Mergers and Grasshopper Invasions

29th July, 2024

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Welcome back Food Junglers. World politics continues to shock me with things becoming crazier and crazier. Food, of course, is no exception. Let’s dig in.

This week:

🇺🇳 The United Nations has some bad news for world hunger.

🤝 Whole Foods and Too Good To Go strike a deal.

🛒 A merger between two grocery giants is delayed in the US.

🦗 Grasshoppers are becoming relentless.

🥛 Nestlé makes a new kind of dairy product…

HEADLINER
FOOD SECURITY IS NOT IMPROVING

Starting with bad news, The United Nations (“UN”) released their annual food security report, in which it claimed that solving global hunger by 2030 is becoming increasingly impossible.

According to the report, conflict, climate change, and economic crises resulted in around 733 million people facing hunger in 2023 alone.

Researchers have also said that the world is actually in a worse position than nine years ago when the goal to eradicate hunger by 2030 was first launched.

ZOOMING OUT: International aid linked to food security and nutrition amounted to just $76 billion a year, or 0.07% of the world’s total annual economic output.

And if more funds aren’t allocated to solving hunger, the UN predicts that about 582 million people will be chronically undernourished by 2030.

BUSINESS
WHOLE FOODS REDUCES WASTE

Whole Foods and Too Good To Go announced a partnership last week in which the surplus food marketplace would be rolling out its food waste programme to 450 Whole Foods markets in the US.

Simply put, Too Good To Go is a mobile app which allows the user to buy food from grocery stores and restaurants - that would have otherwise gone to waste - at a discounted price. 

Whole Foods shoppers will be able to buy surplus food items, choosing between prepared food bags containing ready-made meals or a pastry bag with breads, muffins and other sweat treats.

ZOOMING OUT: Aside from this proving to be wildly popular for people who are burdened by the weight of food inflation, this is another good move by Whole Foods to keep food out of landfills. Let’s hope we can see this elsewhere!

POLICY
A STALLED GROCERY MERGER

A new twist in the $25 billion merger between supermarket giants - Kroger and Albertsons - emerges as both companies agree to postpone the deal while antitrust enforcers pursue lawsuits to block it.

According to the Federal Trade Commission of the United States, the potential merger would result in less market competition and, as a result, higher food prices.

On top of that, state courts all over the country have been arguing that the merger would limit workers’ abilities to negotiate their salaries.

ZOOMING OUT: While the deal is still being assessed, representatives from Kroger and Albertsons have argued that the merger would allow them to compete with powerhouses like Amazon and Walmart. For now, however, we’ll have to wait.

SUPPLY CHAIN
GRASSHOPPER INVASION

Farmers in the Western states of the United States are growing increasingly worried as they prepare for huge swarms of crickets, grasshoppers, and other pests to devour their crops this August.

Global warming is mostly to blame for this phenomenon, as drought-ridden lands provide ideal habitats for pests. Especially in California, where drought is becoming more problematic, crops are beginning to succumb to grasshopper invasions.

This also comes as a worry to companies in the meat industry, which are concerned by the possibility that the pests will eat the hay and alfalfa, commonly grown to feed cattle.

ZOOMING OUT: Although American farmers recognise the problems, there’s not much they can do. Farming incomes are at historic lows, there’s a lack of alternative profitable crops, new technology is too expensive and the list, unfortunately, goes on.

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THE BRIGHT SIDE
NESTLÉ DOES SOME INNOVATING

Although Nestlé is not generally known as the “good guy” in the food industry, there does come a time when you have to acknowledge their occasional innovations.

The food giant has found a way to reduce fat in dairy ingredients by binding larger milk protein clusters, called aggregates, during the normal manufacturing of milk powders.

And, according to the company, this process could cut fat in milk powder by up to 60% without compromising on quality, taste, and texture.

I tend to stay clear of moves by big companies, taking their actions with a pinch of salt. However, when a company this big - with huge operations across the globe - looks to improve their products’ nutritional value and sustainability, I do get quite curious. Food Jungle approved  

BEFORE YOU GO…

  • A United States judge upheld a voter-approved law in Massachusetts banning pork sales that come from animals raised in tightly confined spaces.

  • Chipotle said that rolling its burritos faster helped boost sales last quarter.

  • An Australian judge dismissed a class action lawsuit claiming Bayer's “Roundup” weedkiller can cause a type of blood cancer.

  • Chick-fil-A is no longer America’s favourite fast food restaurant, as Del Taco takes top spot.

TAKE A BREAK

Hi there everyone! It’s our pleasure to introduce another newsletter in the food space - BETTER BIOECONOMY - from a food technology enthusiast, Eshan Samaranayake.  

Like the team at Food Jungle, Eshan is doing his absolute best to advertise those who are making food healthier, cleaner, more sustainable, more animal-friendly AND accessible to all.

So, if you are interested in reading more on food tech, go check it out! Food Jungle approved

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