts into summer, water users along the St. Vrain could find themselves up the creek.

Cattle Call

A Bird in the Hand

The fate of the northern goshawk--and the timber industry--could rest with Richard Reynolds. He's not out of the woods yet.

HIGH PLAINS GRIFTERS