Categories: News

The latest: August 23, 2017

Tovin Lapan

Trump’s proposed after-school cuts could lead to more hungry kids, lower test scores

Research shows good nutrition helps children do better in school.

By Tovin Lapan | Read more


The Impossible Burger is probably safe. So why is everyone so worked up about “heme”?

The flap over a key ingredient in the plant-based patty missed the real point: The future of an important kind of food tech is being written right now.

By Patrick Clinton | Read more


USPTO

Drone wars. Amazon and Walmart have both filed patents for floating drone warehouses. Both companies see drone delivery as the future of retail, and both are investing heavily in its potential. But Amazon’s planned zeppelin flies higher, holds more stuff, and may stay airborne for months at a time. Read more.
—Claire Brown


Backyard bacteria. How big a deal are backyard chickens? It’s hard to say, though the trend pieces have held steady for years. Some have noticed a surge in poultry-related noise complaints (see the Reddit thread “My neighbors chickens are assholes—can I do anything?”). Some have measured the phenomenon by the uptick in local vet visits. Others have noted the marked increase in abandoned birds dropped off at pet shelters, presumably by disenchanted hobbyists. But while anecdotal evidence suggests their ranks are growing, harder numbers remain elusive.

Related Post

Now, though, we’ve got a new sign of a movement’s rise, thanks to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It’s called salmonella poisoning. Read more.
—Joe Fassler


Just the one-liners

Anatomy of a trend: Starbucks is now selling sushi burritos. Does that mean they’re not cool anymore? (Were they ever?)

The Dallas metro area keeps adding restaurant jobs, but employers are struggling to fill them. The reasons for the labor shortage aren’t quite what you’d expect, The Guardian reports.

The Colorado Department of Agriculture has set up a crisis hotline for farmers struggling financially, High Plains Public Radio reports.

The Counter
Share
Published by
The Counter

Recent Posts

Grist acquires The Counter and launches food and agriculture vertical

Grist, an award-winning, nonprofit media organization dedicated to highlighting climate solutions and uncovering environmental injustices,…

6 months ago

Is California giving its methane digesters too much credit?

Every year, California dairy farms emit hundreds of thousands of tons of the potent greenhouse…

3 years ago

Your car is killing coho salmon

Highway 7 runs north-south through western Washington, carving its way through a landscape sparsely dotted…

3 years ago

The pandemic has transformed America’s dining landscape into an oligopoly dominated by chains 

One of the greatest pleasures I had as a child growing up in the Chicago…

3 years ago

California is moving toward food assistance for all populations—including undocumented immigrants

Undocumented immigrants experience food insecurity at much higher rates than other populations, yet they are…

3 years ago

Babka, borscht … and pumpkin spice? Two writers talk about Jewish identity through contemporary cookbooks.

Writer Charlotte Druckman and editor Rebecca Flint Marx are both Jewish journalists living in New…

3 years ago