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Global food giant, Unilever, which owns the ubiquitous Hellmann's brand, is suing Hampton Creek, the maker of of Just Mayo, an egg-free spread made from peas, sorghum and other plants.

Global food giant, Unilever, which owns the ubiquitous Hellmann's brand, is suing Hampton Creek, the maker of of Just Mayo, an egg-free spread made from peas, sorghum and other plants. Richard Levine/corbis; Courtesy of Hampton Creek hide caption

itoggle caption Richard Levine/corbis; Courtesy of Hampton Creek

Producers

Big Mayo Vs. Little Mayo: Which Brand Has Egg On Its Face?

Unilever is claiming that the label on Hampton Creek's egg-free spread is misleading and is threatening to its Hellmann's brand. But marketing experts say the strategy may have backfired.

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Populations of black bear in particular are spiraling upwards in many parts of the northern half of the U.S., as roads, homes and camping spots infringe on bear territory.

Populations of black bear in particular are spiraling upwards in many parts of the northern half of the U.S., as roads, homes and camping spots infringe on bear territory. iStockphoto hide caption

itoggle caption iStockphoto

Food For Thought

Why The 'Invasivores' Haven't Pounced On Bear Meat NCPR

by David Sommerstein

Bear is traditional American grub, and hunting bear for meat can help control overpopulation. But bear meat isn't going to make its way into restaurants or onto the average dinner table anytime soon.

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Brazilian fruits, including jambu and tapereba (lower right), displayed for a gathering of chefs in Sao Paolo.

Brazilian fruits, including jambu and tapereba (lower right), displayed for a gathering of chefs in Sao Paolo. Paula Moura for NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Paula Moura for NPR

Food For Thought

Ferran Adria And Fellow Star Chefs Talk Biodiversity In Brazil

by , Paula Moura

A group of chefs gathered this month in Sao Paolo to talk about how they can help preserve biodiversity. Among their warnings: If we lose food products, we will lose flavors and traditions.

Jay Ruskey grows coffee next to avocados on his farm, Good Land Organics, in Goleta, Calif. The two crops are often grown together in Central America, partly because they can share fertilizer and water.

Jay Ruskey grows coffee next to avocados on his farm, Good Land Organics, in Goleta, Calif. The two crops are often grown together in Central America, partly because they can share fertilizer and water. Lisa Morehouse/KQED hide caption

itoggle caption Lisa Morehouse/KQED

Food For Thought

Golden State Joe: California Makes A Play For Coffee's Future

by Vickie Ly, Lisa Morehouse

California's coffee crop is new and small, but farmers are optimistic about its potential. Scientists hope that by growing coffee here they can learn more about how to help the crop resist disease.

Fishermen Ed Stewart (left) and Tannis Goodsen mend groundfishing nets on Merrill Wharf, in Portland, Maine, last November.

Fishermen Ed Stewart (left) and Tannis Goodsen mend groundfishing nets on Merrill Wharf, in Portland, Maine, last November. Robert F. Bukaty/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Robert F. Bukaty/AP

Food For Thought

Regulators Ban Cod Fishing In Gulf Of Maine As Stocks Dwindle WGBH

The federal government is shutting down cod fishing in the Gulf of Maine for the next six months. But fishermen, who now face an uncertain future, dispute the government's cod counts.

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Volunteers pass out fresh vegetables for a Thanksgiving meal at the Alameda Food Bank in Alameda, Calif., in 2009. The percentage of Americans who report struggling to afford food has remained stubbornly near recession-era highs.

Volunteers pass out fresh vegetables for a Thanksgiving meal at the Alameda Food Bank in Alameda, Calif., in 2009. The percentage of Americans who report struggling to afford food has remained stubbornly near recession-era highs. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Food For Thought

A Glimmer Of Hope In The Fight Against Hunger In America

The number of Americans struggling to afford food has remained stuck near recession-era highs. But a recent Gallup poll suggests things may be starting to get back on track for some.

Celebrity chefs (from left) Jose Andres, Carla Hall and Anthony Bourdain rev up the crowd at last year's Capital Food Fight fundraising event for DC Central Kitchen. The nonprofit's fortunes have risen alongside those of its celebrity chef fans.

Celebrity chefs (from left) Jose Andres, Carla Hall and Anthony Bourdain rev up the crowd at last year's Capital Food Fight fundraising event for DC Central Kitchen. The nonprofit's fortunes have risen alongside those of its celebrity chef fans. DC Central Kitchen/Flickr hide caption

itoggle caption DC Central Kitchen/Flickr

Food For Thought

Anthony Bourdain And Carla Hall Turbocharge D.C.'s Hunger Fighters

Celebrity chefs haven't just made us aware of the latest noshing fashions; they have also spread the word about anti-hunger initiatives like those at the innovative DC Central Kitchen.

The average American consumes the equivalent of 19.5 teaspoons a day in added sugars, but there are no federal guidelines recommending a limit.

The average American consumes the equivalent of 19.5 teaspoons a day in added sugars, but there are no federal guidelines recommending a limit. iStockphoto hide caption

itoggle caption iStockphoto

Eating And Health

How Much Sugar Is Too Much? A New Tool Sheds Some Light KQED

by Lisa Aliferis

SugarScience, a website created by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, distills the findings of 8,000 scientific studies on the health effects of sugar. The takeaway? Eat less.

These wooden tokens are handed out to shoppers who use SNAP benefits to purchase fresh produce at the Crossroads Farmers Market near Takoma Park, Md. Customers receive tokens worth twice the amount of money withdrawn from their SNAP benefits card — in other words, they get "double bucks."

These wooden tokens are handed out to shoppers who use SNAP benefits to purchase fresh produce at the Crossroads Farmers Market near Takoma Park, Md. Customers receive tokens worth twice the amount of money withdrawn from their SNAP benefits card — in other words, they get "double bucks." Dan Charles/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Dan Charles/NPR

Food For Thought

How 'Double Bucks' For Food Stamps Conquered Capitol Hill

The federal government is putting $100 million behind a simple idea: doubling the value of federal food benefits when people use them to buy fresh produce. This idea started small but became a hit.

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Pinatas are among the new generation of club apples — varieties that are not just patented, but also trademarked and controlled in such a way that only a select "club" of farmers can sell them.

Pinatas are among the new generation of club apples — varieties that are not just patented, but also trademarked and controlled in such a way that only a select "club" of farmers can sell them. Stemilt Growers LLC hide caption

itoggle caption Stemilt Growers LLC

Producers

Want To Grow These Apples? You'll Have To Join The Club

New brands are reshaping the apple aisle of supermarkets. Many are "club apples" --varieties that are controlled and managed by select groups of farmers.

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Le Laboratoire Cambridge features a restaurant, the Cafe ArtScience. The restaurant's bar features a glass-globed drink vaporizer called Le Whaf.

Le Laboratoire Cambridge features a restaurant, the Cafe ArtScience. The restaurant's bar features a glass-globed drink vaporizer called Le Whaf. Andrea Shea/WBUR hide caption

itoggle caption Andrea Shea/WBUR

Food For Thought

Inhalable Chocolate? Ingestible Ideas From A Lab For The Senses WBUR

by Andrea Shea

A real-life Willy Wonka invites scientists, designers, composers, artists and chefs to collaborate on novel foods and other cultural confections.

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Many artisan cheese producers never pasteurize their milk – it's raw. The milk's natural microbial community is still in there. This microbial festival gives cheese variety and intrigues scientists.

Many artisan cheese producers never pasteurize their milk – it's raw. The milk's natural microbial community is still in there. This microbial festival gives cheese variety and intrigues scientists. iStockphoto hide caption

itoggle caption iStockphoto

Producers

The Ancient Art Of Cheese-Making Attracts Scientific Gawkers

by Kerri Smith

In England, cheese-making is an art stretching back hundreds of years. But recently, scientists have become interested in the microbes that make the country's artisan cheeses so tasty.

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The "Aroma R-evolution" kit comes with four forks and 21 vials full of aromas like olive oil, mint and smoke. You drop a dab of scented liquid onto the base of the fork, and the smell is supposed to subtly flavor the food you eat while using the utensil.

The "Aroma R-evolution" kit comes with four forks and 21 vials full of aromas like olive oil, mint and smoke. You drop a dab of scented liquid onto the base of the fork, and the smell is supposed to subtly flavor the food you eat while using the utensil. Claire Eggers/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Claire Eggers/NPR

Food For Thought

Can A Smell-Emitting Fork Alter How We Savor Flavor?

Flavor is a combination of taste and aroma. So can a scent-emitting fork trick our brains into thinking we're tasting something, when we're only just smelling it? The Salt team tests it out.

Homeless advocate Arnold Abbott, 90, director of the nonprofit group Love Thy Neighbor Inc., prepares a salad Wednesday in the kitchen of The Sanctuary Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Abbott was recently arrested, along with two pastors, for feeding the homeless in a Fort Lauderdale park.

Homeless advocate Arnold Abbott, 90, director of the nonprofit group Love Thy Neighbor Inc., prepares a salad Wednesday in the kitchen of The Sanctuary Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Abbott was recently arrested, along with two pastors, for feeding the homeless in a Fort Lauderdale park. Lynne Sladky/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Lynne Sladky/AP

Food For Thought

Florida Activists Arrested For Serving Food To Homeless

Activists in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., were arrested twice this week for giving out food to the homeless in a park. Arnold Abbott, 90, says he will continue to serve the food even if he's arrested again.

Berkeley's efforts to pass a penny-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks faced opposition with deep pockets — but it also got sizable cash infusions from some big-name donors.

Berkeley's efforts to pass a penny-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks faced opposition with deep pockets — but it also got sizable cash infusions from some big-name donors. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Food For Thought

How Did Berkeley Pass A Soda Tax? Bloomberg's Cash Didn't Hurt

The American Beverage Association poured tons of cash into the effort to defeat the penny-per-ounce sugary-drink tax. But the effort to pass the tax also got cash infusions from some big-name donors.

Supporters of efforts to label GMOs in foods turn out at a rally in Denverin 2013. A ballot measure that would such labels failed to pass by a wide margin Tuesday.

Supporters of efforts to label GMOs in foods turn out at a rally in Denverin 2013. A ballot measure that would such labels failed to pass by a wide margin Tuesday. Luke Runyon/KUNC/Harvest Public Media hide caption

itoggle caption Luke Runyon/KUNC/Harvest Public Media

Food For Thought

Colorado, Oregon Reject GMO Labeling KUNC-FM

by Luke Runyon

Voters in Colorado and Oregon rejected measures to require labels on foods produced with genetic engineering. Meanwhile, voters in Maui, Hawaii, approved a moratorium on GMO crops.

Sunlight streams into a corn storage building at a Michlig Grain storage facility in Sheffield, Illinois, U.S., on Oct. 31, 2014. The price of corn has been falling for months.

Sunlight streams into a corn storage building at a Michlig Grain storage facility in Sheffield, Illinois, U.S., on Oct. 31, 2014. The price of corn has been falling for months. Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Producers

Why Farmers Aren't Cheering This Year's Monster Harvest

by Grant Gerlock

Farmers will haul in a record-breaking harvest of soybeans and corn this year, but they could be victims of their own success: Prices for these crops, falling for months, are at five-year lows.

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