Cooking shows turned the humble garlic bulb into something that's essential to cuisines and into a multi-billion-dollar crop. Every year, humans consume nearly 50 billion pounds of garlic, and most of it comes from one country: China. But a lawsuit raises troubling questions about suppliers.
Changing diets and dramatic price swings have put dairy farmers on the ropes and fueled a surge in lucrative but controversial raw milk sales. Proponents of raw milk have stated that there are benefits to its consumption, including better flavour, better nutrition, and the building of a healthy immune system. However, the medical community has warned of the dangers, which include a risk of infection, and has not found any clear benefit
In the last 50 years, we have doubled the amount of fish we consume. Globally, billions of people rely on seafood as their primary source of protein. But the oceans can't keep up with so much demand. Around the world, fish stocks have plummeted and fisheries are crashing. People lost out. There was an industry just completely ravaged. As the global fish supply dwindles, the industry faces a crisis on all sides - including crooked moguls, dubious imports and divisive regulations.
The fourth episode sees host Neil deGrasse Tyson exploring our eternal quest to end hunger and honoring Nikolai Ivanovic Vavilov, pioneer of modern plant breeding, who risked his life for a discovery that would change the history of science. Vavilov's story is marked by both the tenacity and creativity and is particularly tragic. Interwoven into Vavilov's somber narrative are warnings and treatments of science and its ethical implications, especially when science itself comes under attack from political forces.
Across the world, rising demands for food, water and materials have pushed resources to the limit. Many parts of the world have major challenges over fresh water. A lot of soils have a lot of residual pesticides and herbicides. At the same time waste is piling higher. All this demands a new wave of innovation. The challenge is to make more of the things we need without the environmental cost.
