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Covering Ag since 1981. The faces, places, markets and issues of dairy and livestock production. Hard-hitting topics, market updates and inspirational stories from the notebook of a veteran ag journalist. Contributing reporter for Farmshine since 1987; Editor of former Livestock Reporter 1981-1998; Before that I milked cows. @Agmoos on Twitter, @AgmoosInsight on FB #MilkMarketMoos
By Sherry Bunting, published Farmshine, Feb. 18, 2022
WASHINGTON — As reported in the Feb. 11 Farmshine, USDA announced a ‘transitional standards’ rule on Feb. 4 for milk, whole grains, and sodium for school years 2022-2023 and 2023-2024.
The transitional standards are only in place while USDA works with stakeholders on long-term meal standards through a new rulemaking.
The proposed rule for the longer-term is expected to come from USDA in fall 2022 and will become effective in school year 2024-25. It will be based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025, but USDA says it is conducting a public comment and review process related to the standards and to the “gradual implementation” plan it will develop based in part on stakeholder input.
In the official transitional standards rule, USDA notes that full implementation of its 2012 meal pattern requirements for milk, grains and sodium have been delayed at intervals due to legislative and administrative actions. “Through multiple annual appropriations bills, Congress directed USDA to provide flexibility for these specific requirements.”
Now is the time to comment before March 24, 2022 and to call for an end to the prohibition of whole milk in schools. Request that USDA restore the choice of whole milk in schools by commenting at the online rulemaking portal https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/FNS-2020-0038-2936
Comments and questions can also be sent to: Tina Namian, Chief, School Programs Branch, Policy and Program Development Division—4th Floor, Food and Nutrition Service, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314; telephone: 703-305-2590. Include FNS-2020-0038-2936 in your correspondence.
In a rare move Feb. 7, the American Association of School Superintendents (AASA) made a public media statement on the transitional standards — pointing out their concern that the long-term standards will be ‘more stringent’ due to the restrictive Dietary Guidelines that were approved by USDA and HHS in 2020.
The Association of School Superintendents stated: “It is important to acknowledge that healthy meals are only healthy if students eat them.”
Agreed! This applies to the milk also. Students miss out on 21 minerals, 13 vitamins, complete high quality protein, a healthy matrix of fat and several nutrients of concern when they don’t actually consume the milk offered or served at school. Those nutrients ‘on paper’ are then not realized. Many key nutrients of concern are also fat-soluble. A study at St. Michael’s Children Hospital, Toronto, showed children consuming whole milk had 2.5 to 3x the Vit. D absorption compared with those consuming low-fat milk, and they were at 40% less risk of becoming overweight! Details were presented in a June 2021 hearing in the Pennsylvania Senate, listen here
Milk consumption plummeted and waste skyrocketed since USDA’s 2012 fat-free/low-fat milk rules were set for both ‘served’ milk and competing a la carte offerings. Studies by USDA and others show milk is now one of the most discarded items at school. In fact, USDA did a plate waste study comparing 2011 to 2013 (pre-/ and post-change) They focused on fruits and vegetables, but saw milk decrease significantly, waiving it off as though it were due to an “unrelated policy change.” Technically, it was the smart snacks rules for beverages and it WAS related to the 2012 standards as both were implemented together.
See the losses in Tables 2 through 4 below in ‘selection’ and ‘consumption’ of milk from the USDA study reflecting a 24% reduction in student selection of milk (offer vs. serve) after the 2012 fat-free/low-fat implementation and 10 to 12% reduction in consumption among those students being ‘served’ or selecting the restricted fat-free/low-fat white milk option or fat-free flavored milk option. That’s a double whammy for childhood nutrition and for dairy farm viability. Since 2012, at least one generation of future milk drinkers has been lost.
Will third time be charm? Will Penna. and N.Y. consider state legislation?
By Sherry Bunting, Farmshine, March 19, 2021
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (Pa.-15th) wasted no time reintroducing the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act in the 117th congressional session. Although the official text of the bill introduced last Thursday, March 11 is not yet available, Thompson noted in February it would include a few structural improvements over the earlier versions.
Thompson is now the Republican Leader of the House Agriculture Committee, and he cosponsored the bipartisan whole milk bill, H.R. 1861 with Congressman Antonio Delgado (NY-19th), a Democrat.
Essentially, the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act allows for unflavored and flavored whole milk to be offered in school cafeterias. This choice is currently prohibited under USDA rules of implementation from the 2010 Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act that Congress passed 11 years ago to tie school lunch and other USDA food nutrition services more closely to the low-fat and fat-free stipulations from decades of USDA-HHS Dietary Guidelines. These DGAs continue to ignore the science about milkfat and saturated fat – especially where children are concerned.
“Milk provides nine essential nutrients as well as a great deal of long-term health benefits. Due to the baseless demonization of milk over the years, we’ve lost nearly an entire generation of milk drinkers, and these young people are missing out on the benefits of whole milk,” said Rep. Thompson in a statement last Friday.
“It is my hope the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act will give children a wide variety of milk options and bolster milk consumption — a win-win for growing children and America’s dairy farmers,” Rep. Thompson stated.
Rep. Delgado added: “The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act will help young people maintain a healthy diet while supporting our upstate dairy farmers and processors. I am proud to lead this bipartisan effort to provide more choices for healthy and nutritious milk in schools. This legislation is good for young people and good for our dairy producers in today’s tough farm economy.”
Arden Tewksbury of Progressive Agriculture Organization has been working on this issue for many years. In addition to dairy advocacy, the retired dairy farmer is also a decades-long school board director in northern Pennsylvania.
Rep. Thompson indicated last month that he would restructure the proposed legislation for reintroduction this session, with some tweaks that should make it more workable for school foodservice directors.
He explains that in 2010, Congress passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which amended nutrition standards in the School Lunch Program. Among the changes, the law mandated that school lunches and other government-supported feeding programs be tied directly to the DGAs. The USDA at that time promulgated rules requiring flavored milk to be offered only as fat-free, and that unflavored milk could only be fat-free or 1% low-fat milk.
Schools are audited by USDA for dietary compliance, and their compliance record affects not just their school food reimbursements, but also the educational funds a district receives for federal mandates.
USDA, in 2017, allowed schools to offer 1% low-fat flavored milk. This was a small positive change after statistics showed schools served 232 million fewer half-pints of milk from 2014 to 2016, and school milk was among the most discarded items in school waste studies conducted by USDA and EPA in conjunction with other organizations.
In fact, a Pennsylvania school — working with the Grassroots PA Dairy Advisory Committee and 97 Milk — offered milk at all fat levels to middle and high school students in a 2019-20 school year trial. Their findings showed students chose whole milk 3 to 1 over 1% low-fat milk. During the trial, the school’s milk sales grew by 65% while the volume of discarded milk declined by 95%. This meant more students were choosing to drink milk, and far fewer students were discarding their milk and buying something else.
Tricia Adams, a member of the Grassroots PA Dairy Advisory Committee, sees firsthand the response of children and teens when offered whole milk. “When we have school and community tours at the farm, we offer whole milk. The children call it ‘the good milk!’” said Adams of Hoffman Farms, Potter County, Pa. “We thank Congressman Thompson for his tireless efforts on this issue. As dairy farmers, we work hard to produce high quality, wholesome, nutritious milk, and as parents, we want kids to be able to choose the milk they love so they get the benefits milk has to offer.”
Jackie Behr, of 97 Milk, also sees the support for whole milk through the organization’s social media platforms. “We know how good whole milk is, especially for children,” said Behr. “We see the support in emails, comments and messages from the public. The science shows the benefits of whole milk, and today, more families are choosing whole milk to drink at home. Children should have the right to choose whole milk at school.”
Whole milk choice in schools has been an important signature piece of legislation for Rep. Thompson because of the triple-impact he said he believes it will have on the health of children, the economics of dairy farming and the sustenance of rural communities.
The bill’s predecessor in the 2019-20 legislative session garnered 43 cosponsors in the House.
Starting anew in the 2021-22 congressional session, the bill will need to amass cosponsors in the coming months. A companion bill in the Senate would also be helpful because the school lunch rules come legislatively through the Committee on Education and Labor in the House and through the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Affairs in the Senate.
What’s new this time is that the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat published a feature story Friday about the 2021 Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, and the School Nutrition Association made this the top story in their weekly newsletter to school foodservice director members this week. That’s good news.
Additional good news came with the official public support voiced by National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA). In a press statement released by Rep. Thompson’s office last Friday, March 12, leaders of both organizations commented.
“The recently updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans reaffirmed dairy’s central role in providing essential nutrients, including those of public health concern. The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee found that 79% of 9-13-year-olds don’t meet the recommended intake for dairy,” stated NMPF president and CEO Jim Mulhern. “We commend Representatives Thompson and Delgado for introducing the bipartisan Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act. Whole milk provides a valuable way for children to obtain dairy’s nutritional benefits as part of a healthy eating pattern. This bill will help provide our children the nutrition they need to lead healthy lives.”
On behalf of IDFA, CEO Michael Dykes DVM thanked the representatives for their leadership on this bill “to allow schools more flexibility in offering the wholesome milk varieties that children and teens enjoy at home. Expanding milk options in schools helps ensure students get the 11 essential nutrients daily that only milk provides, including protein, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin A, niacin, vitamin B12, riboflavin, and potassium,” Dykes said.
A petition organized and promoted by Grassroots PA Dairy Advisory Committee and 97 Milk — in direct support of the earlier versions of this legislation to ‘bring whole milk choice back to schools’ — garnered over 30,000 signatures in 2019-20 – over 24,000 electronically online as well as over 6,000 by mail through Farmshine.
In recent weeks, the online petition has picked up new life as it has been mentioned in hearings and informal conversations with state lawmakers — especially in Pennsylvania and New York — and has been mentioned recently by food, nutrition and agriculture advocates on social media.
The whole milk petition effort has also gathered over 5000 letters of support in addition to the 30,000-plus signatures in 2019-20. These letters and submitted comments, online and by mail, came from school boards, town boards, county commissioners, school nurses, doctors, dieticians, professors, veterinarians, teachers, coaches, athletes, school foodservice directors, parents, students, and citizens at large.
The entire bundle of signatures, comments and letters were previously digitized by the Grassroots PA Dairy Advisory Committee and 97 Milk and uploaded at each public comment opportunity during the 2020-25 Dietary Guidelines process. Petition packets were also provided digitally and in hard copy to key members of Congress as well as the USDA Food Nutrition Services Deputy Undersecretary in fall 2019 and spring 2020.
The Grassroots PA Dairy Advisory Committee and 97 Milk plan to revitalize the petition as an effort to amass even more public support for whole milk choice in schools. Interestingly, this is a difficult undertaking given that the majority of Americans do not even realize — and sometimes disbelieve — that their children and grandchildren currently do not have a choice and are forced to consume fat-free or 1% low-fat milk as their only milk options because whole milk cannot even be offered ‘a la carte’.
During a New York State Senate Ag Committee hearing last month, agricultural law attorney and dairy producer Lorraine Lewandrowski asked New York State Senators to consider state-level legislation to make it legal to offer whole milk in schools as a starting point vs. federal jurisdiction. Her request was met with dumbfounded shock that this was even an issue, and some indication that it was worth taking a look at.
This week, retired agribusinessman Bernie Morrissey — chairman of the Grassroots PA Dairy Advisory Committee — met with leaders in the Pennsylvania State Senate. He reports that state legislation to allow whole milk in schools was a top priority in that discussion.
In fact, Nelson Troutman, originator of the Drink Whole Milk 97% Fat Free painted round bales has urged states to get involved on this issue from the beginning.
“We can’t fix everything at the national level, we have to save Pennsylvania,” said Troutman, a Berks County, Pennsylvania dairy farmer.
The 97 Milk education effort that became a grassroots groundswell after Troutman painted his original round bale initially focused on Pennsylvania. However, the online and social media presence of 97milk.com and @97Milk on facebook since February 2019 has become nationwide, even global, in reach and participation.
For two years, Morrissey has garnered agribusiness support for various banners, yard signs and other tangible signs of support for whole milk in schools. Requests have come in from other states. The 97 Milk group also operates solely on donations and offers several options for showing support at their online store, where purchase requests come in from across the country as well. In addition, farm photos and ideas have come into 97 Milk from producers across the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest and West.
In much the same way, the 30,000-plus petition supporting the choice of whole milk in schools has had heavy participation in Pennsylvania and New York. However, signatures, comments and letters have been received at various levels from all 50 states. (A small portion of signatures even came from Canada, Australia, Mexico, England, Japan, India and the continent of Africa. Those, of course, had to be removed from the packets provided to USDA. However, it is telling that the simple concept of children being able to choose whole milk is a global concern.)
Likewise, Tewksbury with Progressive Agriculture Organization has long supported the right of children to choose whole milk at school. Several petition drives by Pro Ag have also amassed the tangible support of citizens, and those petitions were provided to USDA in previous years — delivered physically in boxes.
In February, Thompson stated that there are members of the House Ag Committee who want to elevate this issue of whole milk choice in schools. Thus, now is the time for organizations to come together and issue strong position statements supporting H.R. 1861 Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act and for citizens to contact their elected representatives and senators in the U.S. Congress asking for their support of the House bill and in support of a champion to come forward with a companion bill in the Senate.
The ‘bring whole milk choice back to schools’ online petition still references the earlier H.R. 832 and S. 1810 bills, and will be updated when official links to the reintroduced bill text for H.R.1861 become available.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — While Congress, USDA and HHS are all consumed by the health concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee is moving forward full-steam-ahead with what looks like more restrictions on saturated fats to be announced in May. Meanwhile, dairy leadership organizations sit on the sidelines, just letting it happen.
According to the Nutrition Coalition, and this reporter’s own following of the DGA Committee process, the process has been flawed from beginning and has reached a critical juncture. There is an urgent need for the public to pay attention and get involved.
Many had hoped the Committee would review and include the sound science and revelations about the flaws in the saturated fat limits in the current dietary guidelines to remove those restrictions or improve them in the 2020-25 guidelines. But the opposite is occurring.
As reported previously in Farmshine, some of the very best and most rigorous science on saturated fats and in relation to dairy fats vs. cardiovascular disease have been excluded from the review process from the very beginning.
Unfortunately, the process that began in 2019 is poised to move Americans even further down the wrong road with even more restrictive fat rules that will govern and inform all institutional feeding and which heavily influence the foodservice industry. Even worse, farmer checkoff funds are forced, by USDA, to help promote these unhealthy guidelines.
While National Milk Producers Federation, International Dairy Foods Association, Dairy Management Inc., and other industry organizations are silent, the Nutrition Coalition, founded by Nina Teicholz, author of The Big Fat Surprise, is sounding the alarm.
“We need your help to ensure that the federal government not continue to ignore large, government-funded rigorous clinical trials — the “gold standard” of evidence — that could reverse decades of misguided nutrition policy on the subject of saturated fats,” writes Teicholz in a recent communication.
She’s right. From the beginning, the DGA Committee was formed, and the research pre-screened by USDA, in such a way that many of the best studies and minds have been excluded.
Part of the screening process used by USDA for science that will be included or excluded from Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee consideration is this curious item shown above: “Framed around relevancy to U.S. Federal Policy”. Committee members in October asked for more information on this research screening criteria. USDA explained it to them and those watching that this refers to including only the research that “aligns with current federal policy.”
Interestingly, one of the criteria for screening the research the Committee can consider is that it must “align with current federal policy.”
This dooms the entire process to a slanted view that is entrenched in the flawed bureacracy right from the start!
During the recent meeting of the DGA Committee in March — the last such meeting before release of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) in May or June 2020 — the Committee failed to consider any of this evidence on saturated fat.
Instead, the committee announced it had found the link between saturated-fats consumption and cardiovascular disease to be “strong,” for both children and adults.
In fact, the committee recently proposed lowering the caps on saturated fat even further, from the current 10% of calories down to 7%!
“These conclusions ignore the entire last decade of science, during which a growing number of scientists have concluded that the caps on saturated fats are not supported by the science,” Teicholz points out.
“Scientists are concluding that the most rigorous and current science fails to support a continuation of caps on saturated fats,” writes Teicholz. “So, why is the current DGA Committee — yet again — simply rubber-stamping the status quo and ignoring the science?”
The Nutrition Coalition is working fervently to expose the flaws in the process the DGA Committee is using under the USDA Food Nutrition Services umbrella. This in turn is what is used by USDA and HHS to govern what Americans eat.
These are not just “guidelines”, these are edicts to which everything from school lunches to military provisions are tied.
In fact, even farmers are tied to these guidelines as the dairy checkoff program leaders maintain they cannot promote whole milk because they are governed by USDA to stick to the guidelines, forcing farmers to mandatorily fund this completely flawed and unscientific “government speech.”
Americans deserve a recommendation on dietary saturated fat that is based on the most current and rigorous science available, and the Nutrition Coalition is issuing a call to action for Americans to join them in calling on the 2020 DGA Committee to critically review the most up-to-date evidence and modify its position on saturated fats accordingly.
“When we refer to “rigorous science,” we mean the data from well-controlled, randomized, clinical trials—the type of evidence that can demonstrate cause and effect,” writes Teicholz. “These trials were conducted on some 75,000 people addressing the question: do saturated fats cause heart disease? The results are that fats have no effect on cardiovascular or total mortality. This evidence has never been directly reviewed by any DGA committee.
“Ignoring evidence in order to preserve the status-quo is not acceptable,” she continues. “It’s not good policy, and it has not been good for the health of the American people. With the next iteration of the guidelines, your help is more crucial than ever to ensure that the USDA critically review the most up-to-date evidence and modify the government’s position on saturated fats to reflect the science accurately.”
Meanwhile, the dairy industry leaders continue to drag their collective feet.
As reported in Farmshine over the past few years, the call to action and support for healthy recommendations that consider the science on saturated fats and the goodness of whole milk, for example, has been largely pursued by grassroots efforts while industry organizations either fall in lockstep with the guidelines or stay neutral on the sidelines.
Once again, it will be up to the grassroots to get involved, for the public to be aware and get involved, for the Congress to be contacted, informed and involved.
How many times have we heard industry leaders shrug their shoulders and say “it all hinges on the Dietary Guidelines”?
When presented at the October DGA meeting with the first 12,000 names on the “Bring the choice of Whole Milk Back to Schools” petition (now numbering close to 30,000 online and by mail), Brandon Lipps, USDA Deputy Under Secretary of Food Nutrition Services, gave this response: “We have to see the science start coming together and be sure to bring everyone in… into the process.” Now it appears the Dietary Guidelines that control food at school, daycare, work settings, military, and many other foodservice and institutional feeding settings will be even MORE restrictive allowing even LESS of the healthy fat we — especially our children — need. The fat we eat is not the fat we get! Why is USDA moving us further in the wrong direction and excluding the science on this?! Act now. There are links in this article to speak out. Sign the Whole Milk in Schools petition also!
If there is even a chance that our children can have whole milk and healthy meals at school, that farmers can use their mandatory checkoff to promote the true healthfulness of whole milk and full-fat dairy foods, this biased process of DGA Committee guidelines has got to be challenged in a big way.
Here’s how you can help.
Contact your Senators and Representatives in Congress with a simple message. Ask them to please ensure that USDA is not ignoring the science on saturated fats.
Below is a message that the Nutrition Coalition suggests, which you or your organization can adapt and share with others in communicating with members of Congress:
Please urge the agencies in charge of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), the USDA and HHS, to stop ignoring large clinical trials-the “gold standard” of evidence – that could reverse decades of misguided caps on saturated fats.
Shockingly, none of this evidence has ever been reviewed by any expert committee overseeing the science for the Guidelines. In fact, the current committee is pushing to lower the caps even further.
This is extremely alarming given that a growing number of prominent nutrition scientists have concluded the evidence shows that saturated fats have no effect on cardiovascular or total mortality. In fact, a recent panel of leading scientists reviewed the data and in a groundbreaking consensus statement, soon to be published in a medical journal, found that the science fails to support a continuation limits on saturated fats.
The current DGA committee appears to be one-sided and biased on this issue.
Please urge the USDA to stop ignoring the science and give serious consideration to lifting the caps on saturated fat for the upcoming 2020 DGA.
Also, comment at the Federal Register docket for the DGA Committee by May 15, 2020. The sooner, the better, because the committee is expected to make its recommendations in May. Submit a comment to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee here https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=FNS-2019-0001
BROWNSTOWN, Pa. — In Part 7 last week, we looked at some of the questions still unanswered by DMI regarding GENYOUth. As noted, a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) created in 2009-10 and signed in 2011 by USDA, National Dairy Council and the NFL has not been provided.
Data requested on the “before” and “after” purchases of dairy by FUTP60 schools has also not been provided.
The question about total funds provided by DMI in addition to what appears on the GENYOUth 990 form has also not been answered. However, the 2016-17 DMI audit reflects amounts that are almost double what appears on the GENYOUth 990s.
And the question about Edelman’s role in the formation of GENYOUth and any knowledge or concern DMI may have about Edelman’s role in the EAT FReSH Initiative was simply not been acknowledged, let alone answered.
This is the concern that is perhaps most vexing, and here is the what the public record tells us.
Richard Edelman sits on the board of GENYOUth and as previously mentioned, he is credited with recruiting GENYOUth CEO Alexis Glick in a marketing publication’s story about her taking this position.
The Edelman firm is listed as a corporate sponsor of GENYOUth, including the board seat held by Richard Edelman, but the firm is not listed as a donor of funds on the GENYOUth IRS 990s, except that Richard Edelman, himself, is on record donating $25,000 in both 2016 and 2017.
Edelman is widely considered the world’s largest and leading public relations and marketing firm with offices worldwide. Based in Chicago, the firm, according to the writings of Richard Edelman himself, has been involved in work for DMI (Dairy Checkoff) for 20 years.
The firm is listed among the 41 corporate sponsors (logos pictured below) of the EAT FReSH Initiative. This Initiative is an extension of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
And, in Edelman’s own words in a May 2018 blog post, “Edelman has partnered with FReSH to help accelerate transformational change in global food systems.”
As reported in Part 6 of this series, Danone and PepsiCo are just two companies among the 41 corporate sponsors that are Edelman clients, and both companies planned new plant-based non-dairy “look-alike” product launches to coincide with the EAT Lancet Commission and EAT FReSH launch in the first quarter of 2019.
Edelman is best known for its annual Edelman Trust Barometer shared with the world’s leading business CEOs each year at the World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland.
Purpose driven marketing is their thing.
DMI will not acknowledge our question about Edelman’s role in the formation of GENYOUth. Our question about the link between Edelman and the marketing of the EAT FReSH Initiative was also not acknowledged.
However, on the secret Dairy Checkoff facebook page, we have received screenshot copies of answers given to farmers who have asked the checkoff staff questions about this. In those one-to-one facebook group replies, DMI staff are stating on the one hand that “Edelman is not involved in EAT Lancet.” On the other hand, stating that, “we should be glad we have someone representing us there.”
So which is it? And who is representing whom?
What we found in the public record is that Edelman is not, technically, on record as “the” marketing firm for EAT Lancet. The situation is far more subtle, and clever, because Edelman “loaned” their Amersterdam office account director, Lara Luten, to the EAT FReSH initiative for at least one year prior to 2019’s EAT FReSH launch.
A “secondment” is defined as the detachment of a person from his or her regular organization for temporary assignment elsewhere.
In the blog post, Richard Edelman asks the firm’s Amsterdam account director on loan to the EAT FReSH Initiative what has been most interesting in her work with FReSH.
Her answer: “The current (2018) preparations for the EAT Stockholm Food Forum and the EAT Lancet Commission Report. But also: Setting a basis for communications for the FReSH team.”
That’s pretty clear, isn’t it?
He asks her what she has learned from this partnership that can be applied to other work, and Luten replies: “Working in a pre-competitive environment on a project (EAT FReSH) that is driving impact by leading the change. I’m also gaining in-depth knowledge about the food system (its topics and stakeholders) that will definitely be useful for other projects.”
So not only was the Edelman firm involved, but their involvement is “leading the change.”
What is the WBCSD? It is described at its website as “ a CEO-led organization of forward-thinking companies that galvanizes the global business community to create a sustainable future for business.” It is made up of the 41 corporations, including the Edelman firm, that have launched the EAT FReSH Initiative.
In her new employment as WBCSD communications manager, Luten now carries on the public relations, social strategies and marketing she began planning, organizing and laying the groundwork for during the time that she was employed by Edelman “on secondment” to this 41-corporation group now launching the EAT FReSH Initiative.
It all fits together with how Edelman does business. This is not in any way a question of ethics. Plenty of marketing agencies work for competing accounts in the world of advertising and public relations. There’s nothing new about that.
There’s also nothing new about this concept of working in “pre-competitive” environments where products and marketing are developed in a way that all corporations involved can utilize in their own new product campaigns.
This is, in fact, a signature way that DMI has also functioned over the past 10 years. In addition to GENYOUth, the Sustainability and Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy began similarly with an MOU between DMI and the USDA, and it also includes the participation of dairy processors in a pre-competitive environment to develop and initiate innovations and sustainability measures. One example to come out of that pre-competitive environment is the innovation of ultrafiltered milk known as fairlife. Another example is the F.A.R.M program.
The goal of these pre-competitive collaborations is to give all corporate participants something they can use in a way that takes away a competitive edge.
What is concerning for dairy producers — who are mandatorily funding DMI — is that this has folded dairy promotion into a broader setting of corporations working in pre-competitive environments to pass back through the supply chain requirements about how things are done on the farm.
Toward that end, Edelman has actually played an even larger role in DMI projects over the past 20 years and especially in the past two years in coming up with the design of the Undeniably Dairy campaign. Again, purpose-driven marketing is an Edelman specialty.
And it seems noble to drive marketing with a social purpose. More companies today engage in purpose-driven social marketing, aiming to win consumers by showing what they are doing to address social concerns, such as the environment. In fact, they create problems to fit the solution they want to market.
In its own way, each corporate member of pre-competitive collaborations then capitalizes by introducing products that solve a real or “created” need in this realm of social purpose.
Here’s where it gets cloudy for dairy farmers. The government mandates that dairy farmers pay 15 cents per hundredweight for education, research and promotion. DMI administrates the use of the national portion of these funds and even sets the direction for regional funds — under the ever-more-micro-managing-oversight of USDA via two key MOU’s (GENYOUth and Innovation and Sustainability Center for U.S. Dairy).
DMI’s association with Edelman over 20 years has increased its alignment with purpose-driven marketing via pre-competitive environments with food supply chain corporations. On its surface, that doesn’t sound so bad.
But here’s another way to look at this trend. As one creative strategist, Zac Martin, stated recently in his opinion piece for an ad agency publication, “purpose” was 2018’s “most dangerous word.”
Martin defines “purpose” in marketing in the context of “brands aligning with and promoting social causes, almost always seemingly out of nowhere.”
This is most definitely the road we are on. We are being told that consumers don’t want to know what you know, they want to know that you care. We are told that consumers make brand choices based on the “why” not the “what.”
Some of this comes from the annual Edelman Trust Barometer and other research where consumers are surveyed about who they trust in their buying decisions.
But what information do consumers actually use when they buy? Price, flavor, freshness, perceived nutrition.
Are we part of the problem? Are these alignments helping or hurting the promotion of actual milk?
Think about this. EAT FReSH is just the newest and most transformational example of how a “why” – climate change and the environment – are being used to sell new food products based on their fulfillment of a created “why”.
What could be more perfect than to use unsubstantiated “science” to make untrue claims about certain food and agriculture impacts and then use that as a selling point for a whole new product answering the “why” that has first been created?
The EAT Foundation even has the new “planetary” diet patterns outlined (1 cup of dairy equivalent a day, a little over 1 ounce of meat/poultry/fish a day, and only 3 ounces of red meat per week, and 1 ½ eggs per week for examples). Within that context, the participating corporations are now coming out — simultaneously — with a whole bevy of new beverages, snacks and staples that do not contain any animal protein. Protein is played down and favors plant protein (incomplete proteins) and refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup is just fine.
They’ve created the “why” (planetary boundaries that they have set) and now they can sell consumers the products (fake meat and fake dairy) that fulfill that social planetary purpose that they themselves have convinced us we need!
Looking at this ‘social purpose’ trend in marketing, Zac Martin states the following: “The fad (of purpose-driven marketing) seems to driven by the likes of Simon Sinek, who notoriously said: ‘People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.’ But Simon is wrong. It’s a claim made without substantiation.”
In fact, Martin observes that purpose-driven marketing to is made up of “feel good” stuff that promotes and aligns with social causes while doing little as a sound marketing strategy.
Undeniably Dairy feels good. Telling our “why” feels good. Do consumers need to understand more about what happens on a dairy farm, why we do what we do? Of course! But this does not substitute for sound marketing of the dairy farmers’ product: Milk.
Martin says this trend amounts to “brand noise” that is “a sign of desperation”.
He defines purpose-driven social marketing as “fabricating an experiment, presenting pseudoscience disguised as research,” and all the while appearing “authentic.” (Think EAT FReSH).
He makes the point that when everyone is zigging, maybe it’s time to zag. I could not have said it better myself.
This series of articles is not meant to question the good intent of good people doing what they believe is good for their industry. Rather, the point is to show the direction dairy promotion dollars have taken since 2009 and some of the guiding principles that are not working.
Going back to part one, the graph showing fluid milk consumption trends could not be more clear. What we are doing is not working — unless the objective is to sell less fresh fluid milk, especially whole milk, that returns the highest value to farmers and keeps dairy farms relevant in communities, especially in the eastern states, while selling more global dairy commodities, at cheaper prices, fueling rapid expansion of more consolidated and integrated dairy structures in the western states.
Dairy Checkoff has been aligning more closely to USDA/HHS Dietary Guidelines when nothing in the Congressional Act establishing the Checkoff states that it must. Dairy Checkoff has been aligning in pre-competitive environments with corporations that turn around and push us right out of the dairy case with non-dairy alternatives that fill a social purpose of their own creation.
Dairy Checkoff has partnered with fast food chains that help sell more cheese, and yet one pre-emptive cheese company is a primary beneficiary, and rapid milk production expansion in certain states follows with that.
Dairy Checkoff has bought-in to the idea that rapid expansion of exports is a primary mission, when that actually lowers the farm-level milk price because the focus of those sales is the lower-value commodity dairy.
Meanwhile, the marketing largely ignores the best selling point we have: Nutrition and Flavor in the domestic market.
Now the pressure is on for Dairy Checkoff promotion to draw more farms into “telling our story.” As noble and wonderful as this may be, what’s the 15 cents doing to actually sell milk, to win back the milk market we’ve been losing in the process?
We have a simple product. It doesn’t have a list of additives to make it look, feel and sort of taste like milk, it IS milk.
We have a nutritious product. Nothing else on the market comes close.
We have a delicious product. But we have to market the tasteless version and train our children to dislike milk by doing so… because somehow we have ended up in a place where the government’s dietary police are in charge, and we either must obey, or we just think we must.
Telling consumers our ‘why’ can be a good thing, but with 15 cents per hundredweight forked over by farmers by government mandate, the question remains, what is being done to truly sell the “what” — the actual milk that comes out of the cow because of all the good things farmers do.
Consumers don’t know squat about milk. That’s being proven over and over again, despite over $300 million a year in mandatory promotion funds deducted from farmer milk checks for promotion.
We’ve been zigging with the ziggers long enough.
Maybe it’s time to zag.
(The graph below shows us what has happened to per capita real fluid milk consumption since 2010 while we increased the amount of zigging, suggesting it is time to zag.)
Let’s work to put some pressure on our elected representatives to stop this immoral travesty of sub-par nutrition to our children. — Renee Troutman
This letter, which ran on the cover of Farmshine, February 15, 2019, is republished here with permission.
By Renee Troutman, Myerstown, Pennsylvania
Recently in my children’s history lessons about World War I we were learning specifically about war efforts on the home front to ration and save food so there would be enough for our soldiers and European countries ravaged by war. Americans were asked to save on wheat, meat, fats, and sugar. They selflessly sacrificed things like beef, pork, and candy. They ate more vegetables and used fruit preserves to sweeten their desserts. Not a crumb of bread was wasted.
In each history lesson we also read some form of original history, whether it be a speech, newspaper article, songs, or letters. This time we read excerpts from a popular 1918 publication called Foods That Will Win the War and How to Cook Them that gave recipes and tips to help with the rationing efforts. There was a section about using milk and I thought it was very interesting. Here’s what it says:
“To Save Milk: Use it all. Buy whole milk and let the cream rise. Use this cream, and you secure your milk without cost. Economize on milk and cream except for children. The children must have milk whole. Serve buttermilk. Serve cottage cheese regularly in varying forms. It is especially nutritious. Use cheese generally.”
Is anyone else as intrigued as I am that even during times when rationing food was a necessity, the thought of giving remnants of milk to children wasn’t even a consideration? Conventional wisdom and common sense knew that children going through the most critical growth periods of their lives needed whole milk for proper development. In no way was anyone going to suggest that children be deprived of nutritious, dietary fat. Many vitamins in milk are fat soluble and calcium absorption is aided with the fat so giving children anything less made that nutrition null and void. Nobody was going to do that to children and nobody did.
But yet, 100 years later, while we’re supposedly drowning in surplus milk, here we are giving our children nutritional remnants of milk because the government tells us to. Whole milk has somehow been villainized even though milk has been heralded as a sacred nutritional staple for millennia. Our national security is now being compromised as we lose farms daily to financial ruin as milk drinkers are dismayed at the blah of skim milk. And, to add insult to injury, farmers are shooting themselves in their own foot as promotion money forcibly taxed off of their meager milk checks is used to push this erroneous and devastating no-fat/low-fat message.
Our children deserve so much better. We produce an abundance of wholesome, nutritious, and delicious milk in this country. I’d really like to know why we are mandated by the government to only give ourselves measly remnants. The tide needs to turn, and fortunately, I think it is.
Let’s work to put some pressure on our elected representatives to stop this immoral travesty of sub-par nutrition to our children. Call your U.S. Congressman to make HR 832 Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2019 to happen and fast. Do whatever you can yourself to educate the public about the truth and goodness of whole milk and let’s make the consumers we provide for confident and excited about using our whole product again and not just the measly remnants of it.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is Part 2 of an investigative report on GENYOUth, which began with USDA contacting National Dairy Council in Sept. 2009, National Dairy Council contacting National Football League in 2009/10 and an official signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between NDC and NFL with USDA in February 2011.
By Sherry Bunting, from Farmshine, Friday, January 18, 2019
They call it “the dairy farmers’ youth wellness program,” but GENYOUth is under the thumb of USDA with some questionable corporate alliances and trends underway.
This multi-part series looks at GENYOUth’s founding, its alliances, its mixed-messages, intended and unintended consequences, its partners and the new alternative products they are and will be introducing into the nutritional vacuum paved by low-fat and fat-free promotion, the winners and losers, and the impact on our dairy farms, and our children.
Helping America’s youth lead better and healthier lives is a worthy pursuit, and there is no intention here to blame good-hearted people trying to do good within the straight-jacket of USDA control. What is being questioned is the direction. What is being exposed is the roots of the oak tree and its impact on our dairy farms and our children.
The problem with the GENYOUth model is that it is primarily funded by mandatory dairy check-off dollars and the government control of it.
The anti-animal and environmental NGO’s (non-governmental organizations) are driving decisions by Big Food, Big Ag, Big Government (and the World Health Organization). And there are new billionaire corporate “sustainability” alliances poised to profit on this main course, while dairy farmer GENYOUth “founders” hope for crumbs.
GENYOUth began in 2010 as a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between National Dairy Council and National Football League with the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Education, and Health and Human Services. This six-way MOU was officially signed on Feb. 4, 2011 during the Superbowl that year (below).
This 2011 USDA photo found on a USDA flickr stream shows lots of cameras, but few, if any, dairy farming publications were notified. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed Fri., Feb. 4, 2011 during Superbowl week in Dallas Texas. It had been under development since Sept. 2009. The MOU outlined the joint commitment of the NFL, USDA, National Dairy Council, GENYOUth Foundation, to end childhood obesity. Signing from left were NDC President Jean Regalie, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, GENYOUth CEO Alexis Glick.
According to Guidestar, the non-profit is listed under the name Youth Improved Incorporated (aka GENYOUth) with the tagline ‘exercise your influence.’ It refers to itself as an NGO. (NGO is defined as “a nonprofit organization that operates independently of any government, typically one whose purpose is to address a social or political issue.”)
GENYOUth was launched to increase physical activity among schoolchildren as well as to encourage healthy eating with emphasis on school breakfast and then mobile breakfast carts. The 2014 (most recent) progress report noted that 73,000 schools and 38 million children had been reached by Fuel Up to Play 60 (FUTP60), affecting the health and wellness of an estimated 14 million students’.
The only reference to dairy in the FUTP60 message pounded home about fruits, vegetables and whole grains is the inclusion of low-fat and fat-free dairy.
A year ago at a bank meeting in front of 500 farmers, then U.S. House Ag Committee vice chair G.T. Thompson of Pennsylvania said he wanted his healthy school milk bill to bring the standard up to 2% or whole milk, but, he said “producers and processors came to me and told me to go slow, to keep it at 1% and take baby-steps.”
Who were the “producers” and “processors” coming to him with that request? National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the check-off MOU under the thumb of USDA.
Those same entities then turn around and tell grassroots farmers that they are forced to work within the confines of what USDA will allow. And so, the circular argument continues. Round and round we go.
Which brings us back to the Nov. 27, 2018 GENYOUth Gala in New York City and the Vanguard Award to PepsiCo.
PepsiCo has been a GENYOUth partner for seven years. In 2018, PepsiCo not only paid its “hero” sponsorship of $150,000 for the event, they gave an additional $1 million for the purchase of 45 additional mobile breakfast carts and the Espanol version of FUTP60.
According to the only piece of the 2011 MOU that can be found, the NFL, NDC, and GENYOUth have agreed not to use FUTP60 “as a vehicle to sell or promote products or services.” But it is clear that the NFL and other corporate partners, like Pepsi, have brand recognition.
How is dairy’s brand recognized? Hats are tipped at the Gala to “America’s dairy farmers” as the founders who launched the platform. But they are hog-tied by generic promotion and exclusion of the full nutritional value of their product — whole milk, real butter and real cheese — within the government straight-jacket.
GENYOUth was created while Tom Vilsack was Secretary of Agriculture (below). According to cross-posted blog entries between DMI and USDA near the end of 2009: “The USDA discussed in September (2009) a plan to develop the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between USDA, the NFL and DMI to allow USDA programs and Fuel Up to Play 60 to collaborate and collectively tackle the critical issue of children’s health.”
Former Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, who is currently CEO of the check-off funded U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), is photographed in 2011 with young people during Superbowl week in Dallas, Texas, after the signing of the 2011 GENYOUth MOU — 18 months after USDA first discussed the plan for the MOU with the National Dairy Council and a year after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says Tom Gallagher of DMI approached him. 2011 USDA photo
When former President Bill Clinton was invited to speak about Vilsack at the 2017 Gala where Vilsack was presented with the 2017 Vanguard Award, Clinton, a vegan, talked about every entity in the “diverse partnership” that he was celebrating — except for America’s dairy farmers.
He talked about how children receive 40 to 60% of their calories from drinks in school. He talked about turning the obesity epidemic around by everyone taking responsibility in that area. He talked about how Vilsack’s leadership with Michelle Obama, made beverages and snacks abide by the fat-free rules, including school vending machines. He talked about how Vilsack was instrumental “under the radar… working for a healthier generation of kids before coming to USDA and before the launch of GENYOUth.”
Meanwhile, the more the government’s direction squeezes healthy fat from the diet, the more the obesity figures in children continue to grow.
This year, at the 2018 Gala, GENYOUth CEO Alexis Glick thanked each partner. “We give a heartfelt thank you to our founding partners America’s dairy farmers and the National Football League and the players association,” said Glick in a YouTube video of the November Gala. She had previously thanked longtime partners Land O’Lakes and Domino’s while also acknowledging Mike and Sue McCloskey (fairlife) as well as Leprino and Schreiber.
“I say to our farmers: You had a dream. And we have been blessed to be part of that dream. You gave us life. You believed in us. And can you believe we are standing here today on the cusp of the 10-year anniversary of FUTP60?” she said.
“And we extend an extra special thank you to PepsiCo,” Glick continued. “The generosity of your vision, your resources, your team, time and talent have changed our organization.”
“But the one NFL program our team noticed probably 10 years ago, or maybe 9 years ago, is one we have admired and wanted to be part of and that was Play 60,” said Carey, careful not to include the Fuel Up (dairy) part of the Play 60 tagline.
Carey said “you guys are doing a fantastic job inspiring kids… using football role models.”
He went on to say that PepsiCo wanted to be part of the program because of the importance of kids being active.
“But we also believe at PepsiCo that we need to provide healthy products for our consumers,” said Carey. “Some of you may be familiar with our mission ‘performance with purpose.’”
He described this as “getting great business performance while also serving others… on the part of the environment… or many other ways, but this one particular way is about providing healthier foods for our consumers.”
Carey said he thought PepsiCo had done a pretty good job at this over the past several years, “but we haven’t talked about it much. You see some obvious things like Pepsi zero sugar, Gatorade Zero,” he said. “But you don’t hear much about Bubbly Sparkling Water, Life Water, Quaker oat milk, and we just bought a company called Bare Snacks and our Kevita Kombucha products (probiotic drinks).”
He mentioned that the Quaker oat beverage, which he personally called “oat milk” but in reality this product is labeled “oat beverage for cereal, smoothies, coffee and more”. It is being launched this month and will be in stores by March.
The PepsiCo website mentions these products as part of the company’s commitment to further the World Health Organization goals of alternative products to reduce saturated fat consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, thereby improving global environmental and nutritional sustainability.
Carey said the “oat milk” and bare snacks and probiotic drinks are part of PepsiCo goal of “converting its portfolio to healthier foods for the future.”
Meanwhile, the GENYOUth program bestowed the 2018 GENYOUth Vanguard Award on PepsiCo for its seven years of partnership and its commitment to give an additional $1 million, which PepsiCo’s Carey said would fund Play 60 in Espanol as well as 45 new mobile school breakfast carts, bringing PepsiCo’s cart total to 100.
It will be interesting to see what may appear on these carts in the future, given the new oat beverage, plant-based probiotic drinks, and other “Nutrition Greenhouse” products emerging in the PepsiCo portfolio.


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Pro-invest Group has taken its pipeline of Holiday Inn Express hotels in Australia to five with the unveiling of a new, 170-room hotel to be built in the centre of Newcastle.
The boutique investment firm, founded by veteran hotel developer Ron Barrott, completed a $300 million capital raising in May to fund its initial pipeline of Holiday Inn Express hotels in Australia and New Zealand, which now stands at more than1000 rooms.
The mid-scale hotels are being developed under a franchise agreement with UK-listed InterContinental Hotels Group. The first of these hotels opened in Macquarie Park, Sydney in April, with two more to open in Brisbane and Adelaide next year. A fourth Holiday Inn Express hotel is being developed on Melbourne’s Southbank after Pro-invest acquired a 1704-square-metre development site on City Road last year with plans for a 20-level hotel with 300 rooms. Mr Barrott told The Australian Financial Review the Holiday Inn Express in Newcastle, due to open on King Street in late 2017, would cater to strong demand from the corporate market in a city that is moving away from its coal-mining past.
“There’s a lack of quality hotel product designed for the corporate market in Newcastle,” Mr Barrott said.
The Holiday Inn Express brand is IHG’s no-frills, limited-service hotel offering, which runs under the tag line of giving guests “everything they need and nothing they don’t”. Average room rates in Australia are around $220 a night.IHG Chief Operating Officer for Australasia and Japan, Karin Sheppard, told the Financial Review the Holiday Inn Express brand was an attractive proposition for investors given its efficient use of space and smart design. “These hotels don’t need large meeting rooms or extensive eating facilities, which bring with them operating efficiencies,” she said.
IHG has a pipeline of 11 hotels in Australia, its strongest in a decade, including an Intercontinental Hotel to open in Perth next year and new hotels coming to Sydney, Hobart, Christchurch and Queenstown in New Zealand.
Ms Sheppard said IHG’s midscale brands were performing well and were especially popular with the growing numbers of visitors from China.She said IHG was not affected much by Airbnb because Airbnb catered for a different market, namely holiday apartments. “Airbnb is a different proposition to our core global hotel brand,” she said.
She added that IHG was focused on building direct relationships with guests by leveraging off its loyalty program and in-house distribution system.
IHG has invested heavily in its technology to attract bookings directly through its website and apps as it battles the growing market power of online travel agents such as TripAdvisor and Expedia.
“If we build a direct relationship with a guest, we can offer them a better experience, because we know more about them,” she said.

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The race to launch the first bendable smartphone is heating up. Lenovo beat Samsung to the punch on Thursday with the first live demonstration of the new technology (pictured above), but the Galaxy-maker could still be first to release a consumer device with a folding display.
Speaking at a mobile conference in California on Thursday, Samsung’s North America chief Gregory Lee claimed the company’s bendable gadget could launch very soon. “I think it’s relatively right around the corner,” he said (via Recode). “It just has been very difficult to manufacture at a reasonable cost.”
At around the same time Lenovo was showing off its version of the technology, which includes a smartphone that can wrap around your wrist and a tablet that folds in half to become a handset. Company CTO Peter Hortensius joked onstage that the gadgets are still pretty expensive to make, so it sounds like both firms are working to bring costs down before an official release.
Samsung is expected to launch its first two foldable display devices next year, according to one recent report. Lee added that the company has been working on prototypes for 10 years, and now it may finally be ready to hit the market just as the competition is starting to heat up.


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Shops and Malls Will Be Opened Back Again!
Starting from this Saturday (November the 28th), shopping centers will be opened. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki emphasized that the stores would operate under the highest sanitary regime.
The shopping malls were closed in early November. The government only allowed the operation of grocery stores, pharmacies, drugstores and service shops. Rest of the shops and premises in shopping malls were closed for almost the entire month.
Mateusz Morawiecki announced during a press conference that all stores in shopping centers will be opened from Saturday, November 28. The PM stressed that if the institutions did not comply with the applicable restrictions, they would be closed.
There will be a limit of people in shops and shopping malls - a maximum of 1 person. on 15 m2.
Clients are also required to cover their nose and mouth. When entering the store, you should disinfect your hands or use protective gloves during all shopping.
Coronavirus - hours for a senior
In addition, the hours for seniors will still apply from Monday to Friday from 10 AM to 12 PM.


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More than a million credit card users who are struggling financially have had their credit limits increased without asking, a charity has said.
Such borrowing could make their financial problems worse, so Citizens Advice is calling for a ban on unsolicited increases in credit card limits.
It wants Chancellor Philip Hammond to include such a move in the Budget.
But providers say protection is being improved.
Citizens Advice said its research, based on a sample of 1,300 people with credit cards, suggested as many as six million cardholders may have had their credit limits put up without their consent in the last year. Some 1.4 million of those would be struggling financially.
Providers have agreed to a voluntary code being developed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the City regulator, which would see restrictions and choice on credit limits.
They will start asking new customers for their consent before raising limits, and give them the option to carry on receiving uninvited increases. Existing customers will be given the option to ask their lender to require their consent.
But Citizens Advice is calling for the chancellor to impose a clear ban on increases which customers have not even requested.


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● LUCKY BRANDS
Denim icon opens on Staten Island
Lucky Brands has opened its first Staten Island store at Empire Outlets.
The iconic Los Angeles, California based denim and apparel brand leased a 4,912 s/f store to showcase its heritage denim, broken-in graphic tees, classic leather motorcycle and denim jackets, accessories, and much more.
“The addition of Lucky Brand to the Empire Outlets lineup solidifies it as a can’t miss shopping destination for our New York neighbors and for visitors from across the globe,” said Joseph Ferrara, principal of BFC Partners and developer of Empire Outlets.
Brief encounters for Turnstyle shoppers
PopStart, the retail incubator designed as a showcase for up-and-coming brands at Turnstyle Underground Market, is celebrating another month within the retail corridor and food hall.
It has successfully introduced five new retail businesses to 90,000 passersby daily.
Brands include Simply Chickie, organic cotton infantwear; Freshly Cut Boutique affordably chic clothing and jewelry; Gabriela Ceballos creative costume jewelry; and All of The Things NYC (AOTT), featuring multiple lines of “custom curiosities” and wearable art.
“We are delighted to introduce so many new retail concepts from this talented group of emerging entrepreneurs,” said Turnstyle developer Susan Fine, of Fine Development Partnerships.
● GRANNY ANNIE’S
Granny heading to Roosevelt
Hudson/Related announced Granny Annie’s Bar + Kitchen will open at 425 Main Street in the heart of Roosevelt Island.
The 3,500 s/f restaurant will be based on the ground level of the mixed-use Riverwalk Landing development.
RKF represented Hudson/Related on the deal. Granny Annie’s is expected to open next spring.
Granny Annie’s, the latest offering from the owners of popular Woodside, Queens bar The Beerkeeper, joins Sanctuary, a health-focused restaurant, cocktail bar and event space that opened in late September in the historic Dayspring church, Jupioca juice and tea shop, Liukoshui hot pot restaurant, and PupCulture, a pet care and spa service.
● HUDSON YARDS
Bulking up on more brands
Hudson Yards has some new additions to its retail and dining offerings.
Joining the roster are digitally native brands Faherty and Naadam, family experience store Camp, fine jeweler Marli, Italian watchmaker Panerai, sunglass brand Ray-Ban, and Belgian chocolatier Neuhaus Chocolate.
Recent additions to the dining collection across the neighborhood include Electric Lemon, a seasonal American restaurant from James Beard award-winning restaurateur Stephen Starr at the Equinox Hotel, and French boulangerie Maison Kayser at 55 Hudson Yards. The Bosque, a seasonal café, is also now open on the Public Square and Gardens.
The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards are on track to welcome over 20 million visitors in its inaugural year.
Kenneth A. Himmel, president and CEO of Related Urban, said, “We’re thrilled to build on the success of our first six months with new additions which offer even more dynamic ways for residents, visitors, and workers at Hudson Yards to engage with the neighborhood.”
● QUALITY BRANDED
Restaurant masters adding new eatery
Quality Branded, the restaurant group behind such New York City favorites as Quality Meats, Quality Eats and Quality Italian Steakhouse, is opening a new eatery at 2 Bank Street.
Brad Schwarz and James Ficelman of Lee & Associates NYC negotiated a ground-floor and lower-level, 5,600 s/f lease for the space between West 4th Street and Greenwich Avenue,
“We were thrilled to secure such a standout tenant for our client, Sky Management,” said Schwarz, who represented the owner along with Ficelman. “This prime West Village corner is deserving of such a top-notch restaurant group that is always on trend.”
The tenant was represented by Taryn Brandes of Brand Urban. Asking rent was $200 psf and the lease term was 15 years.


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New report calls for fair meat prices to reflect its environmental impact
The European Parliament will next week be presented with a plan to increase the price of meat across the EU to reflect its environmental costs, including CO2 emissions and biodiversity loss.
The fair-meat pricing proposal, also known as a ‘sustainability charge’, is set out in a new report which calls for a new pricing model to be included in the European Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy. It would apply to member states from 2022. The report was written by the TAPP Coalition, which comprises leading farming, health, and environment organisations. It will be debated by MEPs on 5 February.
A key aspect of the proposal is that revenues from the sustainability charge, projected at €32.2 billion per year across 28 EU Member States by 2030, could be used primarily to help farmers to invest in more sustainable agricultural practices. It could also be used to lower VAT and consumer subsidies on vegetables and fruits, provide financial support for low-income households, and support developing countries to adapt to climate change and protect forests and biodiversity.
Philip Mansbridge, Executive Director (UK) for ProVeg International, one of the TAPP Coalition members, said: “The time has come for us to act decisively with policy on the environmental consequences of animal protein, the price of which has been kept artificially low for far too long. Here we have a solution that is fair for farmers and supports the transition to a more plant-based food system that we so urgently need if we are serious about mitigating climate change.”
The scale of potential environmental savings is outlined in the report. Fair meat prices in Europe could lead to a reduction in CO2-eq. emissions of up to 120 million tons of CO2 per year. This equals all CO2 emissions from four EU Member States: Ireland, Denmark, Slovakia, and Estonia, and nearly 3% of all EU greenhouse gas emissions.
Pier Vellinga, Climate Professor and TAPP Coalition Chair, added: “Including the environmental cost of animal protein in the price is a crucial element of meeting EU targets for climate, biodiversity, public health, and animal welfare.”
There are also wider benefits of a sustainability charge, as Jeroom Remmers, TAPP Coalition Director, highlights: “If EU meat consumption reduces and plant-based protein consumption rises, healthcare costs will reduce too, as Europeans eat roughly 50% more meat than is recommended in dietary health guidelines. We could also save billions of Euros every year in lower healthcare costs.”
MEPs will debate the proposal at a breakfast event at the European Parliament on 5 February, moderated by the Vice-Chair of the Greens, Bas Eickhout, and co-hosted by Social Democrat MEPs Mohammed Chahim and Sylwia Spurek. The event has been organised by TAPP Coalition and Compassion in World Farming EU.
Notes to editors
Journalists are invited to attend the event from 8-9.30am at room A5E1 in the European Parliament. To register, please email to [email protected] and [email protected]. For more info, please see: https://tappcoalition.eu/nieuws/12975/tapp-coalition-event–true-price-of-meat–in-european-parliament-with-bas-eickhout–greens—-m–chahim–s-d- The TAPP Coalition and CE Delft reports will be available online from 4 February at 6pm CET at tappcoalition.eu (news).
The TAPP Coalition report “Aligning food pricing policies with the European Green Deal – true pricing of meat and dairy in Europe, including CO2 costs” is based on a report by CE Delft: “A Sustainability Charge on Meat”, commissioned by TAPP Coalition. Both reports will be presented on 5 February.
The proposal is generally in line with food recommendations for the European Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy, supported by a range of European civil society organisations together with recent recommendations by three leading European health NGOs (EUPHA, EPHA, EHN) “Farm to Fork needs an effective consumption strategy“. The proposal is also in line with some demands from farmers, united within Copa Cogeca.
If EU Member States introduced the recommendations, prices would increase as follows: for beef/veal by 47 euro cent per 100 grams, for pork by 36 euro cent per 100 grams, and for chicken by 17 euro cent per 100 grams by 2030. This reflects the fact that environmental costs per kg of beef are the highest. This would lead to a reduction in chicken, pork, and beef consumption by 30%, 57% and 67% respectively by 2030. CE Delft proposes that the charge rate gradually increases from 10% of the external costs in 2021 to full coverage by 2030 until all environmental costs are included in prices.
The main impacts of a sustainability charge would be net EU welfare impacts (benefits) of €8.8 billion per year by 2030 (€7.9 billion climate-related). EU-28 Member States would receive revenues from excise taxes on meat, based on True Price Accounting (external costs) of €32.2 billion per year.
The TAPP Coalition advises revenues to be used for farmers (31-46%), lower VAT tariffs and consumer subsidies on vegetables and fruits (22-36%), for low-income households (19%) and support for developing countries to double nature reserves/forests, reduce greenhouse gasses, and adapt to climate change (12%).
TAPP Coalition Director Jeroom Remmers will hand over symbolic cheques to representatives of farmers (€10-15 billion/year) and consumers (€7-12 billion/year) for subsidies/lower VAT on vegetables, fruits, and plant-based food, and €6 billion for low-income households. A cheque of €4 billion is available for developing countries. If €15 billion/year is granted to 2.5 million EU farmers, incomes would rise by €6,000/year.
In the Netherlands, the TAPP Coalition proposals for meat and vegetable prices are supported by a majority of 63% of Dutch consumers.
Jimmy Pierson, Global PR Manager, ProVeg International +447931 819 508
Jeroom Remmers, TAPP Coalition Director +31 6 22 40 7712 [email protected]
Vergeer, CE Delft +31644051853
Prof. Pier Vellinga, TAPP Coalition Chair +31 6 51616618,
Olga Kikou, Head of CIWF EU, +32 (0) 27091330


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Disney is looking to buy out Ignition parent company UTV Software Communications, by purchasing the remaining shares in the company, according to media reports.
The company currently holds around 50.4 percent of the equity share capital for India-based UTV, but a spokesperson for UTV told Reuters that Disney will be delisting
the rest of the UTV shares from the stock market.
According to the source, Disney is also looking to buy from the other major shareholders after the delisting.
Current UTV chief executive Ronnie Screwvala is set to become the managing director for Walt Disney India after UTV delists.
A local analyst said to Reuters, "Walt Disney has always been interested in most of UTV's business, especially the gaming part." He went on to say that the deal will help Disney diversify and expand its presence in India.
The last couple of months has seen plenty of changes within Ignition. The company's Austin branch was closed
last month, on the same day that it opened a new California office
Just last week, Ignition's Faxion Online studio was laid off
, as the parent company showed that it was looking to stray away from internal development.


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Buy props used in MaryJane’s books and magazine!
5% of profits will benefit www.firstbook.org, a non-profit that provides new books to children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
We need to find meaning. We need to be useful. We need to know that who we are matters. I give, you give, we all give.
Have you heard of the concept of Pay It Forward, or maybe Random Acts of Kindness (RAOKs)? Simply put, they are a gesture of love for strangers. Rosa’s Fresh Pizza in Philadelphia is making the concept easy.
If you’re hungry in the city of brotherly love, whose poverty rates are some of the worst in our nation, you can grab a slice of pizza from Rosa’s Fresh Pizza, because someone else has already purchased it for you. Owner Mason Wartman says it all started with a customer who was inspired by an Italian coffee-house tradition called caffè sospeso (suspended coffee) that began more than 100 years ago, where customers pre-purchase cups of coffee for less fortunate customers who come after them. Wartman wrote his extra purchase on a Post-it note and stuck it on the wall behind the register to be redeemed by the next homeless patron to enter the store. Word spread, and more and more people began to participate, until the wall behind the register blossomed with Post-it notes, each signifying one person’s act of kindness.
Wartman kept track of the pre-purchased slices with Post-its until he reached about 500, when the sheer volume forced him to select another method of accounting. But the wall of encouraging messages continues to build. Rosa’s has provided almost 10,000 slices of pizza to Philadelphia’s hungry, and 10% of their business is now represented by pre-purchased slices. Wartman says some customers who were helped by this generosity and have since found employment have returned to the shop to pay it forward for others in similar situations.
If you’d like to donate a slice from afar, you can at RosasFreshPizza.com. Or investigate the possibility of donating at your own local pizza joint. Together, we can feed the world, one slice at a time.


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Have We Turned the Corner?
In April of 2009, Springer Science and Business Media published findings on the correlation between soft drinks and fast food increasing childhood obesity. The study reported, children who ate fast food and drank soft drinks were more likely to be overweight, but they were also less likely to be unhappy. (I’m going to not comment on the unhappy portion of this study…)
The reason for this is the doping of the brain with feel good hormones and neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. These brain chemicals are profoundly affected by sugar and the foods we eat that convert to sugar. Added to this are the vast amount of brain chemical disrupting ingredients found in fast foods like MSG, Hydrolyzed vegetable protein, dyes and others.
The old adage about a “drugged society is a controlled society” is being banked on by multinational food corporations as well as others who shall remain nameless for the sake of this article. Over the last ten years individuals have been slowly changing the obesity trends, not with more money or government regulations but through the power of knowledge. The internet has been instrumental in individuals like you having information on health and nutrition that was before only seen by a handful of odd people in lab coats.
These studies have looked at not only eating patterns of children but also of their families. There are a number of factors influencing children’s body weight, eating patterns and happiness. For example, mothers’ consumption of fast food and soft drinks predicted her child’s eating habits. Those children who ate fast food were more likely to also consume soft drinks. Children from lower income households were more likely to have unhealthy dietary habits and be overweight or obese.
Next we look at local food environments, a study in June 2009 illustrated more on this point released by BioMed Central. Living in an area with more fast food outlets and convenience stores than supermarkets and grocers has been associated with obesity in a Canadian study. Researchers have shown your local food environment can affect your weight. All the more reason for local food initiatives supporting small markets in neighborhoods for the elderly and poor to have access to – provided they carry real foods not just chips, hot pockets, pop and beer. An example is the Markets of the Umpqua in down town Roseburg.
This last week a study on national obesity revealed it isn’t economics that drive obesity or that have begun the turnaround – it is knowledge and everyday people taking back control of their food choices and that of their families.
The study, titled “Turning point for US diets? Recessionary effects or behavioral shifts in foods purchased and consumed” was posted at the online site of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
“We found U.S. consumers changed their eating and food purchasing habits significantly beginning in 2003, when the economy was robust, and continued these habits to the present,” said Shu Wen Ng, assistant professor of nutrition at UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health and the study’s first author.
“These changes in food habits persist independent of economic conditions linked with the Great Recession or food prices,” Ng said. “The calorie consumption was declining at a rate of about 34 calories less per year among children aged 2-18 between 2003 and 2010 (vs. only 14 kcal/day among adults decline per year). The declines in food purchases after adjusting for all the economic changes was also at a rate of 34 kcal/capita per year among households with children between 2000 and 2011.”
Ng adds that this dramatic turn in dietary behavior is more likely the outcome of sustained and persistent public health efforts aimed at raising awareness about the importance of healthy eating, providing better information about food choices, and discouraging unhealthy dietary choices.
While noted that the specific contributors for these changes in behavior are not quantifiable, he suggested greater attention by the public and journalists to obesity overall, particularly to soft drinks and other high-calorie sugary beverages; and the changes made by food companies or retailers may have produced significant rises in the awareness among consumers about the role of food.
In order to take back control of your health and to have healthy vibrant children like previous generations, adults have to lead the way, not the idea of what ever keeps little Johnny happy. I couldn’t leave the dinner table without having first eaten my nasty vegetables, neither could my husband, and candy and soda pop was a special treat not an everyday food item. I expect that was much the same story for everyone living in rural areas during the 50’s, 60’s and early 70’s. Maybe that is why even today rural areas have some of the lowest rates of obesity over inner city’s.
It’s not time for a diet, it’s time for real food’s grown by real farmers.
To your good health


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Patch release was poorly timed
All the MW2 fans on the Xbox 360 was a bit surprised this week. The surprise was in fact unwanted. The “Stimulus Package” download of the game was released before any necessary content patch. This exactly led to problems for the Microsoft home console owners.
It became a headache for the players while installing because there was no patch to accept the DLC pack. Microsoft in fact had forgotten it and it resulted in “unpredictable” online after effects.
Eric Neustadter, the Xbox Live operations manager, said: “For a couple of hours the result was unpredictable but most people couldn’t get into a game through matchmaking… In technical terms, it was a big hairball that we had to unwind.”
Many reported it to be a speed bumps that was related to the update including an inability to connect to the online service of the game and also a lack of access to the multiplayer maps.
Well, Microsoft claims that this update problem and also the resulting matchmaking wrinkles were ironed out completely by 1100 PST.


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It’s amazing what a ten-year-old platform can still accomplish. Today Motorola is demonstrating the new RX48 upstream module for the BSR 64000 CMTS out at the ANGA Cable Show. The RX48 card was announced back at SCTE in October, but to my knowledge this is the first live demo of the technology. Like the TX32 downstream card, the RX48 slots into Motorola’s time-tested BSR 64000 to increase port density and create more bandwidth capacity in a single chassis. The RX48 increases upstream port density by 600%, and, when installed with the BSR 64000, offers nearly 1.5 Gbps of upstream capacity per module.
The RX48 is shipping to customers for field trials beginning on July 1st, and Motorola has customers lined up in every region for testing. It turns out: solutions to create more upstream capacity are not a hard sell.


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Bitcoin (BTC) the most popular virtual currency in the market reached $6,500 dollars. This is Bitcoin’s highest price since October 21st. Other virtual currencies have also increased their value during the last days. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization reached $220 billion dollars according to CoinMarketCap. This is the highest value in almost a month.
Bitcoin Price Crosses $6,500 Dollars
After months of being in a bear trend, each new positive price action is received positively by the crypto market. Indeed, other individuals and experts were waiting for Bitcoin to reach new year lows. During the last 24 hours, Bitcoin reached $6,540 dollars, allowing enthusiasts to believe that it was possible to reach higher numbers.
This price increase has also been experienced by other virtual currencies. This price action was started by Bitcoin Cash (BCH). On November 15, BCH will be experiencing a network upgrade. There are two proposals that have the BCH community divided Bitcoin ABC and Bitcoin SV.
Why do investors place their funds in Bitcoin Cash if it will soon experience a hard fork? Well, because after the hard fork, users will receive an equivalent amount of BCH in the new chain.
Bitcoin Cash moved from $420 dollars up to $630 during the first week of November. This represents an increase of 50% in one of the largest cryptocurrencies in terms of market capitalization. As mentioned before, this price increase helped other digital currencies to register a price increase.
XRP, for example, moved from $0.45 to $0.55 during the last days, an increase of 22%. Ethereum, that had very weak projections for the short and middle term started November under $200 dollars and some hours ago it reached $220 dollars. That represents an increase of 20% in the same period of time as XRP or BCH.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is being traded around $6,450 dollars. Ethereum is close to $213 dollars and XRP $0.5. Bitcoin Cash has lost 5.62% of its price in the last 24 hours. The momentaneous drop in the last hours could give new strength for the market to grow even further.
In the near future, the Bakkt platform will start operating and a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund could be approved at the beginning of 2019. Experts believe that this could trigger a new bull run in the market.
Carlos is an international relations’ analyst specializing in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Since 2017, Carlos has written extensively for UseTheBitcoin and other leading cryptocurrency sites; with over 2,000 articles published.


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Private equity firms TA Associates and India Value Fund Adviors (IVFA) will invest $500 million in broadband provider Atria Convergence... ...http://www.medianama.com/2015/07/223-act-broadband-investment-ta-associates-ivfa/
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) extended the deadline to implement the full mobile number portability (MNP) across the India from... ...http://www.fonearena.com/blog/147244/airtel-vodafone-to-roll-out-pan-india-mobile-number-portability-from-july-3.html
Few Sec ago Business Wire India TA Associates, a leading global growth private equity firm, and Argan (Mauritius), a company controlled by... ...http://news.indiaonline.in/Press-Releases/TA-Associates-and-Argan-Mauritius-Limited-to-Invest-Approximately-USD-Million-in-Atria-Convergence-Technologies-11038
In light of the FCC imposing a $100 million fine on AT&T for misleading customers with its unlimited data plans, which were still bound by the... ...http://www.medianama.com/2015/07/223-fup-in-india/
Bharti Airtel today announced that it is ready to launch national Mobile Number Portability (MNP). The telecom operator in a statement said it... ...http://www.telecomlead.com/telecom-services/bharti-airtel-to-launch-national-mnp-58897
100 channels for Rs 100, TRAI lays...
We are the leading online service...


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LG has released its new CineBeam line of 4K projectors for the home cinema enthusiast. This new line of projectors comprises two devices: the standard CineBeam HU710P and the premium CineBeam HU715Q. The CineBeam HU710P, which features a 1.6x zoom, utilizes a hybrid laser/LED light engine to display images that are up to 300 inches across. The HU715Q is the company’s higher-end model that utilizes ultra-short-throw (UST) technology to project 120-inch images in 4K. The laser lighting system also has a bulb life of 20,000 hours.
Veteran Accelerated Systems, a Canadian clean energy innovations provider, has teamed up with Belgium start-up TAITO Mobility to bring TAITO’s three-wheel electric scooter to the market. According to Boston Consulting Group, the electric scooter market is projected to grow from $3 billion in 2019 to $30 billion by 2030. The TAITO-developed e-scooter features a three-wheel design and a proprietary suspension system to prevent accidents from uneven roads, which the Belgian institute for traffic safety has determined to be the main cause of user injury on scooters. “We started with a three-wheeled design to increase stability,” says TAITO founder Francois Desmet in the press release. “Then we developed a suspension system that allows users to tilt and turn the front wheels while also dampening road vibrations.”
In other news, Beko Home Appliances has announced that it received a number of awards at the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS), which was held last week in Orlando. The company’s 24-inch Front-Load Washer featuring RecycledTub was the most recognized of Beko’s products, as it was a finalist for both the Best-of-KBIS 2022 Awards and the DesignBites awards. The innovative laundry machine features a washtub made up of recycled water bottles. Beko’s new dishwasher line featuring CornerIntense and the 24-inch Front-Load Washer featuring RecycledTub were recognized by the Designhounds Influencer Network.
WHAT WE’RE READING…
Sony’s LinkBuds Bring A More Open Approach To Earphone Design
This Wooden Smart Home Sensor Doesn’t Need Batteries
The Epson Pro Cinema 4K PRO-UHD LS12000
The Mevo Start 3-Pack is a Tiny, Powerful Live Streaming Studio
Zendure Passport III Is The Swiss Army Knife Of Power Adapters And A Perfect Travel Companion


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The highest climber in this year’s top 10, Petrofac leaps up 63 places from its 2011 slot, thanks to its increasingly significant role in the energy business. It is in the oilfield services game, employing 16,500 people in 29 countries across the globe. It even designs its own drilling and refinery equipment, and first-half profits are up 32% to £205m. Syrian-born boss Ayman Asfari bought into Petrofac in 1991 and began a relentless drive for international expansion. He floated it on the LSE in 2005, and has delivered a return of close to 600% for shareholders.
Avast boss Ondrej Vlcek joined the company as an intern. Now as CEO, he's only getting paid $1 a year.
Cigarette bosses are cutting down, or are they?
Breaking ground on Insights Group's new HQ would have been an exciting moment, were it not for the timing - September 2008 - says CEO Andy Lothian.
It would be hard to avoid a recession, but it wouldn't be like 2008-9, says Nina Skero, chief economist at the Centre for Economic and Business Research.
British bosses can learn a lot from China's outgoing retail titan, says FITCH boss David Blair.
From dot com bubble to the FTSE 100, Ocado has confounded its critics.


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- Category: Blog
- Published: Thursday, 02 June 2016 17:41
- Written by Avi Krawitz, Diamonds.net
- Hits: 15476
According to Avi Krawitz at diamonds.net, the diamond industry is waking up to a new reality. Not only are the banks insisting on stricter compliance standards and pipeline integrity, but the largest mining companies and jewelry retailers are rapidly following suit. This is forcing the industry to rethink the way it conducts business so that ‘transparency, responsibility and sustainability’ are engrained in the ethos of the trade.
It was therefore no coincidence those three concepts formed the central theme of the World Diamond Congress recently held in Dubai. “These themes run through all the challenges we’re facing as a global industry and also show us the way forward,” Ernie Blom, president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), said in his opening remarks at the congress, a joint meeting of the WFDB and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA).


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In mainstream media reporting, the two indicators near exclusively cited for Iran's economy are inflation and oil export figures. Below are a few more economic indicators (and projections) provided to give a slightly fuller picture:
-Oil and gas exports initially took a dive in 2012 due to EU sanctions on the purchase of Iranian oil and US sanctions on the Iranian Central Bank, which undermined exports to non-European buyers of Iranian oil.
-Growing gas and gas condensate exports will be the main factor behind the growth of petroleum exports in the current Iranian calendar year.
-The real success story in Iranian exports is the expansion of the country’s potential in non-oil exports. -The government has set a goal to achieve balanced trade between Iran’s non-oil exports and the country’s imports.
-Based on the latest statistics from the Iran Customs Administration, in the first three months of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 21, 2013, the value of Iran’s non-oil exports reached $7.7 billion while the value of imports stood at $9.4 million, i.e., a quarterly non-oil trade deficit of $1.7 billion.
-Taking into account the oil and gas exports, the country [will be] producing a healthy trade surplus. Though severe banking sanctions have impeded the repatriation of export revenues, Iran will develop new mechanisms to repatriate these funds and to boost its economy.
Source: Iran's Pivot to the East by Bijan Khajehpour for Al-Monitor Iran Pulse. For additional commentary, click HERE.


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Ocado shares took a tumble today as Morrisons announced a new store-picking service with Amazon Fresh. The supermarket’s tie-up with Amazon, available initially to Prime members in selected London and Hertfordshire postcodes, will allow customers […]
Royal Mail has warned for a second time that competition from other carriers, this time Amazon’s own delivery network, will damage its growth prospects.
CollectPlus is to offer Amazon.co.uk customers a service that will see parcels delivered to one of its 5,000 stores across the UK. Customers using the online retailer can now opt for a CollectPlus ‘pick up […]


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CORPUS CHRISTI — Stripes Convenience Stores will have a grand reopening of its renovated Third Street store on Friday.
The ribbon cutting begins at noon Friday at 1303 Third St., at the corner with Morgan Avenue.
The event will feature company representatives, city and chambers of commerce officials, free Stripes products and giveaways for the public.
Stripes also will present a $1,000 donation to YMCA of the Coastal Bend for the organization’s Summer Day Camp.
Stripes is under Susser Holdings Corp., which has more than 540 convenience stores in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma, and supplies branded motor fuel to more than 565 dealers in its wholesale fuel division.


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The companies' labs and hubs share a joint 'commitment'
HBX Group joins forces with Mastercard to further innovation in the tourism sector
HBX Group and Mastercard join forces to further innovation in the tourism sector
The TravelTech Lab by HBX Group has joined Mastercard’s Tourism Innovation Hub (the Hub), while Mastercard has joined HBX Group’s TravelTech Lab, to collaborate on accelerating innovation in the travel and tourism sector.
With HBX Group’s TravelTech Lab and Mastercard’s Global Tourism Innovation Hub based in Spain, the companies share a joint "commitment to provide a springboard for emerging innovation and tech talent to the world".
Together, over the next three years they will share knowledge, industry insights and collaborate on sustainability and inclusive tourism projects, to support the future of the industry.
“Our new membership in Mastercard’s Tourism Innovation Hub will help us accelerate our goal to provide frictionless end-to-end travel for everyone,” said José María Pestaña Sartorius, chief innovation officer of HBX Group.
“Since the TravelTech Lab by HBX Group launched earlier this year, we have established ourselves in the travel innovation ecosystem by joining forces with world-renowned institutions who share our vision and mission.”
Quim Martinez Bosch, vice president, Tourism Innovation Hub of Mastercard, said: “Mastercard’s Tourism Innovation Hub has become a trusted collaborator across the public and private sectors in developing more sustainable and resilient tourism globally.
“We look forward to working with HBX Group to co-create innovative solutions for destinations around the world, focused on connecting and empowering businesses and local communities.”
While the TravelTech Lab by HBX Group opened earlier this year to "reimagine tourism and improve the overall travel experience", Mastercard’s Global Tourism Innovation Hub works with governments, public sector agencies and private sector companies to accelerate their digitalisation efforts, as well as innovate, research, and co-create solutions across the tourism ecosystem.
Recent additions to the Hub include the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Kazakh Tourism National Company.
They join existing Tourism Innovation Hub members including the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Spain’s SEGITTUR, and the Global Travel Resilience & Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) of Jamaica.


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The 1946 movie "It's a Wonderful Life," which starred Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey – a kind-hearted man who wanted to give back to his community – has become a Christmas classic. It is also the inspiration for an upcoming estate auction that will be held in Bristol, Conn., on Dec. 8.
There will be an accompanying online auction held at iCollector.com, where interested parties can place their bids on a wide assortment of goods that conjure up memories of simpler times and harken back to the era of Mr. Bailey and his quixotic effort to save his hometown of Bedford Falls.
Helping sick children
One of the most meaningful ways that Tim Chapulis and his mother, Helen, have turned this annual auction into a celebration of giving is by donating some of the proceeds to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. Since the passing of Tim's father, Peter, in 2005, these auctions, which are held in his honor, have managed to raise nearly $60,000 to help the hospital in its efforts to cure and alleviate many childhood diseases.
For anyone who is a fan of the movie, or who simply appreciates antique and collectible furniture, the It's a Wonderful Life Holiday Estate Auction will provide dozens of opportunities to bring home fine pieces of craftwork from the 19th and 20th centuries.
A pillar and splat-shelf clock made by the early 19th century mast Silas Hoadley (lot #11) is one notable example. And a magnificent Victorian-style burl cylinder roll-top secretary desk made of walnut (lot #116) is another item that collectors of woodworking will be keen to see.
Antique carpets will also be well represented, with a room-size oriental with an intricate blue and red design (lot #39) and a 76-inch long Borkara rug (lot #66) on display.
Beyond the startling array of furniture, clocks and rugs, there will be hundreds of other lots that will appeal to all manner of collectors and appreciators. More than 100 world coins will be on the block, along with various pieces of art, jewelry and glassware.
Among the items that will be auctioned off to directly benefit St. Jude's are more than 50 collectible dolls, along with a selection of memorabilia from musical luminaries Sid Bernstein and Les Paul.
For those who can't make it to Bristol to participate in this special auction, iCollector.com is the only way to gain access to this magnificent inventory that also provides an opportunity to contribute to important humanitarian work.


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LOS ANGELES - Smart & Final here said last week it has boosted its inventory levels to improve its store-level image following the implementation of a new supply chain warehouse system.
"But very high on our list of current priorities is bringing our overall distribution cost in better balance and having the luxury of time to more fully utilize the additional functionality in the supply chain software," Etienne Snollaerts, president and chief executive officer, told analysts during a conference call to discuss financial results for the year and fourth quarter ending Jan. 1. "The realistic time frame to achieve these priorities is the middle of this year."
Snollaerts said he believes sales, which were down 3% in the quarter, could have been better, "[but] we fell short in keeping many of our stores as well-stocked as we would have liked in the early part of the quarter," he said.
That situation is improving, he said. "The basic operation of the supply chain system has been greatly improved; our store shipment fulfillment rates from our [city of] Commerce distribution center meet or exceed the levels we had in the former warehouse management system, and our store in-stock condition is currently good."
Smart & Final has also expanded what Snollaerts said was a constrained distribution capacity by opening an additional warehouse, run by a third party, in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., to supply high-cube, high-velocity items to stores in Southern California, Arizona and Nevada. Since its opening in December, "it has brought a great measure of capacity relief to our Commerce facility," he said.
Net income for the 12-week quarter rose 120.9% to $9.3 million, while sales fell 3% to $456.8 million. Comparable-store sales, adjusted for the extra week, rose 2.9%. Income from continuing operations rose 47.9% to $6.8 million following a favorable adjustment after the company said it took too large a deduction for a litigation charge in the third quarter.
Net income for the year fell 29.2% to $21.4 million, while sales rose 2.4% to $2 billion. Comps, adjusted for the extra week, rose 2.6%. Income from continuing operations fell 2.2% to $30.8 million following the litigation adjustment.
Snollaerts also said it is too early to assess results at the three cash-and-carry test stores the company has opened over the last nine months in Southern California, although he said business-to-business operators seem to be impressed with the assortment and service levels.