Online Grocery and RFK Jr.

Welcome back Food Junglers. The US election has taken centre stage this week, with the effects being felt across the world. Elsewhere, healthy eating and old-school farming is what’s on my mind. Let’s dig in.

This week:

🌴 Mexico City’s farmland is slowly being sold off.

🧪 RFK Jr. is in charge of US food policy.

🚚 Amazon wants to dominate the online grocery market.

🐔 Bird flu is spotted in the UK.

🦠 Mould is being used to reduce food waste in Indonesia…

CLIMATE
FARMS FOR FOOTBALL

Some of Mexico City’s ancient lands – known as “Chinampas” – which had previously been cultivated by Aztecs for centuries are currently under threat from an accelerated urbanisation effort by the capital’s officials.

Located on the outskirts of Mexico City, the produce grown on the Chinampas isn’t incredibly lucrative. In fact, some families are transforming these farmlands into football fields to attract larger sums of money from weekend football clubs.

Many farmers are saddened by this development, as crops from the Chinampas don’t need chemicals or irrigation due to the fields being located in a perfect microclimate. Now, they’ll most likely just be tourist attractions.

ZOOMING OUT: While the area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, protective measures are enforced by federal, state, and local authorities. Unfortunately for the Chinampa farmers, it seems as though revenue will be the main priority for a country that is struggling with money.

POLICY
RFK JR. IS IN CHARGE

Now that Donald Trump has officially been elected as the next President of the United States, many in the food industry are asking the question: what now?  

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been hired as part of Trump’s transition team and has essentially been given complete freedom to deal with the food industry as he sees fit.

Kennedy has already noted his intention to eliminate ultra-processed foods - which he believes are sickening Americans – harshly regulate artificial dyes in food products, and advise all US water systems to remove fluoride from public water.

ZOOMING OUT: As a vaccine sceptic and a man who has publicly targeted the CDC for corruption, it is well-established that Kennedy is an eccentric character.

What remains to be seen, however, is whether his goal of “cleaning up” the nation’s public health infrastructure will do more harm than good.

BUSINESS
AMAZON WANTS IT ALL

Amazon will now be testing new online grocery formats that blend its broad assortment of online goods with in-person shopping, as the largest e-commerce retailer in the US looks to grow its share of the online grocery market.

The new designs aim to combine various fulfilment networks for its Whole Foods Market premium grocery business and its mass-market Amazon Fresh stores into a common delivery platform.

The goal is to create a one-stop shop for products ranging, from organic products to Tide detergent and Cheez-It crackers, and eliminate the need for shoppers to visit multiple stores.

ZOOMING OUT: The plan represents the company’s latest attempt to expand its reach in a US grocery market estimated to be worth around $1.5 trillion in annual sales. And, as more people buy food online, Amazon could use its vast resources to compete with Walmart, Target, and Kroger.

SUPPLY CHAIN
BIRD FLU IN THE UK

The UK government has stated that cases of bird flu have been confirmed in commercial poultry premises in Yorkshire, hours after it increased the risk level of the disease.

All poultry on the infected premises will be humanely culled, and a three-kilometre protection zone had been put in place surrounding the farm.

Just before the announcement was made, the UK government raised its bird flu alert level from medium to high after two different strains of the virus, H5N5 and H5N1, were detected in wild birds in the country during the autumn season.

ZOOMING OUT: While this may news for the UK, bird flu has killed hundreds of millions of birds around the globe in recent years and has now spread to various mammals, particularly in the US. And, although human-to-human transmission seems unlikely, health officials are paying attention.

THE BRIGHT SIDE
MOULD FOR GOOD

Having sat to read the weekend news, I came across this super interesting article from Grist that spoke about a type of mould, prevalent in western Indonesia, that can both be edible and solve a mounting food waste crisis across the world.

A pile of soy pulp is wrapped in banana leaves and sprinkled with the spores of a fungus called “Neurospora intermedia”. As the mould digests the protein and starch within the fibrous pulp, it breaks down the cellulose, turning what is left into “Oncom”, a beloved food staple that resembles tempeh in many ways.

And, apart from Oncom being an affordable, animal protein alternative, this type of fungal fermentation, in which sugars are broken down into simpler compounds, could be huge in accelerating the decomposition rate of food that is thrown away.

The evidence suggests that for every metric ton of wet waste that is upcycled through fermentation about 600 kilograms of CO2 is prevented from being released. It might be hard for European palates to get this, but the idea is stellar and, above all, is a natural remedy to a global problem. 

Perhaps if the science is applied elsewhere, then it could really have a huge impact. Food Jungle approved ✅ 

BEFORE YOU GO…

• Indian food delivery company - Swiggy - has raised around $606 million from a set of more than 75 anchor investors as part of its $1.35 billion IPO.

• Burger King falls short of third-quarter earnings expectations as same-store sales appear to be weaker.

• Lifeway Foods rejects Danone’s $283M ‘opportunistic’ takeover offer.

• California voters in Sonoma County voted down a controversial ballot proposal to phase out large farms in a win for the meat industry.

• Starbucks has announced that it is removing the infamous non-dairy surcharge from its drinks in the US and Canada.

• Forest loss in Brazil’s Amazon has dropped by 30.6% compared to the previous year, the lowest level of destruction in nine years.

• Food prices rose to their highest level in 18 months in October, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations said.

READ MORE

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! 🤩