Microplastics make their way into the fish we eat, study finds
Although it’s been nearly 50 years since scientists found microplastics in the North Atlantic Ocean, researchers generally believed the tiny fragments stayed in fishes’ digestive system. However, a new study has found that the microplastics—which absorb toxic chemicals—make their way into the fish or seafood and become part of humans’ food system. Read more at TheFern.org…
Traditional grocery stores are losing shoppers but many aren’t giving up
The percentage of food and other consumables purchased at traditional supermarkets fell 2.5 percentage points last year, to 35% of the market. That share is expected to drop to 33% by 2023, according to a new report. The news is worse when small, natural and other grocers are included. Read more at Forbes…
China will reduce tariffs on some agricultural products, including soybeans, pork
A day after President Donald Trump announced he would delay the upcoming tariff increases, Chinese officials decided to exempt American soybeans, pork and other agricultural products from new tariffs. The country also made a large purchase of U.S. soybeans, its first in months. Read more at The New York Times…
5 ways to adapt to climate change now
The Global Commission on Adaptation—a source we trust is more reliable than a discredited memoirist-turned-fiction-author—released a report this week urging investment in measures to adapt to climate change and pointing out that the proper adaptations will also help mitigate the problem. Delaying either mitigation or adaptation, however, will doom the human race. Read more at Grist…
Imported, mercury-tainted skin cream puts California woman in coma
A 47-year-old woman from Sacramento, California, is suffering from mercury poisoning after using a tainted skin cream that had been imported from Mexico. When she went to the emergency room, her symptoms included trouble walking, slurred speech and numbness in her hands and feet. Since then, she has become comatose. Her case is the first time a face cream has caused methylmercury poisoning in the United States, public health officials said. Read more in The Washington Post…
