Anthropologists and other scholars are delving into the plight of urban communities where people struggle to meet their nutritional needs. In the process, these researchers are discovering the power, and limits, of self-reliance. Originally published in Sapiens and reprinted in Civil Eats. EVEN BEFORE ASHANTÉ REESE AND I REACH THE FRONT GATE, retired schoolteacher Alice […]
The Cookhouse Shepherd
Click here for “The Cookhouse Shepherd,” Carolina Alumni Review, July 2018. Opens as a PDF.
Shutdown
Click here for “Shutdown,” Carolina Alumni Review, January-February 2018 issue. Opens as a PDF.
The Gulf War
Click here for “The Gulf War,” published by the Food & Environment Reporting Network, June 2016. Alternately, click here for the shorter, newsier Texas Monthly version.
Coverage of the World Bank Group in Gujarat, India
Click here for “The Uncounted,” part of the Evicted & Abanadoned series, HuffPost and International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, May 2015. Click here for a follow-up (with a shared byline), “World Bank Fails To Stop Attacks, Arrests Of Villagers Protesting Big Projects,”HuffPost and International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, September 2015. Click here for another follow-up, “Is the World […]
Nervous energy
Billions of barrels of oil lie in the Monterey Shale. The windfall from tapping into that deeply buried cache could be mind-blowing – so could the damage. Originally published in Sunset in collaboration with the Food & Environment Reporting Network. FLECKS OF GOLDEN EVENING LIGHT are starting to bathe California’s San Antonio Valley as Paula […]
The Looming Water Crisis
Originally published in Saturday Evening Post. KYLAN FRYE STEERS HER SUBARU station wagon along the slushy roadways of the Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area at the edge of Utah’s Great Salt Lake. It’s a February afternoon, gray and cold, and a layer of snow covers the wetlands that spread for miles around us. The Wasatch […]
Could California’s Salmon Make a Comeback?
After years of decline, the rich human community that depends on California’s salmon runs may at last be rebounding. Originally published in onEarth. JON ROSENFIELD AND I BUSHWHACK through the scrubby willows that line the American River east of Sacramento. The air is crisp this October morning, and the timing of our visit should be just […]
The Tricky Academics of Eating
Martin Smith’s class poses a simple question: Should I eat fish? But answering it sends students into murky waters. Originally published in Duke Magazine. ON THE FIRST DAY OF HIS MARINE CONSERVATION course this past January, Martin Smith told his eight undergraduates that they would play a game. One student would wait in the hallway. […]
The Organic Food Paradox
As consumers increasingly demand organic produce, and as massive industrial farms rise to meet their needs, will it spell the end of the family-run, lovingly tended, earth-friendly farm? Originally published in The Saturday Evening Post. THE TERRAIN SWOOPS AND RISES AS I DRIVE up North Carolina Route 86 toward the rural crossroads of Cedar Grove. […]
