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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![red and green cherry tomatoes grow on bamboo poles in front of a block of apartment buildings]()
![red and green cherry tomatoes grow on bamboo poles in front of a block of apartment buildings]()
Study: Tomatoes grown in lead-contaminated soil appear safe to eat
It's good news for tomato lovers, mixed for urban gardeners.
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![A droopy stalk of wheat silhouetted in the sunset.]()
![A droopy stalk of wheat silhouetted in the sunset.]()
Heatflation: How sizzling temperatures drive up food prices
As heat waves strike Europe and China, crops are withering.
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Toxic algal blooms are driving up water costs in the Great Lakes
In Toledo, Ohio, monitoring and treating algae-contaminated water from Lake Erie costs $100 per family per year.
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![Cotton fields near the town of Ralls, about 30 miles east of Lubbock, on June 22.]()
![Cotton fields near the town of Ralls, about 30 miles east of Lubbock, on June 22.]()
West Texas farmers and ranchers fear the worst as drought, heat near 2011 records
2011 was the driest year on record for Texas, causing an estimated cost of $7.62 billion in crop and livestock losses. A dry and hot June has many sounding alarm bells about 2022.
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As North Carolina warms, one farm is turning to a tropical crop: Taro
It’s part of a larger effort to make the food system more resilient to climate change — and more delicious.
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![A front facing portrait of Kaipo Kekona, an Indigenous Hawaiian farmer.]()
![A front facing portrait of Kaipo Kekona, an Indigenous Hawaiian farmer.]()
The farmers restoring Hawaii’s ancient food forests that once fed an island
Maui is a hub for GMO research, but Indigenous farmers are trying to bring back the abundant and thriving landscapes of their ancestors.
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![A passenger plane approaching Hannover Airport flies over a canola field.]()
![A passenger plane approaching Hannover Airport flies over a canola field.]()
Pollen and heat: A looming challenge for global agriculture
Farmers and scientists are increasingly observing that unusually high springtime temperatures can kill pollen and interfere with the fertilization of crops.
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![animated gif of pacman and trash can eating ugly vegetables]()
![animated gif of pacman and trash can eating ugly vegetables]()
The ugly produce industry faces an ugly question. Now it’s trying to solve it.
How do you really know those veggies would have gone to waste?
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![Josh Davy prepares to feed hay to a herdo of cattle at a ranch near Red Bluff on April 25, 2022.]()
![Josh Davy prepares to feed hay to a herdo of cattle at a ranch near Red Bluff on April 25, 2022.]()
‘Everyone loses’: California’s Sacramento Valley struggles to survive unprecedented water cuts
Protected for decades by their water rights, grower are suffering for the first time during this record-breaking drought. Wildlife refuges are struggling, too.
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![A farmer in Los Banos, California]()
![A farmer in Los Banos, California]()
In an era of drought, an obscure water contract is pitting California farmers against each other
The so-called “exchange contract” has created a surreal split-screen effect: One group of farmers has ample water. Another has almost none.
