Category: Analysis

Groundwater depletion has been an acknowledged fact in California for decades, but for a long time it was stuffed into a thick file labeled “Something Somebody Oughta Do Something About Sometime.”

A Facebook friend of mine expressed some concern that Fusarium wilt will wipe out the familiar Cavendish variety of bananas, as it did with the Gros Michel in the 1950s. In search of alternatives, my friend came across blue ice cream bananas—so called because they are blue (or bluish) bananas that are said to taste like ice cream, or at any rate vanilla custard.

Seven years on, Brexit—Britain’s unilateral withdrawal from the European Union (EU)—remains (I gather) a divisive issue. But one sector that probably thinks of it as a bad idea is British fruit growers.

If it weren’t for the beginning of cherry season, overall market prices would likely show a slight dip due to a well-earned post-holiday demand hangover.

The big news of the day—at least in agricultural circles—is the long-awaited May 25 Supreme Court ruling in the highly publicized Sackett v. EPA suit, limiting Waters of the United States (WOTUS) regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency.

One of the most confusing things about present-day dilemmas is that each solution to a problem leads to a different set of problems. Particularly when it comes to technology.

Watermelons, however delicious, do not come in the most convenient shapes. The traditional huge oblong watermelon is being challenged by the smaller round type—better suited to present family sizes, but still clumsy for cutting and cubing. The Japanese would appear to have the answer with square, or rather cubical, watermelons.

Bee lovers have been thirsting for some good news about these vital insects, which by one estimate pollinate a third of the American food supply. But good news has been hard to come by.

This U.S. Potato Outlook 2023-24 report summarizes that U.S. potato production declined for the fourth consecutive year, and this season’s crop is the smallest since 2010.

Are you on the wagon? This has nothing to do with your alcohol consumption, which is none of my business. It refers to government benefits—specifically programs that subsidize food purchases for the poor.