Vegetables pulled out from waste bins of an organic supermarket are pictured in Berlin. Foodsharing is a German internet based platform where individuals, retailers or producers have the possibility of offering surplus food to consumers for free. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

The Hot New Trend in Food Is Literal Garbage
In the past three years, there’s been an explosion in the number of start-ups making products from food waste, according to a new industry census by the nonprofit coalition ReFED. The report found that only 11 such companies existed in 2011. By 2013, that number had doubled, and ReFED now logs 64 established companies selling ugly-fruit jam, stale-bread beer, and other “upcycled” food products.

Using Real-Time Satellite Data to Track Water Productivity in Agriculture
Measuring how efficiently water is used in agriculture, particularly in water-scarce countries, is going high-tech with the help of a new tool developed by FAO. The WaPOR open-access database has gone live, tapping satellite data to help farmers achieve more reliable agricultural yields and allowing for the optimization of irrigation systems.

Artist Sets Futuristic Dinner Party in World Reshaped by Rising Seas
What will our dinners look like when temperatures and sea levels rise and water floods our coastal towns and cities? Allie Wist, 29, an associate art director at Saveur magazine, attempts to answer that question in her latest art project, "Flooded." It's a fictional photo essay (based on real scientific data) about a dinner party menu at a time when climate change has significantly altered our diets.

A Veggie Burger That Bleeds? Now the 'Clean Meat' Revolution Is Cooking on Gas
The future of food is on the verge of living up to its hype, and possibly even surpassing it. Plant-based products meant to resemble animal foods are becoming even more convincing and delicious. Clean meat—plant-based or lab-grown “meat” produced with no killing of animals—is produced in more sanitary and controlled conditions than conventionally produced meat, and its environmental impact is much lighter.