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Buy outs? Like they do not feel they can live on the small profits and meager returns and sell out? Or children who have been to college and decided life off the farm is more personally and financially rewarding to them? The ones near cities where it is more profitable to sell the farm to make a subdivision of people who wonder where the farm went? That is lifestyle choice. Sorry, I know my family and friends as well. Former dairy and vegetable farmers who decided the long hard hours were no longer of interest, and rented the land to others to work or sold it to developers for massive profits unachievable in a lifetime of farming. Farming is not easy, it is long, hard, time consuming work, very few are willing to do it.

Most smart farmers incorporate the business side, yes the Family owns the land, but they use a corporate structure to protect themselves financially, the farm corporation owns the product hires the labor and the family owns the farm and rents it to the corporation. It removes their personal liability if a worker maims themselves on the job, or someone gets salmonella or listeria from a product they produce, the corporate assets are at risk, not the home and land.

Why not ignore the CAFO's we ignore Human cities which are far more destructive, far more polluting. Where are the organic farmers to use the hills of manure that are essential to replenishing the soil? The farmer who mixes cattle sheep pigs and poultry on one farm is the guy who is responsible for the hybrid influenzas like the current H1N1.

When we go all organic and eliminate the evil corporations, who will process the product that can't be sold fresh? Are you willing to be included in the third of the worlds population that is estimated to starve to death because of inadequate food supplies? Are you willing to work on a farm for meager pay for excessively long hours to fill your Utopian dream? Oh and then lets complain about the low paid farm workers, the suffering migrant laborers, the fact that you can't grow locally enough food to feed metropolitan New Your City's population. Where do you get your fruit and vegetables in winter in Fargo North Dakota in January? Hope you like beets and rutabaga, that's about all your options would be.

Grow up, their is a middle ground that is essential to feed an overpopulated world. You need corporate entities to preserve, can and process the seasonal crops that are essential to feed everyone. Yes, modern agriculture must be sustainable, but organic as it exists today can't fill every need, science, selective breeding of plants to improve yields and disease and pest resistance are essential, and only evil corporations have the resources to do this.

I buy food at the local farmers market as well as the corporate supermarkets. When we have local farmers markets in every neighborhood in the country, and something other than a 7-11 as the market of choice in the poorer neighborhoods, then we will be doing the right thing in our country. Not everyone is smart about what they put in their mouth on a daily basis. But if we make choices that are good for not only ourselves but our planet, then perhaps our grandchildren will not be in the same mess we are in now.

my granfather was the freekin president of the bagel bakers union so i know a good bagel when i see one ..and one that stinks is jrs bagels in bayside queens small hard lousy bagels and a real a nasty person who likes to judge his patrons if the holes closed dont buy the bagels granpa said allways take care of your customers its a lost art now days very little seeds on a bagel old tuna its a shame ..but its what happens at jrs dump mr boxing knows more about boxing then a guy who ownes a yuppie boxing gym !! you jerk monzongod forever

@simon: agreed but philly takes street food, carts, etc

I disagree about a lot of the candy items mentioned here.
I, for one, LOVE the fun-sized (or mini, if you prefer) candies. It's a tiny bit of something insanely tasty, enough to give pleasure without causing tummy pains. When I was a young'un and I went trick-or-treating, one house gave out mini Clark bars. Yum-o-delish! I polished those off first.
I think the chewy peanut butter kisses taste absolutely divine.
Candy corn, I think is plenty of tasty, as are the candy pumpkins made of candy-corn base. Think little dollops of hardened cake-frosting.
As for apples and raisins, those I didn't mind in the least.

However, some items, I do agree about.
Toothbrushes -- a boring reminder
Religious pamphlets -- disappointing and WEIRD to boot.
Packages of "normal" food -- oh, for crying in Manhattan, what kid wants to receive a can of baked beans or a box of oat bran in his little plastic jack-o-lantern.
One time I received cough drops -- and not the Ludens or Pine Bros or Smith Bros or F&Fs, which are tasty and could pass as hard candy (as can the Ricolas). These were nasty little green pellets that were -- and tasted like -- MEDICATION. Like I said, for crying in Manhattan! For crying in Manhattan, Chicago, and San Francisco

Oh well. At least I didn't get a ROCK

I doubt that is a Chicago dog - a true Chicago dog has relish, sport pepper, pickle and tomato

One other dish where New York beats Philadelphia, crow. New Yorkers will be eating it for a year starting a few games from now.

Meanwhile, Philadelphians will be eating hot dogs as Paesano's http://unbreaded.com/2009/10/29/name-this-phillies-sandwich-at-paesanos/

I HEART little squished-face kitties!
wait
I heart all kitties, period.

*awwww!*

Cute, cute, cute. That is one hungry kitty.

what kind of cat is that? that's the cutest cat i've ever seen.

This cat has been fed like this since it was a kitten! My cat won't eat with chopsticks, but she does like to dance for her treats when I get home.
Thanks for the fun video.

These were pretty good, but while I like creamy foods and sauces, I found myself wanting a little more punch. Maybe next time I'll microplane some jalapenos in with the garlic for the roux and maybe a little lime zest.

@simon: hot dogs are hardly bourgeois dining. Besides, North Jersey beats both cities when it comes to hot dogs. Sabrett originated in Jersey City, N.J. and was usurped by New York. We also have Best's, Thumann's, Schickhaus, and others.