Skip to content
Grist home
All donations doubled!

Climate Food and Agriculture

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.

Latest Articles

  • Forget broccoli — Berkeley students aren’t keen on beans either

    Part 5 of Cafeteria Confidential: Berkeley, in which Ed Bruske reports on his recent week-long, firsthand look at how Berkeley, Calif., schools part ways from the typical school diet of frozen, industrially processed convenience foods. Cross-posted from The Slow Cook. And check out the rest of the Cafeteria Confidential series. After spending hours sorting chicken […]

  • Small slaughterhouses on the chopping block, ag research constrained, pushing GMOs

    When my info-larder gets too packed, it’s time to serve up some choice nuggets from around the Web. Get ’em while they’re hot.  New rules, old mindset Everyone should read this article, posted on Chewswise by Joe Cloud, who co-owns a “small-scale locally focused” slaughterhouse outside of Washington, D.C. It’s about proposed new USDA rules […]

  • Oil now threatening Gulf’s cradles of biodiversity, its reefs

    As corals are particularly susceptible to oil detergents and dispersed oil, the results of these assays rules out the use of any oil dispersant in coral reefs and in their vicinity.–From a 2007 paper by Israeli researchers, published in The Journal of Environmental Science (USGS photo)After reading those words a few days ago, I became […]

  • Healthy breakfasts buy lunch in Berkeley schools

    Part 4 of Cafeteria Confidential: Berkeley, in which Ed Bruske reports on his recent week-long, firsthand look at how Berkeley, Calif., schools part ways from the typical school diet of frozen, industrially processed convenience foods. Cross-posted from The Slow Cook. And check out the rest of the Cafeteria Confidential series. Breakfasts for Berkeley schoolkids are […]

  • Spill-rate lowballing reflects badly on government cleanup oversight

    Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.): “Okay. What is the current spill per day today?”Lamar McKay, President and Chairman of BP America: “The current estimate is 5,000 barrels a day.”— From hearings (PDF) held by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Wednesday, May 12, 2010 Still from a May 11 video of oil and gas streaming […]

  • Two Berkeley chefs make healthy food that kids will eat

    Part 3 of Cafeteria Confidential: Berkeley, in which Ed Bruske reports on his recent week-long, firsthand look at how Berkeley, Calif., schools part ways from the typical school diet of frozen, industrially processed convenience foods. Cross-posted from The Slow Cook. And check out the rest of the Cafeteria Confidential series. Berkeley Public Schools Executive Chef […]

  • The first law of cow dynamics

    Are mathematicians working on a grand unified theory of cow dynamics? It sure seems that way, according to a MIT Technology review post (hat-tip to Boing Boing): Today, the mathematics of animal synchrony takes a cloven-footed step forward with the unveiling of a model that describes the collective behavior of cows. Cows are well know […]

  • Farmers don’t get vacation

    The old granary on our Nebraska property (Steph Larsen)Farmers know that their chosen profession is not an occupation, but a lifestyle. If you believe the Hollywood version, farming is all about waking up at sunrise, frolicking with cute lambs and chicks, and driving a tractor through a field of waving golden grain. And when the […]

  • Feed your ears with new Victual Reality podcast

    I now have a regular podcast about food politics called Victual Reality, part of the Edible Communities project Edible Radio. Look for me there every other Tuesday — and for other terrific podcasts. I’ll also be posting my ‘casts here on Grist.  In my latest one, which went live this morning, I talk to Richard […]

  • Berkeley school food revolution’s secret ingredient: parents

    Part 2 of Cafeteria Confidential: Berkeley, in which Ed Bruske reports on his recent week-long, firsthand look at how Berkeley, Calif., schools part ways from the typical school diet of frozen, industrially processed convenience foods. Cross-posted from The Slow Cook. And check out the rest of the Cafeteria Confidential series. Eric Weaver’s son is a freshman […]