Food
KQED Science
What the Heat Wave Means for California’s Crops
The heat wave that pushed inland temperatures into triple-digits for days is finally wearing off, but farmers are still figuring out how it will affect their crops. It's a mixed bag, depending on what a farmer grows.
KQED Science
L-carnitine: Heart Disease’s Chemical Culprit?
Eating a lot of red meat is known to contribute to heart disease, presumably due to the large amount of saturated fats and cholesterol in the meat. Or that’s what we used to think. New research indicates the real culprit may be a chemical in the red meat called L-carnitine.
QUEST
Fish Earbones Provide a Rare Glimpse into the Past and Future of Fisheries
Archiving artifacts from the sea, a natural history museum preserves precious data for scientists. »
KQED Science
UN to World: How About Eating More Insects?
The global human population is growing, but space available for farming isn’t. Insects require less land and water than, say, cows or chickens, and compared to the over-fished oceans, they’re a relatively untapped resource.
State of Health
Eating Away at School Nutrition
At Berkeley High, where famed chef Alice Waters’ nonprofit, the Edible Schoolyard Project, has consulted on the menu, school officials say one-tenth of the students take advantage of the healthy lunch on campus.
QUEST
Next Meal: Engineering Food
Are the benefits of genetically engineered foods worth the risks? Explore how genetically engineered crops are made, their pros and cons and what the future holds for research and regulations such as labeling.
QUEST
How I Learned to Love Olives and Hate Their Pests
"Reflect that I may be an acquired taste. You probably did not like olives the first time you tasted them. Now you probably do. Give me the same chance you would an olive." –P.G. Wodehouse, Leave it to Psmith I've always hated olives. I'd pick them off pizzas and out of ...
QUEST
Edible Insects: Finger Lickin' Grub
"Insects do not taste like chicken," said Daniella Martin, a charismatic advocate of eating low, make that really low, on the food chain. Through public lectures, cooking demonstrations and her Girl Meets Bug web site, Martin preaches the gospel of why, in her opinion, more people should munch on ...
QUEST
You Say Sweet Potato, I Say New World
As you fill your grocery cart with food for Thanksgiving, pause for a minute and think about where that food came from. I don’t mean is it local or organic or hormone/pesticide /gluten-free—I mean is it Old World or New World? On what continent did that food evolve? During the age ...
QUEST
Michael Pollan Says Health Insurance Interests May Be Our Best Chance In Political Food Fight
Photo courtesy of robad0b UC Berkeley professor of journalism and hero of the "food movement", Michael Pollan, says rising health care costs may be our biggest ally in getting positive change to the agriculture industry in Washington. In his latest article titled, "How ...
QUEST
Tomatoes: Heirlooms vs. Hybrids
Heirloom tomatoes at a farmers’ market in San Francisco. Photo: advencap. It is high season for tomatoes right now. Your local farmers’ market probably has a whole color spectrum of heirloom tomatoes, from red to green and purple, deepening to almost black. Heirloom tomatoes are ...
QUEST
Carlo Petrini, Slow Food Founder, Kicks Off New UCB Food Politics Class
Carlo Petrini, Slow Food founder/president and Corby Kummer, food writer/interpreter Twenty years ago Carlo Petrini, founded Slow Food in an effort to resist McDonalds efforts to erect the Golden Arches in one of the most historical areas of Rome. Since then Petrini's work has spawned an international movement aimed ...
QUEST
A Food, Forest and Education Center by the Freeway
Hayes Valley Farm blooms in an abandoned concrete space; it is a 2.2 acre non-profit community run farm and urban agriculture education and research project. I live in Hayes Valley and there has been a transformation a few blocks down from where I live. The square surrounded by the streets ...
QUEST
Back to School for Sardines
Pacific sardines at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Photo: Adventures in Librarianship. <!-- @font-face { font-family: "Times"; }@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }@font-face { font-family: "TimesNewRomanPS-BoldMT"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p { margin: 0in ...
QUEST
Reporter's Notes: Power Up With Leftovers
Transforming food waste into energy could be a good investment, both environmentally and economically. When I first considered reporting on a food scraps to energy program I wasn't really thinking of the smells I would encounter. Granted it's not nearly as bad as raw sewage, but 25 tons of decomposing ...
QUEST
The Sweet Science of Chocolate
Chocolate: It's been revered for millennia by cultures throughout the world. But while it's easy to appreciate all of its delicious forms, creating this confection is a complex culinary feat. Local chocolate makers explain the elaborate engineering and chemistry behind this tasty treat. And learn why it's actually good for ...
QUEST
Seed banking: saving both agri- and -culture
It's more than the genes that feed us. Some have dubbed it the "doomsday vault"; others, taking a more positive tone, call it a repository of biodiversity. However you look at it, the Global Seed Vault is a fortress. Buried under almost 500 feet of Arctic permafrost, secured ...
