The vegetarians who turned into butchers

More and more former vegans and vegetarians in the U.S. are joining the ethical butcher movement, which aims to revolutionize the current food system and the kind of meat that is widely available to consumers. Specifically, these butchers prioritize “animal wellbeing, environmental conservation and less wasteful whole-animal butchery.” They also tend to foster intimate relationships with local ranches and farms, which helps consumers trust that the meat they’re getting is of high quality and promotes a kind of transparency that is largely missing from factory farming operations. Read more at The New York Times …

New evidence shows popular pesticides could cause unintended harm to insects

A widely used family of pesticides called neonicotinoids pose risks to the insect world that researchers are only beginning to understand. What they do know is that the shift toward using these kinds of pesticides from less safe options over the past several years has made U.S. agriculture operations 48 times as deadly to insects as it was 25 years ago. Read more at NPR …

California’s largest recycling center business, RePlanet, shuts down

Three years after RePlanet closed 191 of its recycling centers and laid off 300 employees, the company is officially ceasing all operations “because of increased business costs and falling prices of recycled aluminum and PET plastic.” This means that even more aluminum and PET bottles and other recyclables will be directed to landfills, causing some activists to push for grocery and convenience store chains to begin redeeming cans and bottles. Read more at The L.A. Times …

No more meat aisles at grocery stores? Plant-based burger maker wants change

U.K.-based alt meat company The Meatless Farm Co. wants grocery stores to begin labeling their meat aisles as “protein” aisles to better prepare for the increasingly flexitarian future. The company’s CEO says that putting faux meat in the meat aisle caters “to a discerning audience of consumers who pay attention to what’s in their food” rather than vegans and vegetarians. Read more at Fox Business …

Native Sun Natural Foods Market going out of business; all 3 locations will close

Florida-based retailer Native Sun Natural Foods Market announced today that it would be closing its doors after over 20 years in business. Owner Aaron Gottlieb cites the increasing number of specialty store competition in the area as the main reason for all three branches' closures. Read more at WJCT …