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One of President Trumps more unexpected Day One executive orders was to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. The move was met with laughter and ridiculebut now the worlds preeminent mapping giant, Google Maps, is saying its software will reflect the name change. And thats not going over well with many of Googles users. Here’s what to know: Can Trump rename the Gulf of Mexico? After some of the laughter died down, people started to wonder if the president of the United States could unilaterally rename an internationally recognized body of water. It turns out he can, although within limits. As Fast Company previously reported, a president can rename geographic constructs in official documents and other government publications. However, a big caveat to this power is that the rest of the world doesnt have to recognize the name changeother countries can keep on referring to the Gulf of Mexico as they always have. The same is true for private American mapping companies. A private company is under no legal obligation to change its name on its maps. However, given how Americas tech oligarchs have cozied up to Trump, its no wonder that one of Americas largest tech giants has now announced it will also rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in its maps. Google recognizes the name change Google Maps is the most popular mapping solution in America and in much of the world. And now the company has announced that it will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in its maps. In a series of posts on X yesterday, the official @NewsFromGoogle account announced that Google Maps will now display Gulf of America instead of Gulf of Mexico. Weve received a few questions about naming within Google Maps,” the post read. “We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.” It went on to explain that it takes its U.S. names from the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). Google then explained that when the GNIS has been updated with the Gulf of America name change, as well as the name change of Mount McKinley from its current name, Denali, the GNIS changes will be reflected in Google Maps. When that happens, we will update Google Maps in the U.S. quickly to show Mount McKinley and Gulf of America, the company said in another post. Google faces backlash to the name change While some users seemed happy to embrace Googles relabeling of the Gulf of Mexico, the companys posts on X were also met with harsh backlash. Many threatened to remove Google apps from their devices: I will remove EVERYTHING fking Google thing from phone and pc. Fking senile leader and you cave.— Deborah (@deborahc613) January 28, 2025 Others asked if Googles announcement was a joke. Still, others likened Googles relabeling to the Freedom Fries era in America in the early 2000s. At the time, a number of Republicans embraced the idea of renaming French fries to Freedom fries due to Frances opposition to the invasion of Iraq. Others accused Google of kissing up to Trump. Then, there were those who said they would be switching from Google Maps to Apple Maps. Time to move to Apple Maps for good— Yul (@yul_magdaleno) January 28, 2025 Fast Company has reached out to Google for comment. We’ve also reached out to Apple to ask if it plans to relabel the Gulf of Mexico. What name will the rest of the world see? Finally, some users in other parts of the world were concerned about whether they too would see the relabeled name. Google clarified that this wouldnt necessarily be the case. In a post on X, Google said it would continue to abide by its longstanding practice: When official names vary between countries, Maps users see their official local name. Everyone in the rest of the world sees both names, the post explained. That applies here too.
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E-Commerce
Bird flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing U.S. egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023. And it appears there may be no relief in sight, given the surge in demand as Easter approaches.The average price per dozen nationwide hit $4.15 in December. That’s not quite as high as the $4.82 record set two years ago, but the Agriculture Department predicts prices are going to soar another 20% this year.Shoppers in some parts of the country are already paying more than double the average price, or worse, finding empty shelves in their local grocery stores. Organic and cage-free varieties are even more expensive.Some grocery stores have even limited how many eggs shoppers can buy.“It’s just robbery,” said Minneapolis resident Sage Mills, who bought eggs to bake a birthday cake last week. “Eggs used to be kind of a staple food for us, but now you know, you might as well just go out to eat.” What is driving up prices? The bird flu outbreak that started in 2022 is the main reason egg prices are up so much.Anytime the virus is found on a poultry farm, the entire flock is slaughtered to help limit the virus’ spread. And with massive egg farms routinely housing more than one million chickens, just a few infections can cause a supply crunch.The problem tends to linger because it takes months to dispose of all the carcasses, disinfect barns and bring in new birds.More than 145 million chickens, turkeys, and other birds have been slaughtered since the current outbreak began, with the vast majority of them being egg-laying chickens.Cage-free egg laws in 10 states may also be responsible for some supply disruptions and price increases. The laws set minimum space for chickens or cage-free requirements for egg-laying hens. They’ve already gone into effect in California, Massachusetts, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and Michigan. At a Target in Chicago on Monday, a dozen large conventional eggs cost $4.49 but a dozen large cage-free eggs were selling for $6.19. Why is the virus so hard to control? Bird flu is primarily spread by wild birds such as ducks and geese as they migrate. While it is fatal to a variety of animals, those species can generally carry it without getting sick, which offers the virus a chance to mutate and thrive.The virus can be spread through droppings or any interaction between farm-raised poultry and wild birds. It’s also easily tracked into a farm on someone’s boots or by vehicle.Unlike previous outbreaks, the one that began in 2022 didn’t die out in high summer temperatures.The virus found another new host when dairy cattle started getting sick last March. That creates more opportunities for the virus to linger and spread and unlike poultry, cattle aren’t slaughtered when they get sick because they rarely die from bird flu.More than five dozen people have also become ill with bird flu and one person died since last March. Nearly all of them worked around sick animals. Health officials haven’t yet found evidence of the disease spreading from person to person. What is being done to stop the virus? Farmers go to great lengths to protect their flocks.Many poultry farms installed truck washes to disinfect vehicles entering their property and require workers to shower and change clothes before stepping inside a barn. They have also invested in duplicate sets of tools so nothing used in one barn is shared.Some poultry farmers have even invested in lasers that shoot beams of green light in random patterns to discourage ducks and geese from landing.Dairy farmers isolate any sick cattle and do additional testing before moving animals off the farmespecially if there has been a nearby outbreak or if the cows are being sent to a meat processing plant. The government is also testing milk.Future vaccines might help, but it’s not practical to vaccinate millions of chickens through shots, and other countries might refuse to purchase meat from vaccinated birds.Health officials emphasize that any sick birds or cattle are kept out of the food supply. Cooking meat to 165 degrees (74 Celsius) kills bird flu, E. coli, salmonella, or anything else. Pasteurization also kills the virus in milk. Raw milk is the only food product linked to illnesses so far. How much has the outbreak cost so far? It is impossible to know how much farmers have spent to seal barns, build shower houses for workers or to adopt other biosecurity measures.“Over the last five years, my small farm alone has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on biosecurity,” said Minnesota turkey farmer Loren Brey. “But not only that, it’s the time daily that you’re attending to biosecurity.”The U.S. Department of Agriculture has spent at least $1.14 billion compensating farmers for the birds they have had to kill. A similar number wasn’t immediately available for how much has been spent to aid dairies.USDA spokeswoman Shilo Weir said the department also spent more than $576 million on its own response.The prices of turkey, milk, and chicken have also seen some pressure from bird flu.Mike Vickers, a manager at Sentyrz Liquor & Supermarket in Minneapolis, said he can’t even stock any organic, cage-free, or brown eggs right now and is limited instead to selling large or jumbo eggs. He understands the pain customers are feeling.“It’s the first time in my life that I’ve ever had to be kind of embarrassed on what I’m selling eggs for,” he said. “And it’s not our fault. We’re paying today $7.45 for a dozen eggs. We’re selling for $7.59. We’re making $0.14. That’s doesn’t pay the bills.” Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska. Vancleave contributed from Minneapolis and Durbin from Detroit. Josh Funk, Mark Vancleave, and Dee-Ann Durbin, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Workers at a Whole Foods Market in Pennsylvania voted to unionize on Monday, becoming the first group of employees to pull off a labor win at the Amazon-owned grocery store chain.Employees at the Philadelphia store cast 130 votes or about 57% of the ballots cast in favor of joining a local chapter of The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union for the purposes of collective bargaining. According to the National Labor Relations Board, which oversaw the election, 100 workers rejected the motion.“This fight is far from over, but today’s victory is an important step forward,” said Wendell Young IV, the president of UFCW Local 1776. “We are ready to bring Whole Foods to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair first contract that reflects the workers’ needs and priorities.”The results mark the first successful entry of organized labor into Amazon’s grocery business, which includes Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh and the Amazon Go convenience stores. Amazon, which purchased Whole Foods in 2017 for $13.7 billion, has tried to fend off organizing efforts in its stores as well as by delivery drivers and warehouse workers.Nearly three years ago, Amazon warehouse workers in the New York City borough of Staten Island voted to be represented in labor negotiations by a fledgling union that has since affiliated with the Teamsters. But Amazon has refused to come to the bargaining table.Employees at the Whole Foods store, located in the center of Philadelphia, started organizing early last year, Young said. They teamed up with UFCW Local 1776 in the late summer, and in November petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to hold an official election.The local union said the store workers hoped a successful vote would help them secure higher wages, more affordable health care coverage, child care support, greater work-life balance and better working conditions.In a statement after the votes were counted Monday night, Whole Foods said it “is proud to offer competitive compensation, great benefits, and career advancement opportunities to all Team Members.”“We are disappointed by the outcome of this election, but we are committed to maintaining a positive working environment in our Philly Center City store,” the company added.The company said it provides store employees with a competitive average hourly wage and other benefits, such as 401(k) plans and “on-demand” mental health support. It did not disclose its average hourly rate, but some online job postings show store employees can earn $16 per hour or higher.After the union filed the election petition, workers at the Philadelphia store were given free snacks, and the company repainted their break rooms, according to Young.Earlier this month, UFCW Local 1776 filed unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB against the company, accusing it of firing one worker in retaliation for union activities and alleging that supervisors told employees they would get paid more if they rejected the union bid. Whole Foods disputed the worker was fired in retaliation.The union has also accused Whole Foods of withholding region-wide wage increases from employees at the Philadelphia store because of the union activities.The company acknowledges it did not offer wage increases to workers at the store, even though it did so at a number of other stores as part of a quarterly review. Whole Foods maintains it would have been illegal to make wage adjustments in the lead-up to the union election, an argument Young disputed.The company said it was delaying the pay bumps until after the election to avoid the appearance of trying to influence the vote with raises.Seattle-based Amazon has resisted union organizing efforts by its workers. Amazon delivery drivers went on strike in a handful of U.S. cities before Christmas to exert pressure on the the company to recognize them as unionized employees or to meet demands for an inaugural labor contract.Workers at an Amazon warehouse in North Carolina are scheduled to vote next month on whether they want to be represented by an upstart union called Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment.The retail giant has challenged the structure of the National Labor Relations Board in court. Amazon accused the federal agency of tampering in the 2022 union election at the Staten Island warehouse, in part by bringing a lawsuit against the company to reinstate a fired organizer close to when voting began. Haleluya Hadero and Lisa Baumann, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
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