The nation's largest supermarket chain is opening 'dark' kitchens inside some of its stores to meet surging demand for food delivery

"Ghost kitches," "dark stores" and "virtual stores" are all becoming very appealing options for businesses facing a persistently high demand for food delivery. Kroger, for instance, is converting 1,200 square feet in two of its stores into "dark kitchens" that will be solely dedicated to fulfilling meal deliveries. These kitchens will offer over 80 dishes and the food will ostensibly be delivered within 7 minutes of being prepared and 30 minutes of being ordered, on average; Kroger's model differs from the traditional "ghost kitchen," however, in that these locations will have customer-facing services in the form of takeout orders. Learn how other businesses are going dark at Business Insider ...

Largest-ever fine for water pollution goes to a CAFO

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued its largest fine ever to a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) for violating the Clean Water Act. The CAFO repeatedly discharged horse manure, urine and untreated wastewater more than 250 times into New Orleans' local sewer system between 2012 and 2018. The waste from this facility eventually made its way to the Gulf of Mexico and contributed to the already enormous strain on America's domestic supply of shrimp, oysters and commercial fish. The Counter has the details.

Why Thanksgiving turkeys will be smaller this year

While analysts expect that there will be 40 million turkeys sold this year, research indicates that consumers will be buying smaller birds to reflect smaller gatherings in 2020. Farmers are slaughtering their Thanksgiving turkeys earlier, and retailers are also adjusting their orders for suppliers accordingly. Boneless and bone-in turkey breasts are also likely to be more popular this year among amateur cooks this holiday season link to Monitor. Get the scoop at CNN ...

A PBR seltzer spiked with THC hits shelves, aiming at the 'canna-curious'

Pabst Blue Ribbon offshoot Pabst Labs is now marketing a THC-infused canned beverage toward "canna-curious" consumers in California; AKA, those shoppers who are less likely to indulge in THC-infused products that have to be vaped, smoked or eaten. Once expert argues that consumers are already beginning to view THC-infused beverages as a perfectly acceptable alternative to beer or wine. It's simply another way to relax at the end of a hard day. Read more at NPR ...

Want a more sustainable food system? Focus on better dirt

The term "regenerative agriculture" is tossed around a lot in the natural products world these days, but what does it really mean? It began as a movement to combat the soil degradation that has resulted from modern industrial agriculture, but has grown to become a viable means to sequester carbon and greenhouse gases in the air. While certainly not a cure-all, regenerative agriculture has prompted many farmers to increase their lands' biodiversity and make the make the food that is harvested more nutritious as an added bonus. The Globe and Mail ...