EPA goes quiet(er) (The Hill): A new rule from EPA, set to be published Wednesday, would allow the agency to reject public information requests without explanation.
Garlic con intercepted (Maritime Executive): The U.S. Coast Guard intercepted a boat carrying 7,800 pounds of illicit garlic—worth about $30,000—the largest bust of its kind.
Perdue expects deal with China this year (CNN): Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said during an interview that farmers “are one of the casualties here with trade disruption” due to trade war but he was optimistic the will be a resolution by the end of this year.
Will a GMO chestnut revive the ‘redwood of the East’? (Pacific Standard): Scientists put a wheat gene into a wild chestnut embryo in hopes of reviving a tree once common from Georgia to Maine; now regulators have to decide if it should be the first transgenic plant released into the wild.
Vietnam culls 2.8 million hogs (Reuters): In trying to stop the contagious African swine fever, Vietnam has killed 2.8 million hogs or nearly 10 percent of all the pigs in the country.
Outrage and resignation in relocation (Kansas City Star): Kansas City scored a major economic victory as the new home for two USDA agencies but it’s unclear how many employees will make the 1,000-mile move and whether other federal agencies will leave Washington.
Faux burger vs ‘clean coal of meat’ (Civil Eats): A new feud in the protein market pits Impossible Foods, maker of plant-based burgers against beef from cattle raised with regenerative grazing.