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/

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.

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.

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.

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

“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 first aired, several artists … denounced the song for perpetuating outdated stereotypes about Africa,” writes Arianna Poletti.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/

Read the full story, a collaboration with Texas Monthly, at thefern.org/2025/12/insi... @texasmonthly.bsky.social

What can the downfall and resurrection of the oyster tell us about a future of farming the ocean? This is the second episode of a two-part series exploring the future of farming seafood in the Gulf. ⬇️ https://thefern.org/blog_posts/ferns-friday-feed-the-gulf-coast-gets-a-new-oyster/

FERN is looking for its next Assistant Engagement Producer. This role includes assisting with podcast production for audio and video, creating multimedia content and more for FERN’s social media channels, and aiding in audience tracking and analysis. ⬇️

ICYMI: Mariano Santiago came to the U.S. from Mexico in search of a better life for his family. His brother, Begaí, refused to let him go alone. Only one survived the journey. Story by Elliott Woods for FERN and Texas Monthly. Link below ⬇️

Americans now eat more farmed seafood than they do from the wild ocean. That’s turned farming fish into big business, one that consumers have benefited from. The U.S. imports most of that seafood, but that could change. And the Gulf of Mexico is where some of the early action is unfolding.

“Inside, the migrants had grown desperate,” writes Elliott Woods. “Some clawed at the walls and tore out chunks of yellow foam insulation, a futile effort to reach fresh air. … One by one, they began to die.” ⬇️ https://thefern.org/blog_posts/ferns-friday-feed-one-by-one-they-began-to-die/

We know this: Demand for seafood is soaring. We won’t be able to sustainably meet that demand from wild-caught fisheries. And there’s a growing global movement to farm more and more of our seafood.

“Inside the deadliest immigration-related disaster in U.S. history,” Elliott Wood's investigative story for FERN and Texas Monthly, took over two years to write.

The catastrophe that unfolded on June 27, 2022 would result in the deadliest immigration-related disaster in modern American history, explains Elliott Woods in his investigative piece for FERN and Texas Monthly.

There are a few more hours left! 👇

There are a few hours left! 👇

Watch the full interview for this episode here: youtu.be/qHp4a7sRlsc And subscribe to our YouTube channel for future episodes. @foodfixco.bsky.social @hbottemiller.bsky.social @eathere2.bsky.social

ICYMI: In FERN's latest story, a collaboration with Rolling Stone, reporter Sean Patrick Cooper uncovers how Big Farm and Big Tech have supercharged a pollution problem related to chemicals in an Oregon farming community’s water supply. Link below ⬇️

In this episode, Helena and Theodore take the show on the road, talking with Jerusha Klemperer from FoodPrint’s What You’re Eating podcast to figure out if MAHA is a political movement, whether it will last, and most importantly, is it doing any good?

This Giving Tuesday, we’re celebrating the power of food and the power of you. And because generosity looks good on everyone … today only your gift of at least $50 comes with a limited-edition FERN winter hat! (Trust us, it’s fantastic. But you need to act fast. Supplies are limited.)

Read the full story, a collaboration with Rolling Stone, at thefern.org/2025/11/the-... @rollingstone.com

Despite having the most prolific remaining wild salmon runs on Earth, Alaska leads the world in salmon hatchery production. But as Miranda Weiss and Rafael de la Uz explain in their video documentary for FERN and Alaska Public Media, this production comes at a cost.

In the latest FERN story, a collaboration with Rolling Stone, a small-town county commissioner in Oregon named Jim Doherty discovered that industrial farming combined with a demand for data centers contributed to the presence of toxic nitrates in well water across the county. Link below ⬇️

What if hatcheries—once thought of as the solution to dwindling salmon runs—are actually an ocean-wide ecological problem?

In a part of rural Oregon in which large agricultural operations are a crucial driver of the economy, massive data center construction by Amazon has supercharged a pollution problem related to chemicals in the community’s water supply.

What if hatcheries—once thought of as the solution to dwindling salmon runs—are actually an ocean-wide ecological problem? Explore the ripple effects in Trouble at Sea (thefern.org & alaskapublic.org). 📺 Nov. 25, 7 p.m. on Alaska Public Media TV 📲 Nov. 26 PBS app | alaskapublic.org | YouTube

We wanted to reach out with a quick note and update. Due to this week's worldwide Cloudflare outage, FERN’s donation page wasn’t working. Many organizations across the globe were affected, and unfortunately our giving page was one of them.

Farmed seafood has become a massive business worldwide, and American consumers have benefitted from the cheap overseas prices.

“The rising demand for pet African grey ­parrots and the price for a single bird — as much as $7,000 — drive rampant poaching in the forests of West and Central Africa.” ⬇️ https://thefern.org/blog_posts/ferns-friday-feed-parrots-in-peril/

The MAHA movement has had surprising success at the state level. Will that translate into federal change?

This episode of Forked explores whether MAHA momentum in the states translates into actual policy change nationwide. Helena and Theodore hosted the first-ever Forked live taping, with two special guests. ⬇️

“Each one of us has a unique scent profile, like a fingerprint. Everything from our personality type – such as extroversion, dominance and neuroticism – to our mood and health affects the way we smell,” writes Sofia Quaglia. ⬇️ https://thefern.org/blog_posts/ferns-friday-feed-hot-food/

FERN’s NewsMatch campaign is underway, our biggest fundraising effort of the year — and a moment when your support can make an even greater impact. We have $20,000 in matching funds waiting to be unlocked. But we only receive it if donors like you step up.

In this postscript to FERN’s special issue of High Country News, Food and Power in the West, Mary-Charlotte Domandi, host of Radio Café’s Down to Earth podcast, goes deep with writers Rick Bass and Laureli Ivanoff about their essays in the special issue.

Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow for our live taping of Forked happening in D.C. at 6pm! THE EVENT IS SOLD OUT. But we will be releasing a podcast episode for it next week, on November 18th. So stay tuned for that! www.eventbrite.com/e/forked-pod...

“An entire commercial mechanism will have whirred to life the moment you clicked ‘Place order,’” writes Ellen Cushing. https://thefern.org/blog_posts/ferns-friday-feed-delivery-overload/

Thanks to our generous NewsMatch partners and members of our own community, we have $20,000 in matching funds waiting to be unlocked. But we need your help!

We are excited about next week's live taping of Forked happening in D.C.! Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 6 pm!

The government shutdown means money is running out for SNAP. Who will come to its rescue?

In this episode, Helena and Theodore look at how the federal government shutdown is pushing the SNAP program toward a fiscal cliff. Will either party do anything about it?

“Part of the appeal at Mexican American chains like Chi-Chi’s … was simple … ,” writes Serena Maria Daniels. “They offered comfort ... But the energy … didn’t last.” ⬇️ https://thefern.org/blog_posts/ferns-friday-feed-its-2025-does-america-really-need-taco-salad-and-mexican-fried-ice-cream/

Exciting news! Buzzkill has won a Signal Award gold medal in the sustainability & environment category! 🌱 www.signalaward.com/winners/#202...

In this postscript to FERN’s special issue of High Country News, Food and Power in the West, Mary-Charlotte Domandi, host of Radio Café’s Down to Earth podcast, goes deep with writers Rick Bass and Laureli Ivanoff about their essays in the special issue.

The CDC fired more than 1,000 people and then unfired most of them. Again. What happened?

In February, FERN senior editor Ted Genoways investigated how JBS, the world’s largest meat producer, came to rely on Haitian migrants and other refugees at its Greeley, Colorado plant—signaling an economic shift from undocumented labor to legal immigrant workers with precarious status.

In the latest REAP/SOW Extra, FERN’s Theodore Ross talks with reporter Esther Honig about how refugee workers transformed Greeley, Colorado’s meatpacking industry — and the cultural and political ripple effects that followed.

“Growing up in India, I was hand-fed by my mother until I was six or seven years old. ... Being fed this way ... still feels like the most primal act of care,” writes Yamini Pathak. ⬇️ https://thefern.org/blog_posts/ferns-friday-feed-hand-to-mouth/