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The Salt is a blog from the NPR Science Desk about what we eat and why we eat it. We serve up food stories with a side of skepticism that may provoke you or just make you smile.
In 1961, Chiang opened San Francisco's The Mandarin, a high-end Chinese restaurant that served authentic fare. Today, her DNA is all over American Chinese food, from P.F. Chang's to Panda Express.
The charitable organizations called food banks are getting a lot of attention and donations right now. But they aren't nearly as important or effective as SNAP, formerly known as food stamps.
Some Americans, fearing food shortages from COVID-19, have cleaned out supermarket shelves. Yet there's too much food in some places. Farmers are dumping milk and vegetables that they can't sell.
Farmworkers are still working during the coronavirus epidemic. They're essential. But they're also at greater risk of infection.
The rule, which was to take effect April 1, would have tightened work requirements for some food stamp recipients. But a judge said flexibility in food aid is needed amid a pandemic.
Grass on the prairie is growing taller because there's now more carbon dioxide in the air. Paradoxically, though, this might be hurting wildlife, because the grass is less nutritious.
The Internet startup Tillable wants to match farmers with farmland available for rent. The problem? Farmers already on that land fear their farm data is being used against them.
Many fruit and nut trees need cold weather to bloom, which is becoming less common in a warming climate. So, farmers and scientists are teaming up to find ways to help orchards chill out and cope.
Researchers in Israel have grown date palm trees from ancient seeds found at the same site as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Those trees might soon produce fruit, re-creating the taste of antiquity.
Across the Midwest, millions of acres of farmland have been damaged by dicamba, an herbicide that can harm crops not engineered to withstand it. There are so many cases, regulators can't keep up.
How to make three nonalcoholic cocktails that will have your guests asking for another round. Also, learn some basic tenets of what makes a delicious mixed drink (with or without alcohol).
Memphis Meats, a startup company that has just raised $161 million, says it has a "clear path" to bringing cell-based meats to market. Yet the company and its competitors face challenges.
Farmers got more than $22 billion in government payments in 2019 — and most of the money came through a program that Congress never approved. It's the highest level of farm subsidies in 14 years.
Many Jews were forced to convert during the Inquisition, a history often lost to their descendants. Finding recipes adhering to Jewish food customs helped one woman unearth her family's hidden past.
Delivery service could make it easier to access fresh, healthy food in these areas, a study finds. It lends support to a pilot program that lets people pay for these groceries with food stamps.