Glencore logged a record USD 8.3 billion in net profit for the first half of 2018 despite its legal issues with the US Department of Justice, mostly thanks to strong commodity prices. The CEO noted, however, that protectionist US policies and doubts surrounding Chinese growth might add volatility in the second half of the year. Cargill also cited the uncertain global environment in its 2018 annual report, where it assesses its corporate responsibility performance, although the firm logged some of its best results in 2018.
While ADM and Cargill have profited significantly from the China-US trade war and Bunge was on the wrong end of the situation, the majority of S&P 500 companies say they have not really been affected by the change in trade tariffs and they don’t expect it will be the case.
On a similar note, Nestle said this week that it was not affected by the US re-imposing trade sanctions on Iran. The firm has two factories there and noted that it only imports a small number of products. Otherwise, Nestle has been testing a blockchain system developed by IBM, called Food Trust, to assess whether it can be used for global food traceability.
Five months after the new CEO of Nestle USA was appointed, he laid out his plan to help the food giant survive amid growing competition from smaller players and fast changing consumer trends in this Washington Post interview. The plan is to focus on the most popular brands, keep moving into high growth categories and develop in-house products to quickly respond to new trends.
Cotton producers in Tchad have expressed their gratitude to Olam for revitalising the local cotton industry. The trading group took over 60% of CotonTchad from the government earlier this year as it was struggling to keep the industry afloat. It is planning to invest USD 41 million over 5 years to revamp old mills and build two new ones. It hopes to produce 300,000mt within 3-4 years, up from 25,000mt in 2017/18.
Coca-Cola India and the Indo-Dutch Horticulture Technologies propose to jointly set up 110 orchards in India to grow apples and produce pulp. The move is in line with the company’s plan to grow fruits, to source locally and to diversify its portfolio with healthy drink options. It also plans to boost productivity – India’s apple acreage is the second highest in the world but the yield is low.
Pet food company Wild Earth has raised an additional USD 450,000 from a PayPal co-founder, taking its funding to nearly USD 5 million. The green, animal-friendly food maker plans to make a plant-based alternative to cat and dog food using koji, a type of fungus eaten by humans. Most of the food is currently produced from corn and wheat. It will launch koji-based dog food in 2019.
Kraft Heinz is targeting to make all its package recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. However, the CEO said that most of the company’s emissions are due to processes outside its direct operations.
Recent medical analysis found that, overall, consuming omega-3 pills made little – if any – difference to the risk of heart and coronary disease. Omega-3 is one of the most commonly consumed supplements, while the fish oil industry represents an estimated USD 30 billion business. The author of The Omega Principle argues that while fish oil pills are very well marketed, they are an inefficient use of valuable marine resources. He argues that, instead, we should consume it directly as a protein which would solve two things: reduce emissions caused by livestock and help us be healthier by reducing our meat consumption.
A study of Minnesota residents revealed that 67% of those surveyed cannot afford to feed their families and rely on food banks at least once a month. Around 53% of them said they depend on food shelves for more than half their monthly food needs. Data from 2015 showed that 15% of US citizens have been through food insecurity at some point. The situation seems to be getting worse – people went into Minnesota food banks an estimated 3.4 million times last year, which is a record high. The survey also showed a growing demand for healthy food at these food banks, going against the perception that demand is higher for junk food.
This summary was prepared by ECRUU
