Dan Charles

Michigan Tracks Cattle From Birth To Plate

Dan Charles — Fri, 31 May 2013 07:20:00 +0000

When you pick up a cut of beef at the store, would you like to know that animal's life history? The technology to do this does exist — at least in Michigan, where the state requires all cattle to carry electronic ear tags. It's the only state that requires such tags.

Michigan's cattle-tracking system was forced on farmers because of a crisis.

GMO Wheat Found In Oregon Field. How'd It Get There?

Dan Charles — Thu, 30 May 2013 07:05:00 +0000

A farmer in Oregon has found some genetically engineered wheat growing on his land. It's an unwelcome surprise, because this type of wheat has never been approved for commercial planting.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it's investigating, trying to find out how this wheat got there.

Bee Deaths May Have Reached A Crisis Point For Crops

Dan Charles — Tue, 07 May 2013 22:12:00 +0000

According to a new survey of America's beekeepers, almost a third of the country's honeybee colonies did not make it through the winter.

That's been the case, in fact, almost every year since the U.S. Department of Agriculture began this annual survey, six years ago.

Over the past six years, on average, 30 percent of all the honeybee colonies in the U.S. died off over the winter. The worst year was five years ago.

Exploring Coffee's Past To Rescue Its Future

Dan Charles — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:45:00 +0000

At the Center for Tropical Agricultural Research and Education (CATIE) in Turrialba, Costa Rica, you can touch the history of coffee — and also, if the optimists have their way, part of its future.

Here, spread across 25 acres, are coffee trees that take you back to coffee's origins.

"The story starts in Africa, no? East Africa," says Eduardo Somarriba, a researcher at CATIE, as we walk through long rows of small coffee trees.

These trees came directly from forests in Africa.

How Coffee Brings The World Together

Dan Charles — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 07:22:00 +0000

Coffee is more than a drink.