5@5: Amazon ends food delivery service | Kroger to sell CBD products

Amazon ends restaurant delivery in face of fierce competition

Amazon is putting an end to its U.S.-based restaurant delivery service Amazon Restaurants after failing to gain traction among consumers. The company isn’t pulling out of the food delivery space completely, however—last month it led a $575 million round for British food delivery company Deliveroo. Read more at The Wall Street Journal …

Kroger will start selling CBD creams, balms and oils in 17 states

Kroger has joined Rite-Aid, CVS and Walgreens in offering consumers the ability to purchase CBD-infused topicals in its stores. Select stores across 17 states, including 92 locations in Michigan alone, will roll out the products as soon as this week. Read more at Delish …

Mid-sized farms are disappearing. This program could reverse the trend

American farms have grown and consolidated at a harrowing pace; in fact, 75% of agricultural sales now come from just 5% of operations. This is making it exceedingly difficult for mid-size operations, such as beginning and family farmers, to remain in business. Enter the Ag of the Middle Accelerator Program, a two-year program that “helps smaller farms, ranches, and fishermen grow to gross between $100,000 to $3 million” by transforming the cost-effectiveness of these operations. Read more at Civil Eats …

Processed foods are a much bigger health problem than we thought

An increasing number of scientists believe that processed foods disturb the gut microbiome in a way that heightens the risk of chronic disease in addition to encouraging overeating. To combat this, some are calling for lawmakers to “make unprocessed foods more accessible and affordable, while taxing ultraprocessed foods and regulating the marketing around them." Read more at Vox …

Infarm closes $100M Series B to scale its ‘urban farming platform’

Berlin-based startup Infarm is disclosing $100 million in Series B investment. Via an urban farming platform, the company offers consumers the ability to pick their own produce in consumer-facing city locations such as grocery stores, restaurants, shopping malls and schools. Read more at Tech Crunch …