Amazon tests food stamps, another breach of Walmart territory

Five national stores (Amazon, FreshDirect, Safeway, ShopRite and Hy-Vee) and two smaller retailers in New York (Hart's Local Grocers and Dash's Market) will participate in a two-year USDA pilot project starting this summer that will allow people in food deserts to use their SNAP credit to buy food online and have it shipped to their homes. Food stamps, though, won't cover delivery or membership fees, so if people want to order fresh produce, dairy or meat off of Amazon, they would have to pay to become an Amazon Prime Fresh member. Read more at USA Today...

Why I'm expanding The Kitchen restaurants in America's Heartland

With a vision to scale "affordable real food" to America's Heartland, Kimbal Musk plans to work with local farmers to open 50 Next Door restaurants in Iowa, Colorado, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Arkansas by 2020. Read more at Medium...

Mayans have farmed the same way for millennia. Climate change means they can't. 

A farming practice called milpa has long enabled producers to grow a surprisingly diverse array of produce in the Yucatan's poor, thin soil. But erratic rainfall has made the growing season even less predictable than it already was, causing many farmers to struggle to keep their crops alive. They've had to come up with new solutions—ones that incorporate modern techniques, irrigation systems and tilling in compost and manure. A project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and private donors is providing financial and technical help to these farmers adapt to climate change and reduce deforestation. Read more at NPR...

DEA asked public to comment on its proposed kratom ban and 99 percent opposed it

The American Kratom Association and the American Coalition of Free Citizens looked at the public comments submitted to the DEA regarding its kratom ban and found that only 113 of the more than 23,000 comments were in favor of the proposal. Kratom is a tropical evergreen tree in the coffee family that appears to activate opioid receptors in the brain and reduce pain, but critics say it could be addictive. Read more at Huffington Post...

How dairy can lead a new waste revolution—and enjoy the rewards

There are many ways for dairy companies to improve their sustainability, according to Arla Food Ingredients. For example, a common whey by-product called acid whey, which contains the same minerals as milk and offers potential as the base for a variety of dairy products. Read more at New Food magazine...