A few farmers get huge USDA relief payments while many struggle for pennies

At least five U.S. farms collected single payments from the government that far exceed the $750,000 cap for farms owned by corporations. The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program uses a complicated formula that equates typically more expensive, farmer's market-bound produce with commodity options, and this among other factors has hit small- to mid-sized farms hard. Advocates say funneling payments to those who actually need it would mean having a stricter income cap and earmarking some of the funding for smaller farmers in particular. Read more at The Counter…

Jeff Bezos’s antitrust grilling was a reminder of Amazon’s power over its sellers

At antitrust hearings held July 29, Jeff Bezos did not attempt to resolve concerns that Amazon's stronghold on e-commerce has the ability to make or break small merchants on a whim. Concerns were brought up regarding the company's use of seller data to determine which private-label products it would develop as well as the rising cut of sales it takes from small merchants on its platform. Read more at Vox…

Some Instacart shoppers are having their jobs cut during the pandemic

Part-time employees of Instacart are losing their jobs as grocers rethink how they work with Instacart and use their own employees in place of gig workers. Instacart representatives said that the company has offered transfers to the majority of in-store shoppers impacted by this process, but it is yet unclear how many will stay with the company. Read more at CNN…

Factory farms disproportionately threaten Black, Latino and Native American North Carolinians

America's industrial swine, cattle and poultry feeding operations have an outsize impact on minority populations, who must contend with the environmental and health implications (in addition to the stench) of living near animals being raised inhumanely for slaughter. Three predominantly Black, Native American and Latino counties in North Carolina are home to roughly 4.5 million hogs, over half the state's total, and none of the state's hog or poultry waste is treated or otherwise appropriately dealt with. Read more at EWG…

Should the Dietary Guidelines help fight systemic racism?

The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans will affect everything from governmental food assistance program to nutrition education efforts. But the committee of scientists that determines them is largely white, and many of the studies it cites do not reflect America's increasingly diverse population. As a result of this some groups are proposing that the guidelines evolve to address the systemic impacts of racism on nutrition such as food insecurity and lack of access to healthy, fresh foods. Read more at Civil Eats…