Chefs and Dog Meat

Hey Food Junglers! As the team finds itself in the United States this week, the issue has been sent out a little later to account for the time difference. Our sincerest apologies.

Anyway, It’s been a tough week for food prices this news cycle but, on the bright side, governments having been stepping up. Let’s dig in.

This week:

🐕️ Dog meat gets banned in South Korea.

🐟️ The UK government gets tough on fishing laws.

👩‍🍳 A chef’s empire begins to slowly crumble in the US.

☕️ Starbucks gets grilled by American consumers.

🐝 It turns out, you don’t need bees to make honey…

HEADLINER
SOUTH KOREA BANS DOG MEAT

To kick things off, the South Korean government has passed a historic bill that aims to phase out the farming, slaughter, and sale of dog meat by 2027.

Dog farmers will have three years to wrap up production and receive compensation before being permanently banned from selling dog meat.

While the exact terms of compensation are yet to be decided, violators of the new law may face up to three years in prison or fines of up to $23,000.

ZOOMING OUT: According to a recent survey, only 5% of South Koreans said they had eaten dog meat in the past year, compared with the late 1990s. And the number of restaurants, serving dog meat, has fallen by about 75%.

So, it’s safe to say, this has been a welcome change for the South Korean public.

BUSINESS
A CHEF’S EMPIRE CRUMBLES

Celebrity chef, Barbra Lynch, is closing FIVE of her restaurants this year, citing “post-pandemic” realities and unmanageable rent increases from landlords.

Lynch’s PR team also placed blame on employees for restaurant mismanagement and an economic environment that has become unfavourable for independent chefs.

But many were quick to notice that there was no mention of the chef’s infamous workplace misconduct and violent behaviour, for which she was accused earlier last year.

ZOOMING OUT: Quite suspiciously, the shutdown does come AFTER a lawsuit - filed by over 20 ex-employees in March 2023 - against Lynch.

Included in the suit were accusations of: pocketing tips, workplace alcohol consumption, verbal abuse of staff, sexual contact and violent threats.

POLICY
UK SEAFOOD COVERS A LOOPHOLE

Last week, the UK seafood sector created Europe’s first “worker-driven” programme that will help prevent the exploitation of migrant fisherman in international waters.

The programme will give migrant workers in the seafood sector the power to set their preferred working conditions, to receive a guaranteed minimum wage and to ensure rest hours. 

Essentially, migrant workers - who previously worked in international waters and, therefore, were not protected by UK employment law - will now be able to save themselves from some historically horrifying employer abuses.

ZOOMING OUT: Despite being a seemingly niche topic, this new programme could help 1,200 migrant workers per year, create a system of regulation in no-man’s waters, and establish a precedent for the rest of Europe.

SUPPLY CHAIN
STARBUCKS GETS GRILLED

Consumer advocacy group, The National Consumers League, filed a lawsuit against Starbucks, accusing the company of false and misleading advertising.

More specifically, the lawsuit relates to the coffee giant’s claims that ALL of its coffee is ethically sourced. 

Despite Starbucks stating its commitment to “100% ethical coffee sourcing”, numerous reports cite instances of working conditions “akin to slavery” on the company’s coffee farms in Brazil, as well as illegal trafficking of migrant workers.

On top of that, child labour has, allegedly, also been used in Starbucks-certified farms in Guatemala.

ZOOMING OUT: Starbucks buys around 3% of the world’s coffee, working with 400,000 farmers across more than 30 countries. So while monitoring ALL abuses is, admittedly, a difficult task, a solution to this problem should now be TOP priority.

THE BRIGHT SIDE
HONEY…WITHOUT BEES

Whether due to viruses and fungal pathogens or climate change, the global honey bee population is slowly decreasing. Yet, demand for honey is at an all-time high. 

MeliBio - a small company in California - has a solution: plant-based honey. Mixing fructose, glucose, water and flower extract, the MeliBio team is able to recreate the taste and texture of honey, while also sparing the lives of our fuzzy pollinators.

The company’s CEO, Darko Mandich, predicts that traditionally-produced honey will become a luxury in the next decade, stating that “people might be paying $100 per jar at the farmer’s market”.

The majority of people who aren’t willing to splash such cash, according to Mandich, will gravitate towards substitutes like MeliBio.

And with the company rolling out its products to 75,000 stores across Europe this year, his prediction may have something to it. Food Jungle approved ✅ 

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BEFORE YOU GO…

• Margarine producer, Upfield Foods, will begin to roll out paper-based tubs across all of its plant-based spreads.

• Chocolate producer, Hershey, is being sued by one of its customers who noticed that the depictions of eyes and mouths on the chocolate wrapper were not engraved into the chocolate itself.

• New research shows that every litre of bottled water contains at least 240,000 microscopic pieces of plastic.

• The Indian government plans to double the annual payout to landowning female farmers to $144 to appeal to female voters before the Indian general election.

• PepsiCo successfully defends its patent for the potato variety it uses to make its Lay's chips in India.

• The consumption of cheese is at an all-time high with the average American eating 42 pounds of cheese in 2022.

• McDonalds is bringing back its Double Big Mac to US restaurants from 24th January.

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 ✅