fruits and vegetables

An illustration of fruit in front of the U.S. Capitol building.

Arts

Foraging helped me discover a world of free fruits and veggies

10:41am September 20, 2022

by Daniel Wood

In an ever modernizing world, foraging provides an opportunity to recall the simplicity of survival. All the things I thought I needed pale in comparison to a delicious piece of neglected fruit.

A variety of Australian wines with metal screwcaps are seen in a 2007 photo.

Who Wins A U.S.-China Trade War? Maybe Australia

9:32am April 03, 2018

by Scott Neuman

Australia has strong trading ties with China and produces many of the things on Beijing's list of U.S. products that will be hit by stiff tariffs.

Rebeca Gonzalez says she can now afford to buy pomegranates for her family in Garden Grove, Calif., because of the extra money she receives through Más Fresco, a food stamp incentive program for purchasing produce.

Food Stamp Program Makes Fresh Produce More Affordable

10:52am January 16, 2018

by Courtney Perkes

A federally funded experimental program is partnering with a Latino grocery chain to reward people who use their food stamps to put more fresh produce on their tables.

Why did humans start cultivating celery? It's low-calorie and, one might argue, low flavor. We asked some experts at the intersection of botany and anthropology to share their best guesses.

Celery: Why?

3:34pm June 13, 2016

by Natalie Jacewicz

Considering humans' millennia-long struggle with famine, it's surprising anyone spent time or resources cultivating low-calorie celery. But the vegetable's original use had nothing to do with food.

We know eating more produce is good for your heart. Now computer models suggest slashing the price by about a third could result in dramatically lower death rates from heart disease and stroke.

Slice The Price Of Fruits And Veggies, Save 200,000 Lives?

6:37pm March 02, 2016

by Clare Leschin-Hoar

We know eating more produce is good for your heart. Now computer models suggest slashing its price by about a third could result in dramatically lower death rates from heart disease and stroke.

Author Joan Morgan says Beurré Superfin is one of her favorite pears. It's "truly delicious: very buttery, juicy, cream to pale yellow flesh, intensely rich with plenty of sugar lemony acidity," she writes in The Book of Pears.

Books
Arts

'The Book Of Pears': A Love Letter To A Once Pre-Eminent Fruit

4:58pm December 15, 2015

by Eliza Barclay

A British fruit historian convincingly argues in a new book that the pear is "the most exciting of the tree fruits." And she says it's time to revive pear culture and explore the fruit's diversity.

The California Pepper Commission says mechanical harvesters to pick hot and bell peppers could help solve labor shortage problems.

National

4 Labor-Intensive Crops Farmers Wish They Had Robots To Harvest

5:13pm September 14, 2015

by Eliza Barclay

Many fruits and vegetables must be harvested by hand because it's hard and costly to design machines that won't damage them. But as farm labor dwindles, there's a new push to develop more farm robots.

Silly, Saucy, Scary: Photos Show The Many Faces Of Ugly Fruit

5:34pm March 26, 2015

by Maria Godoy

Wonky produce can take on absurdly entertaining shapes. But one food activist says learning to love these crazy contours is key to stopping mounds of food waste.

Lunch at the West Salem School District in Wisconsin.

Cash Or Credit? How Kids Pay For School Lunch Matters For Health

1:39pm January 17, 2014

by Shankar Vedantam

A study in the journal Obesity found that students who used credit or debit cards in the school cafeteria chose fewer fruits and vegetables and more desserts than kids paying with cash. But the researchers say schools should work with the bias instead of trying to fight it.

Queue Listen Now

The label for the berry blend recalled in June because of pomegranates linked to a hepatitis A outbreak.

Science

What Poisoned Pomegranates Tell Us About Food Safety

5:48pm August 01, 2013

by Dan Charles

The Food and Drug Administration recently announced a plan to try and prevent American food companies from importing contaminated produce from abroad. The case of the poisoned pomegranates from Turkey shows that our safety systems for imported food, however helpful, are not foolproof.

Queue Listen Now