food

Eva Teague, 31, is trying to start her own pig farm in Colorado but is running into financial obstacles typical of many young farmers trying to break into the business.

Young Farmers Break The Bank Before They Get To The Field

1:29pm August 21, 2013

by Luke Runyon

They want to get involved with both the local food movement and more conventional forms of agriculture. But many of them are finding their options limited. Ranch and farmland across the plains is going for several thousand dollars an acre, keeping many aspiring farmers out of the market.

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Microwave pralines are easier to make than stovetop pralines, and just as tasty.

'Treme' Cookbook Captures The Flavor Of A Show And A City

11:34am August 21, 2013

by Melissa Block

Melissa Block talks with Lolis Eric Elie, a writer and editor behind the HBO series Treme about a new cookbook written in the voices of the show's characters. Elie says it reflects both old New Orleans traditions and more recent influences.

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Julia della Croce says pistachio pesto is an economical — and delicious — alternative when Italian pine nuts can cost up to $120 per pound.

Arts
Economy

Don't Let The Price Of Pine Nuts Keep You From Pesto

5:10pm August 16, 2013

by Serri Graslie

Hungry bugs and warmer temperatures mean pine trees aren't producing as many seeds as they once did, driving up the cost of Italian pine nuts to $120 per pound in some cases. Cookbook author Julia della Croce found a colorful — and delicious — alternative in pistachios.

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Saffron is a stringy red spice made from the dried stigma of a saffron flower.

Demystifying Saffron: Mark Bittman Explains The Pricey Spice

4:25pm August 16, 2013

The stringy red spice is actually the dried stigma of a saffron flower. "It's exotic, it's expensive," says The New York Times columnist and cookbook author, but "it should be used."

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A man cleans quinoa grain in Pacoma, Bolivia.

Can Quinoa Farming Go Global Without Leaving Andeans Behind?

3:53pm August 16, 2013

by Dan Charles

At a "quinoa summit" this week, farmers from around the world are trading tips on how to turn this ancient Andean grain into a large-scale crop. Some Andean farmers who currently grow quinoa are asking, "What happens to us?"

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Agricultural work, which is physically demanding, is also a risky business venture.

National

Farm Laborers Get A Foothold With Their Own Organic Farms

2:01pm August 16, 2013

by Kirk Siegler

Thousands of seasonal workers come to California's Salinas Valley each year to pick crops, and many of them seem destined for a life in the fields. Now, a training program run by ALBA Organics is giving these workers the skills they need to be their own bosses.

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Heard It Through The Grapevine: Raisin Grower Goes Rogue

6:26am August 16, 2013

by Zoe Chace

In this "Planet Money" report, we learn about a man many call an outlaw. His crime? Growing raisins and then selling them all. For the last 10 years, he's violated the law and gone against the Raisin Administrative Committee.

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Dave Dierig, research leader at the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation, stands among the ceiling-high shelves that hold the 600,000 seed packets in this cold storage vault.

Colorado Vault Is Fort Knox For The World's Seeds

7:59am August 15, 2013

by Luke Runyon

At Colorado State University, billions of seeds and other genetic material sit inside a giant storage vault. They're kept there in case of a loss of plant or animal life on a regional or global scale. But the investigation into GMO wheat in Oregon has raised questions about security at the facility.

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A melon washing station sprays cantaloupes with clean water and sanitizer.

Health & Safety

Listeria Outbreak Still Haunts Colorado's Cantaloupe Growers

1:48pm August 14, 2013

by Eric Whitney

The contaminated fruit that killed 33 people and sickened at least 147 others in 2011 came from a farm 90 miles from Rocky Ford, Colo. But the town's many melon farmers took a huge hit nonetheless, and are still trying to convince the public their cantaloupes are safe.

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Many different Middle Eastern cultures claim to have invented the kebab.

In Iraq, Laying Claim To The Kebab

9:54pm August 13, 2013

by Kelly McEvers

The Iraqis, among many other Middle Easterners, believe they invented the kebab. The skewered meat dish appears as early as the 9th century in a book from the southern city of Basra called The Book of Misers.

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