The Los Angeles Times food writer explains how today's Frankenstein vegetables, creatures of the laboratory, have seen remarkable improvements thanks to horticultural scientists in disease resistance, color, yield, durability and shelf life though at the expense of flavor. Every August, big wicker baskets overflowed with majestic Jersey tomatoes in all their sweet and pulpy grandeur, followed by tree-ripened peaches as akin to today's fuzzy bocce balls as a church picnic is to Mardi Gras....

The family also is eyeing cellulosic ethanol, which is extracted from the sugars in cornstalks, leaves, agricultural and forest wastes, and other crops that are turned into fuel. Agriculture officials say they can raise those fees and retire more acres, but that might not be enough. Can Colorado, which imports more corn than it grows, support all the planned ethanol plants? Have corn prices peaked? Some of the plants are showing a 50 percent return, though most of the profit so far is...

Not since the push to put a man on the moon during President Kennedy's administration has such an effort by so many scientists been focused on achieving a goal, said Jeff Sherwood at the Energy Department, which will spend $200 million this year on biomass research and applied industry. Not since the push to put a man on the moon during President Kennedy's administration has such an effort by so many scientists been focused on achieving a goal, said Jeff Sherwood at the Energy Department,...

Yet some nasty provisions stand out in the compromise Senate legislation -- prioritizing highly-skilled English speaking immigrants over working class immigrants and people of color whose families are already here, and blocking the opportunity of citizenship for future "guest workers," continuing the two-tiered system of discrimination and exploitation that currently exists. Yet some nasty provisions stand out in the compromise Senate legislation -- prioritizing highly-skilled English...

May 18 (Bloomberg) -- Wheat production in Australia, the world's third-largest exporter, may rebound to a record as rain encourages farmers to resume planting after a drought ravaged crops last year. Cattle prices rose for a fourth day as rain this week encouraged farmers in the world's second-largest beef exporter to hold back livestock from sale, said Richard Norton, national livestock manager for AWB ltd.'s Landmark unit. Output of wheat, canola and barley tumbled more than 60 percent...

Facing a likely economic windfall in 2007 from rising corn prices, landowners and tenants should rethink their cropland cash lease arrangements to assure both parties benefit from the good times to come while protecting their longer-term relationship, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln agricultural economist said. Facing a likely economic windfall in 2007 from rising corn prices, landowners and tenants should rethink their cropland cash lease arrangements to assure both parties benefit from...