Big Mergers and Cereal

It’s been a stressful week for food with big companies and governments feeling the heat. Perhaps conversation on food is just NOW starting to get serious? Let’s dig in.

This week:

🛒 A HUGE supermarket merger is blocked in the US.

🥣 Kellogg’s CEO makes an outrageous statement on live TV.

🚜 Europe’s farmers are still fighting EU regulation.

🥩 New York sues a Brazilian meat-packing giant.

📚️ The Iron Man himself releases a new book…

POLICY
DEAL OR NO DEAL

Last week, The US Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) sued Kroger to block the grocery store’s $24.6 billion bid to buy rival Albertsons, calling into question the largest supermarket deal in history.

The FTC argued that the “anticompetitive” merger would both lead to higher food prices and harm union workers’ bargaining power for better working conditions.

In response, Kroger said their deal would help them inject $500 million into their price-cutting strategy and compete with non-unionised retailers, Walmart and Amazon, which have over 5,000 stores combined.

ZOOMING OUT: So far, nine states have joined the FTC on the case. So it seems that, despite Kroger being willing to sell 413 stores to ease anti-competitive worries, many officials seem unconvinced.

BUSINESS
LET THEM EAT FLAKES

In a controversial interview, WK Kellogg’s CEO - Gary Pilnick - encouraged “poorer” families to eat cereal for dinner to deal with the effects of food inflation.

Such statements, suggesting that struggling families should eat sugary, ultra-processed foods during record-breaking periods of food inflation, have understandably caused an uproar on social media. 

And despite Kellogg’s advertising themselves as the affordable option, this hasn't stopped them from raising their prices an extra 12% this past year.

ZOOMING OUT: Kellogg’s fourth-quarter sales saw a 10% volume drop, so this could explain the company’s bizarre, new strategy. Whatever the case, Kellogg’s PR team will be a busy one.

SUPPLY CHAIN
FARMERS FIGHT ON

Europe’s farmers have continued to protest against harsh EU environmental regulation, stating that their grievances have not been sufficiently addressed.

Polish farmers blocked the border between Poland and Germany, Belgian farmers drove 900 tractors into Brussels, and Spanish farmers beat drums near ministers’ headquarters in Madrid.

Ultimately the problems for these farmers are twofold: adhering to environmental regulation is making their products more expensive, while importing cheap ingredients from outside the EU makes it impossible to be competitive.

ZOOMING OUT: As a solution, farmers across the continent are campaigning for both fewer inspections and more subsidies for smaller farms that are embracing sustainability. Whether this will happen, though, is a whole other question!

CLIMATE
NEW YORK VS. BRAZIL

New York Attorney General - Letitia James - filed a lawsuit, accusing the world’s largest meatpacker - JBS - of lying about its impact on the environment to boost sales.

This isn’t the first time JBS has been in this kind of mess, as environmentalists have often argued that the company’s net-zero commitment isn’t possible, given how much livestock they produce and their deforestation track record.

The Brazilian giant currently has the capacity to process more than 200,000 cattle, 500,000 hogs, and 45 million chickens PER WEEK for US consumers, ringing alarm bells for many.

ZOOMING OUT: If found liable, JBS could be fined $5,000 for every violation and will be required to pay back any profit made from past sustainability claims found to be false.

All of this will almost certainly throw their forthcoming IPO on the New York Stock Exchange into question.

THE BRIGHT SIDE
IRON MAN’S NEW BOOK

When he’s not busy being an Oscar-nominated actor, Robert Downey Jr. works with bestselling climate author, Thomas Kostigen to write about reducing your carbon footprint through the food you eat.

Cool Food is both a collection of climate-friendly recipes and interesting facts on the kinds of food that can help you reduce your greenhouse gas emissions.

From discussing the limitations of plant-based meat and regenerative farming to explaining what “ancient grains” actually are, Cool Food tries to blend actionable cooking advice with light-hearted commentary on the environment.

Yes, there are recipes, but - much more that - the book shows you how small, informed food decisions can make a huge difference. All that mixed with the trademark RDJ humour and you have a WINNER. Food Jungle approved ✅ 

For me, this was an impulse buy. I don’t regret it (hah). And if you’re curious, you can always have a look at the book here.

SHARE FOOD JUNGLE

Having just seen Dune: Part 2, I felt it only appropriate to post a GIF with Timo-TAY himself.

Don’t forget to share Food Jungle with all your friends so that you can feel as invincible as any main character in a well-loved trilogy!

BEFORE YOU GO…

• Domino's Pizza beat analyst expectations with their quarterly results after relaunching its loyalty program and promotional offers.

• Beyond Meat stock soared after the plant-based-protein specialist vowed to slash costs and boost profit margins.

• South Korea has announced that it has opened an application process for the approval of lab-grown meat.

• Bud Light parent company and brewery unions have reached a tentative agreement on a new labour contract, avoiding a potential strike of thousands of employees across the U.S.

• According to officials, between 80 to 96 percent of Gaza’s agricultural infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.

• Danone is to sell its Russian assets to a Russian businessman in a deal worth around $188 million.

TAKE A BREAK

Hi there everyone! If you’re interested in a little bit of escapism this holiday season, we would thoroughly recommend you check out CULTURE CURATED, written by our dear pal Neema Naficy.

From food recipes and art to cocktails and cool YouTube clips, Neema shares things from the creative world that are definitely WORTH listening to, trying out, and watching. Food Jungle approved ✅