Climate Food and Agriculture
All Stories
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How Archer Daniels Midland cashes in on Mexico’s tortilla woes
Much has been made in the U.S. press about Mexico’s “tortilla crisis” — the recent spike in the price of its definitive corn-based flatbread. Media reports tend to focus blame on U.S. ethanol production, which has surged over the past year, causing the global price of corn to double. The situation stoked the food vs. […]
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Kenya Screw Me Now?
African farmers fear impact of U.K. supermarkets buying local Last month, British supermarket giant Tesco announced a few changes it’s making with the climate in mind, including limiting flown-in food. Which is all well and good, unless you’re a farmer in Africa wondering what the hell is going on. Some fear that moves in the […]
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The Way to a Manchester’s Stomach
New study says some organic food no better for the environment In case you weren’t confused enough about your grocery shopping, a government-sponsored study in the U.K. has added a possible twist. It suggests that some organic foods may not be better for the environment than their conventional counterparts. While the 200-page study by the […]
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How a cookbook renaissance heated up the sustainable-food movement
In the postmodern United States, a cultural critic laments, “The pleasures of the table are rarely appreciated at face value.” Speak truth to flour. A near-hysterical concern with health has replaced common sense, he continues, leading to all manner of dubious decisions: “Americans blithely drink sodas filled with artificial flavors and sweeteners, yet paste warning […]
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Roz Cummins whips up Valentine vittles
I don't know about you, but sometimes it just seems like more fun to have dinner with a group of friends -- those who are single and those who aren't -- on Valentine's Day than with just one person. Why? Well, let me put it this way: having dinner with just one person, no matter how beloved that person is, does not guarantee that your evening will be a romantic one.
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‘Flower Confidential’ has the dirt on the floral industry
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, garden columnist Amy Stewart digs up the truth about the floral industry in her new book Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers. The behind-the-scenes look at the multi-billion-dollar industry took Stewart across the globe to track down geneticists and breeders, visit […]
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Chow Pain
Faced with contaminated food, Chinese shoppers pony up for organics Got a hankering for lard made from sewage and industrial oil? Look no further than the mean streets of China’s cities. Such “fake food,” along with real food contaminated by pollution and pesticides, is showing up on shelves — and turning the stomachs of urban […]
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You Put Your Seed in There
Norway reveals design for “doomsday” seed vault Architecture geeks are salivating over Norway’s release of the design of an agricultural “doomsday vault.” The structure, which will cost $5 million to build and $125,000 a year to run, will hold seeds for the world’s 1.5 million distinct crop varieties. You know, in case the guy who […]
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Pro skateboarder Bob Burnquist ramps up his green work
Bob Burnquist at the X Games XI, where he took the gold medal for Skateboard Vert Best Trick. Photo: Jason Merritt/WireImage Bob Burnquist isn’t afraid of taking risks. In fact, he’s made a career out of it. The 30-year-old pro skateboarder is a 12-time medal-winner at the X Games, has developed and named a number […]
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That’s it for me and industrial meat
The other day I went to Costco with my older boy — during the Super Bowl, for stealth. It took a bit of persuading to get him there, so I told him about the ladies who stand around and hand out food samples. Everything was going fine. A mozzarella ball, yum. A little square of […]
