Food and Ag

BP's Dispersant Allowed Oil to Penetrate Beaches More Deeply

New research suggests that by adding dispersants to crude oil BP allowed organic pollutants to penetrate faster and deeper into permeable saturated sands.

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| Thu Nov. 29, 2012 2:12 PM PST
Illustration: John Hersey

Your Bacon Is Full of Sardines

Forage fish like sardines and anchovies keep our oceans healthy. So why are we feeding them all to chickens and pigs?

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| Thu Nov. 29, 2012 4:00 AM PST

Are We Heading Toward Peak Fertilizer?

The planet is running dangerously low on phosphorus and potassium. If we run out, growing crops will be impossible—at least the way we're growing them now.

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| Wed Nov. 28, 2012 4:00 AM PST

Great: Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria on Your Pork Chop

Consumer Reports tested raw pork and found that 69 percent of it had at least one sickening bacteria and antibiotic resistance was uncomfortably high.

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| Wed Nov. 28, 2012 4:00 AM PST

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Snails Are Dissolving in Acidic Ocean Waters

The alarming discovery shows marine snails dissolving in the kind of corrosive conditions expected to proliferate this century.

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| Tue Nov. 27, 2012 4:09 AM PST

Thanksgiving Longreads: What Lab Creation Are You Eating?

Nothing is more primal than eating, but the manufacture and marketing of food has gotten pretty darn complicated. Here are some longreads to help you out.

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| Tue Nov. 20, 2012 11:50 AM PST

Thoughts on Our National Feast Day, With 6 Recipes

I hope we can all relax a bit about whether our Thanksgiving food is heirloom or rarefied enough—and spend more time pondering why it matters where our food comes from.

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| Wed Nov. 21, 2012 4:00 AM PST

Thanksgiving and the Rise and Fall of the Bird Empire

Wild birds decline, domestic birds take over the world, birdwatchers rise, data explode.

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| Wed Nov. 21, 2012 4:03 AM PST

Butterball's PR Staff Mysteriously Absent Pre-Thanksgiving

The folks who offer a turkey-question hotline somehow couldn't manage to answer my questions about what happens to the turkey before it gets to your oven.

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| Tue Nov. 20, 2012 12:00 PM PST

This Is Your Thanksgiving on Climate Change

How will your turkey-day staples fare in a warming world?

Mon Nov. 19, 2012 4:00 AM PST

Tom's Kitchen: Roasted Broccoli with Garlic and Chili Pepper

A stress-free, high-flavor side for the Thanksgiving table.

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| Fri Nov. 16, 2012 12:49 PM PST

The Coming Threat to Your Craft Brew

Why the consolidation of Big Beer means less room on the shelves for your favorite microbrew.

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| Fri Nov. 16, 2012 10:40 AM PST

The 5 Unfinished Items That Will Shape Obama's Food and Ag Legacy

The farm bill, antibiotics in ag, junk food in schools, and more.

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| Wed Nov. 14, 2012 4:00 AM PST

October Was Looking Kinda Normal Until Sandy Broke the Record Books

Not even October's kinder temperatures could mitigate the awful stats for 2012 so far. And then there was Sandy.

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| Tue Nov. 13, 2012 3:55 PM PST

11 Things the Lame-Duck Congress Might Do

Partisan gridlock and fiscal-cliff priorities may impede progress on other pieces of legislation. In some cases, that might be a good thing.

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| Mon Nov. 12, 2012 4:00 AM PST
hogs

Charts: How Big Pork Screws Small Towns

As a new Food and Water Watch report shows, hog farms' problems aren't just environmental.

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| Mon Nov. 12, 2012 4:00 AM PST

The Soda Tax Lost. Now What?

A huge cash dump from the beverage industry help quash two measures that would have taxed sweetened drinks in California.

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| Wed Nov. 7, 2012 11:32 AM PST

Did California Voters Defeat the Food Movement Along With Prop. 37?

The short answer: not even close.

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| Wed Nov. 7, 2012 7:59 AM PST
Coca Cola bottles.

Will Big Soda Beat the California Soda Taxes?

Aggressive penny-per-ounce taxes might mean significant reductions in rates of diabetes and heart disease in Richmond and El Monte, California, but can the proposals survive massive opposition from the food and beverage lobby?

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| Tue Nov. 6, 2012 4:45 PM PST
Romney chicken

What Would "President Romney" Mean for Food and Agriculture?

If Romney wins, lobbyists and ethanol growers are in luck. Those in need of food stamps? Not so much.

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| Sat Nov. 3, 2012 3:00 AM PDT