Food

"Yang Haiming didn’t stop working when he retired from the coal mines at age 60. Instead, he jumped into a new industry."

"The nation’s top agricultural producer could ban pesticides with PFAS after researchers found the “forever chemicals” on 40 percent of the conventional produce grown in the state."

"It’s been a decade since farmers began to learn that contamination from PFAS unknowingly spread across their property could devastate their lives and livelihoods, but Maine is showing it’s possible to keep farms going despite the problems caused by the “forever chemicals.”

"Scientists still don’t fully understand the health risks of the chemicals. Here’s how they recommend protecting yourself."

"Last month, the Trump administration announced Scott Socha as its new nominee to lead the National Park Service ...,  much diminished since it was gutted by DOGE ... . As with many of the political appointees at Trump’s Interior Department, Socha comes directly from a corporation with abundant business interests before the agency he is slated to lead. He has worked [at a]  hospitality and food services giant that controls lucrative concessions at national parks around the country."

"Wildfires burn nearly 775,000 acres in Nebraska. Land is a grazing resource for about 40,000 cows."

"Tennessee farmer Todd Littleton expects to pay $100,000 more for fertilizer this season, a 40% spike from his bill last year thanks to the war in Iran — and he is scrambling to cover that extra cost."

"Thirty years ago, a single light bulb would illuminate the mezcal distillery owned by Gladys Sánchez Garnica’s family in rural Oaxaca, where the agave-based spirit was made through the night. As drops dripped from a clay oven, Garnica and her siblings listened to stories told by their parents while neighbors arrived by horse to get a taste of a drink known for its smoky flavor."

"Fish are evolving ever smaller in order to survive temperature increases, new research warns. It’s a biological shift that will rob billions of meals from those who rely on fish for protein."

"The Iran conflict is driving up energy and fertilizer costs, raising alarms over a return of food inflation. Farmers are bracing for resource shortages that could drag down harvests."