Technology

Eating Green

• Bayer dissolves partnership with “Airbnb of farmland” February 27, 2020
  In the Midwest, approximately half of all farmland is rented. Recently, a venture capital-backed startup named Tillable has tried to “disrupt” traditional landlord-tenant relationships, by inserting itself as a middleman between landowners and farmers. To do so, it rents out land that was previously leased directly to farmers and then posts it online for subletting. […]
  Jessica Fu
• Wooden boards are the new trend in Instagram food porn February 27, 2020
  The Washington Post reports that the auditioning-for-sponcon Instagram crowd has taken to boards—like, a slab of wood—as the hot new way to gussy up their food. These glamorous pioneers are now arranging burgers, french fries, and even a cobb salad in the style of a veggie platter or a charcuterie spread. On one level, it […]
  The Counter
• Is roadkill a vegan-friendly protein source? February 27, 2020
  A fundamental tenet of veganism is opposition to the slaughter of animals for food. But what if the meat is sourced from highway accidents, rather than a ranch or factory farm? For decades, everyone from PETA leaders to philosophers have considered the ethics of the “least harm principle” both for animals and the environment, and […]
  Zena Tsarfin
• Survey reveals racial pay disparity at Starbucks February 27, 2020
  Black baristas at airport Starbucks locations make an average of $1.85 less per hour than white baristas, The Boston Globe reports, citing numbers from a survey of more than 2,000 employees in a hospitality workers’ union. The 142 airport Starbucks locations, which are operated by HMSHost, also did not participate in the racial bias training […]
  H. Claire Brown
• Jif releases limited-edition, GIF-branded peanut butter February 27, 2020
  Peanut butter giant Jif has (finally) entered the ongoing debate over whether animated image files, or GIFs, should be pronounced with a hard “G,” like gorilla, or a soft “G,” like giraffe. Jif, Ad Age reports, believes GIF should be pronounced with a hard “G,” minimizing the possibility that consumers conflate peanut butter with memes. […]
  H. Claire Brown
• What, exactly, is fast food? February 27, 2020
  How come Dunkin’ is fast food but not Starbucks? Both chains serve relatively affordable, caloric grub that’s mostly pre-cooked and designed to be scarfed down. It’s an existential question that Adam Chandler, a fast-food chronicler and former Atlantic writer, tries to address in the debut of his new column at Serious Eats. No spoilers, but […]
  Sam
• A federal ban on the shark fin trade is on the cusp of becoming law. Why does the head of U.S. fisheries oppose it? February 27, 2020
  Late last November, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers voted to pass a bill that would prohibit the possession of shark fins, as well as all sales, imports, and exports of the product. An identical bill in the Senate had already been green lit by the Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee, though it still awaits […]
  Jessica Fu
• California farmworkers struggle with high cost of housing February 27, 2020
  When Resi Salvador’s three little brothers walk through the door, they make a beeline for her, seated at a folding chair at her parents’ kitchen table. They snuggle into her arms. Resi laughs. She’s home. Just a few feet away in the living room stands a bunkbed, where Resi sleeps when she’s home. All told, […]
  Talia Moore
• Scientists are trying to make crops love salt February 26, 2020
  Every summer, wine scientist Andrew Walker embarks on one or two road trips in search of wild grapes. Armed with an eagle eye, a team of graduate students, and a rental car—the wheels on one side rolling along the asphalt and the wheels on the other rumbling through the adjacent gravel—Walker estimates that he drives […]
  Talia Moore
• Two changes under Trump administration may leave kids without free school lunch February 25, 2020
  Two pending rule changes under the Trump administration could leave hundreds of thousands of children without access to free school meals. A USDA proposal would force states to tighten SNAP enrollment standards. As a result, more than 3 million people would lose access to food stamps, and nearly 1 million children would lose automatic eligibility […]
  Tricia Vuong