Manitoba in the past decade has imposed restrictions on intensive hog production in a bid to reduce the nutrient load on the Red River heading north toward Lake Winnipeg. (Dave Bedard photo)

Investors press meat producers to cut water pollution

Reuters — Forty-five large investors collectively managing C$1.6 trillion in assets are pressing some of the nation’s largest meat producers to set policies for reducing water pollution in their feeding, slaughtering and processing operations. The investors, who are members of sustainability non-profit advocate Ceres and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), sent letters to




(WholeFoodsMarket.com)

New Whole Foods chain 365 faces tough mission

Los Angeles | Reuters — Whole Foods Market’s 365 grocery chain offers lower prices and more technology than the company’s namesake supermarkets, but experts say the fledgling brand must beat its many rivals without hijacking customers from its parent. 365, which debuted on Wednesday with a bright and airy store in Los Angeles’ Silver Lake


(Darden.com)

Activists press Olive Garden on antibiotics, worker pay

Los Angeles | Reuters — Dozens of activist groups, emboldened by recent policy shifts at major U.S. restaurants, are demanding Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants change its food and labour practices. Their sweeping agenda, part of a campaign called “Good Food Now,” includes calls for the nation’s largest full-service restaurant operator to strengthen its antibiotics

Dole under U.S. probe after deadly listeria outbreak

Los Angeles | Reuters — Dole Food Co. Inc. said on Friday the U.S. Department of Justice was investigating a deadly listeria monocytogenes outbreak linked to packaged salad products from its processing plant in Springfield, Ohio. Dole, the world’s largest fruit and vegetable producer, said in a statement the agency recently contacted the company and