Los Angeles/Chicago | Reuters — On its first day as part of Amazon.com, organic grocery chain Whole Foods Market slashed prices on popular items like avocados and apples on Monday by a third as it bid to shake off its “Whole Paycheque” reputation for high prices. In another sign of changes to come, a display […] Read more
Whole Foods slashes prices on some produce
Amazon to cut Whole Foods prices amid intense grocery turf war
Reuters — Amazon.com said Thursday it will cut prices on a range of popular goods as it completes its acquisition of Whole Foods Market, sending shares of rival grocers tumbling over fears of even more brutal market share battles. Amazon’s $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods, which won antitrust approval from U.S. regulators on Wednesday, […] Read more
KFC to curb antibiotic use in U.S. chickens it buys
Los Angeles | Reuters — Yum Brands’ U.S. KFC chain plans to curb the use of antibiotics in its chicken supply, making it the last of the big three chicken restaurants to join the fight against the rise of dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as superbugs. KFC, the second-biggest U.S. chicken chain by sales after privately […] Read more
Investors press meat producers to cut water pollution
Reuters — Forty-five large investors collectively managing C$1.6 trillion in assets are pressing some of the nation’s largest meat producers to set policies for reducing water pollution in their feeding, slaughtering and processing operations. The investors, who are members of sustainability non-profit advocate Ceres and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), sent letters to […] Read more
McDonald’s investor renews push to cut antibiotics in all meat
Reuters — A McDonald’s Corp. shareholder is redoubling efforts to convince the fast-food chain to stop all of its global restaurants from serving the meat of animals raised with antibiotics that are vital for fighting human infections. More than 70 per cent of medically important antibiotics in the U.S. are sold for livestock use. Scientists […] Read more
Shareholders press Yum for stricter antibiotics policy
Los Angeles | Reuters — Yum Brands investors on Tuesday filed a shareholder proposal requesting that it quickly phase out harmful antibiotic use in its meat supply, taking aim at the practices of the company’s KFC fried chicken chain. The proposal from shareholder activists As You Sow, of Oakland, Calif., and the Sisters of St. […] Read more
New Whole Foods chain 365 faces tough mission
Los Angeles | Reuters — Whole Foods Market’s 365 grocery chain offers lower prices and more technology than the company’s namesake supermarkets, but experts say the fledgling brand must beat its many rivals without hijacking customers from its parent. 365, which debuted on Wednesday with a bright and airy store in Los Angeles’ Silver Lake […] Read more
Activists press Olive Garden on antibiotics, worker pay
Los Angeles | Reuters — Dozens of activist groups, emboldened by recent policy shifts at major U.S. restaurants, are demanding Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants change its food and labour practices. Their sweeping agenda, part of a campaign called “Good Food Now,” includes calls for the nation’s largest full-service restaurant operator to strengthen its antibiotics […] Read more
Dole under U.S. probe after deadly listeria outbreak
Los Angeles | Reuters — Dole Food Co. Inc. said on Friday the U.S. Department of Justice was investigating a deadly listeria monocytogenes outbreak linked to packaged salad products from its processing plant in Springfield, Ohio. Dole, the world’s largest fruit and vegetable producer, said in a statement the agency recently contacted the company and […] Read more
Investor group launches campaign to curb antibiotic use in food
Reuters — Fifty-four large investors managing one trillion pounds (C$1.84 trillion) in assets have launched a campaign to curb the use of antibiotics in the meat and poultry used by 10 large U.S. and British restaurant groups. McDonalds and JD Wetherspoon were among those to receive a March 15 letter from institutions including Aviva Investors […] Read more
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