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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![cutout of corn with green mold growing on it on dirty looking beige background]()
![cutout of corn with green mold growing on it on dirty looking beige background]()
New study: Climate change will spread toxic mold to Midwest corn
Aflatoxin, a chemical produced by infectious mold, could be coming to the Corn Belt.
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![collage of cows, money, and a cloud of methane gas]()
![collage of cows, money, and a cloud of methane gas]()
Is California giving its methane digesters too much credit?
“California is treating factory farm gas systems at dairy farms like they are devices that suck carbon from the air.”
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When wheat never dies
Could commercially viable and tasty perennial crops like Kernza be regenerative agriculture's holy grail?
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![A male farmer wearing overalls and a red cap looking down at dry, cracked earth caused by severe drought]()
![A male farmer wearing overalls and a red cap looking down at dry, cracked earth caused by severe drought]()
‘Flash droughts’ are Midwest’s next big climate threat
New research shows that dry weather is coming on more quickly than before, with little advance warning.
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![A drone hovers in front of a tractor with fertilizer equipment during a 2021 technology show in a field in northern Saxony. A multispectral camera on the drone detects the fertilizer needs of the arable plants.]()
![A drone hovers in front of a tractor with fertilizer equipment during a 2021 technology show in a field in northern Saxony. A multispectral camera on the drone detects the fertilizer needs of the arable plants.]()
Although the data is thin, advocates say robotics and AI will soon revolutionize agriculture
Because most of the systems aren’t yet on the market, there’s precious little real-world data proving they work.
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![A boy sitting in an alley pouring water on himself during an extreme heat wave in New Dehli, India]()
![A boy sitting in an alley pouring water on himself during an extreme heat wave in New Dehli, India]()
Record heat in India and Pakistan is a wake-up call
Climate change is making heat waves more frequent and intense, experts say.
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![lots of cows packed into two aisles in a barn with hay in-between them. The cows are very crowded]()
![lots of cows packed into two aisles in a barn with hay in-between them. The cows are very crowded]()
In Wisconsin, small towns want more regulations for big farms
The state's agricultural lobby says local efforts to regulate CAFOs are illegal.
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![Surplus corn harvested in 2010 is piled outside a farmer's co-op storage silo December 4, 2010 in Paoli, Colorado]()
![Surplus corn harvested in 2010 is piled outside a farmer's co-op storage silo December 4, 2010 in Paoli, Colorado]()
Biofuels are getting a second look — and some tough questions
Bioethanol has been touted as a green way to cut reliance on Russian oil. But new modeling suggests it isn't the climate solution we'd hoped for.
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![collage of bare apple tree covered in snow with pruning shears, leaves, and abstract red circles]()
![collage of bare apple tree covered in snow with pruning shears, leaves, and abstract red circles]()
What I learned from pruning Milwaukee’s orphaned fruit trees
People are planting more trees. But they're not always prepared to take care of them.
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![A mound of earth with some trees on top rises from a parched desert landscape.]()
![A mound of earth with some trees on top rises from a parched desert landscape.]()
UN report: People have wrecked 40% of all the land on Earth
A warning that the damage done to the land threatens many species, including our own.
