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Our unequal earth

This series investigates America's broken food system

  • a man in a suit and tie holds up a large block of cheese

    Orange, edible and in a block: a short history of US ‘guv’ment’ cheese

    An extract from Andrea Freeman’s Ruin Their Crops on the Ground unpacks government cheese – from Steve Harvey jokes to Jay-Z lyrics and Wahlburgers
  • a woman holds a tote bag and a reusable water bottle

    Marketing a tote bag as reusable is silly. Let’s say no to more stuff

    ‘Reusable’ is now a selling point for products that should, inherently, be reusable to begin with – and we’re buying it
  • People shop in a grocery store in Washington DC.

    Your food is more expensive – are US corporate profits to blame?

    Many companies such as Chipotle and McDonald’s are seeing profits jump as they continue raising prices, an analysis finds
  • A child points to a row of cartoon-emblazoned macaroni and cheese containers.

    Why is it so hard to get ultra-processed foods out of our diets? A lack of time

    Lindsey Smith Taillie
    Better food labels are a necessary but insufficient step to improve diets and health
  • A man wearing a baseball cap stoops down and reaches into a plastic bag to collect cans and bottles.

    He ‘redeems’ the trash New Yorkers throw away, finding value – and opportunity – in waste

  • A large grassy field with three robotic weedkillers moving through openings

    Could robot weedkillers replace the need for pesticides?

  • Reem Assil with Arabic bread out of the oven

    For Palestinian restaurateurs in the US, it’s not just about the food: ‘We have to prove we’re human’

    Three restaurant owners share their experiences feeding people – and leveraging their positions to tell humanizing stories
  • A young woman stare exasperatedly at a kitchen setup.

    ‘Buy your back brace now’: The Bear sidesteps the grueling physical costs of restaurant work

    The hit show shows how kitchens are pressure cookers of stress, but not how professional cooking ravages the body
  • Students tap a tree for maple syrup in Randolph, Vermont, on 20 May 2024.

    ‘It’s the future of sugar’: new technology feeds Vermont maple syrup boom amid climate crisis

    The season to tap trees is now earlier and longer, but new processes and generations are helping the industry thrive
  • signs posted above water fountains read 'do not drink until further notice'

    Kids have a right to water in US schools, but does that water make the grade?

    Almost 15 years after federal law put free water on school menus, states still struggle with how to guarantee access
  • Veggies and farmer owners at Choy Commons, a cooperative of Asian-led farms.

    Asian American farm collective targets food insecurity: ‘It’s been really healing’

    New York’s Choy Commons builds supply chain of heirloom vegetables while reviving an agricultural legacy
  • M Dores Cruz, center, and her team carry out an archaeological dig on Sao Tome in 2023.

    White gold, Black bodies: how a tiny African nation shaped the world

    The first archaeological dig of São Tomé and Príncipe’s largest sugar mill sheds light on the birth of plantation agriculture and slavery as a racial system
  • a glass of soda with ice and a straw

    Is aspartame bad for you? What we know about the sweetener’s health risks

    Some studies link the popular soda sweetener to higher cancer risk, but the links are weak and questions remain
  • Aerial, hilltop view of green, partitioned valley, with tree-covered hills on other side.

    Napa Valley has lush vineyards and wineries – and a pollution problem

    Reports and emails show a landfill at the top of a hill is leaching dangerous toxins into the Napa River
  • A collage of three side-by-side images shows several cobs of corn, two women holding fresh onions and a construction site.

    ‘A sanctuary’: how neglected Native American communities are organizing their own food hubs

    The hubs seek to produce, store and distribute food to the one-quarter of Native Americans experiencing food insecurity
  • A woman and child's hands make pizza dough from scratch

    Amid rising US food prices, what should we be cooking from scratch?

    One way to reduce the cost of your next grocery store or restaurant visit is to consider making some foods from scratch at home – here are five recipes
  • A row of cows stand close together at a farm

    As bird flu hops from cows to humans, dairy farm workers hold the key to preventing a pandemic

    Officials are incentivizing testing, but experts say workers need protective equipment and paid sick leave to limit spread
  • A selection of junk foods

    I went a week without ultra-processed foods. Here’s what I learned

    As I report more, I’ve stopped thinking of UPFs as food at all – and I suspect corporations don’t care how their products affect consumers
  • Piles of red paper bags with black hexagons on them.

    Latin America labels ultra-processed foods. Will the US follow?

    In 2010, Mexico led the way, followed by Ecuador, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Argentina and Colombia
  • Four grocery-store shelves filled with brightly colored bags of Doritos, mostly in shades of orange.

    The US food industry has long buried the truth about their products. Is that coming to an end?

    The FDA is developing front-of-package labels that corporations may have to start printing as early as 2027
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