NYC councilman says Amazon’s HQ2 is ‘antithetical’ to our values

New York City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer recently stated that Amazon’s anti-union stance and reported ties to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency make the company’s headquarters unfit for its planned Queens location. Other representatives, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, worry that the project could displace low-income and working class families. However, Governer Cuomo has responded that the amount of jobs and revenue Amazon would create for the city make rejecting the headquarters “malpractice.” Read more at CNBC …

Killing Instacart: Why the company is at risk of crashing to the ground

Instacart used to represent a saving grace for retailers hoping to compete with Amazon after the company acquired Whole Foods in 2017—but not anymore. Instacart has been accumulating data about customers and retailers since its inception, forcing some retailers to question whether this data could be used against them should Instacart begin to compete with grocery retailers. Additionally, while Instacart is relatively cheap for retailers, the company’s business model cannot meet the needs of all of its customers—for example, those who wish to have bulk orders fulfilled. Read more at Forbes …

This startup is Trader Joe’s meets Costco, with a splash of Brandless

Direct-to-consumer startup Public Goods combines the most popular aspects of retailers such as Costco, Whole Foods, Brandless and Everlane to create a high-quality, low-cost online retail platform that offers consumers a year-long membership for $59. This startup differs from other direct-to-consumer platforms—Dollar Shave Club, etc.— in that it aims to be a one-stop-shop for a broad assortment of goods from multiple categories. Public Goods was notably backed by 10,000 fans in under 40 days—the project remains in the top 0.2 percent of all Kickstarter campaigns. Read more at Fast Company …

Plummeting insect numbers ‘threaten collapse of nature’

Total insect populations are declining at an alarming rate of 2.5 percent rate each year, suggesting they might vanish altogether within a mere century. Insects, varied and abundant though they may be, are already undergoing population collapses across the globe–most recently recorded in Germany and Puerto Rico. the scientists quoted in the article state that “Unless we change our ways of producing food, insects as a whole will go down the path of extinction in a few decades.” The pesticides used in intensive agriculture is the most prominent reason for this decline. Read more at The Guardian …

How corporations shaped the American diet, from Jell-O to pineapple pizza

A new compilation of decades of American food advertisements show us something we can easily accept as truth—“the advertising bonanza that spanned much of the 20^th century reshaped the American diet—and not for the better.” Learn how corporations promoted products such as Crisco, pork and Frito Chips in ways that would shape the way consumers thought about their own health—and society—and have lasting effects on preconceptions surrounding the food we eat up until today. Read more at New Food Economy  …