Before beef ends up at your favorite steakhouse, it passes through the hands of a trained specialist with an encyclopedic knowledge of bovine anatomy. Zachary Crockett chews the fat.

• SOURCES:
  • Bryan Flannery, co-owner of Flannery Beef.
  • Katie Flannery, co-owner of Flannery Beef.

• RESOURCES:
  • "National Weekly Boxed Beef Cutout And Boxed Beef Cuts — Negotiated Sales," U.S.D.A. Agricultural Marketing Service (U.S.D.A. Livestock, Poultry and Grain Market News, 2025).
  • "Understanding Beef Carcass Yields and Losses During Processing," (Penn State Extension Articles, 2022).
  • "Beef Cow-Calf Production," by Cheryl A. Fairbairn, Lynn F. Kime, Jayson K. Harper, and John W. Comerford (Penn State Extension Articles, 2020).
  • "Major Supermarket Chains Changed How They Label Meat, Surprising Customers and USDA," by Roberto A. Ferdman (The Washington Post, 2014).
  • "What’s Your Beef — Prime, Choice or Select?" by Larry Meadows (U.S.D.A Blog, 2013).
  • "From Calf to Kitchen: The Journey of a Beef Cow," by Dave Eames and Mike McGraw (The Kansas City Star, 2012).

• EXTRAS:
  • "The Future of Meat," by Freakonomics Radio (2019).

How did a little green nut become a billion-dollar product, lauded by celebrities in Super Bowl ads? Zachary Crockett cracks open the story.

• SOURCES:
  • Sawyer Clark, director of asset management at Gold Leaf Farming.
  • Diana Salsa, vice president of marketing for Wonderful Pistachios.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Almond Acreage Decline Prompts Industry Introspection," by Mitch Lies (West Coast Nut, 2023).
  • American Pistachio Industry 2021 Annual Report, by American Pistachio Growers (2023).
  • "California’s Agricultural Water Policies Are Nuts," by Douglas R. Noble (The Gainesville Sun, 2021).
  • "Amid Drought, Billionaires Control a Critical California Water Bank," by Chloe Sorvino (Forbes, 2021).
  • "Wonderful Pistachios Achieves Billion-Dollar Brand Milestone," press release by The Wonderful Company (2020).
  • "Pistachios: The Quirks of Agricultural Trade in a Nutshell," by Andrea Durkin (Global Trade, 2020).
  • "California Pistachios With Perfect Timing," by Mark Blackburn (The New York Times, 1979).

Once a luxury good, the soft fiber is now everywhere — which has led to a goat boom in Mongolia. Zachary Crockett tugs at the thread.

• SOURCES:
  • Myagmarjav Serjkhuu, manager of the Mongolian Sustainable Cashmere Platform for the United Nations Development Programme.
  • Carolyn Yim, designer and owner of Ply-Knits.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Sandstorms and Desertification in Mongolia, an Example of Future Climate Events: A Review," by Jie Han, Han Dai, and Zhaolin Gu (Environmental Chemistry Letters, 2021).
  • "How Sustainable Cashmere Is Reversing Land Degradation in Mongolia," by Mariana Simões (United Nations Development Programme, 2021).
  • "Exploding Demand for Cashmere Wool Is Ruining Mongolia's Grasslands," by Kathleen McLaughlin (Science, 2019).
  • "From H&M to Gucci, Fashion Rethinks Cashmere, Citing Environmental Harm," by Matthew Dalton (The Wall Street Journal, 2019).
  • "2018 Annual Cashmere Market Report," by Marco Spina (The Schneider Group, 2019).
  • "How This Brand Made a Cashmere Sweater for $75 Ethically," by Esha Chhabra (Forbes, 2018).
  • "Pastoral Nomadism in the Forest-Steppe of the Mongolian Altai Under a Changing Economy and a Warming Climate," by D. Lkhagvadorj, M. Hauck, Ch. Dulamsuren, and J. Tsogtbaatar (Journal of Arid Environments, 2013).