Viruses and Baby Chickens

Welcome back Food Junglers! It’s been one hell of a week with innovations and crises coming all at once, giving me some mixed emotions. Let’s dig in.

This week:

⛑️ Tragedy strikes aid workers in Gaza.

🐣 There’s a new way to save chickens in the United States.

🦌 South Africa finds a solution to the country’s climate woes.

🐄 Avian Influenza spreads to cows and humans in Texas.

🛍️ Austria packages its food differently…

POLICY
FOOD AID ATTACK

The Israeli military mistakenly killed seven people working for a food aid charity, World Central Kitchen, in a Gaza airstrike last Tuesday.

The aid convoy was hit as it was leaving its Deir al-Balah warehouse after unloading more than 100 tons of food aid brought to Gaza by sea.

Despite this incident being labelled “accidental”, the organisation’s founder, Jose Andres, quickly noted that the charity’s logo was clearly marked on the vehicle and movements had been previously coordinated with the Israeli government.

ZOOMING OUT: Unfortunately, this is a tragic example of food being used as a weapon. And until more ground crossings are opened by the Israeli government, food in the region will continue to be a rarity in spite of heroic charity work.

BUSINESS
CHICKEN INNOVATION

Indiana-based Egg Innovations may have found a way to stop the practice of chick culling in the United States through a new form of technological innovation.

Known as “in-ovo sexing”, the piece of technology can determine the sex of the chick before it hatches and destroy the eggs before the point at which the embryo feels pain.

Every year in the US, 300 million male chicks are shredded alive in industrial meat grinders as they don’t lay eggs and typically have tougher meat. So, this could really put a stop to such a questionable practice.

ZOOMING OUT: Congress has excitedly gotten on board to make in-ovo sexing available ASAP for the American egg industry as, by reducing the possible costs of incubation and killing fewer animals, you’re really feeding two birds with one scone.

CLIMATE
SOUTH AFRICA’S CLIMATE SOLUTION

To protect its wildlife herds and cut down on its methane emissions, South Africa has come up with an interesting idea: eating more antelope.

Supposedly, this would control the overpopulation of antelopes that currently inhabit degraded land, increase biodiversity, and bring a revenue stream to many of the country’s poorest communities.

On top of that, antelope would be a more carbon-friendly alternative to beef as game generates far fewer greenhouse gases than cows and doesn’t require clearing vital forestland.

ZOOMING OUT: South Africa’s agricultural ministry has big plans for game, as it looks to grow the game meat industry to $1.5 billion by 2036 from $245 million in 2020. And, personally, I’m curious to see how this works out.

SUPPLY CHAIN
AVIAN FLU STRIKES AGAIN

A bird flu outbreak in dairy cows has now affected at least 13 herds in six states, marking the first time that the virus - fatal for birds - has been detected in US cattle.

While one person in Texas has also been infected, scientists have, so far, not found evidence to suggest that the virus has mutated to spread among humans.

And, at the moment, officials have not announced any plans to cull affected herds of cattle - as only dairy cows have been infected and not beef cattle - stressing that commercially processed milk remains safe to drink.

ZOOMING OUT: While the illness among cows has been relatively mild, the same cannot be said for the US poultry industry as the country’s largest egg producer - Cal-Maine Foods - has already culled 1.6 million laying hens and 337,000 pullets. Ultimately, consumers should get ready for a price hike.

THE BRIGHT SIDE
A BETTER WAY TO PACKAGE FOOD

30,000 tonnes of plastic netting are used every year in Europe, polluting not just our waters but converting to microplastics and damaging out health.

Austria-based Pacnatur thinks there’s a different way. The company wants to completely eradicate plastic food packaging by creating biodegradable netting from the cellulose in beechwood!

Launched in 1997 by Helmut Meininger and his daughter, Susanne Meininger, the father-daughter duo put all their energy into creating netting for food that would decompose completely within a few weeks.

The product is used all around Europe for potatoes, onions, and citrus fruits and will soon be taking over the international market, including in the US, South Africa, and New Zealand. Food Jungle approved ✅ 

SHARE THE JUNGLE

Thanks to all of you Food Jungle is spreading like wildfire! Let’s celebrate by sharing the Jungle and seeing where this can take us 🥰

BEFORE YOU GO…

• California's new minimum wage - $20 per hour - for fast food workers has officially started.

• French grocer, Carrefour, and PepsiCo have ended a three-month long disagreement over inflated grocery prices.

• Uber has extended its partnership with Waymo to offer autonomous deliveries to customers in Phoenix.

• A new investigation has discovered that some small food brands believe that Trader Joe's has copied their product and cut them out of a potential deal.

• Sandwich company, Jersey Mike’s, is considering a sale to private equity group, Blackstone, for $8 billion.

• Israel has agreed to open another crossing - the Erez crossing - to increase the flow of food aid getting into Gaza.

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 ✅