Today is March 8, 2017, and International Women’s Day across the globe. As a woman-owned enterprise, TaraPaige Group is excited and proud to be part of the NYC food scene. From India to Iceland, women have taken to the streets to rally, protest, and stand up for equality at home and afar.

In the US, the Day Without A Woman campaign is in full swing. The protest is an effort to “act together for equity, justice and the human rights of women and all gender-oppressed people, through a one-day demonstration of economic solidarity.” Restaurants and cafes across the city are jumping in and participating via donations, changing uniforms to red, and covering shifts for team members that are participating. New York is joined by participants in restaurants in D.C., San Francisco, Denver, and Austin, to name a few.

Additionally, there is a rally taking place at Washington Square Park starting at 4:00PM. To read more about restaurants in NYC that are participating, click here. To read more about demonstration across the world, click here.

Photo: fastcompany.com

As if Chipotle didn’t have enough problems already, the Mexican chain may be dealing with another crisis in the near future. If the 20 percent tariff on Mexican goods proposed by President Donald Trump is implemented, Chipotle could be looking at a major increase in expenses. Mark Kalinowski, an analyst who studies the restaurant industry, writes the chain “likely would bear the biggest brunt” in the entire industry. “Our belief is that the company generally obtains about 70–90% of its avocados from Mexico, all of its limes, the majority of its jalapeños, less than half of its tomatoes, and small amounts of other items (e.g., cilantro),” he estimates. Store sales have already decreased 5 percent again last quarter, the fifth straight that the chain’s reported declines. To read more click here.

Photo: Google.com

Chipotle announced Tuesday that it expects same-store sales to fall 4.8 percent in the fourth quarter, which is still the best results they’ve seen in five quarters. Chipotle released their preliminary fourth-quarter results ahead of its presentation Tuesday at the ICR Conference in Orlando, FL. The company will release its full fourth-quarter and fiscal 2016 results on February 2. Chipotle’s stock rose more than 4 percent in early trading Tuesday after the announcement of their 4Q same-store sales. Chipotle expects its operating margin to be 13-14 percent in the fourth quarter. The operator said it saw higher expenses in the quarter than originally forecasted. They also spent more on television advertising in the quarter, and that higher avocado costs led to higher-than-expected food costs. To read more about Chipotles same-store sales click here.

Photo: Grubstreet

We all know incorporating technology into restaurants  is a trend we need to keep up with. Whether it be ordering through an app or having an actual tablet sit at your table so you can order food and pay at your convenience. However, Moley Robotics – a U.K. based company, is taking it to the next level with their robotic chef, Moley. Moley is simply two sleek, humanoid arms that hang above a conventional stovetop. The robot can only make one dish as of right now – crab bisque. The U.K. based company hopes to bring Moley to the market by 2018; with the robot being able to offer more dishes than just crab bisque of course. Moley is projected to cost around $100k by the time it hits the market. To read more about how Moley will actually work click here.

Photo: New York Times

It’s a new year which means new foods trends. Every December public relation firms come out with reports that detail what new food trends to look out for this upcoming year. According to Editor in chief Dana Cowin at Food & Wine, “A good trend list requires everything from data and science to pure intuition.”

Annika Stensson, director of research communications for the National Restaurant Association believes the perfect 2017 food trend would be a fast-casual concept serving dishes with deep, heady African flavors. The dishes would be made with locally produced ingredients. Put this African dish into a bowl and you’ve got yourself another 2017 food trend. One of the top items that users post on Pinterest – which is used by 150 million people a month – are Buddha bowls. Food is bowls is pleasing to the eye and makes a great Instagram picture – and who doesn’t love a great Instagram picture? To read more about the trends of 2017 click here.

Photo: New York Times

Robin Hood. We all know the moral of the story; robbing from the rich to feed the poor. Well, this restaurant in Spain is taking that concept to real life. A Catholic charity in Spain has opened a chain of restaurants called Robin Hood. A regular operating restaurant during the day, but at 6 pm you can’t get a seat unless you’re homeless. The business model: breakfast and lunch revenue, paid for by guests, cover the free dinners. The project started about a month ago with already four locations throughout Spain. Father Ángel, the priest behind this project would like to bring the concept here to the United States, specifically Miami, not later than January. To read more click here.

Photo Credit: New York Times

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have been working closely and funding the University of Illinois to help improve the food supply by using photosynthesis.  In a study published by the Journal Science, they have increased the productivity of tobacco – the test plant- by altering photosynthesis using genetic engineering techniques. Tobacco is being used as the test subject; their plan is to try the same alterations in food crops. Although this theory can help the some of the world’s poorest country have a better food supply; anything with genetic engineering is going to cause some political waves. Some groups have opposed it, arguing that researchers are playing God by moving genes from one species to another. Stephen P. Long, one of the researchers, is convinced that genetic engineering could ultimately lead to what he called a “second Green Revolution”  and lead to reductions in world hunger. To read more about the research being done click here.

Photo sourced from: Eater.com

Last night, we as a country did not only vote on who would lead this country for the next four years, but we also voted on issues within the food industry; such as minimum wage, farming rights, and soda taxes. The state of Maine has increased their tipped minimum wage to $5 an hour in 2017 with a $1 increase every year until it is eliminated while South Dakota chose not to raise the minimum wage for minors. Over in Indiana and Kansas, they made it a constitutional right to hunt and fish. Arizona decided to raise city minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2021. Boulder, CO.,the Bay Area of San Francisco and Oakland, and Albany have passed a soda tax. To see a full list of states and laws passed click here.