From Easter traditions and Peep dioramas to the Pennsylvania state budget and ag careers, here are 10 stories from around the web to read this week:
Easter breads
Ever wonder about some of the traditional Easter breads, like hot cross buns, tsoureki and babkas? Philadelphia Media Enquirer explains where the baked goods originated from and how they’re made.
Peeps
All in the name of fun and creativity, Washington Post hosted its fourth annual Peeps Diorama Contest. The winner is a representation of presidential Republican candidate Donald Trump’s brain, in Inside Out fashion. Runners-up include “Peepilton the Musical” (a rendition of the sold-out Broadway Hamilton) and a tribute to Albert Einstein’s prediction of gravitational waves.
Ag careers
Results from an online survey show that 3 percent of college graduates and 9 percent of millennials are interested in an agricultural career. The survey was conducted for Land O Lakes, a U.S. ag cooperative.
What does this mean for the future, with a growing population and highly-skilled ag job openings? The Des Moines Register says that companies are working to change the image of agriculture, promote opportunities about food and science and show that farmers aren’t just needed in the fields. Adding to that, the Morris Herald-News (Illinois) says that there’s a shortage of agriculture teachers, as some new graduates gravitate to the ag industry instead of to teaching positions.
Cost-effective gardening
Growing food in your garden gives you access to fresh food produced with your own labor, but is it always worth it?
WTOP shares that not all garden vegetables are worth the money, based on the costs of water, soil amendments and their costs at the grocery store. Check out the 10 most cost-effective and the 10 least cost-effective vegetables that gardeners grow at home. Maybe all of those rows of beans aren’t worth the effort after all…
Pennsylvania state budget
The Pennsylvania state budget impasse has ended. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says that Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, would not sign the appropriations bill, but would allow it to become law without his signature. Bills will also be able to give money to state-related universities without his signature, which was a concern for Penn State’s ag college and Extension.
“The Foodnited States of America”
Admit it, playing with your food can be fun. Mental Floss shares images of all 50 states made into food puns.
Spoiler alert: Ohioatmeal Raisin
‘Skinny fat’
Type 2 diabetes doesn’t discriminate. That’s what TIME tells us in the story of a young woman, who was diagnosed with the disease at age 16, even though she was always thin. Read more about how visceral fat — the type that can coat organs — may lead to major health problems.
Garden inspiration
It’s officially been spring for a week now, but we’ve already experienced lingering symptoms of winter. To cheer us up, we took a look at some urban gardens, featured by Baltimore Magazine. They may be small, but they have big impacts on backyards.
Is sucralose safe?
Sucralose — the sweetener found in Splenda — caused an increase in some types of cancer in mice in a study, but what will it do to humans? National Geographic’s The Plate dives deeper into what other studies have concluded, including one released last month by an independent Italian academy.
Weather out west
Visalia Times-Delta says that climate change could impact weather in the West, and thus impact food production, the environment and electrical generation at dams. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation studied eight rivers in the western U.S. that could be impacted by changing rain and snow amounts. The study’s results vary by region because of differences in terrain and weather patterns. Regardless, the agency suggested tactics to deal the possible changes.
