food

Laws in Montana, Utah, North Dakota, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and North Carolina have also made it illegal for activists to smuggle cameras into industrial animal operations.

Judge Strikes Down Idaho 'Ag-Gag' Law, Raising Questions For Other States

8:25pm August 04, 2015

by Luke Runyon

A judge ruled Monday that an Idaho law criminalizing undercover investigations of farms is unconstitutional. Seven other states have similar laws, but legal experts say they may not stand much longer.

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Final inspection of frozen blueberries at the Atlantic Blueberry Co.

How New Jersey Tamed The Wild Blueberry For Global Production

1:48pm August 04, 2015

by Dan Charles

In the past 10 years, the global blueberry crop has tripled. Yet the big, round commercial blueberry is a fairly recent innovation. It was created by breeders exactly 100 years ago, in New Jersey.

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Olive oil gets filtered in an oil mill in a Portuguese oil farm near Evora. Rick Mattes says that if an olive oil's concentration of fatty acid rises above 3.3 percent, it's no longer considered edible. And it'll be brimming with oleogustus.

Science

Scientists Make The Case For A 6th Taste — But It's Less Than Tasty

11:34am August 04, 2015

by NPR Staff

They call it "oleogustus," or the taste for fat. But nutrition scientist Rick Mattes says it's far from delicious. Found in rancid food, it's often an unpleasant warning.

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Not only did the family trade their urban life for one in a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains and trees, but they also earn $300,000 a year.

Tired Of The Seoul-Sucking Rat Race, Koreans Flock To Farming

11:34am August 04, 2015

by Ari Shapiro

More than 80 percent of people in South Korea live in cities. But in the past few years, there has been a shift. Tens of thousands of South Koreans are relocating to the countryside each year.

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Ready, set, fly! The ball bearings glued to this bumblebee's legs simulate the weight and placement of pollen loads. The tag on the insect's back is a lightweight sensor, designed to track its movements in flight.

Heavy Loads Of Pollen May Shift Flight Plans Of The Bumblebee

10:52am August 04, 2015

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Foraging bumblebees can pick up nearly half their weight in pollen before heading home to the hive, research shows. All that weight tucked into hollows on their hind legs can complicate flying.

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One of the hornless Holsteins at Steve Maddox's California dairy farm. Maddox is beginning to breed hornless cattle into his herd, but it's slow going.

Wanted: More Bulls With No Horns

4:54pm August 03, 2015

by Abbie Fentress Swanson

Most U.S. dairy cows are born with horns, but most farms remove them. Animal welfare groups say dehorning is cruel. Instead, they want ranchers to breed more hornless cattle into their herds.

Organic farmer Margot McMillen holds a grape leaf damaged by pesticide drift on her farm, Terra Bella Farm, in central Missouri.

Pesticide Drift Threatens Organic Farms

12:35pm August 03, 2015

by Kristofor Husted

Farmers use millions of pounds of pesticides each year to protect crops from weeds and insects. When those chemicals drift to neighboring property, they can ruin crops on organic farms.

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The U.S. military's need for longer-lasting rations led to the invention of many modern processed foods.

Cheetos, Canned Foods, Deli Meat: How The U.S. Army Shapes Our Diet

11:40am August 03, 2015

by Nadia Whitehead

Many of the processed foods that we eat — and the way they're made — were invented not for us, but for soldiers, says the author of the new book Combat-Ready Kitchen.

A farm owner inspects his tobacco crop in the sun. While Zimbabwe's tobacco production has made something of a turnaround lately, journalist Peta Thornycroft says much of the country's troubles since 2000 have been tied to failures in its capital-intensiv

World News

To Ease An Economic Meltdown, Zimbabwe Considers Returning Farmland

7:26pm August 02, 2015

by NPR Staff

In 2000, the country launched a campaign that seized thousands of white-owned farms. The move helped send Zimbabwe into an economic tailspin. But now, some of those farmers may get that land back.

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Confronting A Shortage Of Eggs, Bakers Get Creative With Replacements

6:37pm August 02, 2015

by Dan Charles

Eggs are becoming more expensive and scarce recently because so many chickens have died from avian flu. So bakers, in particular, are looking for cheaper ingredients that can work just as well.

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