This is the web version of a list we publish twice-weekly in our newsletter. It comprises the most noteworthy food stories of the moment, selected by our editors. Get it first here.
#GunsNotGroceries? Although 38 retail chains have recently pushed for stricter gun control policies, as well as banned open carry within their stores, some customers clearly aren’t getting the message. Two men involved in separate incidents were injured after their guns went off inside two different Kroger stores, Newsweek reports. The two men shot themselves by accident, and did not injure anyone else. As we recently reported, pro-gun customers may be incentivized to conceal and carry in these retail chains, and be exposed to more of these mishaps by “2nd-amendment activists.”
Winter is coming. Global warming could be infringing on your cold beers soon. As the world warms, “barley, hops, and water, three of beer’s key ingredients at local breweries are all becoming harder to produce,” malt supplier Sebastian Wolfrum tells North Carolina TV outlet WRAL. Fret not: Brewers around the nation are coming up with environmental solutions and promises, including a Brewery Climate Declaration, “committing to renewable energy and waste reduction.”
Take ten. School lunch hour is not so much an hour as it is 20 minutes according to Wisconsin Public Radio. WPR reports that K-8 students have around 20 minutes of lunch, which includes waiting in line and buying food. The shorter lunch creates more food waste. “There would be 100 kids in line and by the time the last student went through they were eating food on the way to the garbage cans to dump things out,” says Jim Degan, school nutrition manager for the Janesville School District.
Hair will be heard. Discrimination based on hairstyles and grooming policies is having a cultural moment, as stories like the high school wrestler who was forced to cut off his dreadlocks cause a stir. A new law in New York state will ban discrimination, “based on race included hairstyle or traits associated with race.” New Jersey and California are enacting similar laws, and other states may follow, according to Nation’s Restaurant News. These laws will be particularly impactful to the restaurant industry, where employment lawyers predict potential conflict with hairnet policies.
Sleeping beauties. A new advertising campaign created by Burger King Mexico has been blasting out photos of sleeping customers in its stores, Eater reports. The gag is that these diners have been lulled to sleep by BK’s burgers, and they’re all deep in their food comas! Get it? Allegedly, they have photographers lurking in the fast-food chain stores, waiting for that precise moment to capture the ZZZs. Although the clients have signed releases, it is unclear if they are being paid for their sleep.
