Seaweed, a term for the diverse group of large, nonflowering marine organisms known as algae, has a wide range of uses, from food and fertilizer to fuel. It also absorbs carbon and is a potentially potent tool in fighting climate change. Seaweed is simple to grow, requiring only seawater and sunlight, and is beginning to be farmed more extensively all over the world
By Jessica Corbett Public health experts and labor rights advocates celebrated Wednesday after the Biden administration announced that it “will stop the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on all food to better protect human health, particularly that of children and farmworkers,” following decades of demands for government intervention spurred by safety concerns. The Environmental Protection […]
By Kathleen Merrigan Organic food once was viewed as a niche category for health nuts and hippies, but today it’s a routine choice for millions of Americans. For years following passage of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, which established national organic standards, consumers had to seek out organic products at food co-ops and […]
By Karen Perry Stillerman A few years back, the nation’s largest meat and poultry company used the slogan “Powered by Tyson” to sell its chicken, pork, and beef. Tyson Foods’ marketing language has since changed, but the notion of “power” is more apt than ever when it comes to the way this company operates. As […]
By Gero Rueter Fabian Karthaus grew up with solar energy. “My father built the first photovoltaic system on the barn roof and you could see that it worked,” he says. Today, the farmer is 33 and owns two large solar power systems himself. Berries now grow underneath one of them. Five years ago, Karthaus took […]
By Julia Conley Americans’ grocery bills reflect only a third of a true cost of food, according to a new report, which evaluated factors including healthcare costs, spending associated with biodiversity loss, and the direct environmental impacts of farming and ranching to determine that the U.S. spends at least $3.2 trillion on food each year. […]
What Are GMOs? Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are organisms that have been modified in a laboratory in order to produce a specific result. For example, many types of food sources, especially corn and soybean crops, are genetically modified in order to withstand herbicides and insects. This method stems from the concept of selective breeding and […]
A new species of frog has been described by scientists for the first time, and it’s a real rockstar. The new frog, introduced to the world in the journal Neotropical Biodiversity on Sunday, hails from the Ecuadorian Andes and bears the name Pristimantis ledzeppelin, or Led Zeppelin’s Rain Frog. “The name honours Led Zeppelin and […]
For coffee drinkers, there’s really nothing more terrifying than the thought of waking up one morning and being all out of java. One way to ensure that never happens is to sign up for a coffee subscription service. This not only keeps you well-stocked, but it also gives you the opportunity to sample some high-quality […]