Amazon advises Whole Foods on unions (Gizmodo): After indications that some Whole Foods employees may begin instigating for a union, Amazon apparently sent the grocery’s managers a video on how to fight worker unionization efforts.
Farmers sue USDA (Organization for Competitive Markets): The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit heard oral arguments in a lawsuit that farmers brought against the Trump administration, alleging that it broke the law last year when it rolled back the so-called GIPSA rules.
Florence was second-rainiest hurricane (AP): Hurricane Florence dumped more than 17.5 inches of rain over a 14,000-square-mile area of the Carolinas, second only to the 25.6 inches that fell on a similar-sized section of Texas during Hurricane Harvey last year, according to a rainfall meteorologist.
Dairy farmers try GoFundMe (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel): More than 2,500 dairy farmers nationwide, struggling to stay in business, are appealing for help via GoFundMe campaigns. One Wisconsin farmer raised enough to save her farm a week before a foreclosure auction.
Congress won’t challenge Trump on tariffs (Roll Call): As lawmakers rush appropriations bills to a vote, leaders apparently cold-shouldered Sen. Bob Corker’s proposal to give Congress 60 days to decide if the White House can impose tariffs on imported goods in the name of national security.
Iowa’s water woes (YaleEnvironment360): With nearly 6 in 10 of Iowa’s rivers and streams too contaminated for swimming or fishing, the general manager of the Des Moines Water Works says Iowa “has become the sacrifice state for industrial agriculture.”
The meaning of ‘meat’ (NFU): In comments to the FDA, the National Farmers Union, the second-largest U.S. farm group, opposed labeling and selling cell-based meat as “meat,” “beef,” “poultry,” or “seafood” because it does not come from animals slaughtered for food.