Why a global cocoa crunch will sour chocolate for years to come
Chocolate lovers already feeling the sting of high prices should brace for worse: costs will continue to rise as global cocoa supplies are at their lowest level in two decades. But spare a thought for cocoa farmers in west Africa, battling poor weather, crippling crop diseases as well as local and international governments – all while missing out on their fair share of the price hike.
Walking the trees: we traced how First Nations groups moved bunya pine and black bean trees
For millennia, Indigenous knowledge holders have passed down lore to the next generation. Much lore describes the relationships between people and Country, including custodial responsibilities to care for other species as kin. Each species carries a history of movement and change in its DNA. By quantifying how related one individual of a species is to another, evolutionary ecologists can infer how a species migrated in the deep past. When we combine both types of knowledge – lore and genetics – we can make new discoveries. Our recent body of research uses genomic techniques and interviews with First Nations knowledge holders to investigate whether First Nations Peoples moved two culturally important food sources, bunya pines and black bean trees.
Curtis Stone dishes on Gwen, his new butcher’s shop and restaurant opening soon in Hollywood
“I’m an Aussie; we have butcher shops on every corner,” said Stone, explaining why it made sense to both him and his brother to structure their new restaurant around a very fancy meat counter.
MSG is back. Is the idea it’s bad for us just a myth or food science?
MSG is making a comeback. The internet’s favourite cucumber salad recipe includes fish sauce, cucumber, garlic and – as the video’s creator Logan tells us with a generous sprinkle from the bag – “MSG, obviously”. But for many of us, it’s not obvious. Do you have a vague sense MSG is unhealthy but you’re not sure why? Here is the science behind monosodium glutamate, how it got a bad rap, and whether you should add it to your cooking.
What causes food cravings? And what can we do about them?
Many of us try to eat more fruits and vegetables and less ultra-processed food. But why is sticking to your goals so hard? High-fat, sugar-rich and salty foods are simply so enjoyable to eat. And it’s not just you – we’ve evolved that way. These foods activate the brain’s reward system because in the past they were rare. Now, they’re all around us. In wealthy modern societies we are bombarded by advertising which intentionally reminds us about the sight, smell and taste of calorie-dense foods. And in response to these powerful cues, our brains respond just as they’re designed to, triggering an intense urge to eat them. Here’s how food cravings work and what you can do if you find yourself hunting for sweet or salty foods.
Minister told that beef producers aren’t a deforestation risk
Australian beef producers aren’t responsible for deforestation, according to advice from the federal Agriculture Department to minister Murray Watt that contradicts Queensland government data, further complicating trade negotiations with the European Union.
‘Unpick the damage that’s been done’: Inside NSW plan to rein in rampant land-clearing
The NSW government will lay out its plan to unscramble the controversial biodiversity offsets scheme and rein in rampant land-clearing on private land, setting the scene for a political fight over the rights of landowners. NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said the response to be released on Wednesday “starts to unpick the damage … done since 2016”, when the former government introduced the offsets scheme and loosened restrictions on land-clearing.
Define ‘tree’: The fight over Woolworths’ eco-beef pledge
Millions of hectares of trees have been cleared in Australia since 2016, government-compiled figures show. The NSW government found that 130,000 hectares of land of woody vegetation, including trees, was cleared for agricultural purposes between 2016 and 2021 – the latest available data. At the same time, more than 2 million hectares of trees were cleared in Queensland, mostly for agriculture.
When Did All the Recipes Get ‘Garlicky’?
It was the post on X that stopped food media in its tracks. On April 23, 2024, comedian Karli Marulli joked about offerings in the Cooking section of the New York Times, imagining the platonic recipe that comes up no matter what you’re making: “beany leeky greens with greeky rampy beans.” The riffs kept coming in the comments, mentions of jammy eggs and brothy, garlicky stew, each “-y” twisting the knife. Perhaps at some future date we’ll declare that on that day in April, the trend of naming recipes with conversational adjectives officially died
