5@5: Hershey’s snags Pirate’s Booty | Congress might hit pause on food mergers5@5: Hershey’s snags Pirate’s Booty | Congress might hit pause on food mergers

Hershey’s buys Pirate's Booty to double down on healthy snacks

Hershey’s is adding Pirate Brands to its Amplify branch, which it acquired in December. The fast-growing Pirate’s Booty cheese puffs will bring Hershey’s into the cheese puffs category, valued at $2.5 million. Read more at CNN …

Representative introduces bill for moratorium on agribusiness mergers

Wisconsin Democrat Rep. Mark Pocan has introduced a bill to temporarily halt large mergers in the agribusiness and food industries. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, also a Democrat, introduced a similar bill in the Senate last month. The proposal is a reaction to “out-of-control consolidation” that allows agricultural firms to control food prices and limits competition, Pocan said in a released statement. Read more at The Fern …

Coal ash and hog manure could flood vulnerable communities in Hurricane Florence’s path

The flooding that Hurricane Florence is expected to bring to North Carolina could spread dangerous coal ash and hog manure into the stricken area’s waterways. Low-income communities of color are at the greatest risk of suffering the health risks related to this secondary disaster. Read more at Grist …

Two-thirds of U.S. consumers say they are eating less meat

Cost and health concerns are driving 66 percent of Americans to eat less of at least one type of meat, a study at Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future has found. The survey was conducted in 2015 and the results were published in the July issue of Public Health Nutrition. Some respondents who said they were eating less meat reported eating more poultry or seafood. Read more at The Hub …

Classifying drivers of global forest loss

The rate of deforestation has not declined since 2001, despite various efforts to control it. More than one-fourth of the loss is due to land-uses changes that allow for production of commodities such as beef, soy, palm oil and more. Read more at ScienceMag.org …