Walmart

Walmart entered the beef business when it opened a processing plant in Georgia that will cut and prepare steaks and roasts for sale in 500 of its stores in the U.S. Southeast. If the plant is successful, says an analyst, “it could mean Walmart takes another step up the supply chain towards the producer.”

A new report from the USDA found that while independent grocery stores outnumber chain grocers in rural areas, they account for a smaller percentage of grocery sales.

The organizer and human-rights activist, Greg Asbed, co-founded the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, (CIW) which has worked with major retailers and food companies to guarantee better pay and treatment for farmworkers through the coalition’s Fair Food Program. Asbed recently won one of the 24 MacArthur 'genius' grants, worth $625,000, for his leadership. As he told The New York Times in a phone interview, he plans to turn over all of that money to the coalition.

Fifteen companies, ranging from food processors to grocery and fast food chains, make up the inaugural class of "food loss and waste champions," said the EPA and USDA. The companies won the designation by agreeing to reduce food waste 50 percent by 2030, in line with an administration goal to conserve resources and to combat climate change.

“A group of 40 investors managing $1.25 trillion in assets have launched a campaign to encourage 16 global food companies” to change to plant-based proteins in light of the “material” risks of industrial meat farming, says Reuters. Among the companies targeted were Kraft Heinz, Nestle, Unilever, Tesco, Walmart, Costco Wholesale Corporation and Whole Foods.

The Clinton campaign loads up on Domino’s and Walmart groceries, while Trump staffers hit up Trump Grill and McDonald's, says Eater. The site searched spending records from the Federal Elections Commission to find out how each presidential hopeful was feeding their staff.

Even though big food companies like Walmart, General Mills and McDonald’s pledged to sell only cage-free eggs, producers are growing wary of investing in cage-free housing because “those premium eggs simply are not selling well,” reports American Public Media’s Marketplace.

The nation’s largest produce industry groups have pledged to work together to improve farm labor conditions, in what could be the most significant step in the movement yet, says the Los Angeles Times. The Produce Marketing Association and the United Fresh Produce Association, which together represent thousands of retailers, growers and distributors, say they are considering an audit-based approach to improving working conditions, similar to that used by the apparel and electronics industries.

Mammoth retailer Walmart, also the largest U.S. grocer, said it will shift to cage-free eggs "based on available supply, affordability and customer demand by 2025." The transition applies to Walmart and Sam's Club stores and was the latest in a string of announcements by food chains.

Some of the largest U.S. food processors and retailers, including Walmart, Cargill and Tyson Foods, are "urging Congress to build on investments in the Fiscal 2017 appropriations legislation that would help combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria," says Feedstuffs.

By investing $18 billion, America could decrease food waste by 20 percent and spur $100 billion in “societal economic value,” says a new report out by Rethink Food Waste Through Economics and Data.