ADM and Cargill announced they had successfully launched SoyVen. The Egyptian soyoil and soybean joint venture runs a soy crushing plant which was recently expanded to double its capacity. ADM also received the regulatory greenlight for a joint venture with Russia-based Aston Foods and Food Ingredients to run a corn wet mill and sell the sweeteners and starches produced. The JV will be called AKP. In France, ADM is planning to buy animal and aquaculture feed maker Neovia for USD 1.78 billion.
Nestle has been suspended from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) after it failed to submit the required progress reports. As of the end of July, the company’s certificates won’t be valid anymore. This comes at a time when an activist and hedge fund investor is putting public pressure on the group, accusing it of moving too slowly and struggling to adapt to changing consumer tastes. However, via its brands Herta, Buitoni, Wagner and Maggi, Nestle has committed to improving the quality of life of chickens. A company official explained this was in response to consumer demand for a sustainable food chain with high animal welfare standards.
Meanwhile, sources say that Nestle is looking at buying a majority stake in Champion Petfoods, a Canadian premium pet food company, for an estimated USD 2 billion. The pet food industry is expected to boom, as a report showed that pet ownership in China alone doubled last year. But pet owners are increasingly switching to more premium, meat-based, pet food, and environmentalists are concerned about the increasing “pawprint” – the carbon footprint associated to pet ownership. Close to one quarter of the negative environmental impact of meat production now comes from the pet-food industry. In response, pet food makers are looking at alternatives, such as koji proteins, lab grown meat or crickets, although designing a meat-free diet for dogs, and especially cats, is proving to be a difficult challenge.
The second largest yogurt maker in the US, Chobani, has ended its partnership with the TPG private equity firm and has entered a long term agreement with the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan. The creator of the brand said the new investor would allow it to regain more control, and simplify its balance sheet.
Olam’s Farmer Information System (OFIS) is helping bridge both ends of the supply chain – the farmer and the consumer – through technology. A cocoa farmer in Ghana said he was able to increase production and reduce pesticides use thanks to the connections and information made available through the app. On the other hand, Olam uses the app to buy directly from farmers as well to track the product from the moment it leaves the farm.
The blockchain technology is expected to bridge this gap even further and help farmers secure loans. Farmers in Russia have already been using a cryptocurrency called the kolion.
Traders are having to resort to loading Russian wheat on ships in the Sea of Azov, the shallowest seas in the world, because of backlog at Black Sea deepwater ports. The grain is then transferred to bigger ships in deeper water – a method often used for oil and gas but relatively new for grains. Last year, 20% of the countries’ grains were exported like that, up from just 3% five years ago.
A 2014 Vermont law which imposed the mandatory labelling of GMO products apparently did not have any significant impact on consumer attitudes, according to this new study. The authors argued that the intense lobbying efforts against the law by the food industry might have been an overreaction. If anything, consumers trusted the labelled products more, as it suggested that they had nothing to hide. A nation-wide labelling law, which nullified the Vermont law, was passed in 2016.
Woolworths had to backtrack on its decision to roll out early a ban on single-use plastic bags after cases of “bag rage” from customer unhappy about the policy. The chain conceded that people needed more time to adjust adding, however, that it would not tolerate any further violent acts against its staff. Four out of six Australian states have banned single-use plastic bags as of July 1.
Global warming is affecting the sugar level in wines, making it too high in France’s Bordeaux region. Another issue is that increasingly health-aware consumers are reportedly looking for lower alcohol degrees. As a wine is planted for 40 years, it is not easy to experiment with new grape varieties and producers are having to test one plot at a time.
Talking of too much sugar, the California governor approved a law which forbids any local government from levying a sugary drinks tax until 2030. This development marks a major win for Big Soda.
This summary was produced by ECRUU
