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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Waters runs deep: Chez Panisse at 40
Can slow-food pioneer and trailblazing chef Alice Waters transcend white-tablecloth exclusivity to change the way Americans eat?
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Whole Foods will tell you how to eat healthy, for a price
Unable to tell shiitake from Shinola? Don't know sea bass from a hole in the ground? Don't worry -- as long as you're willing to pay a giant wad of cash every month, you never have to be confused about what a "vegetable" is again. For a mere $49 a month -- only like a quarter of the average person's food budget! -- Whole Foods will hold your hand while you purchase their exorbitantly-priced groceries. In other words, if you're rich enough to eat healthy, you can spend more money to be assured you're eating healthy.
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European farmers spend millions on knock-off pesticides
Buying a knock-off Louis Vuitton bag is one thing, but in Europe, farmers are buying knock-off pesticides. Counterfeit pesticides have become a multimillion industry over there, and if that sounds like bad news, it is: According to the Wall Street Journal, these knock-offs contain a solvent that the European Union banned because it's a huge problem for pregnant women.
The WSJ's article also makes the E.U.'s efforts to deal with the problem sound like a giant clusterf*ck. There are loopholes in counterfeiting laws that mean customs can't seize the fake pesticides. The company that's been ripped off has to deal with the goods and try to recoup costs from counterfeiters, who are obviously the sort of people who'll say, "Whoops, you found me! Here are the millions of euros I made selling nasty, dangerous goods under your name!" (Or, as the WSJ puts it: "[P]ractically this can prove complicated and even impossible, as many of these companies are beyond EU jurisdiction or completely bogus.")
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Teen acres [VIDEO]
Here's a Portland project that enables kids to actually get paid to farm -- further proof that the city is on the cutting edge of farms and food.
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Forget potatoes: Idaho now grows CAFOs
Idaho rolls out the red carpet for industrial egg producers fleeing California's laws against confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Will they welcome the environmental disasters that come with them?
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ConAgra sued over 'natural' GMO cooking oils
The class-action lawsuit could have far-ranging implications for the multitude of GMO products creeping onto supermarket shelves while claiming to be "natural."
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Does this wind turbine make McDonald's ass look green?

If you saw this on top of your local McDonald's, would it make you more likely to pull over for a burger and fries? I have to admit that it would work on me.
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Too many markets or not enough farmers?
Is the growth of farmers markets around the U.S. too much of a good thing? Or do we need to grow more farmers and more infrastructure to meet demand?
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As Obama pushes for rural jobs, his regulators obliterate them
FDA crackdowns on food clubs across the country intimidate producers at a time when our country can least afford to be trashing jobs and opportunity.
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Sorry, NY Times: GMOs still won't save the world
Nina Federoff touts GMOs in The New York Times. But after more than 15 years of commercialized GMOs, we know not to believe the promises any longer.