Last week, 36 million pounds of imported nonorganic soybeans suddenly obtained "organic" labels for domestic sale after entering California. This could happen because soybeans, like other foods, are imported via complex global supply chains, involving many different specialist businesses between the farmer and the final customer.
Everything at Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, N.Y., has a story. Servers, chefs, and farmers at the restaurant, which was recently ranked No. 11 in the world, are there to tell it to anyone with a few hundred dollars, several hours, and a reservation.
With businesses expected to get state licenses in January to sell marijuana in California, the top regulator says that they will be given up to six months to comply with a requirement the pot be thoroughly tested by a licensed laboratory.
Members of the U.S. seafood industry are fearful that Canada's approval of a new trade deal with the European Union will cause big problems for the American lobster business, just as the catch is hitting historic highs.
Companies like Ikea and Apple have been investing in their supply chains in order to avoid unknown and potentially environmentally damaging activities from their suppliers by purchasing forest, building wind farms, and taking over plastics recycling plants. Ikea has purchased forest in Romania and the Baltics, while Apple has invested in forest in the US, writes The Guardian.
Almost a third of factories worldwide were rated as "critically non compliant" with ethical and sustainability standards in the first quarter of 2017, according to a supplier audit company.
Shipping goods across borders with reusable containers and tracking systems is better for the environment, consumers and companies, yet differential treatment by customs authorities can be detrimental for business, says the International Chamber of Commerce.
At its annual general meeting in Istanbul last week, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has agreed to urge the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to adopt some dramatic CO2 reduction objectives - on behalf of the international shipping sector as a whole - in order to match the ambition of the Paris Agreement on climate change.