Welcome to FERN’s Friday Feed (#FFF), where we share the stories from this week that made us stop and think.
Public-health costs from air pollution in San Joaquin Valley reach $11 billion a year
Undark
California’s San Joaquin Valley is part of the most important agricultural region in the country. “It is also awash in air pollution,” writes Brendan Borrell. “Millions of beef and dairy cattle, millions of acres of dusty crops, and the truck traffic to support these mega-operations generate fine airborne particles that linger and swirl in what is, in effect, a gigantic pollution-trapping bowl bounded by mountains. Add in prolific use of wood stoves and barbecue pits, the second-hand smog blowing into the valley from cities to the west and the north, and emissions from some of the densest oil fields in the lower 48 states, and the result is some of the worst air pollution in the nation.”
How sauerkraut detects pregnancy, and why you shouldn’t eat sushi on rainy days
Atlas Obscura
The editors at Atlas Obscura invited readers to share their favorite food myths, and the results range from silly to absurd. “Did you know, for instance, that you aren’t supposed to eat tuna and ice cream on the same day?” writes Eric Grundhauser. “Or that eating peanuts at a NASCAR race is bad luck? And don’t even get us started on all the ways milk can supposedly be turned into deadly poison when combined with other foods.”
In the birthplace of wine, ancient tradition meets innovation
Whetstone Media
In its first video production, “Wild Grapes,” Whetstone Media introduces viewers to the ancient wine-making traditions of the Republic of Georgia. Host (and Whetstone founder) Stephen Satterfield travels across the country exploring its centuries-old vines and innovative wine-making techniques. The short film also examines the rise of radical Islam in one region of Georgia, and how locals are navigating rapid cultural change while maintaining their connection to ancient foods and wines.
Remembering Bourdain
GQ
In a moving tribute to late chef Anthony Bourdain, Drew Magary interviewed many of Bourdain’s closest confidants, from the New Yorker‘s Helen Rosner to Le Bernardin’s Eric Ripert to Bourdain’s younger brother Chris, about their friend Tony. “There is no easy description for Tony Bourdain, or for the utterly unique role he managed to carve out for himself in this world,” Magary writes. But his friends’ memories paint a vibrant portrait of the influential man.
The media whirlwind surrounding one sinking Virginia island
The Bitter Southerner
A small and disappearing island off the coast of Virginia has garnered a lot of press attention. But one reporter chose to embed in the community for a year, resulting in a deeper connection to his subjects. “[T]he people of Tangier are being named as some of the first potential climate-change refugees in America — a hot-button topic, and a great headline for many a publication,” writes Mickie Meinhardt. “But those reporters miss the humanity of the place; what it is and who its people are, not what they will stand for if (or probably when) they’re displaced.”