5@5: Cargill's non-GMO Twitter storm | Organic grain demand | Robot food delivery

Whole Foods aims to cut prices but keep its cachet

Whole Foods Market Inc. wants to cut prices without sacrificing the local products that define its healthy image. Read more from the Wall Street Journal ...

Cargill generates Twitter 'storm' over non-GMO outreach

A Twitter “storm” started with Cargill retweeting a story and noting that the company works “closely” with the Non-GMO Project—a third party verification source that’s known for its butterfly logo on packages and harsh anti-GMO rhetoric. Supporters of genetically modified products reacted angrily that Cargill would collaborate with an entity like the NGP. Read more from the High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal ...

Rising demand for organic, non-GMO grains outpaces U.S. production

Increasing consumer demand for organic foods and non-genetically modified organisms (GMOs) led to a sharp rise in organic grain imports in 2016, prompting food manufacturers to explore new incentives for U.S. growers transitioning to organic production, according to a new report from CoBank. While U.S. production of non-GMO crops has risen, domestic production of organic corn and soybeans remains well short of demand. Read more from the Scottsbluff Star Herald ...

Robots will deliver food to your doorstep in San Francisco

Yelp's Eat24 has teamed up with Marble, a robot delivery startup, and will start delivering food in the evening in the relatively flat Mission and Potrero Hill districts in San Francisco California. Read more at the Digital Journal ...

Fair trade certification status on the rise among U.S. seafood products

Fair trade coffee, bananas and ... scallops? Yes, very soon. Fair trade certification status, which is conferred by independent groups to denote environmental sustainability and fair working conditions, has been around for years. But it’s just now on the rise among seafood products in the U.S., where consumer interest in the story behind the fish and shellfish they eat is growing. Read more from The Globe and Mail ...