A close-up photograph of young, green corn is shown.

Growing Food, Sowing Trouble

This series is a partnership with the Center for Public Integrity, Grist and The World about how our overuse of fertilizer harms the climate and endangers the public.
Joe Wertz/The Center for Public Integrity
China began promoting potatoes as a staple in 2015 in an effort to combat food insecurity.
How changing national diets could help fix our global food crisis
Two people are shown next to a water-filled ditch with a grassy field on either side.
Growing Food, Sowing Trouble
We’re not fixing this environmental crisis. Could one ditch show us the way?
A shrimp boat is shown in a illustration that combines the boat with a map of the Mississippi Delta.
Growing Food, Sowing Trouble
Gulf shrimpers fight for their livelihoods in a fertilizer-fueled dead zone
A single white cross is shown on a small dirt area amongst a wide open grassy field.
Growing Food, Sowing Trouble
A common fertilizer can cause explosions. Uneven regulation puts people at risk.
An ariel photograph showing Lake Erie coved in green algae with a boat moving through the middle.
Growing Food, Sowing Trouble
Lake Erie turns toxic every summer. Officials aren’t cracking down on the source.
A farm tractor is shown in a large green field with wind turbines in the background.
Growing Food, Sowing Trouble
Farming’s growing problem
Okyeame Ampadu, an 80-year-old farmer in the Volta Region of Ghana
Growing Food, Sowing Trouble
Africa’s producing more fertilizer, but it’s still not getting to all farmers