In 2008, Patrick Quade ducked out of his office at Morgan Stanley in Manhattan and stopped at a corner deli for a BLT wrap. The next day he suffered explosive diarrhea and was vomiting so violently, "it was like some force was just wringing my stomach out." When he called the deli to report the incident, they said they were not to blame and hung up on him. "Food poisoning kills 3,000 people a year," says Quade. "I thought to myself, I don't know for sure it was the deli. But what if 30 or 40 people in the neighborhood went to that deli and also got sick? [node:read-more:link]

Fifty American cities have now pledged to move towards getting their energy from 100% renewable sources.Truckee has the honour of being the location that achieves the new landmark, joining cities like San Diego and San Francisco in committing to 100% clean energy.“Truckee’s commitment to 100% clean energy including electricity, heating, and transportation is good for our community and our planet. Our town is on the front lines of climate change and we understand how serious this is. [node:read-more:link]

Anne Hazlett, who oversees Rural Development at USDA, wants to get the word out that RD’s new Innovation Center will soon be open for business, with a new executive at the helm and a long list of challenges to face, including the opioid epidemic that’s been devastating rural communities. [node:read-more:link]

A commission that oversees water quality for the watershed that supplies Philadelphia and half of New York City with drinking water took another step Thursday toward permanently banning natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing, despite industry opposition. The Delaware River Basin Commission's newly published draft regulations would enact a formal ban on fracking, as well as put additional restrictions to make it harder, if not impossible, for the industry to dispose wastewater within the watershed or use water from the river and its tributaries for fracking outside the basin. [node:read-more:link]

Spooked by rising hostility in Trump country, elite schools are seeking small-town students.That dislocation reflects the widening gulf between white, working-class, rural America and the nation’s more selective institutions of higher education. Elite colleges have tried for years to address a proportional decline of students arriving from areas beyond big cities and suburbs, but their worries have sharpened since the election of Donald Trump. Recent surveys show mounting skepticism, especially among Mr. Trump’s constituents, about the cost and worth of college. [node:read-more:link]

Canada’s Maple Leaf Foods today announced it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Field Roast Grain Meat Co. for $120 million as it expands its portfolio in alternative meats. Seattle-based Field Roast is a leading brand of premium grain-based 'meat' and vegan cheese products, with sales of approximately $38 million. [node:read-more:link]

Chernobyl is being developed into a solar power site.Two companies have a contract to start building a one-megawatt solar farm next month, and they're planning on adding 99 more megawatts in the future. [node:read-more:link]

About 40 percent of US and UK consumers have increased their consumption of what they consider healthy foods;70 percent of consumers want to know and understand the ingredients list on food products;Consumers from several countries recorded double-digit responses for “real ingredients” as the factor most influencing their purchasing decisions for food and beverage products. [node:read-more:link]

Scientists have identified a common set of genes that enable different drought-resistant plants to survive in semi-arid conditions, which could play a significant role in bioengineering and creating energy crops that are tolerant to water deficits. [node:read-more:link]

As New Jersey’s black bears fatten on fallen beechnuts, on Monday hunters will get one more crack at “harvesting” the state’s largest land animal before it hunkers down for the winter. It’s possible this could be the last such hunt for a while and the first of several potential environmentally related policy reversals the Garden State could face in the coming years as Democrat Phil Murphy replaces Gov. Christie. Murphy is pledging to institute a moratorium on the hunt.In the first round, 243 bears were killed — a big decrease from 2016 when 562 bears were killed in the same time period. [node:read-more:link]