Enlarge William LeGoullon

Beer

William LeGoullon

Beer

What happens when you give an artist who is also a former bartender access to a camera mounted with a microscope? He takes pictures of drinks, of course.

That's exactly what Phoenix-based artist William "Bill" LeGoullon did in a series called Fingerprints of Drinkable Culture.

He set out to capture the relationship between science and the top five most-consumed beverages: beer, wine, cola, tea, and coffee.

But it didn't go as planned. At first, he tried to photograph the liquids while they were wet.

Enlarge T. Susan Chang

The best thing to do when this gal shows up in your garden is to let her be

T. Susan Chang

The best thing to do when this gal shows up in your garden is to let her be

Late spring in a New England vegetable garden is usually a time for the last asparagus, the crisp lettuce and arugula, the first pea shoots, and the first sprouting of warm-weather crops like peppers and zucchini. What you don't expect to see planted in your beds are snapping turtles. But that's just what turned up in mine twice this week.

I was talking in my garden with a friend when I noticed what looked like a large leather satchel tossed in the strawberry bed. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a 30-pound snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) — no doubt on leave from our nearby town pond — and capable of snapping off a finger with a beak curved as close and tight as my heavy-duty pruners. Over the next couple of days, reports of turtle sightings from friends and neighbors seemed to come in every few hours.

Apparently, the appearance of these uninvited garden guests was no fluke. It's been happening a lot lately as their natural habitats shrink.

Enlarge courtesy Meatingplace

May cover of Meatingplace, the meat processing industry trade magazine

courtesy Meatingplace

May cover of Meatingplace, the meat processing industry trade magazine

It came as no surprise to us when outrage over "pink slime," the catchy nickname given to lean finely textured beef (LFTB), went viral a couple of months ago.

Murky government rules, off-limits meatpacking floors, and a "gotcha" media mentality have created a fear and mistrust that's left the public highly opinionated but often woefully misinformed about where our food comes from.

What is surprising is that the "pink slime" debacle has forced the meat industry to admit it needs to open up.

Enter Meatingplace, the meat processing industry's trade magazine. This month's striking cover is simply black with a neon pink all-caps headline: "SLIMED," followed by the subhead: "what the hell happened."

courtesy Kalev

Some of the world's most interesting food products have been born out of the innovation that comes with deprivation. Take chicory, for example. It's a trendy New Orleans coffee blend you can buy anywhere now, but it was first used during the Civil War when those caffeinated beans were scarce.

And when chocolate became scarce in Estonia and other Baltic states during a supply crisis in the 1970s, an enterprising company stepped into the breach with a substitute chocolate bar.

Today, the Kama bar is being revived for its pure nostalgia.

Which Do You Think Is Harder To Do Well?

Source: IFIC 2012 Food and Health Survey

Filing your taxes may be a dreaded task. But eating healthy can be an even bigger struggle for many Americans.

According to the results of a new survey of more than 1,000 Americans, almost half of us think its harder to eat right than do our taxes. And genderwise, 55 percent of men say it's harder to figure out what you should be eating than it is to figure out how to do your own taxes. For women, it's slightly lower, at 48 percent. The survey comes from the folks at the International Food Information Council Foundation.

Given the confusion, it may not come as a surprise that more than half (55 percent) of Americans are trying to lose weight. But it seems lots of us are not sure how many much we should be eating. In fact, only one in seven Americans can correctly estimate the number of calories they need — a tricky business, we know.

Enlarge Maggie Starbard/NPR

Think these labels we found on foods inside an NPR refrigerator are a lot to digest? Try balancing these considerations with the demands of 50 million diners a day.

Maggie Starbard/NPR

Think these labels we found on foods inside an NPR refrigerator are a lot to digest? Try balancing these considerations with the demands of 50 million diners a day.

Surely you've noticed the proliferation of certifications advertising farmers' and food companies' virtuous commitments to fix the environment or promote health. These seals can reassure, but the sheer volume of them can also confound. How to choose between grass-fed, organic, hormone-free or free range?

Now imagine that you have to feed 50 million people a day in 80 countries around the world. And every day more of those people are demanding that the food you serve them be organic, gluten-free, or fair trade.

That's the job of Margaret Henry, director of sustainability and corporate social responsibility performance for food service giant Sodexo. And it can wield serious purchasing power for commodities like beef, considering it bought about 50 million pounds last year.

But according to Henry, keeping up with the 365 certifications out there is a big pain in the neck. So she's trying to find a solution.