News

SEATTLE — In early 2017, a memo circulated inside Amazon that imagined an ambitious new grocery chain. The document was written like a news release, a common practice for ideas being weighed inside the company, with the title “Grocery Shopping for Everyone.”

The new stores, the document envisioned, would have robust sections for produce, fresh food and prepared meals. Nonperishable products, like paper towels or canned beans, would be stored on a separate floor, away from customers. Shoppers could order those items with an app, and while they shopped for fresh food, the other products would be brought down in time for check out. There would also be an area to pick up groceries ordered online and to manage packages for delivery drivers.

For the first time ever, blended burgers are available on restaurant menus in all 50 U.S. states.

Have you ever truly stopped to appreciate those little fungi peeking out from your spinach salad? You should — by eating more of them!

"Although white foods are often thought to be nutrient-poor, mushrooms are an exception," says Mitzi Dulan, RD, author of The Pinterest Diet. "They contain many minerals, like selenium, potassium, copper, iron and phosphorus, that are not often found in plant-derived foods."

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. — Kennett Square might be a small town, but as Sonny Perdue found out on Thursday, national ag policies loom large over this center of U.S. mushroom production.

China is “the big moose on the table,” Perdue told local ag leaders at the Kennett Square fire hall in between visits to a mushroom house and the New Holland Agriculture headquarters.

The U.S. was making progress in trade negotiations with Beijing, including securing new farm product purchasing agreements, before the Chinese recently backtracked on some of their commitments, Perdue said.

Crestline queried shoppers on whether they agree with the following statement: “I wish I could just buy products I like without feeling guilty or being judged.” More than 45% of the respondents agreed, and less than 25% disagreed.

Even so, consumers maintained they would rather be aware what is happening so they can adjust their purchases accordingly.

U.S. organic sales hit a record $52.5 billion in 2018, up 6.3% from the previous year.

Organic food sales accounted for $47.9 billion, an increase of 5.9% from 2017, according to the Organic Trade Association.

More than one-third of organic food sales come from fruits and vegetables. Produce sales — including all forms, not just fresh — were $17.4 billion in 2018, up 5.6%.

When I was newly sober in 2016, mushrooms were the first thing that hooked me back into the world. Not magic mushrooms, just regular ones growing near where I lived. For whatever reason, finding them (in the wild) and chronicling them (on my phone) felt like a path back to life. There were more out there than I could have anticipated, and their variety and weirdness were incredible. It felt like a reminder of how much I had missed and how rewarding it is to pay attention.