Ambrook • 28th March 2024

The World’s Fattest Deer Are Doing Just Fine

Svalbard reindeer, the northernmost subspecies of Rangifer tarandus, has flesh so richly striated with fat that it forms a sheen around the mouths of those who eat it, leaving visible kisses on the rims of glasses. When fried in a pan, it browns like bacon in its own rendered grease. Stews made with Svalbard reindeer form a thick seal of fat as they cool, as cream rises to the top of fresh milk.

Comstock's magazine • 5th December 2022

A Sea of Hope

At Johnson-Neles Dairy in Sonoma, 380 acres of undulating green hills under desktop background-blue skies, a farm worker mixes a wheelbarrow of feed for eager cows. On top of the usual blend of hay and grasses, the worker sprinkles a purplish-red powder, like a chef adding a pinch of seasoning to finish a dish. But this powder is no pepper: It’s pulverized Asparagopsis taxiformis, a red seaweed that can dramatically reduce the methane cows emit in their burps, according to studies by UC Davis scientists.

Time • 21st October 2022

Soil’s Power as a Climate Solution Has Often Been Overlooked. Until Now

Soil, that layer of organic material and crushed-up rock that covers much of the terrestrial earth like a chocolate coating, contains about 2,500 billion metric tons of carbon. It’s the second-biggest carbon sink on the planet after the ocean, currently holding about three times as much carbon as the atmosphere. Some scientists and activists think it could do even more.

Time • 18th October 2022

Trees Help Protect the Planet From Climate Change. But The World Isn’t Doing Enough to Protect Forests

People breathe out carbon dioxide, trees breathe in carbon dioxide. It’s one of the first things children learn about the carbon cycle, the paths carbon takes as it moves among the living and nonliving things that make up the planet.

Time • 17th October 2022

The Complicated Popularity of Net-Zero Emissions Climate Targets

Whether it’s a public learning laboratory, nonprofit organization, small business, corporation, or government doing the math, achieving net-zero involves balancing an equation.

Time • 14th October 2022

Here’s How The Ocean is Being Harnessed as a Climate Solution

The ocean’s ability to absorb carbon and stabilize the climate is attracting attention from scientists and companies alike looking for ways to counteract the rise of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.

Comstock's magazine • 12th August 2022

The Seeds of Conflict

This year, overzealous Instagrammers are the least of sunflower farmers’ troubles. The region’s most photogenic crop is facing a barrage of challenges, including supply issues related to the war in Ukraine, global currency volatility and drought.

Comstock's magazine • 23rd May 2022

The Might of Mycelium

The goddess Fermentia looms over The Better Meat Co.’s production facility in West Sacramento. In a digital painting that hangs above the entrance to the fermentation room, she resembles a shieldmaiden from Norse mythology — though dressed in a lab coat and sensible shoes. A supplication is printed below her sneakered feet: “Oh Fermentia, please protect us from contamination and bad data."

Global Food Safety Initiative • 8th March 2022

What the Food Industry Can Learn from Space — and Vice Versa

In 2013, Angelo Vermeulen was crew commander of a Mars mission simulation on the high slopes of Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano — the first mission under NASA’s Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation project, or HI-SEAS. He and five other people lived in a geodesic habitation dome about 11 metres in diameter for four months in isolation, eating mostly freeze-dried and shelf-stable food (including a few treats like Nutella).

Comstock's magazine • 8th June 2021

Incubator Lab for Food and Ag Tech Startups Opens in Woodland

A century ago, the city of Woodland — surrounded by farmland, connected to the Southern Pacific Railroad and just a stop away from what was then the University of California’s experimental farm — was a hub for the cutting-edge agricultural technology of its day. Now, a startup incubator aims to bring a new generation of food and agricultural technology innovators to the Yolo County seat.

Comstock's magazine • 27th October 2020

Pellet Pitchers

Between Sept. 1, 2019, and Aug. 31, 2020, nearly 39,000 acres of almond orchards were removed in California, according to the Sacramento-based research firm Land IQ. Knotty Wood is out to put those trees to tastier use.

Eco & Beyond • 23rd October 2018

The Sustainable Food Story Supperclub - Making the World Less Wasteful, One Meal at a Time

The Sustainable Food Story’s ‘Soup-er Seeded’ meal starts with a rainbow of carrot soups – orange, yellow and purple edging towards black. A scrawl of tahini garnishes each serving like an artist’s signature. When the bowls empty, they are replaced with plates of quiche scattered with sorrel. Rhubarb compote floating on clouds of sheep’s yoghurt and meringue rounds off the meal.

Eco & Beyond • 7th August 2018

British Grains: Better for you, Better for the Planet

British grains and pulses are a great place to start your journey towards eating healthy and hyperlocal. These diverse staples — from millet to mung beans, oats to groats — add fibre-rich variety to your diet. A well-curated selection of these grains and pulses may soon be coming to a zero-waste market near you.

Eco & Beyond • 17th July 2018

10 Amazing Fairtrade Products You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

UK shoppers have an admirable appetite for ethically-sourced food. You’ve probably noticed the blue-green logo for the Fairtrade Foundation on bananas, sugar, coffee and tea. You might also notice Fairtrade certifications on a plethora of surprising products. Anything from energy drinks to olive oil have all joined in the movement.

Eco & Beyond • 24th April 2018

Responsible Recycling: 4 Surprising Things That You Actually Can't Recycle

A recent WRAP survey found that three-quarters of UK residents are “confused” about what materials they can put in the recycling bin. “Not me,” you scoff -- you savvy reader of planet-friendly publications. But a quick look in your recycle bin may reveal items that aren’t recyclable at all.

Eco & Beyond • 10th April 2018

Foxhole Gin: From Grape Residue to Sustainable Gin

If you’ve ever pressed your own juice at home, you may have wondered what to do with the nutritious, fibre-rich fruit pulp left over at the bottom of the juicer. For thousands of years, winemakers have faced a similar dilemma with their leftover pressed grapes, called marc in the French tradition and pomace in the English.

Eco & Beyond • 10th April 2018

Branched Crisps: Fuel for the World Changers

Supermarkets are stuffed with products that claim to be “guilt-free” for all manner of reasons. Very few however have the power to truly lighten your conscience. For a snack that does real good for both the world and your body, go for Branched Crisps.

Eco & Beyond • 10th April 2018

T for Tea Leaves

Stereotype or not, the fact remains that we Brits drink an awful lot of tea. The UK consumes a whopping two kg of tea leaves per person every year. Of course, right after those leaves leave the pot or cup, they go straight into the bin. That’s 75 million kg added to landfill. By weight, tea and tea leaves account for 536,000 tonnes of waste. Three times as much as every other beverage put together.

Eco & Beyond • 10th April 2018

S for Salad

You may not be surprised to hear that the most frequently tossed food in the UK is salad. We're not talking about adding a delicious dressing and croutons, we mean tossed straight in the bin. Forty five percent of all purchased salad is thrown away!

Eco & Beyond • 10th April 2018

P for Potatoes

Believe it or not, the UK wastes no food in greater quantities than our own beloved staple starch: potatoes. Every year, the UK throws away 359,000 tonnes of potatoes. That’s 10% of all the avoidable food waste in the entire country!