10 agriculture stories you should read today, Feb. 21

The Lazarus thread. One man feeding multitudes. TomKat. Nuts outsell houses. Starbucks bought the farm. Vanishing lakes. Gunfire and grapes. Killing cane workers.

Chris Bennett

February 21, 2014

2 Min Read

1. Starbucks Bought the Farm

Every year Starbucks buys over 500 million pounds of unroasted coffee beans (3 percent of global supply), and last year bought a 600-acre coffee farm in Costa Rica to experiment with growing its own beans. (Businessweek)

2. When Nuts Outsell Houses

The math is not complicated: When housing lots are selling for $10,000 per acre, and potential walnut acreage is going for $15,000 per acre (not to mention established walnut ground at $25,000 per acre), the choice to plant, rather than build, is easy to understand. (Sacramento Bee)

3. Organic or Conventional … Maybe Both

Pay what you will for fruits and vegetables, it’s thankfully a free market, but organic claims don’t always measure up. (Slate)

4. The Vanishing Lakes

It’s not just the Dead Sea or Aral Sea … more of the disappearing lakes. (Smithsonian)

5. One Man Feeding Multitudes

“As a man soweth, so shall he reap,” is printed on his business cards and Jacko Garrett backs his beliefs with action. Garrett, a 70-year-old Texas farmer, has donated 6 million pounds of rice to charity. (Houstonia)