Tim Ma prepares a duck confit salad at his restaurant, Kyirisan, in Washington, D.C. Ma says being mindful about reducing food waste is an integral part of his philosophy in the kitchen — not just for environmental reasons but also for profitability. Becky Harlan/NPR hide caption

Cans are lined up at the Pacific Coast Producers plant in Oroville, Calif. The company, which cans fruits for sale in supermarkets, says new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on steel imports will eat into its profits. Rick King Design hide caption

Steve Gagner fills one of the first barrels of bourbon from Danger Close Craft Distilling in St. Albans, Vt. Zachariah Fike hide caption

Arkansas farmer David Wildy inspects a field of soybeans that were damaged by dicamba. The pesticide ban is tied up in courts, leaving farmers uncertain about what to plant. Dan Charles/NPR hide caption

Engineer Daniel Schubert inspects lettuce at the German Aerospace Center in Bremen. Scientists there are developing greenhouses for a potential Mars colony. The first greenhouse is being tested in an inhospitable environment in the Antarctic. David Hecker/Getty Images hide caption

Protesters demonstrate outside a Starbucks in Philadelphia on Sunday, several days after police arrested two black men who were waiting inside the Center City coffee shop. The chain has announced it will close for an afternoon on May 29 for companywide racial-bias training. Mark Makela/Getty Images hide caption

Motal cheese is a fresh goat's milk cheese made primarily in remote mountain areas in Armenia. Cross of Armenian Unity/Ruslan Torosyan hide caption

Casey Collins, Duke University energy manager, inspects a boiler at the West Campus Steam Plant. Soon, these boilers will run on swine biogas instead of natural gas. James Morrison/WUNC hide caption

Composting food scraps is one way to reduce food waste, but preventing excess food in the first place is better, says the EPA. paul mansfield photography/Getty Images hide caption

Carolina Reapers are some of the hottest peppers in the world. So hot, in fact, that for one man, participating in a pepper-eating contestant resulted in a painful, serious "thunderclap headache." Maria Dattola Photography/Getty Images hide caption

Some of the jams and preserves made by the "Women's Solidarity Kitchen" in Istanbul, on display in their commercial kitchen. Peter Kenyon/NPR hide caption

Like other spring holidays, Sere Sal, the Yazidi new year, is about fertility and new life. An ancient Kurdish religious minority, the Yazidis color eggs for the holiday in honor of the colors that Tawus Melek, God's chief angel, is said to have spread throughout the new world. Nawaf Ashur hide caption

Soda for sale at a supermarket in the Port Richmond neighborhood of Philadelphia. A sticker on the shelves tells customers the items are subject to the city's sugar tax. Matt Rourke/AP hide caption

Our choice of snacks is influenced by gender, age, income and even cultural flavor preferences. Maanvi Singh/for NPR hide caption

Hilda Herrera of New York state is one of 40,000 people who rely on the SNAP program for help buying groceries. Seth Wenig/AP hide caption

With the new tariff in effect, most American wines will incur duties of 29 percent. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

Rumors of the NECCO maker's impending demise have sparked a renewed interest in its products — especially its famous chalky-tasting wafers that some people love to hate. Dina Rudick/Boston Globe via Getty Images hide caption

Sweet Potato Pie served at the Sweet Home Cafe inside the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. When the museum opened in October 2016, the pie contained a twist, ginger. But customers used to more traditional Southern African-American preparations of the dish weren't having it. It just shows how tricky "authentic" food can be. Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post/Getty Images hide caption