The Food & Environment Reporting Network
@thefern.org
The Food & Environment Reporting Network (FERN) produces independent, non-profit journalism at the intersection of food, agriculture, and the environment.
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American food politics are a mess, and ordinary people are struggling to figure out who is in charge, what they’re up to, and why. Forked hosts Helena Bottemiller Evich and Theodore Ross cut through the confusion, providing context and analysis.
“‘Os Menino da Pecuária’ ... Brazil’s version of country music … celebrating not just rural life but cattle ranching, soy farming and the agricultural industry at large.” ⬇️
https://thefern.org/blog_posts/ferns-friday-feed-the-dulcet-tone-of-propaganda/
https://thefern.org/blog_posts/ferns-friday-feed-the-dulcet-tone-of-propaganda/
January 16, 2026 at 4:59 PM
“‘Os Menino da Pecuária’ ... Brazil’s version of country music … celebrating not just rural life but cattle ranching, soy farming and the agricultural industry at large.” ⬇️
https://thefern.org/blog_posts/ferns-friday-feed-the-dulcet-tone-of-propaganda/
https://thefern.org/blog_posts/ferns-friday-feed-the-dulcet-tone-of-propaganda/
Read the full story, a collaboration with The Baffler, at thefern.org/2026/01/rese...
@thebaffler.com
@thebaffler.com
January 16, 2026 at 4:07 PM
Read the full story, a collaboration with The Baffler, at thefern.org/2026/01/rese...
@thebaffler.com
@thebaffler.com
Read the full story, a collaboration with The Baffler, at thefern.org/2026/01/last...
@thebaffler.com
@thebaffler.com
January 15, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Read the full story, a collaboration with The Baffler, at thefern.org/2026/01/last...
@thebaffler.com
@thebaffler.com
Watch the full interview for this episode here: youtu.be/Kb1E7bDIohI
And subscribe to our YouTube channel for future episodes.
@foodfixco.bsky.social @hbottemiller.bsky.social
And subscribe to our YouTube channel for future episodes.
@foodfixco.bsky.social @hbottemiller.bsky.social
January 13, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Watch the full interview for this episode here: youtu.be/Kb1E7bDIohI
And subscribe to our YouTube channel for future episodes.
@foodfixco.bsky.social @hbottemiller.bsky.social
And subscribe to our YouTube channel for future episodes.
@foodfixco.bsky.social @hbottemiller.bsky.social
Watch the episode on our FERNnews YouTube channel: youtu.be/Kb1E7bDIohI
January 13, 2026 at 3:02 PM
Watch the episode on our FERNnews YouTube channel: youtu.be/Kb1E7bDIohI
Listen to the episode on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts.
thefern.org/podcasts/for...
@foodfixco.bsky.social @hbottemiller.bsky.social
thefern.org/podcasts/for...
@foodfixco.bsky.social @hbottemiller.bsky.social
January 13, 2026 at 3:02 PM
Listen to the episode on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts.
thefern.org/podcasts/for...
@foodfixco.bsky.social @hbottemiller.bsky.social
thefern.org/podcasts/for...
@foodfixco.bsky.social @hbottemiller.bsky.social
Along with bold (and unsubstantiated) predictions, in this episode: it’s SNAP bans on junk food, why skinny santas matter, and the pill that just may eat the American appetite.
January 13, 2026 at 3:02 PM
Along with bold (and unsubstantiated) predictions, in this episode: it’s SNAP bans on junk food, why skinny santas matter, and the pill that just may eat the American appetite.
It’s 2026 and Forked has returned from a short holiday break. Helena and Theodore are excited – and maybe a little nervous – to see what happens in the second year of life in the MAHA moment.
January 13, 2026 at 3:02 PM
It’s 2026 and Forked has returned from a short holiday break. Helena and Theodore are excited – and maybe a little nervous – to see what happens in the second year of life in the MAHA moment.
“Since the Point Reyes National Seashore was established in 1972, ranches ... helped reconfigure our nation’s understanding of what we should eat ... and the ethics of its production,” writes Lauren Markham.
https://thefern.org/blog_posts/ferns-friday-feed-can-conservation-and-ranching-coexist/
https://thefern.org/blog_posts/ferns-friday-feed-can-conservation-and-ranching-coexist/
January 9, 2026 at 5:00 PM
“Since the Point Reyes National Seashore was established in 1972, ranches ... helped reconfigure our nation’s understanding of what we should eat ... and the ethics of its production,” writes Lauren Markham.
https://thefern.org/blog_posts/ferns-friday-feed-can-conservation-and-ranching-coexist/
https://thefern.org/blog_posts/ferns-friday-feed-can-conservation-and-ranching-coexist/
For his story for FERN and The Baffler, reporter Christopher Ketcham visited the area to write about this antireservoir movement, and how it succeeded in opposing agribusiness in France. Link below ⬇️
January 7, 2026 at 3:03 PM
For his story for FERN and The Baffler, reporter Christopher Ketcham visited the area to write about this antireservoir movement, and how it succeeded in opposing agribusiness in France. Link below ⬇️
On the morning of March 25, 2023, thirty thousand people marched across western France in protest of the unfinished 190-million-gallon Sainte-Soline reservoir, which was to become part of a system that already included over two dozen reservoirs that primarily served large agricultural operators.
January 7, 2026 at 3:03 PM
On the morning of March 25, 2023, thirty thousand people marched across western France in protest of the unfinished 190-million-gallon Sainte-Soline reservoir, which was to become part of a system that already included over two dozen reservoirs that primarily served large agricultural operators.
In her story for FERN and The Baffler, Lauren Markham tells the complex story of how a fight over protecting the tule elk pitted environmentalists against ranchers in Point Reyes, California. Link below ⬇️
January 6, 2026 at 3:07 PM
In her story for FERN and The Baffler, Lauren Markham tells the complex story of how a fight over protecting the tule elk pitted environmentalists against ranchers in Point Reyes, California. Link below ⬇️
When you support us, we want to be able to give something back in return. Donate at least $50 or $5/month and you can receive The Dirt, an annual print collection of our favorite stories. It’s a great way to stay on top of FERN’s essential work on food and agriculture. https://thefern.org/donate/
December 23, 2025 at 8:04 PM
When you support us, we want to be able to give something back in return. Donate at least $50 or $5/month and you can receive The Dirt, an annual print collection of our favorite stories. It’s a great way to stay on top of FERN’s essential work on food and agriculture. https://thefern.org/donate/
At FERN, our multi-format storytelling ensures important stories reach diverse audiences in the ways they prefer. Learn more about our multi-format strategy and donate to support our work at https://thefern.org.
December 23, 2025 at 5:09 PM
At FERN, our multi-format storytelling ensures important stories reach diverse audiences in the ways they prefer. Learn more about our multi-format strategy and donate to support our work at https://thefern.org.
This episode is dedicated to the memory of FERN staffer Katie Gardner, who passed away after a brave struggle with cancer. Katie was a special person – a good friend and trusted colleague of all of us at FERN – taken too young. Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones.
December 23, 2025 at 3:09 PM
This episode is dedicated to the memory of FERN staffer Katie Gardner, who passed away after a brave struggle with cancer. Katie was a special person – a good friend and trusted colleague of all of us at FERN – taken too young. Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones.
It's also available on our YouTube channel at FERNNews. Subscribe to all of FERN’s audio and video reporting. youtu.be/dfNc4e7pmxo
@wwno.org @boyceupholt.bsky.social
@wwno.org @boyceupholt.bsky.social
December 23, 2025 at 3:09 PM
It's also available on our YouTube channel at FERNNews. Subscribe to all of FERN’s audio and video reporting. youtu.be/dfNc4e7pmxo
@wwno.org @boyceupholt.bsky.social
@wwno.org @boyceupholt.bsky.social
In this episode, the second in a two-part series on the future of seafood, produced in partnership with WWNO’s Sea Change, we ask: What can the downfall and resurrection of the Louisiana oyster tell us about a future in which the ocean is a farm?
Listen here: thefern.org/podcasts/rea...
Listen here: thefern.org/podcasts/rea...
December 23, 2025 at 3:09 PM
In this episode, the second in a two-part series on the future of seafood, produced in partnership with WWNO’s Sea Change, we ask: What can the downfall and resurrection of the Louisiana oyster tell us about a future in which the ocean is a farm?
Listen here: thefern.org/podcasts/rea...
Listen here: thefern.org/podcasts/rea...
The Gulf Coast is one of the last places in the world where there is still a major wild oyster harvest. Lately, though, that harvest is in trouble.
December 23, 2025 at 3:09 PM
The Gulf Coast is one of the last places in the world where there is still a major wild oyster harvest. Lately, though, that harvest is in trouble.
At FERN, every collaboration begins with a story, and we work with top journalists and major media outlets to bring deeply reported food and environmental stories to hundreds of millions of people. Learn more about our partnerships and donate to support our work at www.thefern.org.
December 22, 2025 at 5:15 PM
At FERN, every collaboration begins with a story, and we work with top journalists and major media outlets to bring deeply reported food and environmental stories to hundreds of millions of people. Learn more about our partnerships and donate to support our work at www.thefern.org.
FERN's reporting highlights how climate change, pollution, industrial agriculture, and inequality shape the American food system—centering on the experiences of workers, immigrants, and others most affected. Learn more about our mission and donate to support our work at www.thefern.org.
December 19, 2025 at 7:30 PM
FERN's reporting highlights how climate change, pollution, industrial agriculture, and inequality shape the American food system—centering on the experiences of workers, immigrants, and others most affected. Learn more about our mission and donate to support our work at www.thefern.org.
In the meantime, you can subscribe to Forked and REAP/SOW wherever you get your podcasts, or watch us in action on YouTube at @FERNnews.
www.youtube.com/@FERNnews
www.youtube.com/@FERNnews
December 19, 2025 at 6:22 PM
In the meantime, you can subscribe to Forked and REAP/SOW wherever you get your podcasts, or watch us in action on YouTube at @FERNnews.
www.youtube.com/@FERNnews
www.youtube.com/@FERNnews
If you missed it, make sure you check out the December 2 episode of Forked. This is the last Forked episode of 2025. But don’t worry, we’ll be back in 2026, with our first episode dropping on January 13.
Listen here: thefern.org/podcasts/for...
@foodfixco.bsky.social @hbottemiller.bsky.social
Listen here: thefern.org/podcasts/for...
@foodfixco.bsky.social @hbottemiller.bsky.social
December 19, 2025 at 6:22 PM
If you missed it, make sure you check out the December 2 episode of Forked. This is the last Forked episode of 2025. But don’t worry, we’ll be back in 2026, with our first episode dropping on January 13.
Listen here: thefern.org/podcasts/for...
@foodfixco.bsky.social @hbottemiller.bsky.social
Listen here: thefern.org/podcasts/for...
@foodfixco.bsky.social @hbottemiller.bsky.social
“In 2024, 40 years after ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ first aired, several artists … denounced the song for perpetuating outdated stereotypes about Africa,” writes Arianna Poletti. ⬇️
https://thefern.org/blog_posts/ferns-friday-feed-from-band-aid-to-breadbasket/
https://thefern.org/blog_posts/ferns-friday-feed-from-band-aid-to-breadbasket/
December 19, 2025 at 4:59 PM
“In 2024, 40 years after ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ first aired, several artists … denounced the song for perpetuating outdated stereotypes about Africa,” writes Arianna Poletti. ⬇️
https://thefern.org/blog_posts/ferns-friday-feed-from-band-aid-to-breadbasket/
https://thefern.org/blog_posts/ferns-friday-feed-from-band-aid-to-breadbasket/