Wheat and Irish Trademarks

Welcome back Food Junglers. As the summer heat gets closer, water becomes the subject of much debate. So, combined with a busy election cycle, this is gonna be a rough ride. Let’s dig in.

This week:

🚜 Drought makes farming in Texas much harder.

🇪🇺 Spanish and French farmers show their dissatisfaction.

🍔 McDonald’s loses a trademark dispute in Ireland.

🧑‍🌾 Wheat problems loom for Russia.

♻️ A Swedish burger chain balances taste and sustainability…

CLIMATE
TEXAN BREAKING POINT

New research is showing that rising temperatures in the southern states of the US, especially Texas, are making farming much more expensive for the US government to insure.

The US Department of Agriculture said that drought accounts for more crop insurance payouts - payments that help farmers recover financially if their crops suffered from abnormal weather events - than any other weather phenomenon.

In fact, 2022 was the most expensive year on record with the US government issuing out $12 BILLION to farmers to recover their losses after exposure to severe weather.

ZOOMING OUT: To many, the rising costs of insurance for farmers is a sign of a governmental failure to deal with climate change as a broader issue. As summers get hotter and droughts become more frequent, more long term measures will, for sure, have to be introduced.

POLICY
FARMERS PROTEST…AGAIN

In an effort to make their voices heard again before the European Parliament elections, Spanish and French farmers blocked roads along the border through the Pyrenees mountains.

The reasons remain the same as last time: unfair competition from outside the European Union, agriculture-targeted taxes on diesel, and excessive environmental regulation.

One Spanish farmer noted, “let’s see if our politicians take the [farming] sector seriously and listen to our demands”.

ZOOMING OUT: The effects of these protests are certainly being felt as, just last week, France’s right-wing nationalists won a majority in the European Parliamentary elections.

The question, though, is this: could a nationalist approach in Europe save French farming tradition?

BUSINESS
MCDONALD’S LOSES TRADEMARK

After an extensive legal battle, McDonald’s no longer has the exclusive right to use the term “Big Mac” for poultry products in Europe.

According to the European Intellectual Property Office, McDonald’s did not prove “genuine use” of the “Big Mac” name “within a continuous period of five years.

As a result, this has handed a partial win to the fast food giant’s Irish rival, Supermac’s, which is looking to open stores in the United Kingdom and Europe.

ZOOMING OUT: For smaller, European brands - like Supermac’s - this is a pretty big win. But, more importantly, this is a reminder that globally renowned brands are held to the same scrutiny when having to compete in the food space.

SUPPLY CHAIN
WHEAT IN SHORT SUPPLY

Dry springs and frost damage have seen Russia’s wheat supply dwindle, meaning that global wheat prices could be heading in a worrying direction.

Russia is one of the world’s largest wheat suppliers so, having lost 12 million tons of production potential so far this year, it’s not looking good for countries who still rely on importing Russian wheat.

For instance, India will be buying as much of Russia’s wheat as possible, due to their own reserves running low. But this will leave smaller countries scrambling for another source of the vital grain.

ZOOMING OUT: The US Department of Agriculture published that global wheat stocks among major exporters might fall to a 17-year low. So, with Russia still not being the most friendly nation at the moment, a resolution to this will be hard to come by.

THE BRIGHT SIDE
SUSTAINABLE BURGERS IN SWEDEN

I don’t think I’ve spoken very much about fast-food chains on Food Jungle before. But MAX Burgers recently caught my eye and I wanted to give them some recognition.

Based in Sweden, MAX Burgers is a burger joint that became famous last year when they declared that 46% of the meals that they sold across 188 locations in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Poland were red-meat-free.

Unlike many fast food restaurants in the US, which have seemingly abandoned plant-based products, MAX Burgers decided to lean in and even include climate-labelled menus and a carbon offsetting programme.

They’ve done so well, in fact, that they dropped their CO2 emissions by 30% between 2015 and 2021, while also holding the title of “tastiest burger in Sweden”.

It just shows that there is a way to make tasty food that also doesn’t rely on beef patties or, generally, on meat at all. Food Jungle approved ✅ 

SHARE FOOD JUNGLE

Don’t forget to get this excited when you share FOOD JUNGLE with all your closest friends this summer. 😍 

BEFORE YOU GO…

• A man in Mexico died from a bird flu strain never before found in a human, the World Health Organization has said.

• The Bezos Earth Fund boosted funding for developing alternative proteins to $100 million.

• Washington state will pay U.S. law firm - Munger, Tolles & Olson - up to $2.5 million for legal work on its lawsuit seeking to block Kroger’s $25 billion purchase of rival grocer, Albertsons.

• World Oceans Day was celebrated last week and highlighted the dangers of being complacent when caring for our planet.

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! 🤩