Truck Heists, Dog Poisonings, and Murder: Inside the Brutal World of the Truffle Trade
PIER PAOLO CITO / AP Why does it cost so much to have a chef shave the bulbous fungus we call a truffle over some pasta? Most truffle species, unlike their mushroom brethren, develop underground, giving them protection and time to produce “small, potato-like structures,” scientists say, with “fruit-bodies” packed with aroma and flavor. These…
This Company Thinks It Can Lure Gen Z Kids Away From Beef Burgers for Good
Phillip Faraone/Getty This story was originally published by Grist and is shared here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. In one of those interchangeable American office parks, where oceans of blacktop pool around lowrise grey-on-grey buildings, a gaggle of kids in white lab coats gathered to apply temporary burger tattoos, conduct mini science experiments, and await the…
Farmers Have a Secret Weapon to Save Your Food From Climate Chaos
Rye farmer Tom Franzen Tom Philpott This spring’s relentless storms severely delayed planting in the Midwest and will likely pinch this year’s corn and soybeans. Fifth-generation farmer Brian Corkill called 2019’s the wettest spring he’d ever seen in his 29 years of tending the land. Volatile, rainy springs are already on the rise in the…
Trump’s Agriculture Department Is Downplaying Its Own Climate Research When Farmers Need It Most
In April, flood waters from the Missouri River destroyed grain silos and washed soybeans out of them, on a farm in Bellevue, Neb. Nati Harnik/AP Photo Since President Donald Trump took office, the US Department of Agriculture has “refused to publicize” its own scientists’ research on the impact of climate change on farming. That’s according…
A Nasty Swine Flu in China Means Big Trouble for US Farmers
A nearly-empty barn at a pig farm in Jiangjiaqiao village in northern China’s Hebei province, where swine fever is taking its toll.Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo A relentlessly rainy spring and President Donald Trump’s trade war with China aren’t the only forces haunting the Midwest’s corn and soybean farmers. A deadly, highly contagious disease called African swine…
This Refugee-Run Catering Company Cures Homesickness With Hummus
Getty On a recent afternoon in a kitchen in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, Chef Diaa Alhanoun drizzled olive oil over creamy hummus and garnished it with pita bread. Diaa grew up in Syria. There, he barbequed meats and crispy kibbeh, or potato croquettes, that are stuffed with minced beef, onion, and spices,…