Dining on insects, usually more by choice than necessity, occurs in at least 100 countries — and may be better than chicken for both people and the environment.

With Uncle Sam pushing the production of ethanol for fuel, U.S. farmers are planting more corn than at any time since World War II, and garnering premium prices for each harvested bushel. But many livestock operations are getting hit with a double whammy: higher feeds costs and corn-derived feed that’s carrying triple the normal load of fungal poisons.

A shortfall in rice production has been developing well under the radar screen of agricultural economists and growers. The bad news: It promises to get much worse, and fairly soon.

Scientists have discovered that white button mushrooms, the plain Janes of edible fungi, are actually quite stimulating. Their powder seems to jump-start the immune response of cells taken from mice, a new study finds.Researchers had already found that feeding mice white button–mushroom powder cranked up the activity of natural killer cells, an execution squad of the immune system. In the new study, a team led by nutritional immunologist Dayong Wu of Tufts University looked into the effect of white button–mushroom powder on dendritic cells derived from mouse bone marrow. Dendritic ce... (p. 157)

Dark chocolate can be healthful, but it isn't always so. Here's why.

Therapeutic? - Some health groups are touting the benefits of the antioxidants found in candy.