red and green tomato plants on train rail

Food Week October 31 – November 5, 2022

Welcome to Food Week October 31 – November 5, 2022. Change your clocks and catch up on the week. Things not going away: Avocados, plastic, avian influenza, greenhouses, and salmonella. And hopefully not the Nile. Enjoy!

MACRO

  • Change your clocks this Sunday. Whether the Daylight savings is good or bad is debatable but it’s the change itself that is the real problem
  • Despite the best efforts of the Fed, the US economy just keeps adding jobs.

RETAIL AND CONSUMER

  • Lawsuits to stop the Kroger Albertson’s merger.
  • A huge surprise I know, but recycling is failing.
  • Similarly, consumer brands struggling to meet their commitments to plastic reduction.

RESTAURANTS AND FOODSERVICE

  • Cloud Kitchens – like delivery – struggling to make money in a post-pandemic world.
  • Yes, restaurants have higher prices. But not as much as food costs at home.

FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN

  • Avocado demand – and supply – has become a global phenomenon. Everybody loves avocados.
  • Avian Influenza has typically been a spring problem, spread by migratory fowl. This time it’s different. I million birds affected in Iowa in mid-autumn.
  • Egypt is the tip of the spear on climate change and food production. 5000 year of Nile food production in danger,
  • Canada has been very successful with greenhouses but crops like peppers and tomatoes need more light that the country has in winter. So supply shifts to Mexico.

FOOD WEEK OCTOBER 31 LAGNIAPPE

  • The top crop in Massachusetts is now cannabis.
  • Weird stuff – the history of jam with the ingredient of human blood.

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