Shutdown’s impact on Native communities (New York Times): Many essential services are stalled in Native American communities during the government shutdown, including a USDA food distribution program that fed 90,000 Native people in 2017.
Beyond Meat going mainstream (Reuters): Carl’s Jr., a burger chain, announced it would add vegan imitation-meat burgers from the company Beyond Meat to its menu at 1,000 locations.
Committee of candidates (FERN’s Ag Insider): Four of the nine Democrats on the Senate Agriculture Committee — Michael Bennet of Colorado, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota — are considering a run for the White House, with Gillibrand likely to announce her candidacy in the near term.
Tiptoe through the farm bill (Successful Farming): The publication has provided a 10-point tour of how the farm program is affected by the 2018 farm policy law.
Farm Bureau dances with Big Oil (InsideClimate News): For decades, says a report, the largest U.S. farm group “has aligned agriculture closely with the fossil fuel agenda,” fighting actions, such as cap-and-trade initiatives, that would mitigate climate change.
Not in the grocery store yet (Los Angeles Times): Although the plant-based Impossible Burger is served at nearly 5,000 restaurants, it can’t be sold in grocery stores until the FDA decides whether to approve a color additive — a genetically modified yeast known as heme — that provides a meat-like flavor and the red juice that “bleeds” from the patty.