American Mink in Surrey, England.

Take Back Your Mink

Could lab-grown fur be an ethical alternative to fur farming?
Quinoa seeds

Quinoa: Rise of an Andean Superfood

Once considered a minor crop for Indigenous communities, quinoa’s journey to worldwide stardom was centuries in the making.
Overhead view of 3 heritage variety corn cobs photographed in a wicker basket. These varieties with their multi-coloured pieces of corn are popular for their decorative uses but some varieties can be used in corn meal for making taco’s for example. Also known as Indian corn or flint corn. Colour, horizontal with some copy space.

Translating Corn

To most of the world, “corn” is “maize,” a word that comes from the Taíno mahizwas. Not for British colonists in North America, though.
Cotton plantation

Understanding Capitalism Through Cotton

Looking at the development of cotton as a global commodity, explains historian Sven Beckert, helps us understand how capitalism emerged.
Rakhine farmers harvest in a rice paddy near Pa Rein village, Myauk Oo township on October 29, 2012 in Rakhine state, Myanmar.

The Challenges of Regulating Rice in Myanmar

The Myanmar government has regulated its agricultural and export industry through one specific crop: rice. What are the future prospects of the rice economy?
A wheat field along the Pamir Highway, Tajikistan. A wheat blade is in focus in the foreground and the Pamir mountains in the back are blurred.

Building Cultures on Wheat

Wheat remains a central part of national identity in Tajikistan despite the mechanization of agriculture and decades of hostile Soviet policies.
An illustration of a man holding tomatoes

Choose the Correct Cover Crop

Organic tomato farmers know that cover crops are key for ensuring adequate nitrogen supply in the soil each year. But not all covers are equal.
Gathering Sap at a Maple Sugar Camp, Vermont

Praising Maple Sugar in the Early American Republic

In Early America, some prestigious residents advocated for the replacement of cane sugar, supplied by enslaved workers, with maple sugar from family farms.
A farmer in Louisiana, 1972

The USDA Versus Black Farmers

Current attempts to correct historical discrimination by local and regional offices of the USDA have been met with charges of "reverse discrimination."
Leading Kentucky hemp farmer Joe "Daddy Burt" Burton with a harvested hemp plant.

The Return of Hemp

Even though it's made from cannabis plants, you can't get high on hemp. But it was classified as an illicit drug for nearly 50 years.