5@5: Big Dairy regulates plant-based fare | Female farmers struggle for equal pay

Big Dairy wants you to know vegan ‘butter’ isn’t actual butter

Get caught up on the rules and regulations surrounding plant-based “dairy” as members of the conventional dairy sphere continue to grasp for legal protection. Dairy-centric states such as Wisconsin are, among other initiatives, instructing retailers “to remove products that aren’t complying with the statutory definition for butter, which requires that it be made from milk or cream." Read more at The Washington Post …

Women own half the farmland in America. They don’t earn half the profits.

Nearly 60% of farms in the U.S. are currently owned by at least one woman, but a recent analysis from Pacific Standard found that “farms run by men earned almost twice as much on average as those run by women in 2017.” And in a 2019 study of women landowners, one researcher found that women faced far more backlash for trying to farm outside the norm—for instance, converting a portion of the land back to its natural state rather than optimizing its industrial farming capabilities. Read more at Pacific Standard …

Amazon and Whole Foods have failed to upend grocery

Amazon’s online grocery efforts have been limited by Whole Foods’ relatively small footprint and high price point, which explains why the company is opening a new grocery chain. Another reason for lagging performance are the efforts on the parts of supermarkets such as Walmart and Kroger, chains that saw the acquisition as a threat and were able to strengthen their ecommerce agenda to remain competitive. Read more at Business Insider …

The food business incubator that helps immigrant women pursue the American dream

San Francisco’s La Cocina has been supporting low-income immigrant women become small business owners since 2005. The organization purportedly arose from a need for affordable commercial kitchen spaces and technical assistance to help street vendors become legally viable from a business standpoint. Read more at NPR …

The coffee-powered economy: These startups turn waste into useful products

Promoting a circular economy in a world where waste is rampant is important, and these companies are looking at a particularly prevalent sort: coffee grounds. One uses the grounds for biofuel, while the other upcycles them into antioxidant-rich skincare products. Read more at Forbes …