Starbucks and Taco Bell pledge to employ more teens and young adults.
A number of companies have banded together to form the “100,000 Opportunities Initiative.”
By 2018, the initiative hopes to connect 100,000 “opportunity youth”—16- to 24-year-olds who face systemic barriers to jobs and education—with access to apprenticeships, internships and training programs, as well as part-time and full-time jobs. According to the organization, there are 5.6 million youths in this age range who are out of school and not working.
Taco Bell and Starbucks are two of 17 founding companies committed to the cause.
“As a company that gives many young Americans their very first job, Taco Bell proudly invests in developing its next generation of leaders through education, job and life skills, and a culture that promotes growth,” Taco Bell CEO Brian Niccol said in a press release.
Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman and CEO, said that growth will extend to the economy.
“By using our scale to create pathways to affordable education and meaningful employment for these young men and women, we’re strengthening both our workforce and our economy,” Schultz said in a press release.
China surpasses the United States to claim ice-cream title.
For the first time, China has overtaken the United States as the world’s biggest ice-cream market, according to new research from Chicago-based market-research firm Mintel.
The total market value for ice-cream sales from 2008 to 2014 in China nearly doubled, soaring 90% to reach $11.4 billion.
The U.S. market grew at a much slower rate (15%) over the same period to reach $11.2 billion.
At 18.4 liters (4.9 gallons) per person per year, U.S. consumers still eat more ice cream than any other country—consumers in China consume just 4 liters (1.1 gallons) per person per year.
Trash Talkers
$640 per year
According to the American Chemistry Council, each U.S. household throws away about $640 worth of food a year, amounting to tens of millions of tons of food waste. That food waste makes up more than 20% of landfills and contributes significantly to greenhouse-gas emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
80% 
Fulcrum BioEnergy, a biofuel company based in Pleasanton, Calif., estimates its bio jet fuel—made completely from household garbage—could cut an airline’s carbon emissions by 80%. United Airlines could soon test the waste-based fuel, having invested $30 million in Fulcrum BioEnergy. Per the agreement, United will have the opportunity to purchase 90 million gallons a year of Fulcrum’s alternative fuel at a cost that is competitive with conventional jet fuel.
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