Dan Charles

Pesticides called "neonics" are popular among farmers, but also have been blamed for killing bees. In Canada, the province of Ontario is trying to crack down on neonics, with mixed results.

In the great household debate about refrigerating tomatoes, there's some new scientific evidence on the no-fridge side. But some taste testers are not convinced.

Reducing food waste is complicated, but the clearest success story may be the United Kingdom, where households cut the amount of food they wasted by about 20 percent.

American farmers receive billions of dollars each year in "conservation payments" that are intended to protect the environment. Some environmentalists say the payments deserve scrutiny — and reform.

The giant poultry producer says that it is now raising all of its chickens without routine antibiotics. Only those flocks that get sick, about 5 percent of all birds, will be treated.

Scientists have discovered a soil microbe with a gene that kills the corn rootworm, an insect that farmers spend $1 billion each year trying to control.

The Environmental Protection Agency says that the country's most widely used weedkiller, glyphosate, does not cause cancer. The chemical has been under intense international scrutiny.

The world's largest seed company, Monsanto, is being bought by Germany-based chemical company, Bayer. Farmers at a farm show in Canada are wondering if this will reduce competition.

Bayer, the maker of Aspirin and other pharmaceuticals and chemicals, is buying Monsanto in a deal valued at $66 billion. If approved, it would make one of the world's biggest agri-chemical companies.

Coffee can teach us many things, including engineering. At the University of California, Davis, it's now the focus of the most popular elective class on campus and of an ambitious new research center.

There's new and detailed data on the impact of genetically modified crops on pesticide use. Those crops replaced insecticides, and, at first, some herbicides. But herbicide use has rebounded.

Minnesota's governor has ordered new restrictions on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides, which have been blamed for killing bees. Many details of the plan, however, remain to be worked out.

To help dairy farmers hurt by a glut, the USDA said this week it'll buy $20 million worth of cheese and give it to food banks. But we eat so much of the stuff, that's hardly a drop in the bucket.

According to a new study, the nation's first soda tax succeeded in cutting consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. But there's uncertainty about whether the effect will be permanent.

According to interviews conducted before and after Berkeley imposed a tax on sugary drinks, the tax is having the desired effect. People reported drinking 20 percent fewer sugar-sweetened drinks after the tax went into effect.

Milk is like oil - it's refined into products that are traded globally. So global events can mean profits or losses for dairy farmers. This year, they're seeing losses, and asking Congress for help.

Sales of food labeled "non-GMO" are booming, and it's starting to annoy organic food companies. They see the non-GMO label as cut-rate competition that doesn't deliver what shoppers imagine.

There's tension brewing among U.S. soybean farmers after Monsanto started selling a new herbicide-resistant seed — without EPA approval.

A new type of genetically engineered crop is tempting farmers to use a weedkiller illegally. The illicit chemical use has damaged nearby crops and provoked conflict among neighbors.

Most people know not to eat raw cookie dough. But now it's serious: 46 people have now been sickened with E. coli-tainted flour. Here's how contamination might be occurring.