The Salt

Inside A Tart Cherry Revival: 'Somebody Needs To Do This!'()  

At Michigan State University's Clarksville Research Station, researchers apply pollen by hand to tart cherry blossoms, in order to breed new varieties.

May 23, 2013 The revival is partly based on the humble sour fruit's growing reputation as a superfood. And in Michigan, a scientist is on a quest to introduce a whole new world of hardier, tastier tart cherries by breeding American trees with ancestral varieties from Eastern Europe.

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The Salt

Oprah Winfrey's Latest Venture Is Farming In Hawaii()  

The June issue of The Oprah Magazine includes an article with details on Oprah Winfrey's new farm in Hawaii.

May 23, 2013 After Oprah Winfrey's friend and health adviser learned that 90 percent of the food on Maui is flown or shipped in from outside, he convinced her to turn a portion of her estate on the island into a farm. Winfrey is giving away the food she's now growing on 16 acres of land, but it may soon be for sale.

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The Salt

This 9-Year-Old Girl Told McDonald's CEO: Stop Tricking Kids()  

Hannah Robertson, 9, and her mom, blogger Kia Robertson — with the makings for kale chips, of course.

May 23, 2013 Over the years, McDonald's has gotten a lot of flack for marketing to kids. At a shareholders meeting Thursday morning, Hannah Robertson, age 9, took the fast-food giant's CEO to task.

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The Salt

Canned Peaches Are As Nutritious As Fresh. Really? ()  

Canned peaches can pack as many, or in some cases, more nutrients than fresh ones, research suggests. But be sure to skip the added syrup.

May 23, 2013 What's more, when it comes to some nutrients, like vitamin C, canned peaches pack an even bigger punch than fresh, researchers say. The reasons have to do with how the canning process alters the fruit's cell walls. So eat 'em up!

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The Salt

In Raw Milk Case, Activists See Food Freedom On Trial()  

Supporters say Wisconsin farmer Vernon Hershberger's trial isn't just about raw milk: It's also, they say, about the right to get foods from farmers without government intervention.

May 22, 2013 Activists say the case against Wisconsin dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger is about raw milk — and much more. His supporters have turned the case into a rallying cry for personal food freedom and the rights of farmers and consumers to enter into private contracts without government intervention.

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The Salt

Could African Crops Be Improved With Private Biotech Data?()  

The baobob fruit is one of the 100 traditional African food crops that a group of scientists want to learn more about to improve nutrition.

May 22, 2013 A plant scientist at Mars Inc. has appealed to the world's biggest life sciences companies to help him — by sharing what they already know about 100 crops that could provide better nutrition in Africa. But can the kings of agricultural intellectual property get onboard with open source agricultural information for Africa?

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The Salt

How Genomics Solved The Mystery Of Ireland's Great Famine()  

This illustration from 1846 shows a starving boy and girl raking the ground for potatoes during the Irish Potato Famine, which began in the 1840s.

May 22, 2013 Although scientists have known that a funguslike organism caused the potato blight that triggered the Great Famine in Ireland in the 1840s, they didn't know which strain was the culprit. But they do now, thanks to the genes in some 19th century potato samples.

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Kitchen Window

Real Butterscotch: The Beauty Of Sugar And Dairy Transformed()  

Butterscotch Budino With Caramel Sauce And Salt

May 22, 2013 When a few humble elements are combined in perfect balance, butterscotch is born. And food writer Deena Prichep says she turns this childhood favorite into a dinner-party star with counterpoints like flaky salt or crunchy nuts.

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The Salt

Nutrition Group Says Chocolate Milk Is OK, No Need For Aspartame()  

Morgan Barnett, 7, drinks from containers of 1 percent milk and chocolate milk during lunch at a school in St. Paul, Minn., in 2006.

May 21, 2013 The nation's largest group of nutritionists is urging the FDA to reject the dairy industry's petition to change the definition of milk. The petition aims to allow aspartame or other alternatives to be used to sweeten milk in an effort to boost consumption in schools.

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The Salt

African Cities Test The Limits Of Living With Livestock()  

Sheep graze in the street last year in Cairo.

May 21, 2013 Hipsters may just be discovering the joys of backyard chickens, but in African megacities, people have been bringing their animals into the slums with them for decades. That's creating a new ecosystem of animals and huge numbers of people living closely together like never before.

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The Salt

Vertical 'Pinkhouses:' The Future Of Urban Farming?()  

This "pinkhouse" at Caliber Biotherapeutics in Bryan, Texas, grows 2.2 million plants under the glow of blue and red LEDs.

May 21, 2013 Architects have come up with spectacular concepts for vertical farms that would grow crops in city skyscrapers. But many horticulturists think the future of vertical farming isn't in skyscrapers, but rather in large, indoor warehouses lit up magenta by superefficient LEDs.

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The Salt

Washington State Butcher Spikes Pig Feed With Weed()  

William von Schneidau, who owns the BB Ranch butcher shop at Pike Place Market in Seattle, has made prosciutto from pigs fed marijuana.

May 20, 2013 Despite its name, the "pot pig" experiment isn't an attempt to develop a new meaty treat for stoners. Instead, a Seattle butcher is feeding marijuana seeds, stems and root bulbs to swine as a cheeky money-saving measure.

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The Salt

Sandwich Monday: The Saltwich()  

The pretzel shape provides nice little windows through which you can see your poor choices.

May 20, 2013 For this week's Sandwich Monday, we celebrate an expert panel's recommendations about salt intake by taking in as much salt as we can, with The Saltwich.

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The Salt

Can A Piece Of Hair Reveal How Much Coke Or Pepsi You Drink?()  

Carbon isotope analysis: a scientific way to know just how much soda kids are drinking behind parents' backs?

May 20, 2013 People are notorious for under-reporting what they consume — they lie, forget or just guess wrong. For researchers who want to know how much soda we're drinking, a high-tech analysis technique could help.

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Kitchen Window

When humble elements are combined in perfect balance, the star of these dramatic desserts is born.

Real Butterscotch: The Beauty Of Sugar And Dairy Transformed

When humble elements are combined in perfect balance, the star of these dramatic desserts is born.

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