Black farmers sue seed company (WREG): The Black Farmers and Agriculturists Association has filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of black farmers who allege that the Stine Seed Company sold them fake seeds.
More beer buys (Brewbound): Constellation Brands, one of the country’s largest alcohol and beer companies, bought Texas’s Four Corners Brewing for an undisclosed sum.
Getting off the juice (New York Times): In a letter to the editor, Bettina Elias Siegel, who writes The Lunch Tray blog, calls for stricter rules about school meals to reduce their reliance on sugar-laden fruit juice.
Glyphosate lawsuits proceed (NPR): A federal judge will allow liability lawsuits claiming a Monsanto weedkiller causes cancer to proceed, although, he said, the plaintiffs “appear to face a daunting challenge” in proving their contentions.
Summer reading (Food Tank): Food Tank is recommending 18 books on food policy, animal welfare, and food itself as great summer reads. The titles include The Story of Soy, RetroSuburbia, and Formerly Known as Food.
Does rural Minnesota matter? (MinnPost): The urban-rural divide is a popular topic, but the 55 percent of Minnesotans who live in seven urbanized counties in the Twin Cities area can be a winning block in statewide elections, said MinnPost. Still, it said, “it’s a risky bet” to rely solely on city voters.
Powered by pigs (Bloomberg): Duke Energy Corp. is among the U.S. utilities using renewable natural gas created by capturing methane from hog manure. Some 28 renewable natural gas plants will open this year across the country.