#Swindled: The Dark History of Food Fraud

[ausetkmt]

Swindled: The Dark History of Food Fraud, from Poisoned Candy to Counterfeit Coffee

Swindled: The Dark History of Food Fraud, from Poisoned Candy to Counterfeit Coffee

Bad food has a history. Swindled tells it. Through a fascinating mixture of cultural and scientific history, food politics, and culinary detective work, Bee Wilson uncovers the many ways swindlers have cheapened, falsified, and even poisoned our food throughout history.

In the hands of people and corporations who have prized profits above the health of consumers, food and drink have been tampered with in often horrifying ways--padded, diluted, contaminated, substituted, mislabeled, misnamed, or otherwise faked.

Swindled gives a panoramic view of this history, from the leaded wine of the ancient Romans to today's food frauds--such as fake organics and the scandal of Chinese babies being fed bogus milk powder.

Wilson pays special attention to nineteenth- and twentieth-century America and England and their roles in developing both industrial-scale food adulteration and the scientific ability to combat it. As Swindled reveals, modern science has both helped and hindered food fraudsters--increasing the sophistication of scams but also the means to detect them.

The big breakthrough came in Victorian England when a scientist first put food under the microscope and found that much of what was sold as "genuine coffee" was anything but--and that you couldn't buy pure mustard in all of London.

Arguing that industrialization, laissez-faire politics, and globalization have all hurt the quality of food, but also that food swindlers have always been helped by consumer ignorance,

Swindled ultimately calls for both governments and individuals to be more vigilant. In fact, Wilson suggests, one of our best protections is simply to reeducate ourselves about the joys of food and cooking.

[elaristalselin]

D&D Character Asks: Elaris Edition

I wanna do all of them because they’re all so good and I love my boy and Sara said to do all the odd ones anyway so....

1) A story for every scar. Do any of their wounds have interesting origins?

He doesn’t have many visible scars, actually! There is a stab wound on the right side of his back, that he sustained almost three years when he was still a naive, young adventurer newly out on his own. (For fellow party members, this is apocryphal and not part of his primary backstory) He met a drow woman known simply as “Darling” who recruited his help in a simple enough burglary job. Get in. Get out. Split the loot 60/40 and go their separate ways. They snuck in and out of a wealthy merchant’s manor while the family was out on holiday and made off with close to 2,000gp. He thought he’d be set for awhile, but when it came to part ways, Darling turned on him and took everything, leaving Elaris in the gutter with a dagger in the back. Luckily, in her haste she missed any vital organs or blood vessels and he recovered in time.

other than that, he’s made it through most of his life relatively unmaimed.

2) Three  five songs that show their character progression.

Ok so I have a playlist for this very reason! But it’s 37 songs long. If I had to narrow it down:

1. Beautiful Boys- CocoRosie

2. Bird Set Free- Sia

3. Dance Little Liar-Arctic Monkeys

4. Stars- fun.

5. All These Things That I’ve Done- The Killers

3) If they were a god which god would they be? (to quote my last post:)

Joanne the Scammer; next question please!

Seriously, though? I think The Traveler, among the Dark Six of Eberron is most like Elaris. His domains include chaos, charm, liberation, travel, and trickery, which is just about as close as I can find to what Elaris deified would be. Maybe add in a tiny bit of St. Anthony,the patron saint of the impoverished and oppressed. Elaris may not be a “good” person, but he empathizes and cares deeply for orphans, slaves, and minority races of Cartowitt. Other than those demographics, he’s always ready to charm and cheat his way into people’s wallets so I can’t really see him being even a chaotic good deity.

4) What was their favourite subject at school?

Elaris hated school as a child,but he found joy in music. It was something he was good at, and he loved weaving magic into each note of his compositions. He also enjoyed reading the ballads of the bards of old, and aspired to become one of them.

5) What does their voice sound like?

Elaris’ voice is a sultry tenor, with a vague, unplaceable but sophisticated-sounding accent. As a whole, he sounds a bit like a pretentious, highly educated asshole with a masters in Snobbery™

6) Animal, vegetable, mineral: what one thing symbolises them the most?

He’s got a small shell with mysterious carved runes on it that he has yet to decipher. The mystery of the shell is reminiscent of the secrecy he uses as a defense mechanism. 

If not, possibly his small pet mouse, Basil. He sees a lot of himself in Basil, from the petty theft to the insignificance of his role in the world, and would do anything to protect this old, fat mouse.

7) If they could control one of the four elements what would it be?

Probably Earth. I can Imagine him terraforming in a remote area trying to magically mine diamonds and other riches with the least amount of effort or sharing possible.

8) What would their favourite tv show be?

Probably some really ridiculous reality tv show, like Millionaire Matchmaker or one of the Real Housewives dramas. He takes joy in seeing the petty inconveniences of the rich and stupid, though deep down, his dream is probably to be a very wealthy and powerful sugar baby.

9) Would they ever use magic to gain love?

He uses magic to charm and manipulate others as part of his JOB. It’s what he was trained to do as a bard, really. He’s definitely used it to charm money out of people, but he wouldn’t ever like...sleep with anyone who didn’t approach him first or was too charmed to actually consent. 

He’s never truly fallen in love with someone, but if he did he wouldn’t want to magically ruin the integrity of their feelings. Being able to genuinely feel such things towards him is a huge step that he doesn’t think anyone would ever reach that point with him. By taking away that choice from them, he would be toying with them the same as any of the people he’s scammed and cheated.

10) What do they think of themself?

Elaris is confident in his skills as a bard, but he (justifiably) sees himself as a pretty shitty person. He likes himself just fine, but is afraid that others would turn on him if they knew who he really is. That’s part of the reason he works so hard on his facades; he doesn’t want people to really see the filth beneath his pristine mask.

11) Gender and sexuality?

Boring I know, but Elaris identifies as just a plain ol cis guy. He’s not afraid of femininity-- if anything he uses it to his advantage and keep people off guard. The way he explores fashion and gender expression as a whole leans towards androgyny, but his identity is still masculine.

12) Do they have a type?

Rich and stupid. If he can get a lot of cash out of them easily, he’ll go for anyone,really. 

If he were to get into an actual relationship, he’s attracted primarily to men and nonbinary folks. Regardless of appearance though, deep down he just wants someone he can match wits with that wouldn’t judge his past or skewed moral compass.

13) Playing video games, would they be a completionist, a speed runner, how would they play?

While WIlhelm would be a modder, Elaris wouldn’t mess with much beyond the occasional console command. He wouldn’t be a completionist per se, but he’d spend the vast majority of game time looking for workarounds to the conventional methods of playing. Will certain dialogue options affect ones later in the game? If you jump backwards 5 times after leaving the game on for three days, can you access a secret room that makes finding a rare item that much easier? He’d want to know

14) If they could solve one problem, what would they solve?

He’d really like to abolish slavery and diminish the roles and obsession surrounding the suits, sure, but most likely he’d want to set up plenty of soup kitchens, food banks, and homeless shelters to prevent children from ever dying from starvation and the effects of destitution.

15) What horoscope stereotype fits them the most?

He’s technically a Virgo, but he fits with the charming, diplomatic qualities of Sagittarius much better. 

16) Favourite terrain?

While not actual “terrain,” he loves the city and within the halls of the homes and manors within. Regal balls and social events have always fascinated him more than any wilderness, always dreaming of the danger and delight of court intrigue.

17) How do they dress?

His clothes range from masc to femme of center, but he cares more about the quality of materials used and the way they make him look. Rich furs, heavy velvets, and luxurious silks are his favorite materials to work with, especially if intricate details, such as embroidery or woven patterns are included. His favorite color is ultramarine, so often his outershirt will be similar hues. 

Please give this boy a reason to dress fancy. He loves fancy more than he loves himself

18) What would their ideal home be like?

It would be rich and luxurious, with fine furniture and fine trophies stolen throughout his escapades. However, it wouldn’t be too large. He may love the finer things in life, but also reviles absurd amounts of excess and the people associated with such extravagance. Fine and tasteful, rather than gaudy to the point of tackiness. To make it an actual home, he’d love to share it with the few friends he does have, along with those he had lost along the way. However, there’d always be a single extra guest room, intentionally left empty.

19) What would they like their mark in history to be? (to quote my last answer)

His whole schtick involves aliases and disguise to prevent infamy. If he were to gain a reputation as a conman, the gig would be up. In an ideal world, he would want to be portrayed as a young, famous musician or maybe even a charismatic diplomat who worked hard and built himself up from the ashes of his childhood to go on to live a fulfilling, preferably wealthy life. Maybe he’d have a beautiful, happy spouse and a life that’s normal and not too far beyond ordinary. Of course given his current circumstance and his outlook on the future, that’d never happen.

In this life, he’d be happy to fade into obscurity, living off the riches he’s swindled out of rich people through unnoticeable skimming and other forms of fraud.

20) If they could be a dragon, would they be a dragon?

To be or not to be, blah blah Hamlet is my favorite edgelord manbaby.

Really though, I don’t think he would be a dragon. Sure, he’ be powerful and rich beyond his wildest dreams, but brute force and intimidation aren’t his forte. He enjoys seduction and subterfuge too much to be a big lump of muscle, stomping around angrily to get his way.