5@5: Pesticide police inundated with dicamba complaints | Wegmans stocks bred-for-flavor produce

Pesticide police, overwhelmed by dicamba complaints, ask EPA for help

Notorious herbicide dicamba has been wreaking havoc on crops and wildlife that are not dicamba-resistant because of its tendency to drift far past where it's sprayed. And yet against the wishes of the experts who police pesticide use, the EPA extended its approval of the chemical prior to the 2019 growing season. Dicamba and dicamba-tolerant soybean and cotton seeds are sold by Bayer, formerly Monsanto, and contribute billions of dollars in annual revenue for the company. Read more at NPR…

Dan Barber bets on grocery stores to bring better vegetables to the masses

Wegmans' infrastructure is particularly suited for a partnership with Row 7, a company that breeds vegetables to have more desirable flavor profiles and shapes. The retailer used its own organic farmland to grow several varieties of Row 7's seeds, and the custom signage and in-store displays that detailed the unique origin story of the vegetables made the seed-to-retail venture especially successful. Read more at Civil Eats…

Smoothie-slinging startup looks for success amid a graveyard of robotic food failures

While robotic-driven concepts have failed to transform restaurants as we know them, one San Francisco-based startup is hoping to reverse this trend. Robojuice's smoothie-making robot has two arms to interact with and serve customers and can produce a $5 or $6 drink in about 30 seconds. Read more at The San Francisco Business Times…

Native Sun Natural Foods Market to reopen in Jacksonville Beach

Native Sun Natural Foods Market is reopening in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, following the closure of each of the retail chain's three stores six months ago. Owner Aaron Gottlieb hopes the store's renewed commitment to understanding and serving the health needs of the local community will help it "stand alongside traditional grocers." Read more at Florida Times-Union…

First vegan eggs hatched in a lab, but what are they made of?

A new vegan alternative to eggs has emerged from France, and its creators have plans to enter it into the commercial market by mid-2020. The legume-based product can notably be used in many of the same ways that consumers would use hens' eggs (such as in baking or alone as an omelette), which gives it an edge over competitor Just's plant-based egg. Read more at Euro News…