Times are beyond tough for Cali farmers affected by the drought–especially organic farmers whose barren pastures and skyrocketing organic feed costs are forcing them to truck in supplemental feed from faraway states, or consider bowing out of farming altogether: (Food & Environment Reporting Network)

And with California’s reservoirs containing only 39% of their combined capacity, wine grapes are one of the most impacted crops; too much heat and not enough water leads them to develop off flavors, higher alcohol levels at earlier stages, and high susceptibility to sunburn and disease: (Huffington Post)

Co-ops popping up in gentrifying neighborhoods are highlighting social tensions through their signature policies; the requirement that members work a minimum number of hours might place community members on a level playing field, but the requirement to join can be prohibitive to people not used to paying for entrance to the grocery store: (New York Times)

If you’re going to NYC you might want to hit one of the awesome-sounding classes offered by the League of Kitchens, a new social enterprise that offers cooking workshops in immigrant chefs’ kitchens–tough choice between Lebanese, Bangladeshi, Greek and more! (League of Kitchens)

An insect-resistant type of corn is on the verge of being approved by the European Union; it would be only the third genetically modified crop to be authorized for cultivation in the 28-nation bloc: (New York Times)