The Mysterious Fridge Hacks Hitting Grocery Stores

Welcome to Open Tab, a weekly column covering the news, gossip, and stories that have stayed open in my tabs all week. Last time we covered the Cheesecake Factory culture war.Death, taxes, and Martha Stewart doing something weird online every 6-8 weeks. These are the constants in our ever-chaotic lives. This round involved a quickly deleted Instagram post showing Stewart apparently dressed as a homeless person—she was holding a clipboard (?) with a message in marker that read “I am hungry help me!!”She released a series of statements apologizing for the gaffe, and at one point seemed to blame Today show host Craig Melvin, who, she said, spilled chocolate on the sweater she’d planned on wearing to a costume party later that night, forcing her to improvise a new costume on the fly.But enough of Martha! We have more important things to worry about.Also in today’s Open Tab: the mysterious refrigeration system hacks plaguing Europe, D.C.'s newly minted foie gras ban, the GLP-1 gap relationship, and a democratic victory is celebrated at a Whataburger, naturally.Hackers are coming for grocery storesDozens of supermarkets across seven countries were the victims of hacking that took control of their refrigeration systems this week. The hackers shifted grocery freezers into defrost mode, the freezers began blowing hot air onto the frozen food, and, in some, temperatures rose to 122 degrees. Needless to say a lot of food was deemed spoiled and had to be thrown out.Three weeks ago, similar attacks hit grocery stores in France. It was the same story: defrost mode, hot air, lots of wasted food and money. Officials are investigating who may be responsible, but so far the culprits and their motives remain a mystery. The BBC reports that experts believe hackers in Russia or Iran—or simply teenagers playing a prank—could be responsible.Could something like this happen in the U.S.? Well, it sort of already has. In August six military bases across the country reported some odd refrigeration malfunctions—the same kind we’ve been seeing in Europe. The Pentagon is investigating the incident as a suspected hack, but that’s about as much information as we can glean.The FBI on Thursday issued a warning about “malicious cyber activity targeting industrial refrigeration and cold-chain monitoring systems around the world.”D.C. bans foie grasAs Democrats celebrated a resounding wave of victories in this week’s midterm elections, so too did duck and goose lovers. Washington D.C.voted to approve a ballot measure banning the sale and production of foie gras. It was a controversial issue in the area, as I covered in last week’s Open Tab video, which saw big name chefs come forward to defend the making, selling, and eating of foie gras. The discourse got heated, topical Halloween costumes abounded.The ban will go into effect July 1 2027, so foie-heads have some time to get their fill. But it’s not that simple. A New York-based foie gras company has said it will take legal action against the ban calling it “unconstitutional on several grounds." To put the ban in effect would face further logistical barriers too. D.C.’s chief financial officer has estimated it would cost more than $300,000 over four fiscal years to implement it—money that’s not currently allocated in the budget.Despite the upcoming ban, Bart Hutchins, chef and co-owner of Butterworth’s who was one of the ban’s most vocal opponents, has said he’ll continue serving foie gras in his restaurants. “I will still be serving it for another decade,” he told the Washington PostThe rise of GLP-1 gap relationshipsWhat happens when one partner gets on a GLP-1 and the other partner doesn’t? We know that GLP-1’s can shift your sex drive, and that they can have an effect on your mental health, but often, it seems, there’s anecdotal evidence that they can have a profound effect on your relationships. A report in the Washington Post details how, for some couples, starting a GLP-1 can disrupt a couple's routines and equilibrium—deciding on a date night restaurant, for instance—which can create divisions. There simply isn’t enough data to measure how GLP-1’s might be linked to divorce rates, but some experts point to statistics attached to bariatric surgeries, another weight loss intervention, which found that married couples are twice as likely to get divorced after getting the procedure.How to celebrate flipping Texas? Whataburger of course.Midterm elections in the U.S. brought a number of historic firsts, including the first Muslim senator (Michigan), the first openly gay man senator (New Hampshire), and the first Black woman governor (Georgia). Notably, voters managed to flip Texas, turning the state blue for the first time in decades.How did Texas Senator-elect James Talarico and Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa celebrate their wins? At a Whataburger. It’s a surprisingly poignant statement about the affordability politics that was foundational to many Democratic wins this election cycle. Read on to learn more.