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Want a reason to be optimistic? The global food system is showing some green shoots that suggest more sustainable farming practices are on the way. But consumers play an integral role in making that a reality, and the choices they make every time they shop at the grocery store matter more than we may realize. Thats because farmers, companies, and consumers must all work together to create a more sustainable food system, according to Paul Rice, founder of Fair Trade USA, which certifies products to meet standards around fair pricing, safe working conditions, and sustainable farming practices. We have the ability to vote with our dollars . . . to choose products that are climate friendly, that are sustainable, that are healthy, that are nutritious, said Rice, speaking at the Fast Company Innovation Festival last month in New York. And by doing that, by making that choice, we reward both the retailers and brands that are bringing us those products, but then also the growers. That said, theres an obligation for all of these various players to think intentionally about their interconnectedness, added Chris MacAulay, vice president of North America at Too Good To Go, which tackles food waste by connecting consumers to surplus food at restaurants and grocery stores. At the heart of the issue, MacAulay said, is that food is a powerful connecting force that needs to be valued. When we value it more highly, there’s enough money to help drive this virtuous cycle flywheel that we can get to. ‘Internalize the externalities’ Even so, change needs to happen on various fronts. One possibility might be to internalize the externalitiesor charge consumers some incremental amount of money that goes toward sustainability, in the same way that you must pay a deposit in many states when buying beer, noted Anthony Myint, executive director of Zero Foodprint, which mobilizes businesses to contribute a percentage of their sales to support farmers. If we want healthy soil, if we want to change farming, then we need policies and laws and programs that kind of include that littleit could be a penny, it could be a dollarbut any amount going to that change directly, Myint said. While the challenges facing the food system are a little depressing, there are signs of gradual progress that offer reasons to be hopeful, Myint said. If we can just go from doing zero to just doing anything, then it’s almost going to solve itself. Opportunity for entrepreneurs Rice and MacAulay likewise see business reasons for optimism. Theres an opportunity to continue to build and iterate upon those sustainability efforts that have begun to grow, while there are so many good ideas that havent been hatched yet, MacAulay said. And players at all stages are experiencing enlightened self-interest that will fuel the sustainability movement, Rice added. While farmers are increasingly realizing that the continuation of chemical-intensive agriculture will deplete the soil for future generations, companies are realizing that supply-chain transparency is in their own interestsand supporting more sustainable practices is good for their brands, Rice noted. Corporate America writ large is moving in this direction because it’s good for business and we have to make it so, Rice said. And so therein lies [our role] . . . to reward companies that are doing the right thing, keep reading the label, and stay curious about the impact of our purchasing decisions.
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E-Commerce
Barack Obama helped Marc Maron lock the gates on his podcast Monday, returning to the show for the final episode after 16 years and more than 1,600 episodes.The former president gave new status to “WTF With Marc Maron” and to podcasts in general when he visited Maron’s Los Angeles garage studio while still in office a decade ago. Obama brought the 62-year-old host, stand-up comic and actor to his Washington office for the last interview.Obama asked the initial questions.“How are you feeling about this whole thing?,” he said, “transition, moving on from this thing that has been one of the defining parts of your career and your life?”“I feel OK,” Maron answered. “I feel like I’m sort of ready for the break, but there is sort of a fear there, of what do I do now? I’m busy. But, not unlike your job I’ve got a lot of people who over the last 16 years have grown to rely on me.”Maron laughed as he acknowledged he was comparing his podcasting gig to the presidency.“I think it’s pretty similar,” Obama said.The identity of the guest was not revealed until the episode dropped, and fans had been speculating. Obama was a popular guess, both because of his relationship with “WTF” and because Maron in an interview with Variety in July said Obama would be his ideal final conversation.The host explained the decision in an unusually brief and straightforward introduction to the episode.“It became clear that the guest we needed to have was singular,” Maron said, “in that he could address the importance of this being our final episode, but also address how we move through the world we’re living in, as frightening as it is.”Maron asked Obama for advice on moving on from your life’s biggest job.“You’ve still got a couple of chapters left,” Obama said. “Don’t rush into what the next thing is. Take a beat. Take some satisfaction looking backwards.”After a much talk on the state of the world, Obama brought it back around to Maron’s farewell.“I think we’re going to be OK,” Obama said. “I think part of the reason you had such a big fan base during this 16-year run is there was a core decency to you and the conversations that you had.”Maron avoided sentimental farewell talk during the episode he got that out of the way on Thursday in his penultimate episode, where talked directly and emotionally to his listeners.“I’m grateful to have been part of your lives,” he said. “We’ve been through a lot of stuff together. A lot of breakups. Death. Cats. The world.”The new Obama episode was No. 1,686 of the pioneering and influential long-form interview podcast that had humble beginnings in 2009 as a place where he worked out his issues with other stand-up comedians in the garage of his home that he dubbed “The Cat Ranch.”Maron’s cats were always an essential part of the show. His final words on Monday’s episode were tributes to the ones who had died.“Cat angels everywhere,” he said.For most of its years the show has opened with a fan-composed rock ‘n’ roll theme song that opens with an audio sample of Maron in his small role in the film “Almost Famous” shouting, “Lock the gates!” The song is named for one of Maron’s common phrases, “Are We Doing This?” Another such phrase, “Are we good?” was often his last question to guests and is the title of a new documentary on him.Eventually, with help from guests like Obama, Robin Williams and Paul McCartney, “WTF” became a media institution where authors, artists, musicians, Hollywood stars and political leaders would give him their backstory.Maron announced in June that he and longtime producing partner Brendan McDonald had decided to end the show. He said there was no particular reason, other than that he was tired and utterly satisfied with the work they had done.On Monday, Maron seemed moved as he read from a pseudolegal document that he had drawn up for Obama to sign, releasing McDonald “from the professional responsibility to listening to me talk.” Andrew Dalton, AP Entertainment Writer
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E-Commerce
Apple was hit with a lawsuit in California federal court by a pair of neuroscientists who say that the tech company misused thousands of copyrighted books to train its Apple Intelligence artificial intelligence model. Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen Macknik, professors at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn, New York, told the court in a proposed class action on Thursday that Apple used illegal “shadow libraries” of pirated books to train Apple Intelligence. A separate group of authors sued Apple last month for allegedly misusing their work in AI training. TECH COMPANIES FACING LAWSUITS The lawsuit is one of many high-stakes cases brought by copyright owners such as authors, news outlets, and music labels against tech companies, including OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms, over the unauthorized use of their work in AI training. Anthropic agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle a lawsuit from another group of authors over the training of its AI-powered chatbot Claude in August. Spokespeople for Apple and Martinez-Conde, Macknik, and their attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the new complaint on Friday. Apple Intelligence is a suite of AI-powered features integrated into iOS devices, including the iPhone and iPad. “The day after Apple officially introduced Apple Intelligence, the company gained more than $200 billion in value: ‘the single most lucrative day in the history of the company,'” the lawsuit said. According to the complaint, Apple utilized datasets comprising thousands of pirated books as well as other copyright-infringing materials scraped from the internet to train its AI system. The lawsuit said that the pirated books included Martinez-Conde and Macknik’s “Champions of Illusion: The Science Behind Mind-Boggling Images and Mystifying Brain Puzzles” and “Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals About Our Everyday Deceptions.” The professors requested an unspecified amount of monetary damages and an order for Apple to stop misusing their copyrighted work. Blake Brittain, Reuters
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E-Commerce
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