Dan Charles

And The Winner Of The World Food Prize Is ... The Man From Monsanto

Dan Charles — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:41:00 +0000

Ever heard of the World Food Prize? It's sometimes called the "Nobel Prize for food and agriculture," but it has struggled to get people's attention. Prize winners tend to be agricultural insiders, and many are scientists. Last year's laureate, for instance, was Daniel Hillel, a pioneer of water-saving "micro-irrigation."

This year, though, the World Food Prize is likely to get some publicity, some of it in the form of anger and protests.

Court To Monsanto: You Said You Won't Sue, So You Can't

Dan Charles — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 17:25:00 +0000

A federal appeals court slapped down a quixotic legal campaign against Monsanto's biotech patents this week.

Organic farmers had gone to court to declare those patents invalid.

Michigan Tracks Cattle From Birth To Plate

Dan Charles — Fri, 31 May 2013 07:20:00 +0000

When you pick up a cut of beef at the store, would you like to know that animal's life history? The technology to do this does exist — at least in Michigan, where the state requires all cattle to carry electronic ear tags. It's the only state that requires such tags.

Michigan's cattle-tracking system was forced on farmers because of a crisis.

GMO Wheat Found In Oregon Field. How'd It Get There?

Dan Charles — Thu, 30 May 2013 07:05:00 +0000

A farmer in Oregon has found some genetically engineered wheat growing on his land. It's an unwelcome surprise, because this type of wheat has never been approved for commercial planting.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it's investigating, trying to find out how this wheat got there.

A Hungarian Cherry Tree's Long Trek To Michigan

Dan Charles — Mon, 27 May 2013 12:03:00 +0000

Once upon a time, there was a small Hungarian village that was very proud of its sour cherries. The village was called Újfehértó.

Inside A Tart Cherry Revival: 'Somebody Needs To Do This!'

Dan Charles — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:47:00 +0000

Some fruits, like apples, you can find anywhere. But others have gotten a little bit lost in today's global food business.

Take tart cherries, also known as sour cherries.

Congress: Where Food Reforms Go To Die?

Dan Charles — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:47:00 +0000

Two seemingly common-sense, bipartisan food reforms have gotten mugged on Capitol Hill in recent days. If you're a loyal reader of The Salt, you've heard of them.

First, there's the proposal — backed by an odd-couple alliance of egg producers and animal-welfare activists — to set minimum standards for the housing of egg-laying chickens.

Bee Deaths May Have Reached A Crisis Point For Crops

Dan Charles — Tue, 07 May 2013 22:12:00 +0000

According to a new survey of America's beekeepers, almost a third of the country's honeybee colonies did not make it through the winter.

That's been the case, in fact, almost every year since the U.S. Department of Agriculture began this annual survey, six years ago.

Over the past six years, on average, 30 percent of all the honeybee colonies in the U.S. died off over the winter. The worst year was five years ago.

Unraveling The Mystery Of A Rice Revolution

Dan Charles — Fri, 03 May 2013 21:02:00 +0000

It's a captivating story: A global rice-growing revolution that started with a Jesuit priest in Madagascar, far from any recognized center of agricultural innovation. Every so often, it surfaces in the popular media — most recently in The Guardian, which earlier this year described farmers in one corner of India hauling in gigantic rice harvests without resorting to pesticides or genetic modification.

Their secret?

Who Paid For Last Summer's Drought? You Did

Dan Charles — Wed, 01 May 2013 22:29:00 +0000

Say the words "crop insurance" and most people start to yawn. For years, few nonfarmers knew much about these government-subsidized insurance policies, and even fewer found any fault with them.

Exploring Coffee's Past To Rescue Its Future

Dan Charles — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 06:57:00 +0000

At the Center for Tropical Agricultural Research and Education (CATIE) in Turrialba, Costa Rica, you can touch the history of coffee — and also, if the optimists have their way, part of its future.

Here, spread across 25 acres, are coffee trees that take you back to coffee's origins.

"The story starts in Africa, no? East Africa," says Eduardo Somarriba, a researcher at CATIE, as we walk through long rows of small coffee trees.

These trees came directly from forests in Africa.

Coffee For A Cause: What Do Those Feel-Good Labels Deliver?

Dan Charles — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:20:00 +0000

What does it take to find guilt-free coffee?

Much of our coffee comes from places where the environment is endangered and workers earn very little — sometimes, just a few dollars for a whole day's work. Coffee farmers have helped cut down tropical forests, and most of them use pesticides.

It doesn't take much effort, though, to find bags of coffee with labels that promise social and environmental improvements.

How Coffee Brings The World Together

Dan Charles — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 07:22:00 +0000

Coffee is more than a drink.

Fertilizer Shows Its Deadly Side

Dan Charles — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 21:06:00 +0000

My first reaction when I heard details of this week's deadly fertilizer explosion in Texas was horror.

My second thought was, "Maybe I shouldn't have pushed to change that headline."

National Geographic magazine just published in its May issue my article about how nitrogen fertilizer has shaped our planet.

As Promised: Obama Wants To Overhaul Global Anti-Hunger Efforts

Dan Charles — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:29:00 +0000

The White House unveiled its proposal Wednesday for drastic changes in government programs that donate food to fight hunger abroad — and surprised no one.

As we reported last week, rumors of such an overhaul had been circulating for weeks, arousing both hope and anger among organizations involved in global anti-hunger programs.

The rumors, it turns out, were largely on target — and the groups that previously had expressed

A Political War Brews Over 'Food For Peace' Aid Program

Dan Charles — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 09:11:00 +0000

Washington is awash in rumors this week that the White House is planning major changes in the way the U.S. donates food to fight hunger in some of the world's poorest countries.

It has set off an emotional debate. Both sides say they are trying to save lives.

America's policies on food aid are singularly generous — and also unusually selfish. On the generous side, the U.S.

Are Agriculture's Most Popular Insecticides Killing Our Bees?

Dan Charles — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 22:30:00 +0000

Environmentalists and beekeepers are calling on the government to ban some of the country's most widely used insect-killing chemicals.

The pesticides, called neonicotinoids, became popular among farmers during the 1990s. They're used to coat the seeds of many agricultural crops, including the biggest crop of all: corn.

In A Grain Of Golden Rice, A World Of Controversy Over GMO Foods

Dan Charles — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 07:59:00 +0000

There's a kind of rice growing in some test plots in the Philippines that's unlike any rice ever seen before. It's yellow.

Wild Bees Are Good For Crops, But Crops Are Bad For Bees

Dan Charles — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 07:58:00 +0000

Some of the most healthful foods you can think of — blueberries, cranberries, apples, almonds and squash — would never get to your plate without the help of insects. No insects, no pollination. No pollination, no fruit.

Farmers who grow these crops often rely on honeybees to do the job.

Oxfam Gives Big Food Companies Bad Behavior Grades

Dan Charles — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:09:00 +0000

Do failing grades inspire more effort? Oxfam hopes so. The activist group on behalf of the poor has just handed out report cards to 10 of the world's top food companies, grading their commitments to protect the environment and treat people fairly.

Oxfam doesn't grade on the curve, evidently. Every company flunked.