Climate Food and Agriculture
Climate + Food and Agriculture
EDITOR’S NOTE
Grist has acquired the archive and brand assets of The Counter, a decorated nonprofit food and agriculture publication that we long admired, but that sadly ceased publishing in May of 2022.
The Counter had hit on a rich vein to report on, and we’re excited to not only ensure the work of the staffers and contractors of that publication is available for posterity, but to build on it. So we’re relaunching The Counter as a food and agriculture vertical within Grist, continuing their smart and provocative reporting on food systems, specifically where it intersects with climate and environmental issues. We’ve also hired two amazing new reporters to make our plan a reality.
Being back on the food and agriculture beat in a big way is critical to Grist’s mission to lead the conversation, highlight climate solutions, and uncover environmental injustices. What we eat and how it’s produced is one of the easiest entry points into the wider climate conversation. And from this point of view, climate change literally transforms into a kitchen table issue.
Featured
The people who feed America are going hungry
Climate change is escalating a national crisis, leaving farmworkers with empty plates and mounting costs.
Latest Articles
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Ocean of trouble: Report warns of offshore fish farming dangers
In light of the FDA's recent approval of genetically engineered salmon, the latest Food & Water Watch report on open-ocean aquaculture might leave some advocates feeling a little clammy.
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America uses more corn for fuel than for food
In America, most corn is no longer meant for eating, at least by humans. Only 20 percent of all the gazillions of ears of corn the United States grows make it into a person's mouth as corn.
The rest goes to feed animals (which do make it into people's mouth as beef and other meats) and to brew corn ethanol. In one year, we used more than 5 billion bushels of corn for ethanol, which we don't even use that much of! -
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To till or not to till
In farming circles, the debate about whether or not to till soil has been going on for years. Now the latest information from the Rodale Institute kicks up more dirt.
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Food Studies: the taste-testers' blind spots
Why taste tests conducted in controlled environments don’t tell the whole story.
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Welcoming invasive species, while keeping terrorists out
Since Sept. 11, the Department of Homeland Security has scaled back efforts to protect the nation from destructive, invasive pests. How secure do you feel now?
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USDA pushes veggies, but subsidizes meat
The Washington Post reports that the USDA's nutrition guidelines are seriously out of step with food subsidies. The government recommends people eat fruits and veggies as nearly half their daily intake, and protein as less than a quarter — but they subsidize meat in totally different proportions. We whipped up this little graphic to compare […]
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This is where your plants will come from after the Ecopocalypse
Wired has posted a series of photos of seed vaults, storage units that bank tens of thousands of seeds in an attempt to preserve biodiversity against threats of extinction and climate change, and we can safely say they're the creepiest way of ensuring that species survive. This is some mad-science stuff!
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Food Studies: Try this at-home smell training course
Want to talk about wine without sounding like a snob? Grab some oak chips and butter extract and try this sensory exercise yourself.
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Heritage livestock: Milk ’em for all they’re worth
Interest in heirloom produce highlights efforts to preserve rare livestock breeds, endangered by a half-century of industrial farming.
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Food Studies: future terroir
What can the taste of place mean in a country only three and half times bigger than Washington D.C.?
