Blog – Kelp4less

Posted on September 24, 2017

Discount Grocer – ALDI – We Don’t Accept Checks

Touch the Soil News #811 (Feature photo – Ben Doulos – CC SA 4.0) Food is a rather important necessity. And any barriers to accessing food can impact millions of people. Aldi, is a large grocer in the U.S. with over 1,700 stores in 35 states. The company is headquartered out of Germany and has a global store count of over 10,000 including the popular U.S. store Trader Joes. The Aldi brand in the U.S., does not accept checks, but recently announced that it now accepts all forms of contact-free payment including Apple Pay and Android Pay. One of the benefits of contact-free payment is that it has the same…

Posted on September 24, 2017

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Tackles Food and Agriculture

Touch the Soil News #810 (Feature photo – courtesy of Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Founded in 1861, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts (population 132,000). It is considered one of the world’s most prestigious universities. Founded in 1861, the university has stressed laboratory instruction in applied science and engineering. MIT has an academic staff of over 1,000, a student population of over 11,000 and is located on a campus of 168 acres. MIT has undertaken what it calls the Open Agriculture Initiative. Its philosophy is that indoor urban farming can create the least energy intensive crops while maintaining taste and nutrition. Efforts…

Posted on September 20, 2017

Solving Hunger – End War, Stop Climate Change, Send More Money

Touch the Soil News #809 (Feature photo – map of areas of global conflict – courtesy of Futuretrillionaire CC SA 3.0) Under the umbrella of the United Nations are the world’s leading organizations attempting to stop starvation of 815 million people, up 35 million from 2015. These organizations include the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development, UNICEF, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization. For perspective, since 2015, global population has grown by over 150 million. Together these organizations have just produced the 2017 – State of Food Security & Nutrition in the World. Their findings are rather sobering: Global hunger affects 11…

Posted on September 19, 2017

Vadavalli – School Garden

Touch the Soil News #808 (Feature photo – courtesy of Vadavalli School District) When it comes to food, are third-world nations leading the way ahead of first-world nations? In the first world, folks are suffering from obesity, diabetes, poor nutrition, toxins in food and urban isolation. However, in the city of Vadavalli, India (45,000 people) the school district has launched an organic school farm (see photo above). The idea was kick-started by the district’s chief education officer. The students raise spinach, tomatoes, pumpkins, coriander and lettuce among other things. A local organic farmer teaches students the basics and provides free organic seeds. The school-garden produce is used at the school…

Posted on September 18, 2017 September 19, 2017

News Round-Up

Touch the Soil News #807 Go Olive Garden Olive Garden reports that it sold 22,000 of its $100 “unlimited” pasta passes in less than one second on September 14th. The pass allows a passholder to enjoy The Never Ending Pasta Bowl for eight weeks. Meat Scandal The ongoing corruption scandal within the world’s largest meat companies (JBS SA – Brazil) just never stops. Last week, former CEO Wesley Batista was taken into custody for further corruption including “insider trading” prior to his plea bargain with Brazilian prosecutors. The company has put in 84 year-old Joes Batista (Wesley’s father) as temporary CEO. Chocolate’s Dark Secret Non profit MightyEarth has…

Posted on September 18, 2017 September 19, 2017

Traditional Meat – On the Way Out?

Touch the Soil News #806 (Feature photo – Library of Congress) Three Israeli companies – SuperMeat, Future Meat Technologies and Meat the Future are only three (3) of eight companies in the world growing meat from animal cells in laboratories as reported by Quartz Magazine. These three Israeli companies, however, just inked a $300 million deal with China to partner up in working to create and commercialize lab-grown meat. The International Trade Centre reports that China imported more than $10 billion in meat last year. China now eats more meat than the U.S. and livestock is responsible for 14.5 percent of greenhouse gas pollution. According to the Times of Israel,…

Posted on September 13, 2017 September 19, 2017

Sobering

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Touch the Soil News #805 (Feature photo – The National Congress Building of Brazil – a government unable to exert sufficient control over exploitation of the indigenous people in rural areas – copyright free) Far away in the rainforests and hinterlands of Brazil, agribusinesses and big finance can be found plundering the environment and the indigenous folks who live there. Recently, a delegation of 30 human rights, development and rural experts collaborated in an unprecedented visit (investigation) to the Brazilian hinterlands. The goal was to uncover rumors of gross misconduct towards indigenous folks from large soybean farm enterprises. See the report summary here: http://www.fian.org/en/news/article/caravana_matopiba_uncovers_alarming_human_and_environmental_costs_of_agribusiness/ The investigation was an international fact…

Posted on September 12, 2017 September 13, 2017

Free Lunches at School – Regardless of Qualifications

Touch the Soil News #804 (Feature photo – Carmen Farina, Chancellor of the New York City Schools) This fall, New York City’s 1.1 million school students will receive free lunches regardless of their economic background. New York school officials say that 75 percent of students already qualify for free or reduced price lunches. The new policy will reach approximately 200,000 more students. The free lunch would normally cost about $300 a year. Free lunches – regardless of economics – are already a reality in the cities of Boston, Chicago, Detroit and Dallas. Called the “Free School Lunch For All” the initiative was championed by Carmen Farina, Chancellor of the New…

Posted on September 12, 2017

Costco Eggs See a Change of Venue

Touch the Soil News #803 (Feature photo – Hutterite women return from working in the fields at sunset – Rainer Mueller – CCA 3.0) Making history in the U.S. is the unusual business arrangement by Costco with Hutterite colonies of Montana to grow, grade and pack organic eggs. News outlets have been abuzz with the recent opening of a 58,000 square foot facility ($9 million cost) that will process more than 280 million eggs a year. Located in Great Falls, Montana, the facility will supply Costco with Montana-grown, free-rage, organic eggs. The eggs are sourced exclusively from over 30 Hutterite colonies in Montana which together make up the ownership of…

Posted on September 12, 2017

Dow Chemical and DuPont – Now Are One Company

Touch the Soil News #802 (Feature photo – Jenni Jones – CC SA 2.0) The world is at a crossroads when it comes to chemicals including plastics. The recent hurricanes have breached many safety efforts from keeping toxins out of the environment. Unfortunately, the Houston metro area has more than a dozen Superfund sites. However, two giants in the business of chemicals for industry and agriculture just completed a merger they have been working on since 2015. Market analysts value the combined company at $130 billion. The new merged company is called DowDupont will operate as one company with plans to split into three different companies over the next 18…