If you want to know why a single oyster tastes like the ocean floor, Rowan Jacobsen is the only person who can write about it without making you feel like you are attending a biology lecture.

Rowan Jacobsen has spent his career chasing everything from drug cartels in the Amazon to the existential mysteries of nature, presumably because writing a standard press release seemed far too monotonous.

While most people are content to have their groceries delivered, Rowan Jacobsen prefers to travel to war-torn regions to uncover exactly how our food and environment bridge the gap between science and survival.