April Fulton

Food as a symbol of politics, diet, gender roles, technology, isolation, gluttony and blatant commercialism has been with us for ages and in many forms. A massive exhibit explores how American artists, from Pilgrim times to Andy Warhol, used paintings of food to shape and reflect our national identity.

Food safety researchers in California are trying to find out how long E. coli in raw manure spread on a field might survive on a spinach farm. They're tweeting about it, too.

Two decades ago, the heir to the throne of England foresaw the potential and value in organic agriculture. The first product Duchy Originals launched was the Oaten Biscuit, and it's still a top seller today.

Costumes made of real food have long provoked reactions of both delight and horror. Many have sparked discussions about race, hunger, vegetarianism, commercialism, sexuality, morality and the ever-popular female body image. Here are a few of the more memorable examples.

Urban agriculture abounds in Los Angeles county but few people could see the big picture of what was actually happening around them. So university students set out to create a baseline of data in the country's most populous county to help urban planners, regulators and agricultural pioneers make sense of it all.

If you've always wanted to take a course at Harvard or with America's most talented chefs, but you didn't have the money, discipline or grades, now's your chance. The best part of this free online class: You can eat your lab experiments.

It's not the hard work that will make astronauts lose it on long planetary missions — it's boredom. And something that can become very boring very fast is a rote menu. A simulated Mars mission reveals why cooking for others will be vital on long space journeys, and why wraps rule.

The outspoken Whole Foods founder tells us why he hates "Obamacare" and why we have trouble cutting the sugar, fat and salt out of our diets. But now he's told CBS he used a poor choice of words when referring to the health law as fascism.

America's Test Kitchen host Chris Kimball and Renee Montagne cook up a Julia Child-inspired Thanksgiving feast of roast turkey and mashed potatoes. And we remember that she would say, if things go wrong in the kitchen, just keep on going. And have a glass of wine.

Forget the room-temperature eggs and the tenderizing meat with a marinade, America's Test Kitchen host Chris Kimball tells Morning Edition. A little bit of science goes a long way in the kitchen, he says.