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02/28/2017 BRUSSELS BANS FOIE GRAS
Brussels, the capital city of Belgium, has officially banned the production of foie gras within its city limits. While Belgium is one of the five countries—in addition to France, Spain, Bulgaria, and Hungary—that still produces foie gras, there are no production facilities within Brussels. This ban is therefore a symbolic move by the city government in hopes of influencing surrounding cities to adopt similar bans. Foie gras—or the enlarged liver of a duck or a goose— is produced by force-feeding the birds until their livers swell up to 10 times their normal size. Banning the production of foie gras does not eliminate the sale of the product in the city, as that aspect of the industry falls under different legislation. Many European countries—including Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Turkey, and the UK—currently ban the production of foie gras.
02/28/2017 STAR TREK VEGAN CAFE TO LAND IN NY
Vegan café Ten Forward will open its doors in Ithaca, NY on March 24. The café will bear the same Star Trek theme as local vegan mobile vendor Star Truck with a plant-based comfort food menu—consisting of a variety of baked goods, banana-based milkshakes, soups, and sandwiches. Ten Forward will occupy the space of a shuttered café above Autumn Leaves bookstore and owner Tammie Olsefski promises a cozy space where patrons can live long and prosper. "I hope to do things like game nights, and there's also a lot of meetups that already happen there which I'd like to continue," Olsefski said. "I'm also hoping that the café can become a non-alcoholic space for the LGBTQ community to hang out." In addition to Ten Forward, the east coast is in store for several unique vegan eateries, including butcher shop Monk's Vegan Delicatessen and Kitchen that is slated to open this spring in Brooklyn.
02/27/2017 FIRST VEGAN CAFETERIA OPENS IN PALESTINE
Palestine's first vegan eatery, Sudfeh, opened recently at the Al-Quds University in Adu Dis, Jerusalem. Sudfeh serves cruelty-free meals to students in an effort to promote animal-rights and veganism on campus. "We decided to open this cafeteria, which will be the first of its kind, offering vegan meals free from any animal products," the university's president Abu Kishek said, "to be a part of the global system and to contribute in raising awareness about animal welfare." Local animal-rights organization, Palestinian Animal League (PAL), launched a successful crowdfunding campaign last year to help pay for the costs of building the cafe. Sudfeh is part of PAL's "Youth for Change" program that gives young people a platform to present their ideas about social responsibility and animal welfare. The cafe was conceptualized by a group of 14-year-old girls from the al-Awael School in Ramallah, and is currently the only vegan cafe in any Arabic-speaking university.
02/27/2017 25 PERCENT OF UK SLAUGHTERHOUSES FAIL HYGIENE STANDARDS
UK-media brand The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) recently uncovered that one in four UK slaughterhouses failed to meet basic sanitation standards. BIJ carried out an analysis of government audits at 323 slaughterhouses in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and found that 86 of the facilities allowed meat with E. Coli, salmonella, and campylobacter bacterial strains to be sold to the public. Furthermore, BIJ found that slaughterhouse employees falsified records to conceal contaminated meat in order to pass Food Agency Standards (FSA). Violations included contact between animal carcasses and dirty floors, improper sterilization of equipment, and contamination caused by water tainted with fecal matter. "This is basic hygiene. It's not rocket science, it's common sense," UK microbiology professor Hugh Pennington said.
02/24/2017 GERMAN MINISTER PROPOSES MEAT BAN AT GOV'T MEETINGS
Germany's Federal Minister for the Environment Barbara Hendricks recently proposed a ban on meat and fish during official political meetings. In an email to senior political officials, Hendricks' office stressed that the ministry must set an example to be more environmentally conscious by acknowledging the damaging effects of meat production. While Hendricks' proposal would only affect a handful of official events, it sparked controversy amongst fellow politicians, particularly Germany's agriculture minister Christian Schmidt, who called her proposal a form of "nanny-statism." Late last year, Schmidt called for a ban on plant-based products that reference meat, citing that terms such as "vegan currywurst" and "vegetarian schnitzel" were misleading to the public.
02/24/2017 SEAFOOD MARKET PLEADS GUILTY TO LOBSTER CRUELTY
One of Sydney's largest sea life markets, Nicholas Seafood, has pled guilty to animal cruelty charges and agreed to pay a $1,500 fine. The charges against the seafood market were brought by the New South Wales branch of Australian animal-rights organization the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). Inspector Tyson Hohlein visited the facility after a video surfaced of an employee hacking off the tail of a live lobster before putting the animal's body through a band saw. Lobsters became protected under the country's Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act enacted in 1997 after a scientific study proved that the crustaceans can feel pain. Several incidents of Canadian residents rescuing lobsters from slaughter made headlines last year, bringing attention to the cruelty these crustaceans endure.
02/24/2017 LEGENDARY ANIMAL RIGHTS PHILOSOPHER TOM REGAN DIES AT 78
Last week, longtime animal-rights pioneer Tom Regan passed away from pneumonia at his North Carolina home at the age of 78. Regan played a crucial role in establishing the moral rights of non-human animals through his influential literary works—notably, his 1983 book The Case for Animal Rights, wherein he famously stated, "It is not an act of kindness to treat animals respectfully. It is an act of justice." A professor emeritus at North Carolina State University, Regan spent much of his life advocating for animals, giving moving orations, and co-founding the Culture & Animals Foundation with his wife Nancy. Tom Regan was inducted into the Animal Rights Hall of Fame in 2016 for his work in establishing that animals are individuals who should be free to pursue their own lives.
02/22/2017 SCHOOL DISTRICT SWAPS PEPPERONI PIZZA FOR PLANTS
California's Oakland School District recently partnered with environmental protection group Friends of the Earth (FOE) to make its lunch menus more environmentally friendly. FOE presented the school district with a proposal that outlined the high carbon footprint of animal products as compared to that of more environmentally friendly plant-based foods. The school district adopted FOE's suggested menu changes, replacing many meat and cheese items with vegan foods. The menu shift, according to FOE, reduced the school district's carbon footprint by 14 percent—which, if plugged into the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) official calculator, is equivalent to removing 127 cars from the road for one year. According to FOE, if every school district in the country followed Oakland's example, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by the equivalent of taking 150,000 cars of the road.
02/22/2017 STARBUCKS ADDS FIRST PREPARED VEGAN BREAKFAST OPTION
Starbucks recently introduced its first fully vegan prepared breakfast option at 600 New York locations. The new item features a combination of steel cut oats, quinoa, and chia seeds soaked overnight in coconut milk and topped with coconut shavings and sliced almonds. The company has focused on developing protein-rich food items, and their vegan option is loaded with six grams per serving. This menu addition—coupled with Starbucks' introduction of almond milk to 4,600 US stores last year—is yet another step in the plant-based direction for the coffeehouse giant. If the new vegan option proves successful in its New York locations, Starbucks will roll it out across all of its menus nationwide.
02/21/2017 RESISTANCE IS GROWING TO THE USDA'S BLACKOUT OF ANIMAL WELFARE RECORDS
The condemnation was swift when the Agriculture Department announced two weeks ago that it had pulled from its website the animal welfare records from 9,000 research labs, dog breeders and other facilities. And while the first critics were, not surprisingly, animal-protection organizations that depend on the records to expose abuse, opposition quickly expanded to some of the industries regulated by the department. Last week, the department was sued over its move, and federal lawmakers began pressing the Trump administration to again make the records public. Also last week, 18 Senate Democrats sent a letter to the department's acting deputy, Michael Young, urging a reversal of the decision. A day later, nearly 100 House members sent a similar letter to President Donald Trump asking him to "immediately restore" the records. Throughout the week, ordinary companion animals guardians have been tweeting photos of their furry friends to the USDA and lawmakers who didn't sign the letter, as well as to some who did. Despite these arguments and demands, the agency has not yet indicated any inclination to restore the records database to its website. (www.the-journal.com)
02/21/2017 BANK OF ENGLAND TO KEEP ANIMAL FAT IN MONEY
After an ongoing controversy, the Bank of England (BOE) has issued a statement regarding its decision to keep the current £5 banknotes in circulation. The banknotes in question are made with plastic polymer pellets—provided by its contracted supplier Innovia Security—that contain tallow (or rendered animal fat). The notes were put into circulation last September and raised concerns from animal-rights activists and religious groups alike, which deemed the currency an unavoidable contradiction to their non-violent ethical beliefs. While BOE considered destroying and reprinting the tainted banknotes last year, it ultimately decided to keep the currency as-is, and revealed that a £10 banknote that also contains tallow will be printed this September. UK-based animal-rights organization The Vegan Society is working with BOE to remove animal products from future currency, and the bank has recently postponed the printing of a £20 banknote (which was to be released in 2020), pending its negotiations with Innovia to create a plant-based alternative to the polymer.
02/17/2017 PLANT PROTEIN EQUAL TO MEAT FOR BUILDING MUSCLE
A study published last week in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that dietary protein derived from plant sources is no different than that from meat sources. From 2002 to 2005, researchers from the Hebrew Senior Life's Institute for Aging Research and University of Massachusetts Lowell observed the muscle mass, strength, and bone density of 3,000 participants with varied dietary habits in the 17 to 72 age range. They found that while higher protein intake led to better overall musculoskeletal health, the source of dietary protein—plant or animal—was irrelevant. "We know that dietary protein can improve muscle mass and strength," lead researcher Dr. Kelsey M. Mangano said. "However, until now, we did not know if one protein food source was better than another in accomplishing optimal results." Professional bodybuilders and weightlifters such as Barny Du Plessis, Patrik Baboumian, Hulda B. Waage, amongst many others, are living proof of Mangano's findings.
02/17/2017 MOBY GIFTS LOVE LETTER TO ANIMALS FOR VALENTINE'S DAY
As a Valentine's Day gift to animals, famed DJ and animal-rights activist Moby released a video for the single "A Simple Love" from his band's (Moby & The Void Pacific Choir) new album These Systems Are Failing. "Happy Valentine's Day," Moby said. "Here's my love letter to animals and the people who love and rescue them." The video features powerful footage of pigs confined on factory farms, being transported to slaughter on trucks, and the activists who stand up for them. The video ends on a bright note—showing piglets being rescued from slaughter and living freely at animal sanctuaries. Powerful on-screen lyrics such as "keep me from fear" and "just give me kindness" are displayed throughout the video.
02/16/2017 UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA ENDS ANIMAL TRAINING
As of this month, the use of animals for medical training will be a thing of the past at the University of North Carolina (UNC). Vegan advocacy group Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) launched a public campaign last year against UNC to urge the school to end the archaic practice of performing invasive procedures on live pigs to train emergency medical residents. Last month, PCRM's physician advocate Roberta Gray, MD—and graduate of UNC—successfully convinced the UNC Board of Governors to modernize their program to replace live animal training with more human-relevant methods. With UNC's commitment, 90 percent of all emergency medicine residency programs have abandoned animal-based training programs.
02/16/2017 MARINES SPEAK OUT AGAINST LIVE ANIMAL COMBAT TRAINING
A recent investigative report conducted by NBC uncovered the horrific military practice of "live tissue training"—or using live animals to simulate combat conditions. The report focused on marines at military base Camp Pendleton in San Diego, CA. For the training, the marines are stripped of their cell phone and driven two hours to an abandoned golf course where a private contractor, Simmec Training Solutions, provides the service. During the training, pigs and goats are severely injured—either cut, shot, burned, or have their limbs severed—and medics keep them alive long enough to simulate conditions on the battlefield. "The servicemen then try to revive or stop the bleeding and provide first responder techniques," a 13-year marine (whose identity has been hidden for protection) reveals. "We're compassionate people, we're trying to save lives, but yet you're part of something that is inherently inflicting pain and suffering on an animal." People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) proposed a bill to ban this type of military training several years ago, and it is being reintroduced to lawmakers this year.
02/14/2017 MEAT INDUSTRY SAYS BIG MACS ARE DOOMED
A recent feature on meat industry media outlet Cattle Network focused on the rapid decline of fast-food giant McDonald's. Writer Dan Murphy posed that, "As far as many millennials now in their 20s and 30s are concerned, the Big Mac is becoming at best irrelevant, an object of derision, rather than desire." This notion is supported by McDonald's' own recent report that only one in five millennials has ever tried their signature burger. Murphy opines that the decline of the burger is credited to a shift in consumer preference, stating that the company's sales are suffering "as the coveted younger demographic of consumers increasingly gravitates to a plethora of healthier menu choices, ethnic options, and vegetarian alternatives."
02/14/2017 MILLENIALS ARE BRINGING DOWN THE BEEF INDUSTRY
Media outlet Kentucky New Era recently investigated the reasons behind a major "meat glut" in the state—which, until recently, generated $1 billion in annual meat sales. Area farmers revealed that two years ago their industry was profitable, however, they are now struggling to break even. To investigate the underlying causes of this downturn, researchers at Western Kentucky University conducted a survey of 300 people between the ages of 18 and 25, which revealed a paradigm shift in the millennial population's perception of meat. When asked if negative media coverage of meat has influenced them to stop eating it, 16 percent of respondents said "yes." Another 30 percent admitted to having a "bad experience" with beef products. Various other studies have shown that the younger generation continues to make the connection between meat consumption and environmental degradation and ethical concerns, ideas they gather and share widely on social media platforms. University of Kentucky agriculture economist Kenny Burdine predicted that there is no end in sight for the state's animal agriculture glut, stating, "It may be early 2018 before we hit the bottom."
02/14/2017 CHICKPEA SNACKS SALES GROW BY 150 PERCENT
A new study conducted by market research company Packaged Facts found that sales of chickpea-based snacks grew by 150 percent in 2016. Overall sales of bean-based products—including those made from lentils, peas, and chickpeas—grew by eight percent. Within the salty snack market, those made from alternative vegetables make up the majority of sales, closely followed by grain- and bean-based snacks. Vegan snacks have seen a huge increase in sales in recent years, as well as a growth in available products on the market—proving that consumers are increasingly looking for healthier and more sustainable food options.
02/13/2017 BRITISH ACADEMY AWARDS SERVES VEGAN MENU
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) served a vegan menu during its 70th annual award ceremony. BAFTA's head chef Anton Manganaro developed the menu, which consists of a mixed-grain salad with pickled vegetables, beetroot relish, and pea shoots; chickpea masala served with a croquette and coriander cress; and a decadent dessert—coconut panna cotta with a fresh raspberry and basil salad. "We're hailing the plant-based menu at this year's BAFTA ceremony as outstanding," People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Director Elisa Allen said. "Nominees who don't win on the night can still be awarded a gorgeous vegan meal—which is golden for their health, animals, and the environment." This year, vegan actor Casey Affleck wins best actor Manchester by the Sea. BAFTA began serving a vegan menu last year due to increasing celebrity demand for cruelty-free options. The BAFTA awards was held on February 12.
02/13/2017 WORLD WILDLIFE FUND URGES FINLAND TO EAT LESS MEAT
As part of the Eat Clean Baltic Sea Project, the Finnish arm of animal conservation organization World Wildlife Fund (WWF) recently launched a guide urging Finnish citizens to make more environmentally friendly food choices. The guide is divided into various subsections with accompanying information for each category of meat, dairy, and plant-based proteins—which the guide categorizes under the "best choices" option. While the tool advocates making "better" choices within animal product categories, every portion of the guide advises to at least replace some meat with vegetables. The "best choices" category lists plant proteins such as legumes, tofu, tempeh, seitan, and Quorn products as more environmentally friendly replacements for animal products. "Vegetables imported from abroad are almost always a better choice for the environment compared to products of animal origin," the guide advises, before pointing out that store shelves in Finland are increasingly being stocked with innovative plant-based products.
02/10/2017 NON-DAIRY IS DRIVING ICE CREAM INDUSTRY GROWTH
This week, research firm Packaged Facts released the 9th edition of its Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts in the US report. The report reveals that the ice cream category has experienced stagnant growth in previous years due to a lack of innovation. However, products that bear a "free-from" label (i.e. soy-free, dairy-free, etc.) have greatly contributed to revitalizing ice cream sales, as consumers seek frozen desserts that are in-line with specific dietary preferences. Packaged Facts predicted that the current ice cream industry is valued at about $28 billion and predicted it would grow through 2020. From the corporate perspective, companies such as Ben & Jerry's have capitalized on the profit potential in this segment of the industry by developing an almond milk-based ice cream line—to which it added two new flavors this week.
02/10/2017 VEGAN MEAT COMPANY EXPANDS TO 7 NEW STATES
Vegan company No Evil Foods recently announced the expansion of its distribution channels to seven Midwestern states. The company partnered with St. Louis, MO-based distributor Coop Partners Warehouse (CPW) to bring its minimally processed, non-GMO plant-based meats—such as Mexican chorizo, Italian sausage, and chicken—to coops and independently owned businesses in the Midwest. Founded in 2014, No Evil Foods launched an online butcher shop in 2015, and is now available in a total of 18 states. Co-founder Sadrah Schadel says the company has aggressive expansion plans for 2017 to several more regions. The availability of plant-based meats is sweeping the US with the growth of the "vegan butcher" concept, spearheaded by companies such as Herbivorous Butcher, Atlas Meat-Free Delicatessen, and Monk's Vegan Delicatessen.
02/09/2017 FIRST PLANT-BASED FOOD HALL TO OPEN IN NYC
HOME Food Hall will become the first all-vegan establishment of its kind when it opens in New York City in the fall of 2018. The concept is a collaboration between four founders—Michael Mueller, Otis Duffy, Sarah Gross of vegan confectioners Rescue Chocolate, and Kiki Adami of Veganizer NYC. HOME will host 12 vegan food vendors originating from New York, Philadelphia, California, and Chicago. The food hall will occupy a 7,000 square-foot space in Manhattan's Midtown East neighborhood, where, in addition to food vendors, the space will be used to host fitness classes, movie screenings, parties, and community events. In the coming years, New York will be teeming with new plant-based eateries, including Brooklyn's butcher shop Monk's Vegan Delicatessen, slated to open this spring.
02/09/2017 LAMB SLAUGHTERHOUSE INVESTIGATION EXPOSES CRUELTY
Last week, animal-rights organization Compassion Over Killing released the first ever undercover footage captured at a lamb slaughterhouse in the United States. The hidden-camera footage was captured at California-based Superior Farms, the largest producer of lamb in the country, and supplier to mega-chains Walmart and Kroger. The video captured workers ineffectively slashing lambs' throats and cutting off their tails while they were still conscious. COK also documented workers failing to send meat through metal detectors and altering "best by" dates on packaged products. In addition to meat, Superior Farms sells lambskin to the fashion industry, as well as animal parts—such as lungs, tails, trachea, and ears—to be used for producing dog treats. COK's footage comes on the heels of last week's release of a similar video documenting cruelty against pigs, captured by animal-rights group Mercy for Animals at Hormel supplier The Maschhoffs in Oklahoma.
02/08/2017 BRITISH COMEDIAN MAKES VEGAN FEATURE FILM
New filmCarnage: Swallowing the Past, created by British comedian Simon Amstell, will explore a future where plant-based diets are the norm. Amstell recently announced the cast, which will consist of a host of British celebrities as well as feature vegan musician JME, who will be playing himself in the futuristic film set in 2067. Carnage will be available through streaming service BBC iPlayer this spring. "In a culture obsessed by what's on our plates," BBC iPlayer's Head of Content Victoria Jaye said, "Simon Amstell's film Carnage imaginatively challenges our attitude towards eating meat, fish, and cheese triangles. Prepare to never look at your dinner the same way again." While other details about the film are still under wraps, Amstell jokingly stated, "I have written and directed a film about veganism. I'm sorry."
02/07/2017 USDA REMOVES ALL ANIMAL WELFARE INFO FROM WEBSITE
As of Feb 3 morning, all information about animal welfare was removed from the website of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The site previously hosted information about animals abused under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), and the USDA explains that it removed this information under the pretense of privacy. The USDA instead directs visitors to file Freedom of Information Act requests to obtain information about animals exploited in the US. This action comes the day after the Federal Accountability in Chemical Testing Act (HR 816)—which, if passed, would require laboratories to account for the number of animals they use—was introduced by California Republican congressman Ken Calvert. Last month, the White House wiped all information related to climate change, LGBTQ rights, and healthcare from its website.
02/07/2017 NEW VEGAN PRODUCTS INCREASE BY 92% IN AUSTRALIA
A new report compiled by research firm Mintel found that vegan product launches in Australia have increased by 92 percent since 2014. The report was released ahead of meat-centric holiday Australia Day (celebrated on January 26) and stated, "Many Aussies will be foregoing tradition by grilling vegan steaks ... in celebration of the day." Mintel also revealed that as many as one in eight of all products carried a vegetarian claim in 2016, with six percent being labeled "vegan." Mintel's Trend and Innovation Consultant Laura Jones explained that due to health, environmental, and price concerns, Australians are increasingly leaving meat off their plates. In its 2017 Global Food & Drink Trend report released earlier this year, Mintel named plant-based foods as one of the top six biggest trends worldwide for the coming year.
02/06/2017 CRUELTY FREE INTERNATIONAL AGAINST ANIMAL EXPERIMENTS IN MAURITIUS
Cruelty Free International has criticised a decision taken by the Cabinet Office that will allow experiments on animals to take place in Mauritius, claiming that it will inflict even further suffering on the country's primate population, which is likely to be the main species used in research. The Cabinet Office decision, made on January 27, 2017, "...has agreed to the Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security promulgating the Animal Welfare (Experiment on Animals) Regulations under the Animal Welfare Act, to enable experiments to be carried out on animals." Mauritius is already one of the world's largest suppliers of monkeys for research. Tens of thousands of monkeys, many of whom were captured from the wild, are confined in large-scale facilities across Mauritius; their offspring exported to laboratories around the world. Michelle Thew, Chief Executive, Cruelty Free International states: "Allowing animal experiments to take place in Mauritius will further tarnish the country's international reputation as a 'paradise island'. The Government should be taking measures to reduce the suffering currently inflicted on Mauritian monkeys, not increasing it by allowing the establishment of animal laboratories."
02/06/2017 CALIFORNIA DAIRY WORKERS FILE CLASS ACTION SUIT
A lawsuit was filed with the US District Court in Sacramento on Friday, Jan 27, by the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation—on behalf of two undocumented workers, Hernan Guzman-Padilla and Cipriano Benites—against California dairy farm G&H Dairy. The suit alleges the plaintiff violated federal discrimination laws by "intentionally recruiting, hiring, and systematically underpaying solely Mexican immigrant laborers to staff their dairies, on the belief that they would quietly accept the aforementioned unlawful working conditions, wages, and housing." The workers were subject to 10-hour work shifts for up to six days without a break, housed in filthy conditions, and called racial slurs. "[None of the] white employees of defendants are provided poor quality housing, refused repairs, or required to live with vermin, water leaks, mold, rotting flooring, non-functioning heating, or without bathroom and kitchen facilities," the suit states. CRLAF is seeking class-action status to protect similarly situated Mexican laborers working at other factory farms in the US.
02/03/2017 ANIMALS BANNED FROM ROMANIA'S LARGEST CIRCUS
Romania will no longer allow the use of trained animals in circus shows. The decision comes after a fire broke out in January, in a facility housing circus animals—wherein 11 animals used for Romania's Globus Circus perished. The Bucharest General Council met on Monday to vote on the matter and unanimously decided to go through with the ban. Animals previously used by the circus will be relocated to sanctuaries and reservations with the help of Vier Pfoten Association—Romania's branch of animal-rights organization FOUR PAWS International. This ban follows growing global concern for animals used for entertainment—which recently led to the demise of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus—and is in line with similar bans already in place in countries, such as Mexico, Greece, Iran, and many others.
02/03/2017 SALES OF VEGAN DISHES UP BY 150% AT ITALIAN CHAIN
An Italian restaurant chain with 140 locations across the United Kingdom and Ireland reported that sales of its vegan offerings were up by 150 percent last year. In early 2016, Zizzi added nine new vegan items to their menus. "We are so pleased our vegan menu has been such a hit with diners," Zizzi's marketing director Jo Fawcett said. "The dishes are so great that we're seeing people who aren't even committed vegans choose them." Fawcett revealed that in the first month of 2017, the company has already sold 30,000 vegan dishes and plans to offer more vegan options in March. Zizzi's success is thanks in part to diners' interest in Veganuary—a campaign launched in 2014 that asks people to pledge to go vegan for the month of January. This year, Veganuary reported unprecedented success, with more than 50,000 people pledging to leave animals off their plates.
02/02/2017 SEAFOOD CONSUMERS INGEST 11K BITS OF PLASTIC ANNUALLY
Researchers at the University of Ghent in Belgium recently published a study finding that those who consume ocean life are concurrently consuming 11,000 pieces of microplastic per capita annually. The first comprehensive risk assessment of its kind, scientists determined that while certain animals have filter mechanisms to excrete ocean trash, some plastic particles remained lodged in their bodies and were transferred to the humans who consumed them. "Now we've established that they do enter our body and can stay there for quite a while," study researcher Colin Janssen said, suggesting that possible consequences of consuming ocean life tainted with plastic include leaching chemicals into the body and creating inflammation in tissues. "The next generation or two generations might say they left us a rotten plastic legacy, because now we are suffering in various ways from that legacy," Janssen said, urging activists and consumers "to do something about it."
02/02/2017 VEGAN COOKBOOK WINS GOURMAND AWARD
Australian vegan cookbook Food as Medicine: Cooking for Your Best Health by Sue Radd was named the national winner in the "Best Health & Nutrition Book" category of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. The competition draws entries from 60 nations every year, and the health category is the "most crowded" according to publishing company Signs Publishing book editor Nathan Brown. Published in October, the book contains 150 plant-based recipes and insight into scientific research that supports the health benefits of eschewing animal products. As a national winner, Food as Medicine qualified to compete on the international level of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in May.
02/01/2017 JOIN THE GO PALM OIL FREE CHALLENGE!
Palm oil is in almost all packaged products: chips, cookies, soups, sauces, personal care products, cleaning products etc. It is cultivated on a large scale where huge areas of tropical forest are destroyed. Habitats of humans and animals (like Sumatran Tigers and Orangutans) are destroyed. In addition, palm oil is not good for our health. As it includes up to 40% of harmful saturated fats that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Europe is a very large buyer of palm oil, and this must stop! To celebrate the International Palm Oil Free Day on February 1st, we invite you to join this fun and educational challenge! In February we will weekly give you palm oil-free recipes for tasty snacks, simple dishes, personal care and cleaning products. But also links to websites of brands that are already 100% palm oil free certified by www.gopalmoilfree.com! Sign up and join the challenge!
02/01/2017 CLIMATE CHANGE KILLING OFF ALMONDS
A recent National Public Radio (NPR) feature focused on the rising temperatures across California and the effect of climate change on crops grown there, particularly pistachios and almonds. NPR spoke to nut tree farmers in California who said that their trees were not getting enough "sleep"—or a certain amount of cold weather necessary for proper growth—due to rising temperatures. Local pistachio farmer Tom Coleman told NPR that during the last four years, his trees "slept" less than 500 of the required 700 hours for optimal growth, resulting in decreased yield. The same is true for other nut trees in the region, including almonds—100 percent of the national commercial supply of which are grown in California. When it comes to climate change, the United Nations determined that animal agriculture emits more greenhouse gases than all of transportation combined. Many California dairy farmers have opted to raise almond trees instead of cows to cut emissions, which resulted in 10,000 fewer cows used for milk in California during the first half of 2016.


Selling a home is a big deal. Selling a home fast is even more important. One fear when selling your home is it sitting on the market for months without selling. The first month it is listed is the most important time! If it doesn't sell within the first month, it may stay on the market awhile, or you might not get the price you want. I have proven ways to make your home sell fast!
The first, and most important thing is PRICE IT RIGHT! This may seem obvious, but many people overprice their homes in hopes of negotiations ending where they really want it to be. It is better to price your home right, and get that price for it, than to hope that negotiations will go your way. This is where I come in. I can get you up-to-date comparables in your area using a Free Market Analysis, and use my professional expertise to help you decide on an appropriate price for your home.
The next thing is curb appeal. First impressions are always important. This is true in any situation. Things to focus on are nice landscaping, fixing any chipped paint, replace worn doorknobs, and even update your outlet covers. These are small fixes that create an updated feel in your home. You don't want a prospective buyer to walk into your home and immediately think of all of the little things that they need to fix as soon as they buy.
Stage your home! Staging your home to be welcoming and inviting can make a huge difference. This goes along with curb appeal. Make sure your clutter is minimal, things are organized and matching, and all extra furniture is removed from the home. Sometimes renting a storage unit for a month will make a huge difference in your home's appeal.
Market your home. Marketing your home is very important. You want as many people as possible to know about your home being for sale, as quickly as possible. Have your Realtor® have an open house for other Real Estate Professionals. Also have an open house for potential buyers, friends and neighbors. You never know who has a friend who is looking for a new home. Or maybe one of your neighbors wants to be able to pick their new neighbors before somebody else scoops your home up! Getting your home known is a great way to sell your home fast!


Didi – formerly known as Didi Creations - is back with more accessory fabulosity!
With their 2014 bag collection, the Nigerian brand created by Tina Ndidi Ugo in 2012, is telling us a tale of leather. The designer's personal love for the fabric, African prints, colors, structured details and timeless & vintage pieces is very evident as the pieces have a combination of these aesthetics bringing each tote and clutch to life.
Normally for accessories collections, emphasis is placed on the pieces being showcased, but we love how the models play out in the campaign and make us want the bags even more.
The limited edition will be unveiled in Lagos soon, but for now let's gasp at the collection shall we?


text:
Ballati ist der Name von

 Girolamo Nerli Ballati (Girolamo Nerli-Ballati; Girolamo Pieri Nerli; 1860 oder 1863–1926), italienischer Maler
 Luigi Ballati (Aloysius Balati; Aloisius Ballati; Ballaty; Balatus und Namensvarianten; Balatus; 1636–1696), hannoverscher Gesandter an verschiedenen Höfen Europas

Ballati bezeichnet

 Palazzo Ballati in Siena, Italien

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


It is so hard for me to function in a kitchen that is messy. But, with a toddler, husband, and two dogs in our home, counters can get cluttered, the pantry can become unorganized, and the refrigerator can look messy … unless you have systems in place. I'm all about creating systems in the kitchen to help maintain a clean and organized kitchen.
Here are some simple storage tricks for kitchen organization that I love to implement in our kitchen. I'm also a firm believer in the quick 10 minute kitchen clean up. Going to bed with a messy kitchen is something that I strive to avoid every night as I shut down the house and prepare to crawl into bed. I love waking up, going downstairs, and seeing a clean kitchen.
So, how can you create systems, maintain cleanliness, and ensure that there is organization in your kitchen? Here are a few simple kitchen organization items and tips that will help.
Chalkboard labels are not only cute, but they are also incredibly functional. By placing chalkboard labels on jars and drawers, you can easily mark what is where. You can also change up the labels with a swipe of a cloth. Chalkboard labels add so much style to kitchen organization, not to mention a streamlined approach to keeping items easy to find.
There's nothing worse than rummaging through your drawers as you try to find a pasta spoon while your pot is boiling over. Make sure your kitchen drawers are organized by enlisting the help of drawer organizers. Drawer organizers come in a variety of shapes and sizes that are suitable for any cabinet or drawer.
Wicker baskets are a great way to store odds and ends such as snacks, crackers, chips, and kids special treats. They can add so much style to a pantry all while being very functional and useful. From white to brown, black to blue, wicker baskets come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and textures that will match the design aesthetic that you are trying to achieve with your kitchen organization.
I love the idea of installing sliding baskets in a pantry. Make sure that your sliding baskets are breathable so that you can store produce in them such as onions and potatoes. These food items love dry, dark places so what better spot than a sliding drawer in a pantry? With a few simple steps, you can have sliding drawers that keep your produce fresh and ready to grab-and-go as you prepare a meal.
From mason jars to plastic jars, pick up some clear jars with lids the next time you're at the store. By having the jars all match, you can create a matchy-matchy, organized look that will make your food items easy to find.
What are your favorite kitchen organization tips?


text:
TextShelley Withington
BFC launches new initiative to stop model mistreatment
Models First will ensure models are treated fairly, as well as allowing those from outside the UK to work at LFW post-Brexit
We are all too familiar with the horror stories that surround the fashion industry, but more recently, model mistreatment has sadly been at the forefront. While there has been some movement in the right direction – thanks to initiatives implemented by the joint efforts of LVMH and Kering – the progress is still slow. In order to make the UK a leader in stopping the mistreatment of models, the British Fashion Council has announced it would be launching the Models First Initiative.
If you aren't familiar with the BFC, it is the non-profit board that helps support young designers and talent as well as promoting British design internationally. Teaming up with the newly founded British Fashion Model Agency Association, the new initiative has been created to set better practice for models within the industry.
The initiative is being set up with the hope to set better practice in the modelling industry and will lobby to remove barriers that prevent talented models from working in the UK. Together the committee will look at the modelling industry and the ways in which models are treated to ensure that any current issues are fixed. If Brexit goes ahead, it will also work towards upholding diversity by allowing those from outside the UK to travel over fashion week.
The news of the initiative comes at a time where models are regularly revealing their experiences of mistreatment. Earlier this year, Leomie Anderson took to Twitter to call out a designer she claims dropped her because she was black. There was also the controversy surrounding a Balenciaga casting that led to two of its directors being fired after being called out by James Scully.
While it is a positive step towards safe working conditions for models, the fact that is needed in the first place is something that shouldn't go unnoticed. Hopefully, with the BFC's initiative, others will follow in enforcing stricter rules and regulations to make sure that models are treated fairly.
FashionNewsModels

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
package ggllib.utils;

import org.lwjgl.input.Mouse;
import org.lwjgl.opengl.Display;
import org.lwjgl.util.vector.Matrix4f;
import org.lwjgl.util.vector.Vector4f;

import ggllib.core.Camera;
import glib.util.vector.GMatrix4f;
import glib.util.vector.GVector2f;
import glib.util.vector.GVector3f;

public class MousePicker {
	private GVector3f currentRay;

	private GMatrix4f projectionMatrix;
	private GMatrix4f viewMatrix;
	private Camera camera;

	public MousePicker(Camera camera) {
		this.projectionMatrix = camera.getProjectionMatrix();
		this.camera = camera;
//		this.viewMatrix = Maths.MatrixToGMatrix(Maths.createViewMatrix(camera.getPosition(), camera.getPitch(), camera.getYaw()));
		this.viewMatrix = Maths.createViewMatrix(camera.getPosition(), camera.getRotation());
	}

	public GVector3f getCurrentRay() {
		update();
		return currentRay;
	}

	public void update(){
//		viewMatrix = Maths.MatrixToGMatrix(Maths.createViewMatrix(camera.getPosition(), camera.getPitch(), camera.getYaw()));
		viewMatrix = Maths.createViewMatrix(camera.getPosition(), camera.getRotation());
		currentRay = calculateMouseRay();
	}

	private GVector3f calculateMouseRay(){
		float mouseX = Mouse.getX();
		float mouseY = Mouse.getY();
		GVector2f normalizedCoords = getNormalizedDeviceCoords(mouseX, mouseY);
		Vector4f clipCoords = new Vector4f(normalizedCoords.getX(), normalizedCoords.getY(), -1f, 1f);
		Vector4f eyeCoords = toEyeCoords(clipCoords);
		GVector3f worlRay = toWorldCoords(eyeCoords);
		return worlRay;
	}

	private GVector3f toWorldCoords(Vector4f eyeCoords){
		Matrix4f invertedview = new Matrix4f();
		Matrix4f.invert(Maths.GMatrixToMatrix(viewMatrix), invertedview);
		Vector4f rayWorld = Matrix4f.transform(invertedview, eyeCoords, null);
		GVector3f mouseRay = new GVector3f(rayWorld.x, rayWorld.y, rayWorld.z);
		return mouseRay.Normalized();
	}

	private Vector4f toEyeCoords(Vector4f clipCoords){
		Matrix4f invertedProjection = new Matrix4f();
		Matrix4f.invert(Maths.GMatrixToMatrix(projectionMatrix), invertedProjection);
		Vector4f eyeCoords = Matrix4f.transform(invertedProjection, clipCoords, null);
		return new Vector4f(eyeCoords.x, eyeCoords.y, -1f, 0f);
	}

	private GVector2f getNormalizedDeviceCoords(float mouseX, float mouseY){
		float x = (2f*mouseX)/Display.getWidth() - 1;
		float y = (2f*mouseY)/Display.getHeight() - 1;
		return new GVector2f(x,y);
	}

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Sign up for the MNB Wake Up Call!
FaceTime with the Content Guy: Success Doesn't Happen In A Vacuum ↓
Thursday Eye-Opener: Play Ball ↓
Whole Foods Tests New Small, Urban Format In NYC ↓
Study: How Smart Speakers Change Consumer Behavior ↓
Hy-Vee Plans New Health Market For Sun Prairie, Wisconsin ↓
Albertsons To Trim Plated Distribution In Stores ↓
Amazon To Get Beetle-Juiced ↓
E-conomy Beat ↓
FastNewsBeat ↓
Report From The Grass Roots ↓
From The MNB Politics Desk ↓
Your Views: Farewell To Greetings ↓
A New Retail Tomorrow Podcast: The Cannabis Opportunity ↓
Meet The Content Guy at Home Delivery World 2019 ↓
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FaceTime with the Content Guy: Success Doesn't Happen In A Vacuum
This commentary is available as both text and video; enjoy both or either ... they are similar, but not exactly the same. To see past FaceTime commentaries, go to the MNB Channel on YouTube.
Hi, Kevin Coupe here, and this is faceTime with the Content Guy.
I try not to use this space as a place where I can exact personal vengeance on retailers that I think have done me wrong, but I do think it is fair game to tell you about bad experiences that I think illustrate a larger problem.
That's what happened the other day when Mrs. Content Guy asked me to bring our old Electrolux vacuum cleaner in to be repaired; the electrical cord was fraying, and the hose had a hole in it, making it pretty much useless. My schedule is a lot more flexible than hers - it is hard to walk out on a classroom full of third graders to run personal errands - and since the only vacuum cleaner place within any reasonable proximity of our home had limited hours, I was happy to do so.
The place was open from 8 am to noon, and then again from 1 pm to 4:30 pm. I double checked those times online before I left and then, making sure I have the store a little buffer, drove over so I'd get there shortly after 1:30.
When I arrived, I found a paper plate taped to the front door, saying, "Back at 2:30. Sorry."
Sorry? Really?
It didn't make sense to drive home and then turn around to come back, and so I cooled my heels for almost an hour. During that time, remarkably enough, three other customers showed up to drop off their vacuum cleaners, and they may have been more annoyed than I was.
This strikes me as a classic case of a retailer simply not delivering on a basic value proposition - it doesn't get much more basic than being open during business hours. It is possible that this fellow has been lulled into a sense of complacency, thinking to himself, "I can do pretty much what I want because there isn't any competition." For the moment, he may be right.
But I'll tell you this. He won't be right forever. If I knew of a vacuum cleaner repair service that would've come to the house to pick it up, and then drop it back off when it was fixed, I would use it in a second. I wouldn't even hesitate - any satisfaction I might've gotten from doing business with a local guy was pretty much eliminated by the fact that he didn't hold up his end of the bargain.
Three interesting postscripts. One, when he finally showed up, there was no apology or explanation for not having been there. (He should've lied and said he was taking his aging, infirm grandmother to the doctor. It may not have been true, but it would've bought some sympathy and made me feel bad about my impatience.)
Second, while I was there, he tried to sell me a new vacuum cleaner rather than doing the repairs. It almost didn't matter whether it made sense or not … I wasn't giving him my business.
And third, he didn't tell me that his was a cash-only business … so when Mrs. Content Guy went to pick up the vacuum cleaner the following Saturday (when he was only open from 9 am to noon), she had to leave the store and go find an ATM to get cash.
The lesson here, I think, is easy to identify - if you want customers to do business with you, it is kind of important act like you want to do business with your customers.
If the kind of vacuum cleaner pickup-and-delivery service that I described existed, I suspect that this guy's business wouldn't last very long. And as he closed his doors for the last time, he'd probably complain about how he was unfairly put out of business by people who didn't care about supporting local merchants.
Which would be total crap.
When he goes out of business, as he inevitably will, it won't be homicide. It'll be suicide.
That's what is on my mind this morning. As always, I want to hear what is on your mind.
Tweet Article
Thursday Eye-Opener: Play Ball
by Kevin Coupe
Today is Major League baseball's official Opening Day, and so it is appropriate to share with you a new video directed by Spike Lee and sponsored by Anheuser-Busch, entitled, simply, "Impact," focusing on the legacy of Jackie Robinson.
The video intercuts between a dramatization of a group of fans listening to Robinson's first game as a Brooklyn Dodger, during which he broke the Major League color barrier, and actual footage from the game. The theme is one of Robinson's more famous quotes: "A life is not important, except for the impact it has on other lives."
CNBC writes that "a three-minute online version of the commercial launched Tuesday, two days before the minute-long TV version airs during opening day. The ad will also be shown in baseball stadiums throughout the season and in movie theaters across the United States.
"Budweiser has partnered with the Jackie Robinson Foundation and will donate 42 cents — the number on Robinson's shirt — from each sale of limited-edition bottles of Bud to the nonprofit," with those funds slated to go toward a long-gestating Jackie Robinson Museum in New York City."
It is. I think, a moving piece of work, an Eye-Opening tribute to a man who was one of the most important people of the 20th century. Kudos to Spike Lee and Anheuser-Busch for this exceptional collaboration, which will, I hope, itself have an impact on people who do not know enough about Jackie Robinson, who would've been 100 years old this year.
Editorial continues after a word from our sponsor...
Industry Drumbeat
Join The Fresh Case Revolution!
Now back to regularly scheduled editorial...
Whole Foods Tests New Small, Urban Format In NYC
Amazon-owned Whole Foods has opened what Crain's New York Business describes as "Whole Foods Market Daily, which focuses on grab-and-go snacks with self-checkout lanes. The bodega-sized offering, at the corner of 7th Avenue and West 25th Street, offers a way to pick up breakfast or lunch without navigating the cart-filled aisles of the roughly 40,000-square-foot regular Whole Foods market next door."
The convenience store-sized unit also offers a new coffee, juice and kombucha bar, a build-your-own station for acai bowls, and a variety of local items.
KC's View: Interesting that not only is this store next to a full-sized Whole Foods, but it also is just blocks away from Amazon Books and the Amazon Four-Star store … it is yet another demonstration of how Amazon-Whole Foods is positioning itself to challenge traditional retail on a variety of fronts.
I'll be curious to see how the Market Daily compares with, say, the terrific Green Zebra stores that Lisa Sedlar runs in Portland, Oregon.
I also wonder what this format might tell us about the much-speculated-about chain of supermarkets that Amazon is said to be getting to start opening later this year. Maybe nothing … except that Amazon learns from everything.
Corporate Drumbeat
From The Organic Produce Summit...
Study: How Smart Speakers Change Consumer Behavior
Kantar Worldpanel is out with a study saying that people who have a Google Home smart speaker tend to use it for more functions than people who own Amazon's Alexa-powered devices.
Digital News Daily writes that overall, "some 58.4% of Google owners check the weather, compared with 53.7% of Amazon owners. Some 52.8% on Google ask general knowledge questions compared with 40.8% on Amazon, and 50.8% on Google check the news, compared with 37.9% on Amazon."
In addition, the story says, "Owners of Google Home are more likely to order items such as takeout food and groceries. In fact, 15.6% of Google Home owners order takeout food, compared with just 6.2% of Amazon Echo owners. Similarly, 12.6% of Google Home owners order groceries, compared with just 4.6% of Amazon Echo owners."
The study also spotlights some changes in owners' behavior, Digital News Daily writes:
"For those who own a Google Home, 31.4% listen to more music than before, 16.2% switched from free to paid music streaming service, 14% ensure that new electronic devices are compatible, 13.5 use a table or smartphone less, 15.8% use a laptop or PC less, and 4.5% shop more with retailers through a virtual assistant.
"For those who own an Amazon Echo, 27.3% listen to more music than before, 12.2% switched from free to paid music streaming service, 11.5% ensure that new electronic devices are compatible, 10.2% use a table or smartphone less, 8.2% use a laptop or PC less, and 2.3% shop more with retailers through a virtual assistant."
KC's View: I totally get the notion that these things can change little things in their owners' lives … that certainly would the case in my house, where I'm always interacting with them.
My sense, however, is that I may be the only one in my house … my family sometimes gets annoyed with me when I'm having an interaction with Alexa. (Alexa never gets annoyed with me, however, which may explain something.)
I'm curious about all the Google Home and Alexa owners who are not doing all these things with their systems. What are they using them for? Paperweights?
From WAFC...
Hy-Vee Plans New Health Market For Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
The Wisconsin State Journal reports that Hy-Vee has received the necessary approvals to build a new 19.650 square foot Health Market store in the community of Sun Prairie, which will include, along with a supermarket, "a health clinic, pharmacy and a fitness studio." The property's footprint also will include "a separate 6,500-square-foot Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh convenience store with fuel pumps."
According to the story, Hy-Vee "debuted its HealthMarket concept last summer in West Des Moines, Iowa. The store, according to the company's website, includes sports nutrition and supplements, fresh produce, meat and dairy items, meal kits and frozen foods. In addition it offers high-end cosmetics and Basin natural beauty and body care products. The store has also partnered with Orangetheory Fitness while the facility also has nitro cold-brewed coffee, kombucha, and a Bevi infused-water machine."
CEO Randy Edeker has said that he envisions opening as many as 50 or 60 Heath Markets.
KC's View: I really like this idea conceptually. It plays to a growing consumer trend and, if properly implemented, could be a powerful growth engine for Hy-Vee.
Albertsons To Trim Plated Distribution In Stores
BoiseDev reports that two years after acquiring meal kit company Plated, Albertsons is reducing the number of stores in which the brand is available.
According to the story, "The company began offering the kits in stores in select markets around the country shortly after the acquisition."
But now, according to Plated Director of Public Relations Liz Marsh, after Plated has "enjoyed the ability to test and learn on a large scale because of Albertsons Companies expansive footprint that covers a wide range of markets and store brands," the brand will be available only in "select stores while we temporarily reduce the overall scope of Plated's retail distribution … This shift will allow us to focus on innovation for the future expansion of Plated within the Albertsons Companies ecosystem."
Marsh says that the company remains "committed to growing Plated to serve customers in new and exciting ways."
One of the markets losing the brand - Boise, Albertsons' home base.
Amazon To Get Beetle-Juiced
Amazon announced yesterday that its Amazon Web Services (AWS) business has signed a multi-year, global agreement with the Volkswagen Group "to build the Volkswagen Industrial Cloud, a cloud-based Industrial digital production platform that will transform the automotive company's manufacturing and logistics processes."
According to the announcement, "Volkswagen will rely upon the breadth and depth of AWS's portfolio of services, including IoT, machine learning, analytics, and compute services to increase plant efficiency and uptime, improve production flexibility, and increase vehicle quality … The Volkswagen Industrial Cloud will bring together real-time data from all of the Volkswagen Group's 122 manufacturing plants to manage the overall effectiveness of assembly equipment, as well as track parts and vehicles."
KC's View: I only mention this because, when I read the story, it occurred to me that maybe the folks at Volkswagen could use Amazon's services to make sure that it didn't commit massive fraud, lying systemically about its car emissions.
This is a company, after all, that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said "reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in benefit by issuing the securities at more attractive rates for the company" and "repeatedly lied to and misled United States investors, consumers, and regulators as part of an illegal scheme to sell its purportedly 'clean diesel' cars and billions of dollars of corporate bonds and other securities in the United States."
Maybe Amazon could provide some machine learning technology that would help VW executives learn how to tell the truth.
From Cornell University...
E-conomy Beat
• The Wall Street Journal reports that US chains owned by Ahold Delhaize "are turning to artificial intelligence to overhaul the way they order food from suppliers," using a system developed by supply-chain software firm Relex Solutions "to improve how buyers predict demand and get perishables and other products to store shelves faster."
Chris Lewis, executive vice president of supply chain at Retail Business Services LLC, Ahold's U.S. business services company, says that the new technology "provides 'one logical view of inventory across the brands,' allowing buyers to aggregate demand across thousands of stores … The technology incorporates functions that had been spread across multiple systems and automates some steps, such as checking inventory levels at stores and distribution centers, that can take workers several hours to perform. Algorithms update recommended order quantities daily, factoring in variables like 'if product gets refused at the warehouse, or if sales in particular regions are up because of weather,' Mr. Lewis said."
The technology was piloted at Hannaford and Food Lion and now will be rolled out to the rest of the company's banners, including e-commerce business Peapod, over the next three years.
From Samuel J. Associates...
"It's a bad time to be in the business of selling groceries, and the headlines are as bleak as you'd expect: "The Retail Apocalypse Is Coming for Grocery Stores" ... "Grocery Retail 'Bloodbath' Is Here" ... Conversely, it is a great time — arguably the best time ever — to buy groceries."
- New York Magazine/Grub Street
At Samuel J.Associates, we have a response to this assessment:
We think it is a great time to be selling groceries, whether you are a retailer or a supplier. That's because a more educated and demanding consumer, no matter the demographic, will reward businesses that are innovative, disruptive, and in touch with what people need, even if they don't know they need it.
And, we know this: Those businesses require, and are fueled by, great people.
People who don't just get the job done, but who set the tone in an organization, establish cultural and business priorities, who build teams, and who are able to not just adapt to competitive realities, but see the future and thrive in it.
And yes, ignore dire warnings about a "retail apocalypse" and see opportunities.
At Samuel J. Associates, we have a winning record of connecting great talent and innovative businesses ... as well as innovative talent with great businesses. We exceed your expectations so that you can do the same thing for your customers.
No bull.
FastNewsBeat
• The New York Times reports that McDonald's has advised the National Restaurant Association that it no longer wants to be involved in any lobbying efforts designed to oppose increases in local, state or federal minimum wages.
A company vice president, Genna Gent, told the trade association, "We believe increases should be phased in and that all industries should be treated the same way … The conversation about wages is an important one; it's one we wish to advance, not impede."
The change in position, the Times writes, "thrust McDonald's into the middle of the ongoing and sometimes contentious national debate about worker pay and what constitutes a living wage. Federal lawmakers, including several Democratic presidential hopefuls, have increasingly sought to help lower-income workers whose wages have remained stagnant as corporate profits have grown, housing prices have skyrocketed, and a homelessness crisis is gripping many urban areas."
However, the story also points out that "the announcement was also greeted with some skepticism. An expert on restaurant lobbying who requested anonymity because of McDonald's power in the industry said the chain's repositioning appeared to be at least in part a political publicity stunt. More than 90 percent of McDonald's restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent franchisees, according to the company's website. It is those franchisees, not McDonald's Corp.'s bottom line, that the expert worried could be most affected."
• MarketWatch reports that Grocery Outlet Holding Co., currently majority owned by a private equity company, Hellman & Friedman, has filed for an initial public offering (IPO).
The story notes that Grocery Outlet "is still managed by the family of the founder, Jim Read, who established the first store in San Francisco in 1946" and "claims to have more than 300 stores that attract more than 2 million shoppers each week."
From Webstop...
From FMI...
Report From The Grass Roots
• CNBC reports that Walgreen plans to sell cannabis-based CBD creams, patches and sprays in nearly 1,500 stores in Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vermont, South Carolina, Illinois and Indiana.
CVS made a similar announcement earlier this month.
According to the story, "Consumers are increasingly curious about CBD, which promises to help everything from anxiety to pain even though there is scant evidence backing up these claims. And while CBD derived from hemp is now legal thanks to the farm bill Congress passed late last year, the FDA says companies still can't add CBD to food or sell it as a dietary supplement."
"This product offering is in line with our efforts to provide a wider range of accessible health and wellbeing products and services to best meet the needs and preferences of our customers," the company said in a prepared statement.
From The MNB Politics Desk
Content Guy's Note: Stories in this section are, in my estimation, important and relevant to business. However, they are relegated to this slot because some MNB readers have made clear that they prefer a politics-free MNB; I can't do that because sometimes the news calls out for coverage and commentary, but at least I can make it easy for folks to skip it if they so desire.
• The Associated Press reports that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) has argued as part of her campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination that what she calls "unfair farming monopolies" should be broken up and that the government also should break up "'vertically-integrated' agribusinesses — those, like Tyson, that control multiple levels of production and processing of a product."
"Today a farmer can work hard, do everything right—even get great weather—and still not make it," she said. "My new idea would level the playing field for America's farmers by standing up to Big Ag and un-rigging the rules that are hurting competition."
The AP writes that "if elected president, the Democratic lawmaker says she'd appoint regulators to review and reverse some mergers among farming corporations. She singled out Bayer-Monsanto as a merger that 'should never have been approved'."
KC's View: This is the same presidential candidate who has proposed the breaking up of big technology companies such as Facebook, Google and Amazon. As in that case, it is unclear to me that such breakups will be good for consumers by lowering prices … which is one of the benchmarks by which one gauges antitrust issues.
I will say this. Whether Warren wins or loses, it won't be because she is vague on the issues. Like her or not, she is about as specific as anyone running about what she believes and what she'd do.
Your Views: Farewell To Greetings
Yesterday MNB took note of a USA Today report saying that as people send fewer greeting cards and instead use digital options, "major retailers, including CVS and Walmart, are poised to cut back on cards, and greeting card companies have closed hundreds of standalone locations."
I commented:
I must admit that pretty much the only time I go buy a greeting card is when Mrs. Content Guy sends me to get one when we need a card at the last minute. (I say this as someone who believes in thank you notes. But I buy them in bulk on … Amazon.)
Not sure if it is me, but when I go to the CVS card section, I see something that doesn't seem to have evolved very much in the past couple of decades. Maybe I'm wrong about that, or maybe they just don't have cards that appeal to my somewhat sardonic sense of humor. But I wonder if these sections have evolved to the extent they should have, considering the new realities of how we live. I'm guessing no.
Got a lot of email on this one.
MNB reader Kenny Fried wrote:
We now get all of our cards at Dollar Tree, where they have a Hallmark sub brand for fifty cents each and a dollar a piece with the dollar cards a little better in quality. The only negative is for people who get the cards they don't see the $4.00 number on the back so they might not think we care as much for them since we aren't spending the big $$.
MNB reader Dan Bay wrote:
Companies have priced themselves out of business. 5.99 for a card that cost pennies to make Is crazy!!
From another reader:
Totally agree, Kevin. I actually like to buy greeting cards, especially for birthdays, but virtually every time I go to buy one, especially in drug, grocery and mass, I get thoroughly disgusted by the terrible selection of cards, especially by the major brands. They are either way too long/mushy/sentimental, juvenile, unfunny or just plain stupid. My advice to retailers: find some suppliers of creative, original and appealing cards, or get rid of them all together.
And from another:
Well, welcome to "TODAY"! Talk about low hanging fruit, the greeting card business has been on the ground. What took these two retailers so long!!
Nothing evolved with greeting cards except the exuberant price to buy one.
And still another:
R.I.P. Hallmark and American Greetings. My family's small drugstore over 50 years ago had at least 30 feet of Hallmark greeting card racks. The margins were 50%.
Today I can go to the Dollar Store just up the street and get a quality Greeting Card for 50 cents or a a dollar while even Target wants the full retail price of over $3 for something comparable.
Hallmark Crown stores are going out of business these days.
One MNB reader wrote:
I needed to share what my 40 year old daughter does today when wanting to send a greeting card. She goes into her preferred card shop and snaps a picture of the card she likes, then opens up the card and snaps a picture of the inside message. She the. Texts the message with a note.
Her comment was cards have gotten so expensive and people open them, read them and recycle them. She considers that a waste of money and a waste of trees.
I think cards are heading the way of DVDs, CDs, and Cassette tapes.
Kind of sad for some of us who are "Hopeless Romantics" like my wife and I who have saved every card we have given each other since we met. That's a long time.
I respect your daughter's environmental sentiments, and even agree with them, but, with all due respect, isn't what she's doing kind of like stealing?
And, from MNB reader Monte Stowell:
I know times have changed, as the younger generation does not buy and send greeting cards as do us older generations. I still believe that receiving a greeting card, especially a "Thank You" card in the mail, is a real pleasant treat or surprise. It shows a real appreciation. The cost of greeting cards $2.95 up, might also be an impediment, as one can go on line and buy a years subscription for less than an Andy Jackson. If the high price is a consideration for not sending cards, then the best place to buy cards is at a Dollar store. Alas, greeting cards are slowly going the way of the Dodo bird.
"RETAIL 2020: What's The Future (WTF)?" - A New Presentation by Kevin Coupe
In this fast-paced, interactive and provocative presentation, MNB's Kevin Coupe challenges audiences to see the fast-evolving retail world through a radical new technological, demographic, competitive and cultural prism. These issues all combine to create an environment in which traditional thinking, fundamental execution, and just-good-enough strategies and tactics likely pave the path to irrelevance; Coupe lays out a road map for the future that focuses on differential advantages and disruptive mindsets, using real-world examples that can be adopted and executed by enterprising and innovative leaders.
Constantly updated to reflect the hand crafted news stories covered and commented upon daily by MorningNewsBeat, and seasoned with an irreverent sense of humor and disdain for sacred cows honed over 30 years of writing and reporting about the best retailers and retail strategies, "RETAIL 2020/WTF" will get your meeting attendees not just thinking, but asking the serious questions about business and consumers that serious times demand. See a sample at left…
Here's what Lori Stillman, Executive Vice President - Analytics, Insights and Intelligence, Advantage Solutions, has to say about a recent appearance:
"Kevin joined us as a moderator and facilitator for a two-day client executive event we hosted. His role in the success of the event went far beyond his time presenting and sharing his great wisdom and content. From the moment our planning process began and we selected Kevin as a key part of our program, he dove in and worked with our team to review session topics, ideate on programming and help ensure our overall event delivered on the goals we had established. His quick wit, deep industry knowledge and ability to synthesize conversations into key take-aways enabled us to hit a home run!"
And, from Joe Jurich, CTO of DUMAC Business Systems:
"Kevin recently participated in and spoke at our Annual User Conference. Our group consisted of independent retailers, wholesalers, and software vendors – a pretty broad group to challenge in a single talk. While his energy, humor, and movie analogies kept the audience engaged, his ability to challenge them to think differently about how they go to market is what really captured them! Based on dinner conversations afterward, he appeared to have left everyone thinking of at least one new approach to their strategy!"
Want to make your next event unique, engaging and entertaining? Contact Kevin at kc@morningnewsbeat.com , or call him now at 203-253-0291.
A New Retail Tomorrow Podcast: The Cannabis Opportunity
Recorded at the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, this Retail Tomorrow podcast offers a deep dive into the promises and challenges inherent in the cannabis industry. While it still is not part of the mainstream retail world, the momentum is there for an inevitable explosion of product, marketing muscle, and profit, especially in the self-care segment.
Taking us inside the business are two cannabis industry experts: Genevieve Gilbreath, co-founder and general partner at Springdale Ventures; and Mary Olivar, managing director at Greenbelt Capital.
Here's where you can check our guests' websites:
Genevieve Gilbreath: https://springdaleventures.com
Mary Olivar: https://greenbeltcapitalinc.com
The Retail Tomorrow Podcast is sponsored by the Global Market Development Center (GMDC), seeking to focus not just on best practices, but next practices. This podcast, as well as past editions, also can be found on the site. In addition, check out more details about GMDC's Retail Tomorrow initiative here.
Pictured below, from left to right:
Mary Olivar, Kevin Coupe, Genevieve Gilbreath
Meet The Content Guy at Home Delivery World 2019
I'll be attending the Home Delivery World 2019 conference and exhibition next week at the Philadelphia Convention Center, and If there are any MNB readers who'd like to get together, I'll be camping out from 1:30-3 pm, on Thursday, April 4, at the Fleat booth, #005 - just inside the main entrance, to the right.
Fleat also is making copies of my book available, and I'm happy to sign them, as well as catch up with members of the MNB community.
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The farm is available outside of the farming season for hunting and farming.
The mountain farm is let during big game hunting in Roktdalen.
The farm is available during the periods 14.09-23.09 and 03.10-08.10.
After 1 November it is also possible to book the farm. The grounds are excellent for hunting rabbits and woodland birds.
Contact us for information about small game hunting.
We have canoes and boats for let in Roktsjøen. The lake is easily accessible as you drive past it on your way to the mountain farm, and it has plenty of fish. We also have a boat to let in Gåstjønna, about 1,5 hour hike from Roktdalen towards Brandheiklumpen. Here you can fish a lovely mountain trout in idyllic surroundings. It is also a good spot to set up a tent.
You can also fish in the river Rokta, there are several nice spots along the riverbank.
If you need a guide, or more information, please contact us by phone.


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Jeniffer Wangui
Jeniffer Wangui - 2019 Nominee
Position: Advocacy Officer
Organization: DSW Kenya
Current Location: Nakuru
Bachelor of Arts in Community Development from Moi University
Additional Degrees and Certifications:
Certification on Essentials of youth policy
Certification on Sexual Reproductive Health Rights by Centre for Reproductive health Rights
75 Public Votes Reached!
Jeniffer has advocated for Nakuru reproductive health Sub-Program, participated in the development of five years costed implementation plan for 2 counties, and is assisting in tracking public health expenditure for Family Planning in Nakuru County. – Nominator
Describe your contributions to and achievements in family planning.
I organized 15 youth groups aged 19-26 years old in Laikipia, Nyandarua and Nakuru Counties and trained them on adolescent and youth sexual reproductive health and family planning. The youth groups conduct FP/RH awareness activities to their peers at village level. Additionally, I have been involved in the development of Family Planning Costed Implementation plans of Laikipia County 2018 and Nyandarua County. I have supported Nakuru, Nyandarua and Laikipia Counties to establish Family Planning technical working groups that conduct quarterly monthly meetings. In Laikipia County, I advocated for the allocation of Ksh. 1 million towards family planning in 2018/19 budget. In Nakuru County, I advocated for the adoption of Reproductive health sub-program and drafted MNCAH Bill 2019
What sparked your passion for family planning?
My passion for women's economic empowerment and health rights. Growing up, I saw some of my schoolmates drop out of school due to teenage pregnancy and ended up being married off. Children born by teenage mothers lack basic life provisions. Investing in family planning, every Ksh 100 spent saves Ksh. 225 on maternal and child health costs in Kenya. Investing in family planning enables young women to stay in school, support women economic empowerment and promotes promotes healthier births.
Give one or two examples of how you display leadership in your family planning work.:
As an advocacy officer, I have conducted dialogues with the County Assembly health and budget committees in Nyandarua, Nakuru and Laikipia Counties and shared knowledge on the need to invest in Family planning. Additionally, I have supported the development of Nakuru health strategy 2018/22 and Nyandarua health strategy 2018/22. I advocated for establishment of youth friendly centers, training of health staff on provision of youth friendly services and securing FP commidities budget line
If you are named a winner of 120 under 40, how will you use this new platform and the $1000 grant to advance your work? :
I will organize more youths in and out of schools into groups/networks that understand family planning and support them to conduct peer mentorships in schools. Additionally, support the youth networks to champion for evidence based investment on family planning at county and national level though policies, county assembly Acts and programs that improve adolescents and youths sexual reproductive health. I will use the grant money to conduct public expenditure tracking of family planning
Photos of the nominee in the field/at work
View All Nominees
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120 Under 40 is a project of the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health | with support from Bayer Bayer | © 2020 Johns Hopkins University|All Rights Reserved|Privacy Policy|Contact Us


The following UBC policies are those relevant to industry sponsored research, technology commercialization and knowledge mobilization.
All links below are Abode PDF documents.
It is important COI forms are completed when submitting Ethics documentation.


This set contains vegan and organic products created by the Italian brand, veg-up. A set of natural cosmetic products that are rich in active ingredients ideal for the skin of both men and women. The cosmetics are suitable for all skin types and are ideal for rounding off and refining your beauty routine.


The painting style of Moscow based artist Andrey Remnev lies somewhere between antiquity and contemporary. One look at his work, and it should come as no surprise that he studied painting at the Holy Andronic monastery in Moscow for eight years. The site is home to some of the most precious examples of Russian Orthodox art, from which Remnev borrows his techniques and palette of natural pigments. "My paintings are distinguished by attention to detail and meticulous decorating a conditional Russian style. Other works are written in a different, more symbolic way… I tried to convey a sense of wonder, the unique experience of touching the mystery," he says. Russian iconic art is characterized for its decorative style, the use of rich color, and emphasis on symbolism in the form of icons. The most important quality for an icon was its ability to transmit a feeling of ecstasy and heavenliness. To attain these aesthetic goals, Remnev paints his subjects in a particular range of colors, and with a certain flatness. These qualities also open a window for the artist to play with abstraction and design in a way that changes our perception of the picture's reality. By altering his subjects' bright and decorative clothing and the geometric negative space around them, suddenly his work becomes illusionistic and dreamlike. In one piece, an aristocratic woman's dress seems to open up into a blue-skied world, while in another, her cloud-shaped wig becomes a part of an orange sunset. Remnev's work frequently displays familiar images of iconic art in this unusual context, giving new meaning to old styles.


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THE 13th INTERNATIONAL MEETING ON STATISTICAL CLIMATOLOGY
June 6-10, 2016 in Canmore, Alberta, Canada
About IMSC
About Canmore
Registration & Submissions
The 13th International Meeting on Statistical Climatology will be held in Canmore, Alberta from June 6th to 10th, 2016. The meetings, which have been held roughly every three years since 1979, are organized by independent statisticians, climatologists and atmospheric scientists. The meetings facilitate communication between the science and statistics communities and promote good statistical practice in climate and atmospheric science. The local organizer of the 13th meeting is Dr. Francis Zwiers. This meeting is sponsored by the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, the World Climate Research Program, the Canadian Statistical Sciences Institute and Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Contributions are invited in all aspects of the application of statistical methods in climate research and the development of new statistical methods and theories relevant to climate applications. In addition, a number of named sessions are planned, including: climate data homogenization and climate trends/variability assessment, the Detection and Attribution Model Intercomparison Project (DAMIP) and relevant applications, The WCRP Grand Challenge on extremes, the attribution of extreme weather events and their impacts to external drivers of climate change, understanding climate variability and its teleconnections under global warming, extreme value theory and its applications, nonlinear methods in statistical climatology, statistical approaches for weather and climate model validation and evaluation, advanced methods for evaluating weather and climate extremes in climate model simulations, statistical downscaling of climate model simulations, and the stochastic analysis of the hydrologic cycle.
The deadline for submitting an abstract is Feb. 29th, 2016.
LOCATION AND VENUE
Canmore is nestled in the scenic Bow Valley, in Alberta's Rockies, a segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. A former coal mining town and site of the 1988 winter olympics, it is about 80 kilometres west of Calgary and roughly 20 kilometres southeast of Banff. The map below shows the conference venue location. Owing to Canmore's latitude and elevation, the sun rises at about 5:30 a.m. in June and sets at just before 10:00 p.m. The temperature can vary from about four degrees Celsius to about eighteen, with an average of eleven, though the mountain weather can change quickly and cool rapidly at night. Nearby are the Canmore Caverns, the Nordic Centre Provincial Park and several lakes, including Quarry Lake, Grassi Lakes and the Upper Kananaskis.
From the airport: The closest airport to Canmore is the Calgary International Airport (YYC). There are airport shuttles to Canmore. The Banff Airporter has a scheduled bus to the Coast Hotel Canmore every hour or two. Attendees may wish to consider booking in advance.
Important travel note:
Please check the Citizenship and Immigration Canada's website for visa requirements. In particular, there is a new rule coming into effect. Starting March 15th, 2016, visa-exempt foreign nationals (except US nationals) who fly to or transit through Canada will need an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA).
The contact information for the venue is as follows: Coast Canmore Hotel & Conference Centre, located at 511 Bow Valley Trail, Canmore, Alberta, T1W 1N7.
http://www.coasthotels.com/hotels/ab/canmore/coast-canmore-hotel-and-conference-centre/
Program Committee:
Lisa Alexander, Barbara Brown, Wenju Cai, Alex Cannon, Barbara Casati, Reik Donner, Markus Donat, Erich Fischer, Nathan Gillett, Gabi Hegerl, Chris Jacks, Megan Kirchmeier-Young, Reto Knutti, Upmanu Lall, Douglas Maraun, Seung-Ki Min, Trevor Murdock, Mohammad Reza Najafi, Philippe Naveau, Friederike Otto, Sonia Seneviratne, Ashish Sharma, Jana Sillmann, Hideo Shiogama, Vijay Singh, Andrea Toreti, Lucie Vincent, Xiaolan Wang, Sang-Wook Yeh, Xuebin Zhang Francis Zwiers.
Local Committee:
Francis Zwiers, Shelley Ma and Michael Shumlich.


nah the wheels hopefully will be sorted. cant roll on fuked up rims!
i dunno u dont need them sprayed just the actual refurn itself!
the sprayign lee is doing!
so u only need the refurb done!
N how much that? N how long does it take cus could have wheels refurbed while respray is being done?
im not sure ill find out, ill see id pureklass can do it!
Can't you two just text each other?
no 1 going on track at trax then?
whoever else has paid how have u paid and who too??


Hands-Free Scanning Just Got a Little Easier | Taylor Data Systems, Inc.
If you're looking to increase worker productivity and give your customers a better experience at the checkout, the Honeywell Solaris 7980g Area-Imaging Vertical Slot Scanner is a solution we endorse.
Mobile marketing programs are also a breeze to execute when you're using the Solaris. Mobile coupons and digital wallets on a smartphone are easily scanned with Honeywell's aggressive scan performance technology. It enables your employees to move customers through quickly without a lot of fumbling around to get the scanner to respond.
We also like the fact that the Solaris 7980g scanner offers soft-white illumination (this is not a common find in the market today) which makes it a more comfortable experience for both operators and customers.
Integrates well with most POS systems.
Offers onboard EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) to help you improve profits by reducing loss.
USB direct power alleviates the need for a power cord, making installation simple; it offers an auxiliary USB port for scanner connectivity as well.
A capacitive touch button and intuitive LED indicators face the user for a better overall experience.
Scanning bulky items is a snap with a multi-function USB port that lets you connect a handheld scanner.
If you're looking for a hands-free scanner for your retail environment that has a sleek, modern design, would easily fit into an existing enclosure, and won't take up a lot of space, then consider the Honeywell 7980g.


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Home Coins Ripple Major Retail Saudi Bank Joins Ripple Network for International Payments
Major Retail Saudi Bank Joins Ripple Network for International Payments
The National Commercial Bank, Saudi Arabia's first established bank, has become the latest financial institution to join RippleNet, Ripple's enterprise blockchain network.
A massive market for international remittances due to its sizable migrant worker population, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has already seen its central bank pilot Ripple's technology for instant international payments. With over 5 million customers worldwide, the National Commercial Bank (NCB) has followed the central bank in joining RippleNet to enable near-instant international payments with partner banks internationally.
RippleNet is Ripple's enterprise blockchain network with over 100 financial institutions including banks, payment providers, remittance operators and other financial institutions using the SWIFT-replacement platform for near real-time clearing and settlement of international transactions.
The bank will initially connect to financial institutions in North America and Asia, starting in Singapore, Ripple said in an announcement.
Ripple sees the KSA as one of the world's largest sources for remittances over the last ten years. Citing World Bank statistics, 37 billion dollars in outward remittances were sent from the country in 2016, largely from a foreign worker population that remained over 10 million in 2018 despite a slowdown in the biggest Arab economy.
"For SMEs and corporations that depend on NCB, more efficient and transparent remittances will provide stability and help them grow their business faster," Ripple added.
As CCN reported earlier in February, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) – the kingdom's defacto central bank – became the first central monetary institution in the world to join RippleNet. The central bank initiated a pilot among regional banks using xCurrent, Ripple's end-to-end tracking enterprise blockchain software.
Meanwhile, the central banks of Saudi Arabia and the UAE are concurrently working on a cross-border cryptocurrency for instant transactions between the two countries.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
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With this month playing host to Safer Internet Day we're focusing our life skills theme on helping our kids stay safe in the home, looking at both online and physical safety.
With an almost daily diet of stories about the negative impact of the internet and new technology on children and young people, it's easy to forget the postitive aspects: the ability to learn, to connect with others, to be creative.
Safer Internet Day (February 9th) offers an ideal opportunity for parents and carers to start a conversation with their children about online safety. By teaching children to understand and navigate the risks you can help them to have a safer and more positive experience online.
Start by reading these tips for parents from the UK Safer Internet Centre and explore the many other fantastic resources on the site.
This article from the Guardian takes a interesting look at how the internet can be a great learning tool and includes some really simple ideas for changing how we approach our children's use of it.
Drawing up a family agreement that all the family sign up to is a useful way to help everyone make better decisions and display appropriate behaviour. Here's a great example from Digizen.org.
You can also find a wealth of information and advice on the subject from CEOP's ThinkuKnow website.
Of course, we've all been consciously protecting our children from harm from the moment they were born but we have a responsiblity to teach them the skills to keep themselves safe too.
Talking about potential dangers as part of everyday conversation and using games to teach what to do will really help to prepare your child for emergency situations without scaring them.
What if … the smoke alarm sounded?
What if … you cut yourself badly?
What if … someone came to the house when no-one else was home?
You'll get a feel for how your child would react in a real emergency and can guide them to how they might deal with it.
Using some of the blank stickers you'll find in each TomTag sticker pack, draw or write a list of safety rules and apply each sticker to a blank button. Put the buttons into a TomTag holder and hang or stick it up (eg. on the fridge) where it will be seen every day.
Once you've played the What If game and discussed ideas about how to deal with different situations, does everyone in the house know where to find the things they might need to deal with an emergency? Where's the first-aid kit, keys to open doors, fire blanket, emergency phone numbers? Give each child a TomTag with some items on it that they need to find and let them race to be the first to find everything on their list.
Teach your child how to use what's in the first aid kit too to treat minor injuries. The British Red Cross have a great web resouce to help children aged 6-11 learn life saving first aid.
Every household should have an emergency escape plan in case of fire. Hopefully you will never need to use it but having a plan will prevent delay and help you to escape faster if you need to. Anyone can ask for a free Home Fire Safety Check from their local fire service.
Don't forget that a weekly test of your smoke alarm is the simplest and easiest way to help prevent fire emergencies.
Give your child a clip-board and pen and let them pretend to be a safety inspector. Ask them to look around the house for safety features and hazards and let them help you fix any deficiencies.
Make sure everyone knows the number for emergency services and try role-playing a call so that they know what they might be asked.
Teach children their home address and telephone number so that they can give it if they need to call the emergency services (also useful if they get lost when out of the house!).
Keep a list of names and numbers of friends, neighbours, family doctor, etc. by the door or telephone in case of emergencies, particularly if your child is old enough to be left at home alone.


This new edition of Mary Shelley's classic novel uses the 1818 text, which is a mocking expose of leaders and achievers who leave desolation in their wake, showing mankind its choice - to live co-operatively or to die of selfishness.... She also discusses a variety of Mary Shelley's lesser known works, including Matilda, Valperga, The Last Man, Perkin Warbeck, Lodore, Falkner, and her travel books. The result is a compelling portrait of Mary Shelley as she saw herself—an inventive, irreverent writer whose desire for political and social reform was at the heart of her literary expression for three decades.
This 1959 volume prints for the first time the full text of Mary Shelley's novelette Mathilda together with the opening pages of its rough draft, The Fields of Fancy.... Alongside sustained explorations of Frankenstein, Matilda, Valperga and The Last Man, the volume Mary Shelley reappraises some of the shorter essays and tales that the author composed for contemporary magazines. Angela Wright argues that the time is now right for a re-examination of the extent to which Shelley participated in and redirected the Gothic tradition.
Mary Shelley is an English science fiction writer. She is best known for her famous work "Frankenstein". She is best known for her famous work "Frankenstein". She was born in London, 1797.
Jennifer Deren, "Revolting Sympathies in Mary Shelley's The Last Man" (pp. 135–160) Building on recent scholarship that explores Mary Shelley's advocacy for sympathy in The Last Man (1826), this essay traces the complexity of interpersonal and reader-text relations as they play out in the novel and in the experience of reading it.
Mary Shelley's astounding look at the end of the world Set at the end of the twenty-first century, The Last Man is a moving and fantastical account of the apocalypse. Faced with a populace clamoring for more democratic rule, the last king of England relinquishes his throne.
Description of the book "The Last Man.": This book an EXACT reproduction of the original book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.
MARY SHELLEY was born in London in 1797 to two of the era's most radical writers: William Godwin, the anarchist utopian, and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, who died due to complications at childbirth.


Claudio removed his fake beard.
Irwin got out of the taxicab.
I grabbed Kathy by the elbow.
Isabelle has been behaving suspiciously.
Toerless said he'd be here by 2:30.
Why did Jose and Barry get divorced?
They wouldn't have recognized Juan.
Rudy had better leave us alone.
Dani hasn't been around today.
Barton is just a platonic friend.
Sofia can't afford to buy a new bicycle.
I felt sympathy for Christina.
Serdar wanted Earnie to go away.
"Is Aaron on our team?" "No, he's on the other team."
Nelken is quite a bit younger than Knut.
I asked Clara where he had been.
That was all Moore knew about Betty.
There's no evidence that Connie has done anything illegal.
I think Ole is beating around the bush.
Hilda cooked an impressive dinner.
Judy is very ill and I'm afraid she is dying.
You should get your money from Dominic now.
I hear that Ray hired you.
Edmond and Stagger don't see much of each other anymore.