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The Salt What's On Your Plate
The homeless and others in need enjoy lunch at the Los Angeles Mission on Nov. 23, 2011, in celebration of Thanksgiving. Legislation to ban organizations from serving food to homeless people in public places has been proposed in Los Angeles.

The homeless and others in need enjoy lunch at the Los Angeles Mission on Nov. 23, 2011, in celebration of Thanksgiving. Legislation to ban organizations from serving food to homeless people in public places has been proposed in Los Angeles. Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

Food For Thought

More Cities Are Making It Illegal To Hand Out Food To The Homeless

by Eliza Barclay

Lots of groups and individuals try to help the homeless in their communities by offering them food. But a report finds that cities are increasingly passing measures to restrict these efforts.

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A Haitian woman holds cherries from a coffee tree. Haiti's coffee trade was once a flourishing industry, but it has been crippled by decades of deforestation, political chaos and now, climate change.

A Haitian woman holds cherries from a coffee tree. Haiti's coffee trade was once a flourishing industry, but it has been crippled by decades of deforestation, political chaos and now, climate change. Patrick Farrell /MCT /Landov hide caption

itoggle caption Patrick Farrell /MCT /Landov

Producers

Climate Change Has Coffee Growers In Haiti Seeking Higher Ground

by Peter Granitz

Haiti's once-flourishing coffee trade has been badly battered. The latest threat: climate change. Locals who still rely on coffee for their livelihood must learn to grow it in changing climes.

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Taqueria La Delicia is a lonchera, or food truck, that parks near a Lowe's Home Improvement store in New Orleans. The owner is Honduran, and so are many of the day laborers who eat there.

Taqueria La Delicia is a lonchera, or food truck, that parks near a Lowe's Home Improvement store in New Orleans. The owner is Honduran, and so are many of the day laborers who eat there. Laine Kaplan-Levenson/WWNO hide caption

itoggle caption Laine Kaplan-Levenson/WWNO

Foodways

In The Big Easy, Food Vendors Create A Little Honduras WWNO-FM

by Laine Kaplan-Levenson

Thanks to a quirk of history, New Orleans has long had a Honduran population, but it exploded post-Katrina. Nearly a decade later, Hondurans have created a vibrant, if underground, culinary community.

The Illinois State Corn Husking Competition is one of nine competitions happening during harvest season all across the Midwest.

The Illinois State Corn Husking Competition is one of nine competitions happening during harvest season all across the Midwest. Abby Wendle /NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Abby Wendle /NPR

Producers

Once A Year, Farmers Go Back To Picking Corn By Hand — For Fun TSPR

by Abby Wendle

Farmers across the Midwest harvest billions of bushels of corn nowadays using giant machines called combines. But a contest keeps a more primitive corn-picking technique alive: human hands.

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There's a strong element of buying with your eyes at Tincan. Rows of gourmet-quality tins, beautifully packaged in collectible-worthy cans, are displayed at eye level.

There's a strong element of buying with your eyes at Tincan. Rows of gourmet-quality tins, beautifully packaged in collectible-worthy cans, are displayed at eye level. Paul Winch-Furness/Courtesy of Tincan hide caption

itoggle caption Paul Winch-Furness/Courtesy of Tincan

For Foodies

At London's Tincan, Eating Canned Fish Is The Height Of Luxury

by Rich Preston

One of the city's newest restaurants aims to elevate canned fish to an object of desire. There's no kitchen and no chef. The owners argue that tinned goods can be a greener gourmet choice.

Would you think twice about that 20-ounce soda if you were informed that it would take 5 miles of walking — or 50 minutes of running — to burn it off?

Would you think twice about that 20-ounce soda if you were informed that it would take 5 miles of walking — or 50 minutes of running — to burn it off? Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Eating And Health

Reality Check: To Burn Off A Soda, You'll Have To Run 50 Minutes

What might make us pay attention to calorie information on menus? Researchers think that including how many miles of walking or minutes of running it takes to burn off the calories ordered would help.

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Researchers say there's plenty the beef industry can do to use less land and water and emit fewer greenhouse gas emissions. But producers may need to charge a premium to make those changes.

Researchers say there's plenty the beef industry can do to use less land and water and emit fewer greenhouse gas emissions. But producers may need to charge a premium to make those changes. iStockphoto.com hide caption

itoggle caption iStockphoto.com

Food For Thought

Do We Need A New 'Environmental Impact' Label For Beef?

by Eliza Barclay

Labels like "organic" and "grass-fed" don't capture the beef industry's true environmental impact, researchers say. Why not have a label that assesses water use, land use and greenhouse gas emissions?

Corn farmer Jerry McCulley sprays the weedkiller glyphosate across his cornfield in Auburn, Ill., in 2010. An increasing number of weeds have now evolved resistance to the chemical.

Corn farmer Jerry McCulley sprays the weedkiller glyphosate across his cornfield in Auburn, Ill., in 2010. An increasing number of weeds have now evolved resistance to the chemical. Seth Perlman/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Seth Perlman/AP

Producers

New GMOs Get A Regulatory Green Light, With A Hint Of Yellow

Farmers will be able to plant types of corn and soybeans that can tolerate doses of two weedkillers. It may be one of the most significant developments the world of weedkilling in more than a decade.

Watch your back, small Texas cafes. Beef brisket (from left), convenience store taquitos and chicken fajitas are taking over Texas.

Watch your back, small Texas cafes. Beef brisket (from left), convenience store taquitos and chicken fajitas are taking over Texas. jeffreyw/Flickr; John Burnett/NPR; jefferyw/Flickr hide caption

itoggle caption jeffreyw/Flickr; John Burnett/NPR; jefferyw/Flickr

Foodways

The Texas Road Food Takeover: Smoked, Fried And Tex-Mex

Like the march of fire ants and juniper trees across Texas, a trio of hardy cuisines is edging out the state's gastro-diversity. Classic Lone Star dishes like Frito pie are becoming harder to find.

Cucumbers tend to slide out the back of a sandwich when confronted with bite force, writes Pashman in Eat More Better.

Cucumbers tend to slide out the back of a sandwich when confronted with bite force, writes Pashman in Eat More Better. Courtesy of Alex Eben Meyer, Simon & Schuster hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of Alex Eben Meyer, Simon & Schuster

For Foodies

Friction Can Save Your Sandwich, And Other Tips For Better Bites

by NPR Staff

Many sandwiches lack structural integrity due to "the sliced cucumber conundrum," says Dan Pashman, author of Eat More Better. He has fixes for it and other kitchen woes — like sad-looking leftovers.

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Definitely not traditional: two colorful takes on porridge, from Friday's London Porridge Championships.

Definitely not traditional: two colorful takes on porridge, from Friday's London Porridge Championships. Dai Williams/Courtesy of the National Porridge Championship hide caption

itoggle caption Dai Williams/Courtesy of the National Porridge Championship

Foodways

Porridge Aficionados Vie To Make Theirs The Breakfast Of Champions

by Rich Preston

Once derided as Scottish food better suited to horses than people, porridge these days is more cool than gruel. In the U.K., competitions have porridge lovers battling with their best recipes.