Climate Food and Agriculture
All Stories
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Food Studies: What’s up with gluten?
Food Studies features the voices of volunteer student bloggers from a variety of different food- and agriculture-related programs at universities around the world. You can explore the full series here. Gluten is what makes bread dought elastic enough to risePhoto: Three Points KitchenIt’s clear that Americans have an obsession with gluten. Just begin typing the […]
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An aging rust belt town becomes a laboratory for sustainability
Environmental Studies professor David OrrPhoto: Lisa DeJongThis story is the first of two pieces excerpted from a feature story in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Read part 2 here and the full Chronicle story here. Oberlin, Ohio — This northern Ohio college town is barely a blip on a map, far away from national centers […]
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Don’t bug me, I’m eating [VIDEO]
Join us on a bug hunt with David Gracer, an entomophagy (bug eating) expert who makes a pretty good case for making wider culinary use of insects. In a world of factory farms and genetically modified foods, catching your own eight-legged friends might just be the sensible way to go. And chances are, you eat […]
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Map shows how hard it is to escape McDonald’s
Scientist and data visualization expert Stephen von Worley got curious how far it was possible to get from "our world of generic convenience." So he made up this map of the U.S., color-coded by distance to the nearest McDonald's. Conclusion: The fast food giant is basically breathing down your neck anywhere east of the Mississippi, […]
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Killing the competition: Meat industry reform takes a blow
Four companies currently control 90 percent of all beef processing in the U.S. Photo: Compassion in World FarmingOne of the least-discussed but most promising attempts at food system reform was dealt a serious blow the other day. The USDA itself eviscerated its proposed reform to a set of rules which would have given a government […]
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Food Studies: Talking about race in school gardens
Food Studies features the voices of volunteer student bloggers from a variety of different food- and agriculture-related programs at universities around the world. You can explore the full series here. A sign at the Edible Schoolyard“This is some slavery shit.” It was a sunny August morning, and we were hoeing, loosening up the dirt in […]
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Ethanol is making crap food more expensive than ever
If you're a fan of Uno's pizza, O'Charley's, White Castle, or, god forbid, P.F. Chang's, you have only our government's stubborn love of ethanol subsidies to blame for the increasing cost of your favorite meals, report the gumshoes at Nation's Restaurant News. If you’re not a fan, though, don’t go celebrating with a delicious home-cooked […]
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Michael Pollan and Maira Kalman on Food Rules [VIDEO]
The latest, expanded edition of Michael Pollan’s book Food Rules has been brought to life by the illustrations of artist Maira Kalman. Pollan told Sarah Henry in a recent interview: I wanted to work on a more visual version of Food Rules to reach more people and continue the conversation that the first edition started. My wife and […]
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Incredible shrinking farmland
Photo: Alicia Guy Joel Huesby comes from a long line of conventional farmers, but in 1994, he had what he calls an epiphany that led him to switch to organic farming. He’s of the mind that we’ll drive ourselves to extinction if we drive our farmlands that way first. “Conventional commodity agriculture, to my way […]
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Most honey isn’t really honey
Chances are, that stuff sittng in the plastic bear in your pantry doesn't technically qualify as honey. The FDA requires honey to have microscopic particles of pollen, which allow the honey to be traced to its source so regulators can be sure it comes from safe origins. But nearly all of the honey that's sold […]
