Civil Eats

A bioengineer at Tel Aviv University "is midway through an experiment that could end in a recipe for the world's first lab-grown chicken breast," says Civil Eats. "If all goes according to plan, no chickens will be harmed in the process."

The Humane Society of the United States and its allies launched a drive for a statewide referendum in the 2016 general election that would require that any animal raised or sold for consumption in Massachusetts be able to lie down, stand up, fully extend its limbs, and turn around freely, says Civil Eats.

Plies and plows are part of Farm to Ballet, a series of performances in Vermont that celebrate life on the farm. Each performance takes place on a different farm or farming nonprofit, says Civil Eats, with the proceeds going to a different food-related nonprofit.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack kicks off his campaign for reauthorization of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which is set to expire on Sept. 30. It is one of the major agenda items when Congress returns from its August recess.

An early review of the penny-per-ounce soda tax in Berkeley, California, approved by voters last year, says that it has not raised soda prices as much as expected, says Civil Eats. In fact, prices rose by less than half of the expected amount and for some drinks, less than a quarter.

There are more than twice as many farmers markets as a decade ago, says Civil Eats in listing "five ways these vital spaces are redefining themselves."

In the face of drought in California and the Plains, growers are looking for ways to make the thriftiest use possible from the scarce water supply, says Ensia, describing research on how to nurture crops without wastage.

The mechanical tomato harvester, developed at UC-Davis, ranks as "a genuine breakthrough in the way that scientists thought about agricultural development," writes Ildi Carlisle-Cummins at Civil Eats.

St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is a leader among medical centers in growing fresh produce on its campus, says Civil Eats.

In the Chesapeake Bay, the Wide Net Project hopes to harness the human appetite as an ally to save the blue crab and other native marine life, says Civil Eats.

In northern Minnesota, a second-generation farmer "is putting a modern twist on an old-fashioned idea that could help scale up the local food economy in the region," says Civil Eats.

A plant scientist from the Land Institute in Kansas is developing a perennial grain, Kernza, from intermediate wheatgrass, says Civil Eats. "And there's a widespread team of researchers hoping their work will pave the way for an entirely new form of food."

In the business of agriculture, food becomes part of networking among professionals, says Civil Eats, describing how new women farmers in Wisconsin created a grassroots network through informal potluck meals.

Drought-hardy sorghum is a minor feed grain for U.S. farmers. Compared to king corn, it is grown on a sliver of land, mostly in the Plains. " Now some U.S. food manufacturers are capitalizing on its most marketable trait: Sorghum is gluten-free.

After Paul Quinn College ended its football program, the historically black college in Dallas converted its football field into a massive organic garden. College president Michael Sorrell "decided that the college would grow its own food," writes Amy McCarthy at Civil Eats.

Snowville Creamery is a small operation with big ideas and run by a career dairyman, says Civil Eats. Says owner Warren Taylor, “I built a creamery to prove that we can produce good high quality, good tasting milk for everybody in America.”