Fighting for Brown Moo Juice: The dairy industry has formed the Raise Your Hand for Chocolate Milk campaign as a bulwark against the growing movement to strike chocolate milk off school menus. Those who want chocolate milk banned from school say it's a sugary drink that encourages unhealthy food choices. The dairy industry says that when you take chocolate milk away, kids stop drinking milk altogether and simply choose even less healthy beverages instead.

Man Killed by Exploding Gum: A Ukrainian chemistry student blew his own jaw off when he chewed gum that had been dipped in explosive liquid. The 25-year-old, who died, had a bizarre habit of soaking his gum in citric acid before putting it in his mouth, and may have mixed up his solutions.

Today's New York Times reported on a new vaccine that is being given to cows to reduce the amount of E. coli bacteria in the American food supply.

Is is just me, or does this seem to be a Band-Aid approach to the problem? For those who aren't familiar with the situation, here's a quick rundown. (For much more on the topic, see this interview with food activist Michael Pollan.)

Every year, tens of thousands of people are sickened by E. coli in the United States, and dozens die. This problem is intimately connected to how meat is produced.

E. coli bacteria live in many cows' intestinal tracts, without making the animals sick. Since the intestines are not (or shouldn't be) pierced during butchering, in theory the bacteria should not contaminate the meat. However, when cows are raised the way modern agribusinesses do it, feces and its attendant bacteria are most certainly not confined to the digestive tract. Cows in factory farms are packed tightly into feed lots. There's no room for them to roam freely in fields, leaving a dropping here and there, where it would decompose into the grass. In overcrowded factory farms, the cows stand in their own waste, and when they're slaughtered, despite efforts to keep the process clean, the filth covering their hides is sometimes transferred to the meat. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that, with not a blade of grass to be seen, the cows cannot graze as they're meant to and instead must be fed corn and other ingredients that are harder for them to digest and lead to intestinal conditions more friendly to E. coli.

Just in case you've been living under a culinary pop culture rock and somehow missed the obsession with Julie and Julia, the movie starring Meryl Streep as Julia Child, Julie Powell is the author of Julie and Julia, which provided half the source material for the film. In other words, she's the woman portrayed by Amy Adams on the big screen. This week, Powell's second memoir, Cleaving, hits stores. Much will likely be written about the extramarital affair detailed in Cleaving, but since this is Epicurious and not the food world equivalent of US Weekly, we're a bit more interested in the book's other subject matter, Powell's apprenticeship at Fleisher's butcher shop in Kingston, NY and her international meat tour. In the Q&A below, Powell talks about her obsession with butchers, being a "restaurant vegetarian," and what it's like to drink blood with the Maasai in Tanzania.

Epicurious: Why did you choose butchery as your latest project and why are you so fascinated by butchers?

Julie Powell: I've been enthralled by butchers ever since I moved to New York City. I was raised in Austin, Texas, and all my meat, growing up, came from a supermarket, wrapped in cellophane. So I sort of fell in love with the smells and sights of a real old-school, old-world butcher shop, like Ottomanelli's on Bleecker Street in the West Village. And most of all I fell in love with these men, or rather with their skill and certainty, the kind of sureness that comes from having practiced a craft for decades and decades, taught to them by their fathers, and their fathers before them. I envied that.

They say the recession's technically over, but pretty much everyone agrees that families will be feeling the pain for the foreseeable future. And that means economizing in the kitchen.

But does it mean going so far as home butchery?

According to Josh Emett, executive chef of The London NYC (Gordon Ramsay's two-Michelin-star restaurant), the answer is yes. (And at least one British paper and the seeming increase of people talking about butcher-supply shops and places offering shares in sides of beef means others apparently agree.)

Pound for pound, getting your meat in large quantities is more economical, and opens you up to new recipes you'd normally miss out on if you were relying only on standard grocery-store cuts. Recipes like one of the native New Zealander's faves, Lamb Faggots (recipe below, and let's get over our cases of the giggles before taking the jump, shall we?)

New Orleans restaurant writer Brett Anderson, of the Times-Picayune, recently lamented the fact that many chefs don't know how to deliver medium-rare, whether it's steak, duck, or some other meat.

As a fan of medium-rare burgers (and steaks), I feel his pain. In fact, inconsistent results when ordering at restaurants in New York have inspired me to craft a system that manages my expectations when eating out. With burgers sales continuing to climb, and new burger joints opening faster than you can say "moo," it's high time I shared my burger ordering tips with others.

1) Does the eatery seem somewhat low-end? If so, you don't want their beef cooked anything less than medium. There's no telling where they get their meat, how old it is, how they store it, and so on. It needs to be cooked through. (Research suggests we should fear E. coli more than Mad Cow.) Add flavor with condiments. Say goodbye to pink and juicy.

2) Is it a high-end joint? Chances are, the quality of beef, and the storage, and preparation methods are superior: clean, safe, reliable. Go ahead: Get it medium-rare. Unless...

3) The restaurant is located in a touristy neighborhood? More people complain about undercooked burgers than overcooked ones. If you go to a tourist trap and ask for medium-rare, you'll likely get medium because their "medium" is actually medium-well. Got it?

4) Are several people in your party ordering burgers? Unless you're at a top-notch burger joint, assume that the cook or server will confuse orders and err on the side of caution by cooking all orders pretty much the same. Same thing happens when one person orders Bud and another orders Bud Light.

5) Do you know if the place serves thin or thick burgers? Ordering medium-rare thick burgers is an invitation for raw-ish centers. Just something to consider. But maybe you like it that way?

6) It could be a legal thing. Some states have laws dictating the temperature at which beef must be cooked. Here's a direct quote from the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources rule 15A NCAC 18A .2609(e): Ground beef and foods containing ground beef shall be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 155° F (68° C).

No answers, just questions on this first unofficial day of fall.

Are cupcakes a dying breed? The Atlantic Food Channel ponders a thesis posited by Slate.

Did humans first breed dogs for food (and not companionship or hunting)? The New York Times introduces this lovely morning conversation topic.

Have you ever had a meatmare (nightmare about meat)? The Food Section shares experiences from forum members.

And, if you loved the ridiculously creative cakes displayed at our sister site, Cookie, you'll love the "Ugliest Cakes" shown at the Hungry Beast (via Daily Beast). But is it appropriate to depict a woman giving birth in a cake? [WARNING: These cakes are graphic.]

Lest you think that I don't pay attention to cookbooks that are for aimed at carnivores, here are reviews (along with some recipes) of two titles that should satisfy meat lovers: John Torode's Beef: And Other Bovine Matters (The Taunton Press) and Lobel's Meat Bible (Chronicle Books) by Stanley, Evan, Mark, and David Lobel. 

There's a British sensibility that chef and restaurateur John Torode infuses into Beef. A dry sense of humor is helpful but not required. With a straightforward approach, Torode's straightforward focuses on simple, reliable recipes such as Beef Stock, Steak & Kidney Pudding, and Osso Buco. Curious about offal? There's a chapter dedicated to head-to-tail recipes with recipes such as Stuffed Beef Heart and Tripe Roman Style.

But what I appreciated most about this book was the chef's willingness to demonstrate how to play up a number of basic beef recipes. You could just eat carpaccio as is, but for some variation, Torode presents eight different "fantastic toppings" (the author's words) from which to choose including Classic Cream Dressing, Pan-Grilled Radicchio, or Jalapeño, Mirin & Soy. Or need to dress up a steak? How about Onion Rings or Creamed Horseradish to go with it? The options are endless but it's the simplicity of the options that make it so appealing. Bonus: The cover transforms into a poster-size visual guide to beef.

(Read the review of Lobel's Meat Bible and get recipes after the jump.)

Ham, bacon, hot dogs, salami, and other processed meats have no place in a healthy diet for children says a study by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF).

"It is better if children learn to view processed meat as an occasional treat if it is eaten at all," the WCRF's education manager told the Glasgow Herald.

The organization points to research showing an increased rate of bowel cancer in adults who consume processed meats. It also warn parents to limit the sugar and fat their children consume, since obesity is also linked to cancer.

Will you make fewer ham sandwiches and hot dogs for your kids, or do you take reports like these with a pinch of, er ,salt?

Stuck for new lunch ideas? Our Back-to-School Guide has recipes to please you, your children, and the WCRF, too.

Want to find out how you did on yesterday's visual-foodie test? Here are the answers, and the accompanying zoomed-out pics.

1. How ya like them apples?

More answers after the jump.

This morning on CNN, medical correspondent (and practicing neurosurgeon) Dr. Sanjay Gupta discussed getting fit before turning 40. He talked about the need to get more exercise and watch what you eat, pointing out that as you get older, even if you maintain the same diet and exercise habits, you're likely to gain 2 pounds a year. Yikes! That's 40 pounds in 20 years.

Gupta is turning 40 in 4 months and one of the steps he's taking to keep slim and trim is restricting the amount of meat he eats. (As you get older, the fat and calories get harder and harder to work off.) To help them cut back, Gupta and his wife decided to stop preparing meat at home. They will continue to eat meat out (at restaurants, parties, etc.) but wanted a system for limiting their intake. (For more on Gupta's turning 40 health initiative, check out his blog or follow him on twitter.)

Are you cutting back on meat or changing your diet as you get older?