Reading Time: 3 minutes Brasilia/Sao Paulo | Reuters — Amid growing international criticism over wildfires raging through the Amazon, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday admitted farmers could be illegally setting the rainforest alight but told foreign powers not to interfere. French President Emmanuel Macron and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres both took to Twitter to express their […] Read more
As Amazon burns, Bolsonaro tells rest of world not to interfere
UN flags need to reduce meat consumption to curb land use impact on global warming
Reading Time: 3 minutes London/Geneva | Reuters — Global meat consumption must fall to curb global warming, reduce growing strains on land and water and improve food security, health and biodiversity, a United Nations report on the effects of climate change concluded. Although the report stopped short of explicitly advocating going meat-free, it called for big changes to farming […] Read more
Colombian president defends use of glyphosate on coca crops
Reading Time: 2 minutes Bogota | Reuters — A judicial ban on aerial spraying of glyphosate herbicide to eliminate coca crops should be modified, Colombia’s President Ivan Duque said on Thursday, because expansion of the crop since the ban threatens peace efforts. The Andean country suspended aerial fumigation of coca, the raw ingredient in cocaine, with the Monsanto herbicide […] Read more
Brazil ag minister eyes indigenous land for commercial farming
Reading Time: 2 minutes Brasilia | Reuters — Brazil should open indigenous land to commercial farming, Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias said on Friday, while also seeking to soften many of President Jair Bolsonaro’s controversial stances on native people and the environment. Farmers form a key base of support for right-wing firebrand Bolsonaro who since taking office Jan. 1 […] Read more
Bolsonaro gives Brazil farm ministry powers on indigenous land
Reading Time: 3 minutes Rio de Janeiro/Brasilia | Reuters — New Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro issued an executive order on Wednesday making the agriculture ministry responsible for deciding on lands claimed by indigenous peoples, in a victory for agribusiness that will likely enrage environmentalists. The temporary decree, which will expire unless it is ratified within 120 days by Congress, […] Read more
Amazon reported planning to expand Whole Foods chain
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Amazon.com is planning to expand its Whole Foods Market portfolio by adding more stores to put more customers within its two-hour delivery service range, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing sources. Whole Foods employees have visited regions of western North America for potential retail spaces in parts of Idaho, southern Utah […] Read more
Whole Foods slashes prices on some produce
Reading Time: 3 minutes Los Angeles/Chicago | Reuters — On its first day as part of Amazon.com, organic grocery chain Whole Foods Market slashed prices on popular items like avocados and apples on Monday by a third as it bid to shake off its “Whole Paycheque” reputation for high prices. In another sign of changes to come, a display […] Read more
Amazon to cut Whole Foods prices amid intense grocery turf war
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Amazon.com said Thursday it will cut prices on a range of popular goods as it completes its acquisition of Whole Foods Market, sending shares of rival grocers tumbling over fears of even more brutal market share battles. Amazon’s $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods, which won antitrust approval from U.S. regulators on Wednesday, […] Read more
U.S. FTC clears Amazon acquisition of Whole Foods
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday it has cleared Amazon.com’s planned US$13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market. The FTC said in a statement that it had reviewed whether the deal would substantially lessen competition or constituted an unfair method of competition and opted not to pursue its investigation […] Read more
Whole Foods CEO hints at another brand under Amazon
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — After Amazon.com completes its takeover of high-end grocer Whole Foods Market, it might launch another brand with different standards, the grocery chain’s chief executive said in remarks reported in a securities filing on Monday. Amazon plans to keep the natural grocer’s high standards, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey said, adding, “They’re not stupid […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
