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Food

The sticky, sugary history of Peeps
Culture

A few things you might not know about Easter’s favorite candy.

By Tanya Pai
The sticky, sugary history of Peeps
Culture

A few things you might not know about Easter’s favorite candy.

By Tanya Pai
Future Perfect
How the Iran war came for elevator rides, street lights, and even butter chickenHow the Iran war came for elevator rides, street lights, and even butter chicken
Future Perfect

The world’s poorest countries are paying the price for a war they didn’t start.

By Bryan Walsh
Podcasts
Does fine dining have a toxic chef problem?Does fine dining have a toxic chef problem?
Podcast
Podcasts

Why new allegations against a high-profile chef are prompting a reckoning in the world of haute cuisine.

By Avishay Artsy and Sean Rameswaram
Future Perfect
The pain from the Strait of Hormuz crisis will be felt far beyond the pumpThe pain from the Strait of Hormuz crisis will be felt far beyond the pump
Future Perfect

4 billion people are fed by fossil fuels. The Iran war is showing just how fragile that is.

By Bryan Walsh

The latest in Food

Future Perfect
Americans spend less of their income on food than almost ever. Why doesn’t it feel that way?Americans spend less of their income on food than almost ever. Why doesn’t it feel that way?
Future Perfect

The quiet economic miracle hiding in your grocery bill.

By Bryan Walsh
Culture
How the supermarket’s cheapest fish became Gen Z’s latest obsessionHow the supermarket’s cheapest fish became Gen Z’s latest obsession
Culture

The secret to “looks-maxxing” and saving money? Sardines.

By Kyndall Cunningham
Podcasts
7 predictions for how MAHA will change how Americans eat7 predictions for how MAHA will change how Americans eat
Podcast
Podcasts

What comes after “peak protein”?

By Miles Bryan and Noel King
Future Perfect
The 10 most read stories on Future Perfect in 2025The 10 most read stories on Future Perfect in 2025
Future Perfect

De-extinction, drinking, and a whole new thing that could end the world.

By Bryan Walsh
Future Perfect
8 million turkeys will be thrown in the trash this Thanksgiving8 million turkeys will be thrown in the trash this Thanksgiving
Future Perfect

We don’t have to accept all that death and waste for a dry, flavorless bird no one likes.

By Marina Bolotnikova
Culture
A defense of Thanksgiving turkeyA defense of Thanksgiving turkey
Culture

Don’t Americans deserve better than turkey on Thanksgiving?

By Alex Abad-Santos
The Highlight
Why peanut butter is back on the kids’ menuWhy peanut butter is back on the kids’ menu
The Highlight

How doctors learned to stop childhood food allergies.

By Bryan Walsh
The 2025 Future Perfect 25
Future Perfect

Meet the heroes keeping global progress alive.

By Bryan Walsh
Podcasts
The “welfare queen” stereotype is back — and it’s going viralThe “welfare queen” stereotype is back — and it’s going viral
Podcast
Podcasts

The government shutdown and the new war on food stamps.

By Danielle Hewitt and Noel King
The myth of the carnivore caveman
Future Perfect

You are not going to like where our ancestors got their protein.

By Gabriel Rosenberg and Jan Dutkiewicz
The Highlight
What is Dubai chocolate and why is it everywhere?What is Dubai chocolate and why is it everywhere?
The Highlight

TikTok is only part of the reason the snack has become the epitome of “IRL brainrot aesthetic.”

By Kyndall Cunningham
Future Perfect
No, your protein powder isn’t poisoning youNo, your protein powder isn’t poisoning you
Future Perfect

The panic over lead in protein powder got the risk totally wrong.

By Jan Dutkiewicz
How soybeans took over America — and the world
Future Perfect

This technology could feed a world of 10 billion. We’re squandering it, and the trade war with China could make it worse.

By Marina Bolotnikova
Future Perfect
The world is producing more food crops than ever beforeThe world is producing more food crops than ever before
Future Perfect

We’ve made tremendous progress against famine — but hunger hasn’t disappeared.

By Bryan Walsh
Culture
This is, objectively, the worst pasta shapeThis is, objectively, the worst pasta shape
Culture

Penne? Angel hair? Farfalle? Why??

By Alex Abad-Santos
Life
The real problem with kids’ diets todayThe real problem with kids’ diets today
Life

How MAHA is trickling down to Gen Alpha.

By Anna North
Culture
How a Japanese delicacy muscled its way into my kitchenHow a Japanese delicacy muscled its way into my kitchen
Culture

The second-wave matcha boom isn’t really about the tea.

By Kyndall Cunningham
Can’t commit to vegetarianism but want animals to suffer less? You’ve got options.
Future Perfect

This doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing.

By Sigal Samuel
Health
Happy ultra-processed foods day!Happy ultra-processed foods day!
Health

July Fourth is a cacophony of dietary chaos.

By Dylan Scott
The life of a dairy cow
Future Perfect

The surprising truth about milk is hiding in plain sight.

By Marina Bolotnikova
How beef colonized the Americas
Future Perfect

Beef is tied to my cultural identity through its complicated history. Could the daughter of a cattle rancher ever let it go?

By Izzie Ramirez
Advice
Your guide to taming that astronomical grocery billYour guide to taming that astronomical grocery bill
Advice

How to save without sacrificing your favorite snacks.

By Sara Youngblood Gregory
Today, Explained podcast
Can RFK Jr. remake school lunch?Can RFK Jr. remake school lunch?
Podcast
Today, Explained podcast

RFK Jr. wants to get ultra-processed foods out of school lunch. It’s harder than it sounds.

By Miles Bryan and Noel King
Future Perfect
9 actually good things that happened in 20249 actually good things that happened in 2024
Future Perfect

It wasn’t the easiest year, but 2024 was not without its bright spots.

By Bryan Walsh
How China could try to strangle Taiwan without firing a shot
World Politics

The Taiwan invasion everyone fears might never happen. Here’s what could take place instead.

By Joshua Keating
The slippery appeal of RFK Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement
Policy

Everybody loves MAHA — because nobody knows what it really is.

By Keren Landman, MD
Money
Crumbl’s massive empire was never about the cookiesCrumbl’s massive empire was never about the cookies
Money

How the dessert company taps into the never-ending cycle of hyper-consumption.

By Whizy Kim
Video
Why every restaurant has the same dessertsWhy every restaurant has the same desserts
Play
Video

Desserts at restaurants have gotten boring — here’s why.

By Kim Mas
Even Better
How not to poison your loved ones during your big holiday feastHow not to poison your loved ones during your big holiday feast
Even Better

Kitchen do’s and don’ts that may surprise you.

By Keren Landman, MD
Explain It to Me
Why are foods banned in other places still on US grocery shelves?Why are foods banned in other places still on US grocery shelves?
Explain It to Me

Who decides what can and can’t be in food in the US?

By Jonquilyn Hill
Video
Why Red 3 is still in your candyWhy Red 3 is still in your candy
Play
Video

Red 3 has been banned for use in cosmetics and topical drugs since 1990. Why is it still in our food?

By Kim Mas
Even Better
There’s no such thing as healthy lunchmeatThere’s no such thing as healthy lunchmeat
Even Better

But you don’t have to go cold turkey on your cold turkey. We can help.

By Keren Landman, MD
Food
Why food recalls are everywhere right nowWhy food recalls are everywhere right now
Food

Contaminated food from McDonald’s, Boar’s Head, and more is making Americans sick.

By Ellen Ioanes and Li Zhou
Video
The real reason cheese is yellowThe real reason cheese is yellow
Play
Video

Cheese is yellow, milk is white. What’s going on here?

By Edward Vega
Money
Wait, why is Dr Pepper so popular now?Wait, why is Dr Pepper so popular now?
Money

How the proudly weird beverage became the second-most popular soda in America.

By Whizy Kim
Even Better
How bad is inflammation really?How bad is inflammation really?
Even Better

Doctors explain how to tell the truth from social media BS.

By Keren Landman, MD
Why America hates to love chicken nuggets
Food

Kids love to eat them. Parents love to fight about them.

By Anna North
When did sodas, teas, and tonics become medicine?
Even Better

From prebiotic sodas to collagen waters, beverages are trying to do the most. Consumers are drinking it up.

By Keren Landman, MD
America’s spicy, smoky, sweet sauce obsession, explained
The Highlight

From hot honey to buffalo ranch, we really, really, really love to make our dry foods wet.

By Whizy Kim
You may never have to pick out seeds from your fruit again
The Highlight

Gene editing could deliver a future of seedless fruit. Is that a good thing?

By Charlotte Lytton