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Climate Food and Agriculture

The Counter
Amelia K. Bates / Grist
Special Series

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.

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Featured

Grist / Eva Marie Uzcategui / The Washington Post via Getty Images; Joe Raedle / Getty Images; Getty Images
Grist / Eva Marie Uzcategui / The Washington Post via Getty Images; Joe Raedle / Getty Images; Getty Images

The people who feed America are going hungry

Climate change is escalating a national crisis, leaving farmworkers with empty plates and mounting costs.

Ayurella Horn-Muller Staff Writer

Latest Articles

  • Hungry for catfish? Stick out your hand [VIDEO]

    You gotta love Mississippi: It’s a land of traditions, where tamales are popular and sticking your hand in a giant catfish’s mouth is a reasonable way to catch it. We experienced both on our way through the piney woods and rivers of the Magnolia State. Mississippi lived up to its other nickname — the Hospitality […]

    Daniel Klein Food

  • Vegan cooking is totally metal

    You don't have to go vegan to eat responsibly. But if you want to, you can avoid meat and dairy while still being TOTALLY METAL. <guitar solo by Skwisgaar Skwigelf> With a lot of rubber armor, face paint, and an awesome knife (your knife does not have to be that awesome), Vegan Black Metal Chef […]

    Jess Zimmerman Food

  • Which crop is the biggest water hog? (Warning: You’re not gonna like the answer.)

    Agriculture is thirsty work. Growing and processing food takes a ton of water, and it's only going to get worse as the world warms. So which crop has the biggest water footprint? (That's defined, by the way, as the volume of fresh water used to make the product, across all steps of production.) You're not […]

    Jess Zimmerman Agriculture

  • What’s wrong with the USDA’s new MyPlate graphic? Plenty

    The collective wisdom in press reports last week was that the USDA’s new “easy to understand” ChooseMyPlate image is “better” than the old pyramid. Well, that’s not saying much. But it’s also completely beside the point. Sure, it’s easy to poke fun at how bad the pyramid image was (and I had a ball doing […]

    Michele Simon Food

  • FDA admits supermarket chickens test positive for arsenic

    Why is Big Ag playing chicken with our health?Back in March, Tom Philpott wrote about the “insane” practice of feeding factory-farmed chickens arsenic: The idea is that it makes them grow faster — fast growth being the supreme goal of factory animal farming — and helps control a common intestinal disease called coccidiosis. The industry […]

    Tom Laskawy Agriculture

  • Amazing urban farm school for teen moms will be shut down

    [vodpod id=Groupvideo.10775052&w=425&h=350&fv=launch%3D43319691%26amp%3Bwidth%3D400%26amp%3Bheight%3D320] Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Hey, do you like education? Do you like keeping teen moms from dropping out of school? Do you like teaching kids about sustainable food and farming? Well, screw you, says the Michigan state government. Catherine Ferguson Academy, the amazing but embattled […]

    Jess Zimmerman Agriculture

  • Genetically engineered salmon’s fishy promises

    Cross-posted from Gilt Taste. For those who follow the theater of food politics, particularly the underwater portion of the drama, AquaBounty’s AquAdvantage genetically engineered salmon has played something of leading role for two decades, dating back to the 1990s when the fish was first conceived. The AquAdvantage salmon, in case you haven’t heard about it, […]

    Paul Greenberg Agriculture

  • Think the German E. coli outbreak couldn’t happen here? Think again

    An outbreak of a toxic, possibly novel, strain of E. coli known as O104:H4 continues to rage in Germany. At last count, more than 1,800 people have been infected and 19 have died — and unusually, young women rather than children or the elderly have been hit the hardest. So far, the outbreak seems confined […]

    Tom Laskawy Agriculture

  • Deadliest E. coli outbreak ever

    The E. coli outbreak in Europe has sickened more than 1,800 people, according the World Health Organization. But that's just cases drawn from hospital records. More people could be sick. And 18 have died, making this the deadliest recorded E. coli outbreak. If that's not unnerving enough, only two antibiotics have a real chance at […]

    Sarah Laskow Food

  • What a hoe! — and other secrets of an orderly garden

    Lookin’ sharp!Can you keep a secret? I think I’m in love. The object of my affection is about 5’4″, slender, and she’s the sharpest tool in the shed. Did I mention she’s a redhead? I’ve taken her out twice now, and we danced around the garden like we were made for each other. I’m talking, […]

    Steph Larsen Agriculture