Chillis and Robot Cows

Welcome back Food Jungers. Weight-loss is in the news again, while a SUPER supermarket merger falls through. It never gets boring. Let’s dig in.

This week:

🌶️ Chilli peppers struggle with the heat.

🛒 A huge supermarket merger is called off in the US.

💉 Food brands are adapting to weight-loss drugs.

🍅 Forced labour may have been used to make tomatoes in China.

🐄 Australians have pioneered a robotic cow…

CLIMATE
CHILLIS CAN’T TAKE THE HEAT

Extreme weather across major chilli planting regions all over the world this year has disrupted supply, pushed up prices and, worst of all, made the peppers taste milder.

The perfect growing conditions are becoming increasingly harder to find as climate change increases the frequency of weather extremes, such as drought and flooding and intensifies rainfall. As the crop absorbs a lot of this extra moisture, the flesh of the chilli is also affected.

Scientists are now working on synthetically creating varieties of chillis that are more resistant to climate change and disease. But even with scientific breakthroughs, recreating the same flavours of a naturally-sourced chilli is almost impossible.

ZOOMING OUT: The chilli trade is worth an estimated $9 billion a year, according to the UN, with Asia accounting for almost 70% of global chilli supply.

And with climate change diluting the flavour of over 4,000 different chilli varieties, more may have to be grown to in order to satisfy the spice tolerance of this massive market.

POLICY
THE OFFER IS REFUSED

The Kroger and Albertsons mega plan for the largest US supermarket merger in history crumbled, as Albertsons pulled out of the $24.6 billion deal and the two companies accused each other of not doing enough to push their proposed alliance through.

Albertsons said it filed a lawsuit against Kroger, seeking a $600 million termination fee as well as billions of dollars in legal fees and lost shareholder value. Kroger said the claims were “baseless”.

The breakup came the day after two judges stopped the proposed merger in separate court cases. Of course, Kroger is contending the legality of the judges’ decisions on the basis that several in-house administrative hearings were unlawful. 

ZOOMING OUT: While Albertsons was the first to pull the plug on the deal, it is unlikely to find another merger partner, due to its significant debt and underperforming stores in most of its markets.

Ultimately, however, it will be the consumers who suffer more as Albertsons’ promised lower prices are no longer on the table after failure of the merger.

BUSINESS
ADAPTING TO THE STATUS QUO

Packaged-food giant – Conagra Brands – will be rolling out a new label that dubs a selection of its Healthy Choice frozen meals “GLP-1 friendly”, in an effort to pitch its products to a growing group of consumers who are eating less and taking more weight-loss drugs.

Starting in January, the label will appear on 26 products, which Conagra said have high-protein content, low calorie counts, and a lot of fibre.

Overall, this is an interesting trend showing how even the biggest food brands are adapting to the new reality of weight-loss drug usage. Many patients’ diets change, as they aim to increase their protein intake to offset lost muscle mass and boost fibre to help with digestive problems.

ZOOMING OUT: Despite the changing dietary landscape, this could offer new opportunities for food conglomerates that now see adoption of GLP-1 drugs as a new and necessary part of the food industry. The question will then become whether ready-made meals is the right move? 

SUPPLY CHAIN
CHINA UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

According to a report by the BBC, “Italian” tomato purées sold by various UK supermarkets appear to contain tomatoes grown and picked in China using forced labour.

Testing commissioned by the BBC found that in total, 17 products, most of them own-brands sold in UK and German retailers, are likely to contain Chinese tomatoes.

In China, most tomatoes come from the Xinjiang region, where their production is linked to forced labour of Uyghur and other largely Muslim minorities who are subjected to “re-education” camps in the area.

ZOOMING OUT: Retailers – like Tesco – responded by suspending supply or withdrawing products, while others – like Waitrose – disputed the claims instead conducting their own research. Nevertheless, China, which produces 33.3% of the world’s tomatoes, has continued to deny the use of forced labour. 

THE BRIGHT SIDE
ROBO-COW

Researchers from the University of Sydney have created an autonomous robot – the world’s first “smart cow” – which is able to make cattle farming more efficient and environmentally friendly.  

The so-called “SwagBot” is a little four-wheeled machine which drives around the farm and can determine the health, type, and density of pasture and monitor the health of livestock. The information is then used to autonomously herd cattle to the best pastures and move them before land is overgrazed and soil becomes degraded.

Despite wanting everyone to cut down on their meat consumption, I understand that may not be realistic in the short term. The best we can hope for, then, is efficiency and good conduct. And I think the SwagBot does exactly that.

Especially in Australia, a country which rears around 30 million cattle, being able to maximally use grazing pasture, without permanently damaging it, is key. And if it works, perhaps it can be used elsewhere. Food Jungle approved ✅ 

BEFORE YOU GO…

• Coca-Cola draws fire after watering down environmental targets.

• Nestlé USA has appointed Martin Thompson as the company's CEO and US market head.

• The main owner of US chocolate maker Hershey has rejected a preliminary takeover offer from Oreo maker Mondelez, as the offer was too low.

• Israel’s Aleph Farms – a producer of cultivated meat – has submitted an application for regulatory approval in Thailand.

• Arabica coffee futures hit new highs, having pushed past a record set in April 1977.

TAKE A BREAK

If you’re interested in some quality ORIGINAL journalism on what’s been going on in the food industry, look no further than Green Queen.

Founded in 2011, by Sonalie Figueiras, the team looks to analyse and discuss the latest news in food, from cultivated meat to food waste. Thoroughly recommend! 🤩