Why Modi Gifted a 7.5-Carat Lab-Grown Diamond to Jill Biden

During his visit to the U.S. this week, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden multiple gifts on Wednesday. But the most interesting among them was a papier mache box containing a 7.5 carat synthetic green diamond.

The lab-grown diamond (LGD) is at the heart of India’s bid to become a global leader in producing the synthetic alternative, which has a much smaller carbon footprint than mined diamonds, and is seen as “conflict free.”

According to India Today, the production of the diamond gifted to the Bidens produced just 0.028 grams of Co2 per carat, which is over 100,000 times less emissions per carat than the production of the average mined diamond.
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Below, what to know about India’s quest to become a LGD leader.

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What are LGDs, a.k.a. lab-grown diamonds?

Lab-grown diamonds are jewels with the same chemical properties as mined diamonds, containing pure carbon that is crystallized into an isotropic form. In nature, diamonds are created when carbon deposits deep underground—usually 95 to 125 miles below the surface—are subjected to extreme pressure and heat. Scientists believe that it can take over 1 billion years to form a diamond in natural circumstances. However, in laboratory settings, the production process is much faster.

According to Queensmith, a U.K.-based jeweller, there are two ways to create LGDs. The first way, referred to as the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, involves the use of a small, already formed diamond. The slice of diamond is placed in a chamber where it is exposed to carbon rich gas and extremely high temperatures. Over the course of several weeks, the carbon gas ionizes and sticks to the original diamond slice. This leads the diamond to grow in size and creates new diamond material.

The second method, known as high pressure high temperature method (HPHT), does not require a pre-existing diamond slice. In this method, pure carbon is pressed through a metal cube and exposed to high electrical heat at the same time. This mimics the settings that carbon deposits in natural environments experience to become diamonds. Because carbon is an abundant resource, this method does not require the intense and dangerous labor that diamond mining requires, which many believe makes lab grown diamonds more ethical and sustainable.

Why is India expanding its LGD program?

From 2018 to 2021, India more than quadrupled the dollar value of its polished synthetic diamond exports, going from $274 million to $1.29 billion in sales.

This year, India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the government would subsidize research and development costs in the LGD industry by providing a grant to one of the Indian Institutes of Technology for five years.

“Lab-grown diamonds is a technology and innovation sector with high employment potential,” Sitharaman said in her speech. “These are environmentally-friendly diamonds which have optically and chemically the same properties as natural diamonds.”

Currently, India produces 15% of all LGDs in the world, according to India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry. China is believed to be the leading producer of them around the world, accounting for 50% of the global market share. According to Allied Market Research, the industry was worth $22.3 billion in 2021, and is expected to more than double over the next decade to $55.6 billion.

Why are LGDs important?

Diamonds are used for many purposes, not just jewelry. In fact, 80% of the world’s diamonds are used for industrial purposes. Because diamond is an incredibly sturdy material, it is frequently used in electronics that are designed to last for a long time, like high-end speakers or satellites. Diamonds are also important for dentistry tools, since they are one of the few substances that can easily drill into teeth. The substance is also used in countless other industrial applications that require extremely strong materials.

LGDs are on average cheaper than mined diamonds by 30-40%. They are less likely to rely on dangerous and exploitative labor practices and do not harm the natural habitat in the way mining frequently does.

source https://time.com/6289356/modi-lab-grown-diamonds-biden/

The Bear Adds Even More Star Power in Season 2 With These Guest Stars

Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Bear season 2

In season 2, The Bear expands its scope beyond the chaotic life of Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White). The stressed out chef—who is busy launching a new restaurant in his family’s former beloved sandwich shop, The Beef, on a truly insane timeline—is still very much the star of the acclaimed FX series, now streaming in full on Hulu. But the new season makes plenty of room for The Bear’s excellent supporting cast, which includes Ayo Edebiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and real life chef Matty Matheson, to shine. Not to mention, a few famous faces who up the star power and add to the chaos of season 2.
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While notable season 1 guest stars Jon Bernthal and Oliver Platt are back for more, this new run of episodes also features a range of Hollywood stars in small, but important roles, and blink and you’ll miss it cameos from notable Chicago chefs. Keep reading to see who shows up in The Bear season 2.

Chuck Hodes—FX NetworksChris Witaske and Jon Bernthal in ‘The Bear’

Robert Townsend

The actor, director, and comedian, best known for his roles in 1987’s Hollywood Shuffle and the late ‘90s WB sitcom The Parent’Hood, plays Sydney’s (Edebiri) dad. When he appears in episode 2, we see how much he loves his daughter, but also how scared he is that her newest restaurant venture will end as badly as her last. He even suggests that she reach out to a cousin at Boeing to see if he can hook her up with a more stable gig. Despite his concerns, he does buy her a copy of legendary Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski’s book, Leading with the Heart: Coach K’s Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business, and Life, to help her as she embarks on her latest culinary journey. The self-help sports book pops up throughout the season, becoming one of its best running jokes.

Molly Gordon

The Booksmart actor makes her debut in season 2, and her character Claire, a former crush of Carmy’s, becomes an integral part of his journey towards finding his purpose. Like Carmy, she grew up in Chicago and is buddies with his sister Sugar (Abby Elliott) and best friend, Fek (Matheson). Claire is finishing her residency in emergency medicine and is really jazzed about resetting tibias. She’s also a good listener who seems to understand the world Carmy grew up in. She’s a calming presence, which is something Carmy could use in his chaotic life.

Chuck Hodes—FX NetworksWill Poulter and Lionel Boyce in ‘The Bear’

Will Poulter

The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 star ditches his most recent golden god getup as Adam Warlock to play a talented and heavily tattooed pastry chef with ties to Carmy. In episode 4, Marcus heads to Copenhagen to study under Poulter’s tough, but fair and kind English pastry chef, who, unlike Carmy, seems to have found a proper work-life balance. His “minty Snickers bar” dessert is one of the most beautifully composed dishes you’ll see on the show.

Alex Moffat

In episode 3, Sydney makes a new hire to the new restaurant’s kitchen crew, who happens to be the former Saturday Night Live cast member, who left the series in 2022 after six seasons. It doesn’t hurt that he is also a Chicago native.

Rob Levitt

The acclaimed chef and butcher now at Publican Quality Meats in Chicago shows up briefly in episode 3 to help Sydney pick out the right cuts of meat.

Donnie Madia

Sydney has a friendly chat with one of Chicago’s most acclaimed restaurateurs, who was awarded Outstanding Restaurateur in 2015 by the James Beard Foundation. His advice to make sure she has a good partner in Carmy becomes a bit of an albatross around her neck throughout the season.

Dylan Patel

The chef de cuisine at Avec, a 20-year mainstay in the Chicago culinary scene for its midwestern take on Mediterranean dining, appears in episode 3 as part of Sydney’s food tour.

David Posey

In episode 3, the executive chef and co-owner of Elske, a creative Chicago spot focused on American cuisine with Danish influences, shares some real talk with Sydney about bad business partners being the downfall of his and his wife, executive pastry chef Anna Posey’s previous restaurant.

Mitra Jouhari

In episode 5, viewers meet Kelly, Claire’s heartbroken bestie, played by the comedian who has appeared in Broad City, Search Party, and Abbott Elementary. (She has also written for Big Mouth, High Maintenance, and Miracle Workers.) Most recently, she showed up in I Think You Should Leave season 3 as the date of a guy with a hair-do that looks a lot like an English Springer Spaniel’s.

Bob Odenkirk

The gray-haired star of Better Call Saul—and Illinois native—is Uncle Lee, who in episode 6, which flashes back to a 2018 Berzatto family Christmas, can’t seem to get anyone to take a scalding dutch oven off his hands or listen to his take on the seven fishes. His fork fight with Mikey (Bernthal) sure escalates quickly.

Jamie Lee Curtis

The 2023 Oscar winner plays Diane, the very blonde, very red-nailed, very not okay (though, definitely don’t ask her) matriarch of the Berzatto family in episode 6, which may be the most stress-inducing episode of The Bear yet. No one ever said cooking the seven fishes was easy though. She shows up again in the present day-set finale for another heartbreaking moment.

John Mulaney

The comedian appears in episode 6 as Stevie, cousin Michele’s partner, who no one remembers despite having met him a million times. Luckily, he really knows how to give a Christmas dinner speech. Of course, viewers know Mulaney from many (many) things, including his latest Netflix comedy special, Baby J.

Sarah Paulson

The actor takes a break from the Ryan Murphy Cinematic Universe to join The Bear as cousin Michelle, who, in episode 6, plays Carmy’s biological family member, who has survived the Berzatto family dysfunction by escaping to New York, only coming back to celebrate the occasional holiday.

Gillian Jacobs

The Community and Love star shows up in episode 6 as Tiffany, cousin Richie’s then-wife, now ex, who vomits all over herself. (She’s pregnant, FYI.) The couple’s relationship in 2018 is sweet and sour, but it’ll have you rooting for a reunion in the future.

Olivia Colman

The former star of The Crown and current star of Marvel’s Secret Invasion plays Chef Terry, the owner and head chef at the three-star Michelin restaurant where Richie trains in episode 7. She teaches Richie how to fancily peel mushrooms and that it’s never too late to start over.

Adam Shapiro

The rather stressed out chef in episode 7, who is really, really mad about a smudged plate, is the same actor who plays Mr. Shapiro in Netflix’s Never Have I Ever. (He’s also married to Scandal and Inventing Anna star Katie Lowes.)

Sarah Ramos

The Parenthood star and “Hollywood actress” pops up in episode 7 to help Richie learn the color coded system that helps the front of house staff understand which diners have allergies, are celebrating a birthday, or eat unusually fast.

Rene Gube

The actor who plays the general manager at one of the best Chicago restaurants in episode 7 previously appeared on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. He’s also a co-executive producer and writer on The Bear.

Joel McHale

The Community star follows up a memorable season 1 cameo as Carmy’s former abusive boss, with an equally stress-inducing appearance in the finale.

source https://time.com/6289319/the-bear-season-2-guest-star-cameos/

Beekeepers Working Harder Than Ever As Nearly Half of U.S. Honeybee Colonies Died Last Year

America’s honeybee hives just staggered through the second highest death rate on record, with beekeepers losing nearly half of their managed colonies, an annual bee survey found.

But using costly and Herculean measures to create new colonies, beekeepers are somehow keeping afloat. Thursday’s University of Maryland and Auburn University survey found that even though 48% of colonies were lost in the year that ended April 1, the number of United States honeybee colonies “remained relatively stable.”

Honeybees are crucial to the food supply, pollinating more than 100 of the crops we eat, including nuts, vegetables, berries, citrus and melons. Scientists said a combination of parasites, pesticides, starvation and climate change keep causing large die-offs.
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Last year’s 48% annual loss is up from the previous year’s loss of 39% and the 12-year average of 39.6%, but it’s not as high as 2020-2021’s 50.8% mortality rate, the survey found. Beekeepers told the surveying scientists that 21% loss over the winter is acceptable and more than three-fifths of beekeepers surveyed said their losses were higher than that.

“This is a very troubling loss number when we barely manage sufficient colonies to meet pollination demands in the U.S.,” said former government bee scientist Jeff Pettis, president of the global beekeeper association Apimondia that wasn’t part of the study. “It also highlights the hard work that beekeepers must do to rebuild their colony numbers each year.”

The overall bee colony population is relatively steady because commercial beekeepers split and restock their hives, finding or buying new queens, or even starter packs for colonies, said University of Maryland bee researcher Nathalie Steinhauer, the survey’s lead author. It’s an expensive and time consuming process.

The prognosis is not as bad as 15 years ago because beekeepers have learned how to rebound from big losses, she said.

“The situation is not really getting worse, but it’s also not really getting better,” Steinhauer said. “It is not a bee apocalypse.”

Despite big annual losses the situation is a far cry from 2007 when many bee experts expected an end to managed pollination said U.S. Department Agriculture research entomologist Jay Evans, who wasn’t part of the survey.

“There are threats certainly in the environment and honeybees have persisted,” Evans said. “I don’t think honeybees will go extinct but I think they will always have these sort of challenges.”

Some commercial beekeepers who have succeeded in the past lost as much as 80% of their colonies this past year, while other beekeepers did well, it varied so much, Evans said. Pettis, who has 150 colonies on Maryland’s Eastern shore, had less than 18% loss, saying he used organic acids for mite control.

The parasitic mite Varroa destructor that helps transmit viruses is the chief culprit, but bad weather and queen issues were also big problems in the past year, Steinhauer said. Pesticides also make things worse because it makes bees more vulnerable to diseases and less likely to seek food, she said.

“It really can be like death by a thousand cuts with the most obvious one being varroa,” Steinhauer said.

The mite varroa is a flat creature that crawls on the bee – it would be the equivalent of a frisbee or flat softball on human bodies – Evans said. The mite seems to make it easier for viruses to attack and kill bees, he and Steinhauer said.

It used to take large amounts of varroa, such as in 60% of a colony, to cause virus problems, but now even small infestations at 1% or 2% in a colony can cause massive problems, Steinhauer said.

“We are fighting this evolving enemy,” Steinhauer said.

Another problem is landscapes that have only one crop or homogenous landscapes which deprive bees of food, while pesticides and bouts of extreme weather also have caused problems.

For example in the Washington, D.C. area unusual 80-degree warmth in January brought some bees out of their normal winter routine and then when it turned cool again, they had problems, Evans said.

“The impact of climate change on bee colony survival is real and can go undetected,” Pettis said in an email.

The demand for pollination from commercial bee colonies is growing even as the beekeepers have to work harder to make up for losses, Steinhauer said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says 35% of the human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants and the honeybee is responsible for 80% of that pollination.

“There is this whole side of our agricultural industry that relies on these colonies,” Steinhauer said. “And the fact that every year the commercial beekeepers have to invest so much more effort to keep those numbers up because they have to fulfill those pollination contracts puts a lot of stress on those beekeepers and the bees.”

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Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

source https://time.com/6289288/us-honeybee-colony-collapse-2022/

Indian Americans in Congress Plan to Attend Modi Speech Amid Calls for Boycotts

All five Indian American members of Congress will be in attendance when India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a joint session of the House and Senate on Thursday, despite calls from some members to boycott his speech over alleged human rights abuses in India.

The five Indian American congressional representatives—all of whom are Democrats—include Ami Bera of California, Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Ro Khanna of California, Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, and Shri Thanedar of Michigan. Each of their congressional offices confirmed to TIME that they plan to attend the speech.

“I am attending all the events that I’ve been invited to with the Prime Minister because I think that this is a really important and nuanced discussion,” Jayapal, who serves as chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, tells TIME. “India is a critical partner of the United States as a country regardless of who the Prime Minister is.”
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Their attendance highlights how Washington is expected to welcome Modi even as more than 70 lawmakers this week signed a letter—co-authored by Jayapal—calling on President Joe Biden to bring up the Prime Minister’s controversial record on religious intolerance, press freedom, internet access, and the targeting of civil society groups when the two leaders meet.

Meanwhile, two of the three Muslim members of Congress, Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, have confirmed they will boycott Modi’s upcoming joint address to Congress. A spokesperson for the third, Rep. André Carson of Indiana, declined to provide an answer when asked about his attendance plans. Tlaib said in a statement that Modi’s “long history of human rights abuses, anti-democratic actions, targeting Muslims and religious minorities, and censoring journalists is unacceptable.” Omar will host an event at the Capitol following Modi’s address with human rights experts, religious freedom leaders, and other members of Congress on Indian policy issues. “Prime Minister Modi’s government has repressed religious minorities, emboldened violent Hindu nationalist groups, and targeted journalists/human rights advocates with impunity,” Omar said in a statement.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York also plans to skip Modi’s speech, her spokesperson tells TIME.

Modi’s three-day trip to the U.S. comes amid a push for cooperation in defense, clean energy, and trade between the two countries that U.S. presidents have described as the world’s oldest and largest democracies. The White House also sees the visit as a potential opportunity to cement a partnership to counter China’s growing influence.

Read More: Indian Prime Minister Modi’s Visit to Washington Is His Most Important So Far. Here’s What to Know

But the visit—only the third state visit offered by Biden so far in his presidency—underscores the challenge of strengthening ties with a nation that some activists fear is losing its core democratic values. The controversial Indian leader—who is poised to win his third term next year—has been accused of aggressively championing a Hindu-nationalist agenda that critics say reinvents the idea of India as a pluralist, secular democracy to a religious, nationalist autocracy. Under Modi’s leadership, India has passed discriminatory laws that have alienated nearly 200 million Muslims; squashed dissent by jailing journalists, activists, and civil society organizations; and exercised judicial influence against his political opponents (notably, Rahul Gandhi, the de facto leader and scion of the Gandhi-Nehru family at the helm of the opposition Congress Party).

The State Department’s 2022 religious freedom report highlighted significant human rights issues including credible reports of unlawful and arbitrary killings and extrajudicial killings by the government or its agents. A U.S. panel also recommended that the State Department designate India among others as “countries of particular concern” for violating religious freedoms. (The Indian government dismissed the report as being “based on misinformation and flawed understanding.”)

Human rights groups and some experts worry that geopolitics will overshadow human rights issues during Modi’s visit to the U.S. “Since this is a state visit, it has to be positive,” says Michael Kugelman, the director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. “If the topic is broached by the U.S. side, it’s not going to be something that they’re going to push very much because this is such an important, prestigious type of diplomatic activity. And Washington can’t afford for there to be any awkward moments, even in a private setting.”

Jayapal said Biden has not responded to her letter urging him to bring up U.S. concerns about democratic backsliding and attacks on Muslims and other minorities in India. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters on Tuesday that Biden will not “lecture” Modi on the subject.

Still, several Indian American members of Congress told TIME they believe it’s possible to strengthen ties with India while urging Modi to uphold human rights. “I don’t think they’re exclusive,” Jayapal says. “The fundamentals of a strong relationship are rooted in the ability to raise these issues and concerns. I think it’s completely appropriate for us as a country to raise those concerns.”

A spokesperson for Khanna, chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, said he believes the U.S. “can show respect to the democratically elected leadership in India while still speaking out about American values.” The spokesperson added: “He will attend the speech along with all his Indian American colleagues in Congress in the hopes of furthering a strategic partnership and fostering a productive dialogue about human rights and religious equality.”

Bera, the longest-serving Indian American in Congress, said in an interview that the invitation to Modi was “more focused on the geopolitical partnership between the two countries” with regard to economic relations and defense, but noted that he also worries about India’s trajectory. “India was based on this secular identity, where 800 million plus Hindus could live side by side with 200 million plus Muslims,” he says. “If India loses that secular identity, then it also changes who she is as a country.”

-With reporting by Yasmeen Serhan/London

source https://time.com/6288992/modi-speech-indian-americans-congress/

Lab-Grown Chicken Can Now Be Sold in the U.S. But Good Luck Finding Some To Buy

In an historic milestone that will irrevocably change the landscape of food, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has authorized the sale of cell-cultivated chicken—chicken grown from stem cells in a bioreactor—from two Bay Area-based food technology companies, Good Meat and Upside Foods. The approval, which arrived in company inboxes early this morning in the form of an official “Grant of Inspection,” clears the way for the production and marketing of an entirely new food category in the United States, and is likely to herald a sea change in how consumers and the industry think about meat.
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Singapore was the first country to allow sales of cultivated meat—produced by Good Meat—in 2020, but regulatory approval in the U.S. is likely to have a far greater impact given the country’s size and influence, paving the way for several other countries and companies to release similar products. “The news coming out of the U.S. is an exciting development for the entire cellular agriculture ecosystem,” says Maarten Bosch, CEO of Netherlands-based Mosa Meats, one of the first companies to pioneer the technology. “With regulators in Asia and North America signaling that cultivating meat is a safe alternative to slaughtering animals, policymakers worldwide will be jumping into action so as not to miss out on the huge economic and environmental opportunity presented by cellular agriculture.”

“The U.S. regulatory authorities have a strong reputation globally, so the world is likely to now follow that lead,” says Nir Goldstein, the Israel head of the Good Food Institute (GFI), an international advocacy and research institution that promotes alternative protein technologies.

Upside, which was launched as Memphis Meats in 2015, is headed by Uma Valeti, a Mayo-Clinic cardiologist-turned-food pioneer who first came up with the idea while attempting to grow heart cells in vitro more than a decade ago. USDA recognition is the cumulation of years of effort and innovation he says, and proves that cell-cultivated chicken—the industry-recognized term (as opposed to “lab-grown” meat)—is safe, wholesome, and responsibly produced. While Valeti is a vegetarian, his main objective in taking on a radically new way of producing meat was a concern for climate change.

Industrial animal farming is responsible for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions according to the United Nations. In its State of Climate Action 2022, the World Resources Institute recommended that residents of developed countries eat no more than the equivalent of two burgers a week in order to limit global warming. While replacing animal agriculture and shifting to a plant-based diet would be better for both planetary and human health, the likelihood of people actually doing so is slim, says Valeti, so he decided to focus on recreating meat without the animals responsible for so many emissions.

Upside’s cultivated chicken filets start with a small sample of stem cells that are grown in a temperature-controlled nutrient bath in a bioreactor, and take about two weeks to reach harvestable size. The meat cooks just like a chicken breast, and tastes exactly the same—if anything, slightly richer and tastier. “It’s real meat, without the environmental and ethical consequences,” said Valeti at a recent tasting at his Berkeley facility. According to GFI, cultivating meat in this way releases 80% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventional meat production, while reducing land and water requirements by more than 78%.

Read More: The Cow that Could Feed the Planet

Good Meat, a division of the San Francisco-based food technology company Eat Just, Inc., that is already selling its cultivated chicken in Singapore, uses a similar process. The two companies, among the most established in the industry, are cross-Bay rivals but Good Meat CEO and founder Josh Tetrick says that both companies’ approval for sale in the U.S. market is a win for cultivated meat as a whole.

“It has never been about a single company. It’s about the industry. We have to solve our meat issue, because farming animals is responsible for more [global] emissions than transportation. Eating less meat is not the answer. It’s replacing conventional meat with something that allows people to continue eating the meat they are used to, but in a way that’s better for the planet. The more companies in Singapore or the United States or elsewhere who can actually sell [cultivated meat] to real consumers is an enormously positive step.”

More than 100 companies are working on various iterations of cultivated meat, ranging from lab-grown beef to 3-D printed steaks, foie gras, seafood, and even cultivated mouse treats for cats. But authorization, first from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), followed by the USDA, is on a product-by-product basis. First the FDA must issue a “no objection” letter which states that the product is safe to eat—the FDA granted Upside the green light on Nov. 16, 2022, and Good meat not long after. Then the USDA must inspect the facilities, the packaging, and the meat products themselves before stamping each item as USDA approved. Only then can they be sold to the public.

Read more: We Tasted The World’s First Cultivated Steak, No Cows Required

But don’t expect to find cell-cultivated chicken filets in supermarkets right away. Both companies are planning a slow rollout, starting with high-end restaurants across the U.S. while slowly ramping up production. Now that it has a USDA grant of inspection, Upside is already processing its first order for three-Michelin-star chef Dominique Crenn, who will be serving Upside cultivated chicken at Bar Crenn, in San Francisco. Curious consumers who visit Upside’s social media accounts will be able to enter for a chance to join Crenn at the restaurant for a tasting.

Meanwhile, Good Meat says it is already working on a cultivated chicken order destined for celebrated restaurateur and humanitarian Chef José Andrés. Andrés, whose company operates more than 30 restaurants across the country, says that it will be served at one of his D.C.-based restaurants, but has not specified which one.

In November, Upside opened a 53,000-square-foot facility capable of producing 50,000 pounds of meat per year. It is one of the largest in the country, but that’s the equivalent of approximately 10,000 chickens. Considering that Americans consume 8 billion chickens a year, it’s going to take a while before Upside, Good Meat, and their competitors—once they receive approval—make a dent in the market. Tetrick says his company’s experience in Singapore provides a template, and a necessary reining-in of expectations. “People are going to buy it. But, and this is painful for me, it’s going to be sold, unfortunately, at a very small scale—I’m talking tens of thousands of pounds.” That may sound like a lot, he says, but ultimately, it’s only enough for a dozen restaurant menus. The limiting step, he says, is not consumer demand, but a lack of infrastructure. Tetrick estimates that it won’t be until late 2024 or 2025 that cultivated meat companies will be able to scale up the factories necessary to make the tens of millions of pounds of meat required for national distribution. Until then, he says, prices are likely to be higher than conventional meat.

Neither Upside nor Good Meat have released their prices, but in a recent interview Valeti told Yahoo Finance that his cultivated meat would likely reach price parity with conventionally-farmed chicken within “5-15 years,” a broad window that could make or break the industry. If his cultivated meat, or any other company’s for that matter, tastes and performs exactly the same as the real thing, the average consumer is unlikely to pay more, even if it is better for the climate. And without major customer uptake, cultivated meat will remain a niche product, unable to generate the income necessary to invest in additional scale. It’s a chicken-and-egg situation that has already bedeviled U.S. plant-based meat giants Beyond and Impossible as consumers, faced with inflation, focus on affordable basics. “There’s no reason why this can’t be significantly below the cost of conventional chicken, beef and pork and other animal proteins over time,” says Tetrick, of Good Meat. The question is just how much time that will take.

source https://time.com/6238727/usda-approves-cultivated-chicken-for-sale/

Would They Pardon Trump? How Every GOP Presidential Candidate Has Answered

The Republican field for President has gotten crowded this month, but Donald Trump remains firmly in the driver’s seat. The former President is still leading in polls and the other candidates have found themselves frequently framing their own bids in relation to Trump’s.

The latest example: candidates have had to spend a lot of time explaining whether they would pardon Trump if he is convicted for allegedly mishandling classified documents. The former president last week pleaded not guilty to 37 criminal charges.

On Tuesday, the judge overseeing the case set a tentative trial date for August 14, though pretrial motions and other issues are likely to push the legal proceedings back much further.
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The federal indictment against Trump follows Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s indictment in April over hush-money payments Trump paid to a porn star. A future President wouldn’t be able to pardon Trump over that case, but could in the federal matter.

The latest indictment has clarified how much the candidates are willing to continue to support Trump as his legal troubles mount, even as they run against him for the GOP nomination. On the question of a possible pardon, the former President has ardent defenders who seem poised to pardon, detractors who suggest the prosecution is warranted, and a few who are critical of Trump’s actions but not ruling out a pardon.

Here’s where the former president’s rivals fall on the Trump-support scale.

Partial to a Pardon

Of Trump’s rivals, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has come most fiercely to the former President’s defense. “It would be much easier for me to win this election if Trump weren’t in the race, but I stand for principles over politics,” Ramaswamy wrote in a statement soon after news of the indictment broke. “I commit to pardon Trump promptly on January 20, 2025 and to restore the rule of law in our country.”

Like other candidates, Ramaswamy has accused the Department of Justice of going after the former president for political reasons. But he has gone further than others, joining the former President in urging Republican rivals to promise to pardon him.

Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley also said she would “be inclined in favor of a pardon,” during an interview on the “Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, explaining, “When you look at a pardon, the issue is less about guilt and more about what’s good for the country.” Haley initially accused the DOJ of overreach in its investigation. However, after the indictment was unsealed, she also slammed Trump as having been “incredibly reckless” on Fox News, while simultaneously suggesting the department had lost credibility.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has also suggested he would pardon Trump, saying on Fox Business’ “Varney & Co,” “I think he’s entitled to due process like everybody else in this country. If I become the President of the United States, what I think is appropriate is for a president to use the pardon power to heal the country, and that goes for both Republicans and Democrats.”

Suarez, who has said he didn’t vote for Trump in 2016 or 2020, appeared outside the Miami courthouse where the former president was arraigned last week and told Politico that he had a friendly chat with Trump about security arrangements.

Another presidential candidate, conservative talk radio host Larry Elder, told Scripps News he is “very likely” to pardon Trump.

The Murky Middle

Multiple candidates have responded to questions about the case by criticizing Trump’s actions but suggesting the Justice Department went too far in pursuing criminal charges.

Former Vice President Mike Pence did not promise to pardon Trump, but did tell “Meet the Press” that he would “clean house” at the Justice Department, and said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” that “the former president has a right to his day in court” and that he “can’t believe that politics didn’t play some role here.” However, he also expressed concern that classified material could have fallen into the wrong hands. “This indictment contains serious charges, and I cannot defend what is alleged,” Pence said.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also accused the Justice Department of being hypocritical and politically-motivated, tweeting, “The DeSantis administration will bring accountability to the DOJ, excise political bias and end weaponization once and for all.” But he has not committed to pardoning Trump, nor has he ruled it out.

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott took the same tack, accusing the justice system of “targeting and hunting Republicans” while calling the indictment a “serious case with serious allegations.” North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum has also implied that there’s a double standard at the DOJ without mentioning Trump by name.

The Donald Detractors

Two candidates have been less measured in their criticism. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who signaled when he entered the race that he wouldn’t pull punches against Trump, attacked the former President following the indictment. In a CNN town hall, he called Trump’s conduct “inexcusable, in my opinion, for someone who wants to be President of the United States.” And while he issued some general criticism of the Justice Department, he suggested the evidence in the case “looks pretty damning,” and pinned the blame on Trump himself, all the while slamming some of his GOP rivals for going after the DOJ instead.

Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson was similarly critical of other candidates for their deference to Trump, telling MSNBC that it is “simply wrong to be discussing a pardon.” Despite the requirement that participants in the upcoming Republican presidential debates pledge to support the party’s eventual nominee, the former governor said he won’t vote for Trump if he’s convicted.

In a statement following news of the indictment, Hutchinson said, “Donald Trump’s actions—from his willful disregard for the Constitution to his disrespect for the rule of law—should not define our nation or the Republican Party. This is a sad day for our country. While Donald Trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence, the ongoing criminal proceedings will be a major distraction. This reaffirms the need for Donald Trump to respect the office and end his campaign.”

source https://time.com/6288861/donald-trump-pardon-2024-candidates-desantis-pence/

Why the Sierra Clubs Ben Jealous is Targeting Red States

In the world of climate advocacy groups, the Sierra Club is perhaps best known as a grassroots, progressive heavyweight. For years, it has fought to close coal plants, one by one, and more recently the group has called on the Biden administration to do more to address climate change.

So it may come as a surprise that Ben Jealous—the former NAACP head who was recently appointed as the Sierra Club’s executive director—says he wants to revamp the organization to expand its presence in red states. As part of his agenda, the organization is opening up shop in conservative parts of the country—even as it goes through a round of layoffs. And Jealous has spent many of his early days in the new job on the road in rural and conservative places. “I’m focused on building an uncomfortably large coalition,” he tells me. “If you’re comfortable in your coalition, your coalition is too small.”
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To understand the move, look no further than the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the landmark climate law enacted last year. The IRA has catalyzed billions of dollars in clean energy investment, much of which will go towards building clean energy infrastructure and manufacturing facilities in red states. To ensure that the money is well spent—and that the organization stays relevant—the Sierra Club needs to be on the ground everywhere. “Having a 50-state strategy is critical for us,” says Jealous. “In this moment, when the power grid will be changed in all 50 states, when we are building green industry in all 50 states, the Sierra Club must be as effective and impactful as possible in all 50 states.”

The strategy is a reflection of just how much the IRA has changed the dynamics of climate action in the U.S. Conservative estimates suggest the law will pump out nearly $370 billion in climate funding—and other estimates suggest the total could be much more. This money will catalyze clean-energy projects in states that have traditionally been skeptical of policies to address climate change and that are home to fewer traditional environmental watch dogs. Focusing on all 50 states will get the Sierra Club in the game on how that money is spent and who benefits from it.

In the close to a year since the IRA was unveiled, many climate and clean energy supporters have shifted strategies. Some of the most aggressive campaigners have criticized the Biden administration for doing too little. Select clean energy advocates have embraced once anathema proposals to streamline environmental laws, in hopes that it will allow for a faster build out of clean energy. And the American Clean Power Association (ACP), the leading trade group for clean energy, replaced senior leadership with ties to the Democratic Party with officials connected in Republican circles. “We have to make sure that the awful politics of [the IRA’s] passage don’t actually get in the way of it being implemented effectively,” says Jason Grumet, the former president of the Bipartisan Policy Center who now leads ACP.

Jealous does not mince words about how the IRA is shaping his strategy at the Sierra Club. The organization has a state director in every blue state, he says, but only in a third of red states. Building up a network of local activists helps create grassroots pressure on state and local energy and climate decisions, he says. And local Sierra Club offices on the ground in states will help identify the most important cases for the organization’s legal team to pursue as they seek to ensure that states are spending IRA money effectively. “Almost 90% of large scale renewable projects will be placed in red states,” says Jealous. “There is a need for us to really train and lead and support our activists in wielding those carrots and making sure that all the money gets out the door.”

On the surface, Jealous may seem like an unusual person to lead the Sierra Club through reforms that bring the organization further into red America. Jealous worked as a civil rights activist for decades before turning to politics. In 2016, he gave Bernie Sanders a full-throated endorsement, and, in 2018, he ran to serve as governor of Maryland with an unabashedly progressive agenda.

But his record—and importantly his civil rights work—may actually situate him well to reform the Sierra Club. In 2020, the group publicly denounced the racist beliefs of its founder John Muir. After an internal review the following year, the organization acknowledged that the legacy of that racism still persisted–and promised to do better. Nonetheless, Jealous’ predecessor resigned in the wake of the review, which also depicted sexism within the group.

Jealous, whose resume aligns well with the organization’s progressive base, offers the opportunity to turn over a new leaf. He told me a story of an older white woman in California who approached him after a Sierra Club event and told him that white activists should “just follow Black people.” (Jealous told her to “please, never give up your power.”)

The IRA and related Biden administration policies are also forcing green groups to reckon with related issues in their advocacy. A Biden-signed executive order mandates that 40% of the benefits from the IRA benefit historically disadvantaged communities and communities of color. Jealous sees the Sierra Club helping advance the environmental justice conversation with its cross-country network of on-the-ground activists that can support environmental justice fights. And he says he’s pushing for better engagement between project developers and communities. “We will also be working with environmental activists, convening environmental activists to have real brass tacks conversations about what it is going to mean to build a new power grid for the entire country,” he says.

I asked Jealous why he would take on the climate fight with so many years working on civil rights issues under his belt. Jealous described joining the Sierra Club as a coming home of sorts. Early in his career, he worked as a reporter in Mississippi covering environmental justice issues and later worked as an environmental organizer. “I had a need in my soul to focus on the most critical fight for humanity,” he says.

But, whatever his history working on environmental issues, it’s also fair to say that the IRA made the job more appealing. “One of the hardest things about being an American these last 50 years has been watching our nation go from a nation that prided itself on manufacturing to one defined by consumption,” he says. “The passage of the IRA is the greatest investment in American cities and American manufacturing that I’ve seen in my entire lifetime.” At the Sierra Club, Jealous says, he can help shape it.

source https://time.com/6288114/why-the-sierra-clubs-ben-jealous-is-targeting-red-states/