• Sustainability

One Cool Thing: Fungus Among Us

• food
• plant based
• Yellowstone

Thousands of travelers go to Yellowstone National Park every year to explore the wonders of nature, and if they’re lucky, catch Old Faithful in the act. But what they don’t know is that beneath their feet, in the park’s hot springs, was a tasty fungus that could be the key to meatless snacking. “It was […]

• Sustainability

One Cool Thing: Think Outside the Sauce

• fast food
• food
• recycling
• taco bell

“Recycling just got saucy.” Taco Bell has announced that it’s teaming up with recycling firm TerraCycle to keep its iconic sauce packets out of landfills. The company says that more than 8 billion of their spicy sauce packets end up in landfills each year, but with this new partnership, those friendly packets can become something […]

• Food

Upward Growth for Indoor Farms

• agriculture
• food
• indoor farm
• produce

by Natasha Lasky, ODP Staff Writer Indoor farms have become increasingly attractive to investors as ways to solve pandemic-induced disruptions to the harvesting, shipping, and sale of food. Vertical farms grow produce indoors in layers or vertical apparatuses inside warehouses or shipping containers. Artificial light, temperature control, and minimal soil use could make indoor farming […]

• Food

Climate Change Impacts Childhood Malnutrition As Much as Poverty

• climate change
• food
• food insecurity
• malnutrition
• WHO

by Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer A new study published last week found that rising global temperatures impact childhood malnutrition at similar rates to poverty, insufficient sanitation, and poor education. The 19-country study, which observed 107,000 children aged 5 and under, reviewed the impact of rainfall and temperature on children’s diet diversity. The findings shocked […]

• Sustainability

Climate and Food Production Consuming Too Much Habitat

• #30x30
• agriculture
• biodiversity
• climate change
• extinction
• food

According to a new study in the journal Nature Communications, the development of natural habitat for agriculture and urbanization, as well as the transformation of habitat caused by climate change, are “major causes of the decline in range sizes, and two of the most important threats to global terrestrial biodiversity.” 

Why This Matters:  Food production processes emit lots of carbon, and now we see that food production also drives loss of habitat and thus species’ extinction.

• People

Interview of the Week: Danielle Leoni, Sustainable Chef and Restaurant Owner

• food
• sustainability
• The Breadfruit & Rum Bar
• The James Beard Foundation

Danielle Leoni is the Co-Owner and Chef of The Breadfruit & Rum Bar in Phoenix and a leader in the sustainability movement in the food world.  She is also a nominee for the 2020 Best Chef, Southwest from the James Beard Foundation.