We recently published the INDY’s first annual Almanac of Food & Drink, a comprehensive guide to local gluttony. (You can pick one up for free at hundreds of locations all over the Triangle—if they haven’t been snatched up—or check it out online.)
The magazine opens with Jeffrey C. Billman’s editor’s note on how precarious the world feels these days and how food and drink can offer both a respite from the chaos and a connection to eons of human history.
Mrs. Horton, who picked up the Almanac while she was in town for her husband’s medical treatment, writes to express her disappointment: “Food is not political. It is not racist. Food is something that builds bridges and opens up opportunities for inclusiveness and conversations. Food brings comfort, joy, happiness. We celebrate with food. We mourn with food. But upon reading the opening paragraph of your note from the editor, your words did the opposite of what I think your magazine is meant to do. It was so negative and not inclusive at all. Your political opinion was so evident. Why was that needed, I do not know. Food is meant to bring people together, and your article did not do that at all.
Donna Allison, meanwhile, says the Almanac gave the non-carnivorous short shrift: “I picked up this magazine hoping to get a total picture of what is available for dining out in the Triangle, but was disappointed to open it and find it heavily meat-biased. The first description on literally every restaurant has a meat focus; the joys of eating meat from exploited baby animals, in particular, such as lamb and calves’ liver, escape me totally. Thank you for the one page toward the back, where you have listed vegetarian restaurants and those that offer vegetarian options. There are other restaurants listed, such as Cosmic Cantina, that offer vegetarian options; why not mention the vegetarian items on the restaurants’ menus also?
“There are a significant number of vegetarians in the Triangle; please keep us more in mind in the future.”
Sara Perron Gregory writes: “Thanks so much for commenting on the ventilation system issues. While my meal was amazing, I had to dry-clean my coat and still didn’t completely get the smell out of my clothes for several washes. This will prevent me from going back until this issue is resolved.”
In Soapboxer last week, Billman argued that the wave of anti-choice laws making their way across the country wasn’t about abortion but about control.
On Facebook, Lee Vernon Woehlke responds, “Poor women. Can’t even murder their own children. What’s this country come to?”
Ronny Nause has a somewhat different take: “What a fucking debacle. The GOP knows no shame. I cannot wait for history to look down upon these hateful turds with the shame and scorn they deserve.”
“Because I’m pro-choice,” writes Anne Havisham, “that means I will not tell a ten-year-old that she needs to give birth to a child who looks like her stepfather. It means that I will not tell a survivor what to do if she is impregnated by the man who raped her. It means I am opposed to forced abortion and forced sterilization. It means that I recognize that even sought-after, enthusiastically welcomed, prayed-for pregnancies can go horribly wrong. I will not tell a woman who has just found out she’s five weeks pregnant but needs a few weeks to determine if there is a potentially fatal defect that she must decide now whether to continue or terminate her pregnancy. I will not tell a woman to choose between continuing her pregnancy and beginning chemo. I know these decisions are not simple, and many times are not easy, and that’s also why I’m pro-choice.”
Want to see your name in bold? Email us at backtalk@indyweek.com, comment on indyweek.com or our Facebook page, or hit us up on Twitter: @indyweek.
Support independent local journalism. Join the INDY Press Club to help us keep fearless watchdog reporting and essential arts and culture coverage viable in the Triangle.
Letters: Meat Is Murder, Food Is No Place for Politics
Share this:
We recently published the INDY’s first annual Almanac of Food & Drink, a comprehensive guide to local gluttony. (You can pick one up for free at hundreds of locations all over the Triangle—if they haven’t been snatched up—or check it out online.)
The magazine opens with Jeffrey C. Billman’s editor’s note on how precarious the world feels these days and how food and drink can offer both a respite from the chaos and a connection to eons of human history.
Mrs. Horton, who picked up the Almanac while she was in town for her husband’s medical treatment, writes to express her disappointment: “Food is not political. It is not racist. Food is something that builds bridges and opens up opportunities for inclusiveness and conversations. Food brings comfort, joy, happiness. We celebrate with food. We mourn with food. But upon reading the opening paragraph of your note from the editor, your words did the opposite of what I think your magazine is meant to do. It was so negative and not inclusive at all. Your political opinion was so evident. Why was that needed, I do not know. Food is meant to bring people together, and your article did not do that at all.
Donna Allison, meanwhile, says the Almanac gave the non-carnivorous short shrift: “I picked up this magazine hoping to get a total picture of what is available for dining out in the Triangle, but was disappointed to open it and find it heavily meat-biased. The first description on literally every restaurant has a meat focus; the joys of eating meat from exploited baby animals, in particular, such as lamb and calves’ liver, escape me totally. Thank you for the one page toward the back, where you have listed vegetarian restaurants and those that offer vegetarian options. There are other restaurants listed, such as Cosmic Cantina, that offer vegetarian options; why not mention the vegetarian items on the restaurants’ menus also?
“There are a significant number of vegetarians in the Triangle; please keep us more in mind in the future.”
In last week’s food section, Nick Williams reviewed M Tempura, acclaimed chef Mike Lee’s third Durham restaurant.
Sara Perron Gregory writes: “Thanks so much for commenting on the ventilation system issues. While my meal was amazing, I had to dry-clean my coat and still didn’t completely get the smell out of my clothes for several washes. This will prevent me from going back until this issue is resolved.”
In Soapboxer last week, Billman argued that the wave of anti-choice laws making their way across the country wasn’t about abortion but about control.
On Facebook, Lee Vernon Woehlke responds, “Poor women. Can’t even murder their own children. What’s this country come to?”
Ronny Nause has a somewhat different take: “What a fucking debacle. The GOP knows no shame. I cannot wait for history to look down upon these hateful turds with the shame and scorn they deserve.”
“Because I’m pro-choice,” writes Anne Havisham, “that means I will not tell a ten-year-old that she needs to give birth to a child who looks like her stepfather. It means that I will not tell a survivor what to do if she is impregnated by the man who raped her. It means I am opposed to forced abortion and forced sterilization. It means that I recognize that even sought-after, enthusiastically welcomed, prayed-for pregnancies can go horribly wrong. I will not tell a woman who has just found out she’s five weeks pregnant but needs a few weeks to determine if there is a potentially fatal defect that she must decide now whether to continue or terminate her pregnancy. I will not tell a woman to choose between continuing her pregnancy and beginning chemo. I know these decisions are not simple, and many times are not easy, and that’s also why I’m pro-choice.”
Want to see your name in bold? Email us at backtalk@indyweek.com, comment on indyweek.com or our Facebook page, or hit us up on Twitter: @indyweek.
Support independent local journalism. Join the INDY Press Club to help us keep fearless watchdog reporting and essential arts and culture coverage viable in the Triangle.