Alaska's 750,000 residents are fed by $2B in food imports annually

Alaska's Bristol Bay hosts the world's largest self-sustaining wild salmon runs

Nearly 50 million of the fish return to the area each year to spawn, sometimes in the same spot they were born. A journalist tracked the supply chain journey of one sockeye salmon from the sea to the customer's plate.

Alaska has boroughs instead of counties, and nearly half the state has no borough-level government

Alaska's "Unorganized Borough" covers about 323,440 square miles—larger than the entire state of Texas—and lacks a borough-level government, so the state provides services that would typically be managed by counties or boroughs elsewhere.

Alaska's sovereign wealth fund pays people to live in the state through an annual dividend

While the US doesn't operate a federal sovereign wealth fund, several states run SWFs—the most well-known being the Alaska Permanent Fund. Unlike most SWFs, the Alaska Permanent Fund sends cash payments averaging roughly $1.2K each directly to Alaskan residents each year.

How much Americans spend on groceries by state

You've probably heard that the price of groceries has gone up across the US in the past few years—but do you know what the average American household is currently paying for their weekly grocery bill? That answer differs state-by-state: For instance, households in Alaska and Hawaii have the largest average weekly grocery bills at $329 and $334, respectively, partly due to shipping costs. See a map showing the averages in each state here.

Alaska has the highest lifetime credit card debt of all US states at $484,620

That's 21.8% above the national average, partly due to Alaska's high cost of living and remote nature, which makes shipping in food and fuel more expensive. Iowa had the lowest average lifetime credit card debt out of all the states in the US at $319,740.

Nearly all 270 people who reside in Whittier, Alaska, live in the same high-rise building.

The Detroit 59ers moved to Alaska to develop the land

After Alaska became a state in 1959, 21 Detroit families set out for the Last Frontier, intent on cultivating the land through the Homestead Act. The act offered free land in the state for anyone who met the requirements for developing its sparsely populated areas.

Sushi is an estimated $33B business in the US

US fishermen stock most of the country's more than 17,000 sushi restaurants. Distributors frequently adjust prices for different fish, based on their availability and the quality of the meat. This podcast unpacks how that industry operates.

See every US state's top import partner as of 2024, with Mexico, Canada, and China being the top trade partners for 42 states.

Hawaiian households spent 33% more on groceries than the US average in 2025

At $157 per week, Hawaiians had the highest average weekly grocery bill out of all the US states in 2025. Arkansas residents spent the least on groceries at $111 per week.

Most of the critical mineral supply needed for US data centers is imported

The country with the most data centers relies on other nations for about 80% of the rare earth elements needed for magnetic materials in storage drives, 64% of the silver and 85% of the platinum it uses for electrical circuitry, and about half the aluminum and copper used in heat sinks that dissipate thermal energy from electronic components.

See how food access varies across America with these interactive maps that show grocery store proximity.

Adapt or freeze: How plants and animals thrive in the Arctic Tundra

This article explores the fascinating ways both animals and plants adapt to survive in Alaska's arctic tundra, an ecosystem marked by its extreme weather. Most tundra plants are perennials with short growing seasons that focus on gathering and...

The surprising economics of sushi

How exactly does a patron of a sushi restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska, get to eat fresh fish caught off the coast of Japan? This episode of the Freakonomics podcast answers this question and explains the impressive feat. Listen to learn about the tricky economics and time-sensitive process behind importing fresh catches to sushi-lovers across America.

See a breakdown of how some of the most common food items are traded across the globe, including the key trade relationships for each item.

Visualizing the world's food supply chains

The world's food supply chain is complex and lopsided, with much of the world's nutrient-rich food ending up in Europe and North America. This visualization illustrates the paths our food takes around the world, from starchy vegetables in...

Millions of honeybees are hauled yearly across the US to help pollinate farms

As indigenous pollinator populations dwindle, farmers increasingly rely on commercial honeybees, which truckers often transport during cooler periods to prevent die-off from overheating. Pollinating all the almond trees in California requires 85% to 90% of all honeybees available to pollinate in the country.

The amount of plastic chemicals in 300 everyday Bay Area foods

Food production is more complicated than it appears, and manufacturing, packaging, and shipping processes can add significant substances to your food. This massive project compiled data on 300 samples of foods delivered to the San Francisco area, testing for the presence of 18 different kind of plastic. Learn how to read the data here with its helpful guides and then explore the table yourself.

See why fast food and convenience stores are often the main options for the estimated 150,000 people living in food deserts in Washington, D.C.

In 2022, the US exported more than 450,000 metric tonnes of cheese worldwide

That same year, the US cheese export market was valued at $2.3B. The main consumer markets for the US were Mexico, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and Canada. Mexico was the largest importer of US cheese, with 87% of its cheese imports coming from its neighbor.

The US exported more crude oil and petroleum products than it imported in 2025

In fact, the US has been exporting more oil and petroleum products than it imports since August 2021. Petroleum and petroleum product exports totaled about 10.7 million barrels per day, whereas imports totaled about 7.9 million barrels per day.

A Russian ban on food from outside countries has created a black market that's led the government to sometimes burn contraband food on state TV.

The sports competition developed on the Alaskan tundra

Alaska's NYO Games invite high school athletes from the state's over 270 indigenous tribes to compete in numerous events based on survival tactics developed by their ancestors. This short documentary from Great Big Story walks through some of the more grueling events and speaks with the Games' coaches and young athletes about how the event preserves their shared culture.

One in six Americans contracts food poisoning each year.

Molecules derived from algae can be found in foods such as ice cream, salad dressings, brownie mix, and gravies, as well as in products such as toothpaste, multivitamins, and egg substitutes.

See which states contribute the most and least to the federal government.

Dollar stores are often found in rural, low-income areas of the US

Shoppers in these areas are increasingly turning to dollar stores for food. A study published in 2023 found that dollar stores were the fastest-growing food retailers by household expenditure share, with rural growth outpacing growth elsewhere (a 102.9% increase in rural areas versus 89.7% elsewhere).

Foodborne illnesses cost our country an estimated $74.7 billion in 2023

A US government estimate puts the cost of all foodborne illness in 2023 at almost $75 billion dollars. In a report published by the US Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, government analysts detailed how the burden of foodborne illness includes medical costs, but also more hidden costs like lost wages. The analysis also breaks down estimated costs by pathogen.

Is North Korea fighting a food crisis?

North Korea is facing a food crisis placing it on the brink of famine. Read (or watch) Al Jazeera’s detailed take on the food crisis unfolding in North Korea. Since the 1950s, the country has relied on a collective agriculture system. But...

Norway is responsible for salmon sushi

Japanese sushi did not include salmon until the mid-1990s because Pacific salmon was known to contain parasites. Norway, meanwhile, had an abundance of Atlantic salmon, which was safe to eat raw. The country smelled an opportunity and launched Project Japan, which successfully convinced the country that Atlantic salmon was safe to include in its cuisine.

American beer, by the numbers

This statistics-focused resource breaks down the shape of the beer industry in the US, outlining the amount of beer produced by American breweries, the state cranking out the most beer, and the states with the most breweries per capita.

Americans throw away nearly 40% of their food supply

The US discards roughly 63 million tons of food per year, making it one of the largest contributors to landfill waste. Food scrap waste is the single largest category of material sent to landfills.

The Arctic is greening from rising temperatures

This one-minute video summarizes a new study that used satellite data to look at plant life across the entire Arctic area for the first time. It found that from 1985 to 2016, 38% of the areas studied—including parts of Alaska, Canada, and...

With Americans increasingly concerned about high grocery prices, experts suggest meal planning and using apps like TooGoodToGo to keep household food costs down.

Welcome to Gander, a tiny town of around 10,000 people in Newfoundland, which took in nearly 7,000 passengers for days after the 9/11 attacks grounded all air travel in the US.

In 2024, Americans bought over $7B of cut flowers

That's more than any other country in the world. Most of the flowers Americans purchase are imported, creating an economy that's both booming and reliant on dwindling natural resources.

Mapping the route options between the Pacific and Atlantic

This map shows some of the alternative trade route options that are available to shipping companies, from overland routes that rely on railways to transport goods coast-to-coast, to Arctic Ocean passages.

Gas station sushi is actually pretty safe to eat, experts say

Vending machine food, in general, gets a bad rap for its seeming lack of freshness, but whether the food you eat is safe usually depends on the quality of the cold chain supply logistics that brought it to the point of sale. Most prepackaged sushi fish has been flash frozen, and the rice has been mixed with vinegar to inhibit bacteria.

Antarctica has two adjacent ATMs installed by Wells Fargo in 1998 to serve the population of McMurdo Station, a research facility that houses up to 1,000 people and is run by the National Science Foundation as part of the US Antarctic Program.

The US shipped nearly 4 billion barrels of oil abroad in 2024

More than half of the US’s oil is exported as the country produces mainly light, sweet crude but has many refineries that handle heavy, sour types.

The cuisine of the Mount Everest base camps

Depending on their budget, Mount Everest climbers are either eating canned meats and hearty vegetables or a more elaborate menu with additions like protein powder and chia seeds. Fresh food flies to the base camp every day by helicopter.

The US exported $426.3B in goods to Canada and imported $453.6B in goods from Canada in 2025.

Some parents are spending about $200 on berries per month

About 32% of respondents to a recent survey about berries said their children typically eat a carton of berries in a single serving. That level of consumption is costing parents more money than one might expect.

As part of the up to 15 pounds of seafood they consume daily, sea otters eat urchins that feed on kelp forests—sources of shelter and food to over 800 species—thereby making the marine mammal a keystone species.

In 2024, US airports generated over $1B of revenue—partly due to overpriced airport food

Some in the airport industry argue that charging street prices in airport restaurants isn't sustainable because it's more expensive to run a business inside an airport.

In 2023, Native Americans had the lowest life expectancy at birth among all racial and ethnic groups

Native Americans and Alaska Natives face significant health disparities linked to chronic underinvestment in reservation health infrastructure, poverty, and multigenerational psychological harm—often called historical or inherited trauma.

Svalbard Brewery is the northernmost brewery in the world, located in a remote Arctic village where there are more polar bears than people.

How humans digest food

Every day, the average human eats close to six pounds of food—all of which must be processed by the digestive system. Ten organs collaborate to transform food that the mouth chews into the energy needed to stay alive. (Stretched out, these organs...

Algae can capture carbon dioxide at rates up to 50 times faster than land-based plants and can be grown in tanks that use one-tenth the land footprint of terrestrial plants.

See how income levels have changed in each state since 2010

Since 2010, the median household income has increased by 22% on average. Montana, the state with the largest growth rate, saw a 42.9% increase, while New Mexico saw the lowest income growth rate at 2.3%.