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Many modern farms—where “clean” fields and monocultures rule—lack key elements of a functional ecosystem: a broad diversity of insects, wildlife, trees, and plant species. But in the past 30 years a revolution in thinking about native plants and beneficial insects has reinforced the importance of maintaining wild areas on farms. Matthew Wheeland reports on three […]
New Ruralism—an eclectic outgrowth of farmers and urban planners—wants to remarry town and country. Even if you’re only the slightest bit familiar with California’s $30 billion–plus farm economy, you may have heard the lament: urban development is steamrolling the state’s agricultural belt. Every day, bountiful fields surrender to big-box stores, fast-food restaurants, and residential sprawl. More […]
Alice Waters is crusading to change not just what kids eat, but what they learn. The building where Alice Waters wants the 900 students of Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley to eat their lunch is currently a construction site, surrounded by chain link fence, a sign that says No Trespassing, and piles of brick […]
Two stars with contrasting styles take a mutual risk in Sacred Monsters. Sylvie Guillem and Akram Khan have no need, at this point in their careers, to take risks, but this is exactly what their collaboration Sacred Monsters does. French ballerina Guillem is considered by many to be the best in the world. A protégée of […]
Berkeley’s intellectual might grows from academic family trees From breakthrough research initiatives and indelible teachings have come the people who, for more than a century, not only conceived leading-edge ideas and transformed them into practical achievements, but inculcated into their colleagues and academic heirs unwavering Berkeley standards to uphold and improve upon. As part of California […]
A Berkeley discussion of the future of food and farming In preparing for this special issue on the future of food and farming, California writer Rick Wartzman and executive editor Patrick Dillon invited food and land-use experts to help frame the questions we subsequently spent several months exploring. Here are their remarks. My name is Sibella […]
In February, I began photographing the edge upon which California’s agriculture uneasily rests—where urban growth and agricultural preservation collide. While I worked on the project, my mother passed away. Her life mirrored the changes of the Sacramento Valley. She was born on a hop ranch, went to school in a one-room building, and lived out […]
Imagine being told that you have a tumor in your liver. Luckily, it hasn’t metastasized, and the doctor offers you options, including surgery to remove the tumor, followed by an uncomfortable recovery period, or a combination of radiation and drugs to shrink the tumor, which might harm the surrounding healthy tissue also, and compromise your […]
Genetically modified mustard plants mop up toxins Genetically modified organisms have earned few fans among the Prius-driving, organic food–buying set, who say that messing with genomes will be disastrous for ecosystems and human health. But a recent study by Berkeley scientist Norman Terry and colleagues might encourage green-minded types to consider the possible benefits of genetic […]
An exhausted star basketball player leaves the court and is mobbed by female fans who can’t resist him, or his soaked jersey. Is it his good looks, or a chemical and biological response to his musk that has attracted them? Claire Wyart and colleagues doing research for the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute tested the female […]
Anyone whose car has overheated has caught a glimpse of wasted energy. Arun Majumdar, a professor of mechanical engineering, sees such waste everywhere he goes. But he and other Berkeley researchers may have found a way to turn that loss into an opportunity that could help cut down on fossil fuel dependency. Researchers led by […]
After a season as a minor-league baseball play-byplay announcer for the Columbia Mules, biologist Michael Eisen moved on to his fallback career: science. Eisen posted impressive stats after being drafted by Berkeley, publishing widely, and co-founding the Public Library of Science—an online library of openaccess science and medical publications. But despite his success, some part […]
Food reform Pending: A federal Farm Bill that could transform public health and the health of our farmland. There’s still much I don’t understand about our farm policy, but let me start by telling you what I do know about the federal Farm Bill. What I do know is that this obscure piece of legislation that […]
California cuisine has turned into crossroads cuisine. My sister and I were strolling down Larkin Street in San Francisco recently when there wafted a pungent, salty aroma from an open window above. I was about to name the dish, but the couple walking ahead of us beat me to it. “Hmm, I smell fish sauce,” said […]
Connecting the dots between Confucianism, the Cultural Revolution, and capitalism. I’ve been afraid to revisit those cities that are the economic engines of the renewed China, afraid to be affronted by masses of Shanghai and Beijing yuppies shooting Starbucks doppio espressos before heading into an excessively air-conditioned office to sell questionable stocks to China’s “to be […]
California’s food production and distribution system is the root system of the state’s life. Its maintenance is fundamental for our health and our future sustainability—and it requires massive amounts of energy, water, labor, and capital to feed people each day. Consequently, it offers myriad challenges and opportunities: a healthy food system means better health for […]
The queen of California says her ultimate fate may be to open another restaurant. When she opened the doors of Chez Panisse 36 years ago, Alice Waters had no idea how many guests would arrive or how the tiny staff of her modest neighborhood restaurant would get the food on the tables. Today, Chez Panisse is […]
Maverick chef Eric Gower throws kitchen convention to the wind. Eric Gower’s kitchen is small—cramped, even—and bears little resemblance to the chrome culinary laboratories made famous by the Food Network. Mismatched pots and skillets hang over his vintage Wedgewood stove, its top shelf crowded with brightly colored salts. The cartoon-bedecked refrigerator door can’t be opened without […]
The once predictable Colombian artist, known for lush rural scenes and curvaceous women, shocks audiences with portraits inspired by the horror of Abu Ghraib. The millionaire artist walks to a corner of his Paris studio, bends over, and picks up an illustration of what has become his instantly recognizable franchise. It is a still-life painting of […]
