It took California a century to produce a pistachio harvest. Now, it's the world's top supplier. But as the Dubai chocolate trend fuels demand, and California droughts intensify, growers are fighting to keep up.
Aluminum is infinitely recyclable, but Americans throw out millions of tons of it every year — mainly aluminum cans and other post-consumer scrap. At the same time, US can-recycling rates are falling drastically behind several countries. In New York City, canners are vital to making recycling work.
Most of the world's sugar comes from sugarcane. But the plant is so difficult to harvest that farmers often set their fields on fire first to get rid of leaves and unwanted pests. That's how most sugarcane is harvested in Florida, the largest producer of sugar in the US. Residents who live near the fields say the giant smoke clouds are is making them sick.
New Zealand is the world's largest kiwi exporter, shipping out over $1 billion of fruit annually. But a little over a decade ago, a deadly plant disease called PSA nearly wiped out the industry. A scientist named Russell Lowe saved it with a new breed called SunGold, which has overtaken green varieties as the most popular kind.