5@5: Amazon, Instacart delivery workers strike | How COVID-19 is disrupting dairy

Work strikes at Amazon, Instacart and Whole Foods show essential workers' safety concerns

Amazon warehouse workers and Instacart employees walked off their jobs on Monday just after both companies revealed plans to hire tens of thousands of new employees to meet consumer demand. Workers are asking for, among other things, more access to paid sick leave, rigorous cleaning schedules for the warehouses and hand sanitizer.  Read more at USA Today…

How COVID-19 is disrupting America's most time-sensitive industry

U.S. cheesemakers are among the hardest hit as COVID-19 throws a wrench into America's food system. Cheese producers can't control, among many other things, when their animals are ready to be milked, and consumers are ignoring artisan cheese in favor of pantry staples at retail. Read more at The Counter...

Will we run out of food because of COVID-19?

Grocery stores aren't likely to close, and experts reiterate that America's food supply is stable. The uptick in hoarding on the consumer end has more to do with the fact that many don't realize that a shelter-in-place mandate still allows for food shopping. Read more at The Kitchn…

Scientists find a bug that feasts on toxic plastic

Researchers have discovered a type of bacterium that consumes polyurethane—the first of its kind. The bacteria even use the plastic as as source of fuel while breaking it down. Read more at The Guardian…

Chef José Andrés wants to feed the world through the pandemic: 'Without empathy, nothing works'

José Andrés, celebrity chef, showed an impressive display of leadership at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic stateside by cooking for and distributing food to quarantined individuals on the Grand Princess cruise ship. But this isn't the first time he "cut through government bureaucracy to fill a leadership vacuum and feed the masses," and Andrés also taps into local supply chains and makes use of local chefs for his initiatives. Read more at Time…