Why Japan is Obsessed with Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas 

It’s Christmas Eve in Japan. Little boys and girls pull on their coats, and will trek with their families to feast at … the popular American fast food chain KFC.

Christmas isn’t a national holiday in Japan—only one percent of the Japanese population is estimated to be Christian—yet a bucket of “Christmas Chicken”  is the go-to meal on the big day. And the people come in droves. Many order their boxes of  ”finger lickin’” holiday cheer months in advance to avoid the lines—some as long as two hours.

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"For several centuries in pre-modern Latin America, cacao beans were considered valuable enough to use as currency. One bean could be traded for a tamale, while 100 beans could purchase a good turkey hen, according to a 16th-century Aztec document."

Photo: Flickr/Euromagic

A Brief History of Chocolate

When most of us hear the word chocolate, we think about eating something sweet.  

But for about 90% of chocolate's long history, it was strictly a beverage, and sugar didn't have anything to do with it.

Find out why this food has been popular for thousands of years - and learn some of the interesting medicinal, aphrodisiac, and nutritional properties ascribed to it by various cultures. 

For more on the history of chocolate, read: 
The Chocolate Tree: A Natural History of Cacao

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At Burmese Dissident's Cafe, A Taste for Politics and Salads

Myat Thu knew early that he was destined as a cook to make salads. His restaurant, Aiya, on the Thai side of the border with Myanmar specializes in Burmese salads.

His restaurant, however, is about more than just creating the perfect salad. Aiya is the work of a revolutionary. Portraits of Che Guevara and Aung San Suu Kyi look down from the balcony. 

But ultimately Myat Thu still yearns for home. "I hope one day," he says, "I will run a restaurant in Rangoon." Read the full story and see pictures of this unique cafe. 

Myat Thu, who owns the Aiya restaurant, takes a break at the bar with his chef Ney Minn. Image: NPR

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Eating Like  A Rastafarian

What food goes best with Jamaican reggae? Ital food, the predominantly vegetarian diet of the Rastafarian faith. “The food we eat give us strength to sing the music that we sing,” says Roy Johnson, a reggae musician.  Dairy, alcohol and meat are out; fish is permissible, and salt is eschewed by many. The diet is, in part, a rejection of what the Rastafari call the Babylon system, a way of life seen as oppressive and contrary to healthful living.

This brief New York Times article provides a bit of info about Ital - and some recommended music to accompany the food. 

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Open publication - Free publishing - More food security

Food Security Risk Index Map 2013

There is a well-known link between food security (the physical and economic degree to which people can readily access nutritious food) and social unrest. 

This index (left) has been developed by the risk analysis company Maplecroft for governments, NGOs and business to use as a barometer to identify those countries which may be susceptible to famine and societal unrest stemming from food shortages and price fluctuations. 

The top 3 countries that are at the most risk of extreme food insecurity are Somalia, DR Congo, and Haiti; North America, Europe and Australia are the most food-secure. 

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