Amazon will open its first grocery store in California next year

As of today, Amazon has officially confirmed its plans to launch a new grocery chain separate from the company's Whole Foods and Amazon Go retail outlets. While no details regarding the new brand's name or locations other than the one in Woodland Hills, California, have been disclosed, the store is slated to open in early 2020. One aspect to note is that Amazon appears to be forgoing its checkout-free technology in favor of conventional checkout stands. Read more at Grocery Dive…

As beef comes under fire for climate impacts, the industry fights back

America's dairy and beef industries are in defensive mode in the midst of a wave of popular plant-based alternatives to animal-based products and increasingly dire environmental warnings regarding livestock's skyrocketing carbon footprint. This year alone the U.S. meat industry pressured over two dozen states into considering passing bills that would prevent vegan and vegetarian brands from marketing themselves using terms such as "steak" and "burger." Read more at Civil Eats…

The problem isn't wheat. It's what we've done to it

Wheat has been around for thousands of years–meaning that logically the crop itself can't be repsonsible for the upswing in gluten sensitivities. One possible answer? Farming with industrial chemicals that transform wheat's "nutrient profile through industrial processing, and breeding it to meet the needs of these industrial systems rather than our own bodies." Read more at Medium…

How do you like your beef–old-style cow or 3D-printed?

3D-printed meat is on track to arrive on European restaurant menus and homes alike within the next few years. Such printers will be able to construct meat-like textures out of anything from vegetable matter to lab-grown animal cells, which may finally allow for convincing plant-based alternatives to types of meat products besides burgers. Read more at The Guardian…

The USDA is turning spinach red to boost veggie consumption

The spinach industry is poised to rebound from a 2006 E. coli outbreak it never recovered from now that one scientist has perfected a red-leafed version of the vegetable. The red spinach isn't genetically modified and contains high levels of a phytonutrient called betacyanin that has some USDA-reviewed health benefits. Read more at Quartz…