Energy and Environment from the United States

April 16, 2008

Burger King Restaurants Revamp Kids Meal Packaging

Burger King Corp. announced today a green makeover of Kids Meals packaging in the U.S. Beginning in July, Kids Meals will be packaged in bags made from 100 percent recycled materials. In addition, the beverage cups ordered with Kids Meals will be made...

April 08, 2008

Some good News on Food Prices

As the price of fossil fuels and commodities like grain climb, nutritionally questionable, high-profit ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup will, too. As a result, Cokes are likely to get smaller and cost more. Then, the argument goes, fewer peopl...

March 27, 2008

Frito-Lay Puts the Sun in SunChips

The newest demonstration of solar power(figuratively) is coming from the Frito-Lay division of PepsiCo, which is using the sun to help transform its SunChips line of multigrain snack chips into a “green” brand. The initiative is centered on the additio...

March 26, 2008

For restaurant chains, buying local food still is a long journey

When Chipotle Mexican Grill executives decided to begin serving local pork from one of the most famous farmers in America, they did the opposite of what most big companies would do when jumping on the latest trend. They said nothing. "We wanted ...

Short course: Implementing Cost-Effective Energy Recovery Systems at Food, Dairy and Meat Processing Facilities

March 13, 2008

Short course: Implementing Cost-Effective Energy Recovery Systems at Food, Dairy & Meat Processing Facilities

One of the PotatoPro readers tipped us on the following event which we would like to share with you: The development and implementation of a successful waste-to-energy or energy conservation bio-processing facility requires extensive planning, a cl...

February 18, 2008

Survey shows business contradiction on climate change

A recent survey of executive opinions on climate change found that the majority regard it as a strategically important issue - but more than a third said it is seldom or never considered when actually developing strategy. The survey, conducted by the...

February 14, 2008

Half The World’s Consumers Would Give Up ‘Convenience Packaging’ to Help The Environment

According to a Nielsen Global Food Packaging Survey, nearly one in two global consumers would give up all forms of packaging provided for Convenience purposes if it would benefit the environment, including: packaging designed for easy stacking/storing ...

February 13, 2008

Palm oil sustainability hampered by lack of biodiversity studies

More research is urgently needed on the biodiversity impact of palm oil production, says a new report, as food and other consumer goods manufacturers make sustainable sourcing a priority. Palm oil, a major source of vegetable oils and fat, is derived...

January 31, 2008

Flavor trends go local, ethnic and healthy

Trends are set to combine in 2008, with Americanized ethnic flavors and healthy but indulgent products steering the market, while locally, ethically sourced food will continue to grow in popularity, says a new report. Packaged Facts Food Flavors and In...

January 24, 2008

Wal-Mart chief pledges higher prices for sustainable suppliers

Wal-Mart will launch a major retail-industry effort to improve social, ethical and environmental standards in the factories of its suppliers, CEO and president Lee Scott told a meeting of store managers. Wal-Mart says it is already demanding that so...

January 10, 2008

IRI: 50% of Consumers Consider Sustainability When Choosing Products

About half of U.S. consumers consider at least one sustainability factor in selecting consumer packaged goods items and choosing where to shop for those products, a new Information Resources Inc. survey reveals. Respondents were presented with sustaina...

December 23, 2007

Water savings at Frito-Lay San Antonio Plant

The cooperative water conservation effort by the San Antonio Water System and the city's business community is a true success story. Frito-Lay is an excellent example. Through its partnership with SAWS, the company's San Antonio plant has reduced i...

November 15, 2007

Frito-lay plans eco-friendly chips factory in Casa Grande

Frito-Lay is embarking on an ambitious plan to change the way its Casa Grande factory operates, and in the process, create a new type of snack: the environmentally benign chip. Goal is to take the Casa Grande plant off the power grid, or nearly so, a...

October 17, 2007

Do food miles make a difference to global warming?

The U.S. local food movement -- which used to be elite, expensive and mostly coastal -- has gone mainstream, with a boost from environmentalists who reckon that eating what grows nearby cuts down on global warming. But do food miles -- the distance e...

October 03, 2007

Organic Potato Markets (Idaho)

Market perspective for organic potatoes. This project was conducted by Joe Guenthner and Gina Greenway in the Agricultural Economics &Rural Sociology Department at the University of Idaho, Jennifer Miller at the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives...

September 19, 2007

Kettle Chips Takes Home the Gold with New Green Potato Chip Factory

Wind turbines and native prairie grasses have nothing to do with America’s favorite snack, potato chips, but they’re helping Kettle Foods earn recognition for building the greenest food manufacturing plant in the U.S. The U.S. Green Building Council ...

September 13, 2007

New Frito-lay Sunchips package includes Green E-designation

SunChips, Frito-Lay's popular brand of multigrain snacks, announced today the inclusion of the "Green-e"designation across the full line of SunChips snacks. The updated packaging will feature the Green-e logo, a designation from the Center f...