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Natural FoodNatural food is an umbrella term for food products that have been cultivated with minimal industrial intervention, such as the use of pesticides, additives, and dyes; however, the exact definition of “natural” varies. “Natural food” is sometimes used interchangeably with “health food” and “organic food,” though the latter is a specific standard in the US reserved for products that meet the requirements established by the US Department of Agriculture. The 20th century’s rapid technological changes brought more highly processed foods, which were seen as cheaper and more convenient alternatives to more natural foods. In turn, the 1960s counterculture—inspired in part by Rachel Carson’s 1962 book “Silent Spring”—built a network of cooperatives and communes dedicated to natural foods, which they believed were healthier. Today, natural foods—including organic items as well as vegetarian and vegan dishes—are a part of the mainstream, with major grocers like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s capitalizing on the public’s growing interest.Explore Natural Food

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Natural food stores began sprouting up in the US in the 1960s and 1970sHealth food stores began opening in the ‘50s, though they were primarily focused on vitamins and holistic supplements. Natural food stores, however, provided pesticide-free produce and often relied on local farmers for their products. One of the first was New Age Natural Foods, in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, which opened in 1965. Found SF Before launching his cereal company, John Harvey Kellogg promoted natural food at a sanitariumKellogg was the director of the Battle Creek Sanitarium, a health resort in Michigan, where he served patients vegetarian dishes, including early experiments with meat substitutes. Kellogg espoused a philosophy of "Biologic Living," which suggested consuming natural food would lead to "racial hygiene" for white Americans, a tenet of the eugenics movement. Library of Congress Learn about deep water corals and the coral gardens they slowly build in the darkFound throughout the world's ocean basins at depths beyond 200 meters (660 feet), these corals do not rely on photosynthetic organisms for nutrients and instead rely on food that's fallen from the ocean surface. Beyond forming larger reefs over the course of thousands of years, smaller coral gardens are built with the aid of underwater worms. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History An interactive map of 250 American places worth visiting before you dieThe Smithsonian created ten categories of landmarks—from history and food to oddball Americana and architecture—to enrich your celebration of America's semiquincentennial. You can sort by region or category, see a map of each location, and learn each spot's significance in a clean, aesthetic user interface. Smithsonian Magazine Climate shifts are projected to cause more cases of food poisoningResearch published in 2024 suggests that with more severe heatwaves and natural disasters, scientists expect there to be a rise in foodborne disease, especially in Africa and Asia. Already, there are an estimated 600 million food poisoning cases and 420,000 deaths annually. Diarrhea is the most common cause of those deaths. Mongabay Natural toxins produced on plants or consumed by animals may cause food poisoningWhen humans eat plants with certain natural toxins on them—including a family of toxins called aflatoxins that fungi produce on crops like peanuts and corn— they can become ill with food poisoning. Toxins can still harm humans even if animals or plants appear fine to the human eye. The World Health Organization advises that we should throw away moldy or discolored foods, refrain from eating wild plants or mushrooms that aren’t definitively nonpoisonous, and remember that just because something is “natural” it’s not always safe to eat. World Health Organization Before Alex Honnold completed his free solo climb of Taipei 101, 'French Spider-Man' scaled the buildingAlain Robert completed his climb of the massive skyscraper in 2004, 22 years before Honnold. The crucial difference, though, was that Robert used safety ropes for his ascent. Honnold, on the other hand, completed it "free solo," meaning he climbed the building without any equipment beyond some shoes and a pouch of chalk for his hands. Focus Taiwan - CNA English News Rapid environmental changes are exacerbating natural extinction processesHuman activities behind climate change, habitat destruction, pollution, and overhunting have resulted in extinction rates up to 1,000 times greater than normal, triggering massive biodiversity loss. This has led scientists to refer to the current geological age as the Anthropocene era, in which humans are the dominant force shaping nature. Stuff You Should Know Biologists believe over 5,000 coyotes inhabit LA as of 2025Panic and fear of coyotes spread in the 1980s after the first recorded instance of a human killed by the animal in American history, but LA and Chicago residents today are learning to live alongside the animal. Research shows that coyotes can even benefit urban ecosystems by helping to control populations of geese and deer, and by improving songbird survival through preying on cats. Literary Hub The Whole Earth Catalog offered readers tools for healthy eatingThe publication promised hippies "access to tools"—listings for "high quality or low cost" books, devices, and instructions for alternative living, including cultivating natural and organic foods. This archive comprises high-definition scans of nearly all materials published between 1968 and 2002. Whole Earth Catalog Eduard Baltzer encouraged 'natural eating' in the 1860sHistorian Corinna Treitel credits the Protestant minister with inventing the concept of “natural eating” in Nordhausen, Germany, in the 19th century. Baltzer believed that people were consuming excessive amounts of schnapps, sugar, and meat, and that this behavior was having a detrimental impact on their lives. He encouraged a diet mostly of fruits and vegetables, though he was not opposed to food grown with artificial fertilizers. Washington University Ultraprocessed foods include preservatives, dyes, sweeteners, and moreProcessed foods are those that have been altered from their original state, which includes numerous processes that we consider natural, such as cooking or salting. Ultraprocessed foods contain at least one item that wouldn’t be found in a kitchen, like hydrogenated oils or high-fructose corn syrup. It’s estimated that nearly 75% of all foods consumed in the US are ultraprocessed, though that doesn’t mean that all of them are unhealthy. In fact, some, such as prepackaged whole wheat bread and soy milk, are recognized for their health benefits. Johns Hopkins University An image of a shark swimming on the freeway repeatedly fools viewers during natural disastersThe long-running joke traces back to 2011, following Hurricane Irene in Puerto Rico. Since then, pranksters have spread the image after Hurricane Matthew in 2016, Hurricane Harvey in 2017, and Hurricane Laura in 2020. The image is photo-edited, combining a 2005 photo of a kayaker being followed by a great white shark and a photo of a flooded street. USA TODAY The world's largest waterfall is in the oceanIn the Denmark Strait between Greenland and Iceland, a series of cataracts descend from 2,000 to 10,000 feet beneath the surface. The underwater waterfall is possible because cold water is denser than warm water and quickly sinks in the region. NOAA Rising fracking rates have increased prices of some food productsEvery fracking well uses approximately 20,000 pounds of guar gum, a thickening and stabilizing agent commonly used in ice cream, salad dressing, and baked goods. The polysaccharide is also a key component in some cosmetics and explosives. Dallas Observer A list of the world's top 25 economies by GDPGross domestic product estimates the value of goods and services produced in a country, typically through the expenditure method, which adds up spending by consumers, investors and governments with the value of exports. The top five economies are the US, China, Germany, Japan and India. Investopedia Even in recent history, adaptations to the environment drove human evolutionThrough genetics, environmental pressures, and cultural influences, humans have evolved to tolerate lactose, develop varying skin pigmentation, and acquire genetic resistance to diseases like bubonic plague. The metabolic and digestive systems of Indigenous peoples have adapted to their diet, which is influenced by the availability of food and water. The Conversation Proof of 'natural' food claims are voluntary for most food productsUnlike the enforcement done by the USDA for meat, dairy and eggs, the FDA offers loose guidelines for using a "natural" food label on most foods, and following the guidelines is voluntary. As a result, many products labeled as "natural" can contain processed ingredients and synthetic additives. MinuteFood 'Friday the 13th' kicked off a summer camp-themed trendWhen it was released in 1980, “Friday the 13th” was panned by critics, but it established a lasting horror trope: the unsafe summer camp. The setting made for a natural fit: vulnerable children exiled from normal society, isolated in the dark woods. Atlas Obscura Traffic flow can be improved through research into card shufflingCard-shuffling mathematics has been applied to solving problems in biology to estimate the evolutionary distance between organisms and in computer science to determine the optimal distribution of files and folders in databases. News and Events Wildfire containment requires trenches, natural barriers, or burned landContainment refers to creating a perimeter around a fire that it is unlikely to spread beyond. However, full containment does not mean the fire is extinguished. Strong winds can cause fires to jump containment lines, including 10- to 12-foot-wide trenches or thin rivers. NPR Tracking the accuracy of past and future predictions of the apocalypyseReligious figures, scientists, technologists and others have long heralded the ending of the world in what in some traditions is called the apocalypse. This site tracks those failed predictions in the past and charts those coming up in the future. Doomsday Scoreboard Addictive drugs can cause dopamine levels to become ten times higher than normalNow recognized as a physiological brain disease, addiction rewires the brain's reward system to make drugs feel necessary and weaken self-control by dulling the relative effects of natural rewards like food and social connection. Yale Medicine View the 10 biggest volcanic eruptions in recorded historyThe Mount Tambora eruption in 1815 was the deadliest and released so much sun-blocking ash and gas that 1816 became known as “the year without summer.” The resulting global food shortages are estimated to have killed over 71,000 people. BBC Science Focus Magazine Earthquakes of identical magnitudes are unlikely to cause equal damageThe severity of earthquakes depends on factors beyond the energy released in a region, including local architecture and geological conditions, such as water-saturated soil behaving like quicksand. Secondary effects, such as landslides, floods, and fires, may also contribute. Smithsonian Magazine View the 10 largest earthquakes ever recorded as of 2024In 1960, a magnitude 9.5 earthquake in Chile became the largest in recorded history, leaving about 2 million people homeless. Two of the largest occurred in back-to-back years in Alaska, with 9.2 and 8.7 quakes each generating tsunamis. USGS Variations in beak shape helped birds survive the dinosaur extinction eventThe asteroid that struck Earth 66 million years ago killed some avian dinosaurs. The smaller species endured by reproducing more quickly and adapting to the environment. Their different beaks allowed them to eat more varied foods for survival. Natural History Museum Portugal's 1775 earthquake is considered Europe's first modern natural disasterAn 8.5-magnitude earthquake off the Portuguese coast nearly destroyed Lisbon, killing thousands, creating 16-foot-wide fissures in the city, and triggering a massive tsunami. Historians credit it with jump-starting the Enlightenment in the region, with many thinkers seeking natural explanations. BBC Global The carbon footprint of manufacturing a wind turbine is offset within seven monthsDespite initial carbon emissions during manufacturing, wind turbines generate nearly zero pollution across their 20- to 25-year lifetimes. Offsets occur when turbines replace energy generation from coal and natural gas plants, which emit carbon dioxide. Yale Climate Connections Niagara Falls is slowly eroding backward toward Lake ErieAt its current erosion rate of roughly one foot per year, Niagara Falls is expected to retreat all the way to Lake Erie in about 50,000 years. New York State Museum Niagara Falls generates its own microclimateConstant mist from the Falls produces localized weather effects, including rare ice formations that can rise over 100 feet high in winter. Niagara Falls Info Usonian design was invented as a response to Americans’ financial struggles Around the time of the Wall Street crash of 1929 and the Great Depression, Frank Lloyd Wright sought to create homes that made life easier for those struggling financially. Usonian homes are typically characterized by simple materials, small square footage, and natural light. Frank Lloyd Wright Sites How menopause affects mental healthMenopause, a natural biological process, occurs in three stages: perimenopause (hormone fluctuations), menopause (end of menstrual cycles), and postmenopause (12 months without menstruation). Hormonal shifts during this time can affect neurotransmitters, increasing the risk of mood disorders. 1440 The quest to find natural ways to extend lifespanTales of searching for the Fountain of Youth persist. Our modern-day version is marked by promises of pharmaceutical miracles and a proliferation of viral "biohacking" routines. One doctor’s quest to unlock the keys to longevity stimulated much of this renewed fervor, though his ideas are often taken out of context. The New Yorker What constitutes a 'healthy' diet?A natural diet, typically high in plant-based foods and low in processed foods, appears to be the main contributor to a healthy, diverse gut microbiome. Cambridge University Press

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