The story of DDT, America’s most notorious and most studied toxic chemical, holds many lessons. It illuminates that we know very little about the thousands of chemicals released on the market, the vast majority of which are hardly regulated by the federal government. Scientists are just beginning to understand the impacts of the various generations of pesticides and insecticides on …
The tragic history of the ordinary peanut
One of the pleasures of my job at Civil Eats is doing interviews with the authors of books that help shift our understanding of environmental justice issues and the food system. This month, I interviewed journalist Jori Lewis about her new book Slaves for Peanuts. We talked about how the ordinary, ubiquitous peanuts became a tool for colonial expansion in …
Indigenous people fight climate change
Indigenous communities in the West and across the U.S. are some of the most affected by climate change. In recent years, news media have finally focused on bringing their voices to the forefront. What is emerging from such stories is that Native communities are stepping up with their own solutions to climate change, solutions steeped in traditional wisdom, previously-discounted practices, …
Solutions for growing climate anxiety
This year, I’ve shifted most of my energy to covering climate change. Over the past few years, views and positions have shifted in this country. Even those who deny that man is fueling the climate crisis now acknowledge there’s a problem. Americans finally feel its weight first hand: the unhealthy air, the unrelenting heat, the rains and floods, the droughts… …
Coronavirus coverage
In recent weeks, Civil Eats has been focusing its in-depth reporting on how the pandemic is reshaping our food system. This includes COVID-19’s impacts on farmers, food and farm labor, communities, and much more. So far, I’ve contributed stories about how farmworkers are especially vulnerable to the virus and hundreds have already tested positive. I’ve covered the Trump administration’s rollback …
Civil Eats
Since mid-April, I’ve been working as a senior reporter for Civil Eats, a nonprofit news organization dedicated to telling stories about the food system and agriculture. So far, I’ve written about the mining of phosphate ore to make Roundup, the race to develop healthier chicken genetics, and the exponential growth of the controversial agricultural guest worker program. For other stories, …