Bulk Buying and Civil Wars

Welcome back Food Junglers. Business news has been slow, as the focus on famine in Africa and the Middle East has taken the spotlight. And, despite the touchy subjects, I feel they deserve a mention. Let’s dig in.

This week:

🌞 Wendy’s embraces solar energy in the US.

🚜 Farmland in Gaza becomes more scarce by the day.

🛒 Young people in the US are increasingly buying food in bulk.

🔫 Sudan’s civil war goes from bad to worse.

🗑️ Artificial intelligence can be used to reduce food waste…

CLIMATE
WENDY’S GOES SOLAR

Burger giant - Wendy’s - has partnered with solar acquisition and services provider - Ampion Renewable Energy - to use solar energy across more than 130 of its US locations.

In short, Ampion will distribute electricity from its solar energy grids to nearly 140 Wendy’s locations in New York, Massachusetts, and Illinois to help reduce the fast food chain’s carbon emissions.

It has been projected that Ampion will generate around 27.5 million kilowatt hours in community solar power for the select Wendy’s locations, equivalent to providing electricity for 2,200 homes.

ZOOMING OUT: This is good news for Wendy’s as not only is solar power becoming more popular for restaurant use, but it means the company could achieve its emissions targets of reducing its scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 47% by 2030.

POLICY
GAZAN FARMLAND DWINDLES

According to the latest United Nations (“UN”) reports, 57% of agricultural land in Gaza had been damaged since the Israel-Palestine conflict began in October 2023.

The report noted that, in 2022, the Gaza Strip exported $44.6 million worth of produce - from citrus to eggplant - mainly to the West Bank and that, since October 2023, that number has fallen to zero.

On top of this, 68% of Palestinian agricultural land has now been labelled as severely “damaged” by UN officials, due to tanks having bulldozed much of the fertile areas.

ZOOMING OUT: 96% of Gazans now face high levels of acute food insecurity and, with the ceasefire terms still unresolved, the situation will continue to get worse. Certainly, though, farmland in the region will be unusable even after the conflict ends.

BUSINESS
YOUNG PEOPLE WANT DISCOUNTS

A recent investigation by the Wall Street Journal has shown that Gen Z shoppers are buying ingredients in bulk more than ever to battle inflated food prices in the US.

The number of shoppers - aged 27 and under - who subscribe to Walmart memberships for coupons and discounts, for example, has risen by 63% over the past two fiscal years.

With Gen Z and Millennials now making up a quarter of Walmart’s “Sam’s Club” memberships - to benefit from the retailer’s discounted prices - some critics question whether this is more of a systematic issue, rather than an issue of thrifty young shoppers. 

ZOOMING OUT: Americans now spend an average of 11.2% of their disposable personal income on food, a number that hasn't been seen in 30 years. And bulk-buying aside, this number doesn’t seem to stop growing, worrying many consumers.

SUPPLY CHAIN
A FOOD CRISIS LIKE NO OTHER

At least 750,000 people are on the brink of starvation and death in Sudan, as the devastating civil war rages on and 48 million people continue to be in a position of desperation.

While at least 14 areas across the country are experiencing severe food shortages, many investigative groups have not formally declared a “famine” as reliable data is hard to obtain and aid workers cannot reach some of the worst-affected areas.

Even delivered aid struggles to get to people who need food the most, as, just last week, UN trucks carrying food assistance for civilians were attacked by unidentified armed men. 

ZOOMING OUT: Despite being labelled as one of the worst food crises of a generation, the conflict has received very little publicity. The UN still maintains that it has received only 17% of the $2.7 billion it requested for Sudan.

THE BRIGHT SIDE
A.I. SOLVES FOOD WASTE

I remember chatting with Green Queen founder, Sonalie Figueiras, a few weeks ago and she mentioned how impressed she was with the global effort to solve the burgeoning food waste problem.

Indeed, the world wasted 1.05 billion tons of food in 2022, a third of which came from the food service industry. This number is especially worrisome when we understand that rotting food can produce an incredible amount of methane and other harmful emissions.

Being inspired by what she said, I came across this little company, called Leanpath, which has actually created a machine that tracks kitchen food waste and gives chefs purchasing recommendations to waste less food in the future.

Over 4,000 kitchens, including in Google offices and Marriott hotels, use Leanpath’s tech to track and visualise how much food is wasted. The company even estimated that they saved around 15 million meals from being trashed in 2022, preventing 55,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions!

If you’re curious to find out more, there’s a YouTube video that shows you exactly how the tech works (click here). Food Jungle approved ✅ 

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As Hurricane Beryl approaches Texas, I’m preparing for the kind of situation you see above. So any support, including sharing Food Jungle, would be much appreciated…😅 

BEFORE YOU GO…

• Nestlé will launch a line of sustainably sourced chocolates that will be available this summer in airports around the world.

• The Bezos Earth Fund is establishing its first UK-based Centre for Sustainable Protein at Imperial College London, backed by $30 million in funding.

• Several McDonald's franchises in Australia have cut breakfast service timings by 1-1.5 hours after a shortage of eggs caused by bird flu outbreaks.

• Caesar Salad celebrates its 100^th year anniversary.

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