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Ruth Reichl Speaks Out on Farm Labor; Who Is Protecting Our Food Supply?

• Ruth Reichl on the next big topic in food politics: “The real issue is those people out there in the fields, surrounded by pesticides for their entire lives … The real issue is the fact that agriculture in this country can’t operate without illegal labor.” Come to think of it, neither can restaurants. [Inside Scoop/SF Gate]

• Since the September 11, 2001, attacks, the country has spent $3.4 billion protecting the food supply, a fragmented system where “nobody’s in charge,” as one official says. [AP]

• No doubt in a last desperate effort to at least make someone pay for music, record labels have become way more vigilant in the past few years about forcing restaurants to pay for background music. No word about whether they crack down on hold music. [HuffPo]

• The debate over the corn lobby’s claims that corn syrup is just like sugar will hit an L.A. court today. [AP]

• States that didn’t get some of NASA’s pricey refuse are being offered consolation in the form of astronaut ice cream. [LAT]

• South Pasadena, you may not know, is a culinary hotspot. [Sout Pas Patch]

• Well, here’s a frat boy’s literal wet dream: A big rig carrying cases of Bud Light flipped over on a Sacramento highway, sending beer everywhere. [CBS Local Sacramento]

• A new Tender Greens location opened at 201 Arizona Avenue in Santa Monica this past weekend. [Squid Ink]

Ruth Reichl Speaks Out on Farm Labor; Who Is Protecting Our Food Supply?