Technology

Eating Green

• Distillers urge FDA to revise rules on hand sanitizer recipe to keep up with demand April 6, 2020
  On March 2, Seattle distiller Skip Tognetti made a joke on Twitter: “Looking at the run on Purell and remembering that I’ve got hundreds of gallons of 190-proof ethanol sitting around. Is this what the kids call a ‘pivot’?” The first recorded novel coronavirus death in the United States had been announced two days earlier […]
  Talia Moore
• Three chickens a second: USDA gives poultry slaughterhouse green light to speed up processing April 3, 2020
  The Department of Agriculture (USDA) gave a Washington State poultry plant permission to significantly increase its processing speeds—a move some fear may jeopardize worker and food safety. Foster Farms, the biggest chicken processor on the West Coast, was granted a line speed waiver by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) on Tuesday for its […]
  Talia Moore
• USDA announces it will revisit country of origin labeling April 3, 2020
  Right now, if you walk into a grocery store and buy hamburger patties that are labeled as American beef, make sure to read the fine print. Because it’s very possible that you’re going to eat an Australian-Uruguayan blend. If you think that sounds odd, you’re not alone. For years, farm groups and consumer advocates have […]
  Talia Moore
• Could mass veganism have helped prevent a pandemic? April 2, 2020
  The connection between Covid-19 and animal consumption has triggered folks on the internet to claim veganism wouldn’t have caused the outbreak. However, Kat Eschner at Popular Science reports that this claim does not consider the dynamic relationship between humans and animals. Namely, we interact with animals in many ways, not just on our plates. And […]
  Tricia Vuong
• Demanding PPE and hazard pay, food workers are striking April 2, 2020
  There are millions of Americans who can’t work from home during the Covid-19 pandemic. They are food workers, carrying on at grocery stores, warehouses, and meat processing plants, at great risk to themselves, their families, and even customers. What do they want? Personal protective equipment. Hazard pay. Child care. What happens when they don’t get […]
  The Counter
• DFA wins $433 million bid to buy bankrupt Dean Foods facilities April 2, 2020
  Last week, we reported that the bankrupt Dean Foods, the country’s biggest dairy processor, had dropped a contentious $425 million “stalking horse” acquisition deal with Dairy Farmers of America, the biggest milk co-op. As it turns out, DFA went on to place and win a higher $433 million bid instead, and is still intent on […]
  Jessica Fu
• Helping SNAP recipients shop first during the pandemic April 2, 2020
  As we enter April, online messaging has urged people who don’t rely on food stamps to refrain from grocery shopping during the first several days of the month. This campaign is to ensure that people who use SNAP have a better chance of stocking up on groceries during the pandemic. However, as Matt Cohen reports […]
  Talia Moore
• Potato growers see intense spike in demand April 2, 2020
  Prince Edward Island is the largest potato-growing province in Canada, with its Russet, red, white, and yellow varieties ending up on dining tables everywhere. But local producers weren’t ready for the demand required to satiate panic shoppers across North America: “The last two or three weeks have been anything but typical in the potato world,” […]
  Zena Tsarfin
• Federal paperwork requirements are gumming up local food banks April 2, 2020
  Food banks across the nation are facing massive spikes in demand as the spread of Covid-19 puts millions out of work. In many places, they’ve set up to drive-through operations to encourage social distancing. The result? Long, long lines of cars. Turns out, it’s not the food that takes so long to distribute—it’s the paperwork. […]
  H. Claire Brown
• Seventy percent of seafood is purchased when dining out. What happens when the nation is ordered to stay home? April 1, 2020
  Santa Barbara fisherman Paul Teall’s biggest client is a Los Angeles restaurant that seats 3,000. It placed its last seafood order three weeks ago, shortly before Mayor Eric Garcetti ordered all bars and restaurants to halt dine-in services in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus. Since then, Teall says that his revenue has […]
  Tricia Vuong