Food

A campaign called Behind The Brands, led by Oxfam International, is trying to make the inner workings of the 10 biggest food companies in the world more visible to consumers. iStockphoto.com hide caption

Three scoops of vanilla ice cream made with vanilla beans from Mexico, Tahiti and Madagascar. Meredith Rizzo/NPR hide caption

The orchids that produce vanilla beans have no natural pollinators in Madagascar; the plant must be pollinated by hand — a labor-intensive process with little margin for error. Courtesy of Madécasse hide caption

About 84 percent of food products that contain trans fats still carry a "zero gram" label, which may mislead consumers, researchers say. Tony Dejak/AP hide caption

Tractors sit on a sugarcane plantation on the land of a Guarani-Kaiowá indigenous community in Brazil, where Oxfam has alleged "land grabs" unfairly take land from the poor. The United Nations is drafting voluntary guidelines for "responsible investment in agriculture and food systems" in response to such concerns. Tatiana Cardeal/Courtesy of Oxfam hide caption

When not in use, this desk oven can be stowed upright and can serve as a whiteboard. Steve Gates hide caption

Indian schoolchildren eat their free midday meal. Narinder Nanu/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

The unique browning patterns on mozzarella come from the way it bubbles, a scientist says. sierravalleygirl/Flickr hide caption