A support group and a lab in the St. Louis area provide resources for people with the allergy to mammal products — and evidence that its effects can be reversed.
Alicia Carhart, Mississippi River vegetation specialist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, peers into a tall wild rice bed on the river in the summer of 2023. Credit: Alicia Carhart/Wisconsin DNR
We've got a fascinating piece to share this week from Desk reporter Madeline Heim at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who chronicles the expansion of wild rice in parts of Wisconsin. This aquatic plant has faced decades of decline, and it’s now seeing growth that even state officials can't explain.
It's a piece at the intersection of several topics: cultural history, Indigenous foodways, river navigation, water quality and habitat restoration. It looks at how we shape the landscape – and how the landscape shapes us.
As Heim writes: "The place now known as Wisconsin has a rich history of wild rice harvesting dating back thousands of years with the Menominee, the original people of the area who are still here and who were named 'People of the Wild Rice.’ Wild rice, or manoomin, is also closely associated with Ojibwe tribes who arrived in Wisconsin hundreds of years ago in search of 'food that grows on water.'"
I also want to take a moment and thank all the folks who have donated to the Desk this holiday season. Your contributions make a huge difference and support storytelling like Madeline's piece above.
If you're still considering helping us out, see the message below from Pat Nunnally in the College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Minnesota. Pat is a longtime friend of the Desk and made a generous donation to our fundraising drive.
"The stories from the Ag & Water Desk have rapidly become indispensable sources of information for people working and thinking holistically about the Mississippi and its watershed," Nunnally said. "They remind us that we are all connected by water, and that what happens in one place is likely to impact those of us in other parts of the watershed. It's important that the articles are high-quality journalism, as they represent several perspectives, depending on the subject, rather than only one point of view. Furthermore, the journalists take readers to places, and explore subjects that most of us have never thought of. This is truly valuable, important work."
Thanks for the kind words, and for your support, Pat! Which brings me to an exciting update: we need only 14 more donors to earn a $1,000 bonus from NewsMatch.
Even $5 helps us reach this goal: Will you be a part of the Desk's journey today? Make a tax-deductible donation at the link below.
