Welcome to Food Week February 16, 2024. Super Bowl, Mardi Gras Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday all in the same jam packed week. So wings, a Hurricane, Chocolate, a Paczki and fried fish. Erp. And a jammed update too with cultivated craziness, merger mania, plastic panic, Philly fights, rioja risk and a lot more . Enjoy!
MACRO
- Food and Housing led way to inflationary January.
- About the only sector left with rising prices is grocery Pepsi raised prices seven quarters in a row, not just on soda but on all their lines.
- Why it is hard for some to get Wegovy or other weight loss drugs.
RETAIL AND CONSUMER
- Sweethearts trolls St. Valentines Day with “situationship’ hearts to capture the vibes of modern dating.
- The Bob as in Bob’s Red Mill died but before he did he transferred the company to his employees
- Corn and soybean oil cause inflammation whereas hydrogenated oils cause vascular issues as well. Stick to seed and olive oils.
- Plastic chemicals found in General Mills products.
- Many people are addicted to Publix. And many are addicted because of Publix; chain catching flack as a major supplier of opioids.
- Kroger: we’ll lower prices but only if you let us consolidate the supermarket industry. Relatedly, Colorado DA says C&S unfit to take stores spun off by merger and will replay Haggen’s experience from last decade
- The curse of food deserts. In theory, delivery apps could help solve the dilemma but getting the price right is hard.
RESTAURANTS AND FOODSERVICE
- Many of you now carry your own grocery bags to the store. Is it time to bring your own doggie bags?
- Popeye’s now number 3 supplier of wings in QSR. Also a ranklet of QSR breakfast sandwiches with a surprise winner.
- QSR is the worst offender regarding exploiting under age labor.
- McDonald’s swears it will focus on affordability after bad press on prices. One way may be the return of their dollar menu. Or maybe it is as easy as trotting out the Grimace or the Hamburglar.
- Hot for hot chicken: free giveaway at new restaurant leads to fights in Philly.
- Boston Market death watch.
- Are all Dunkin Donuts made fresh in store? No, but some are.
FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
- Cheese depends heavily on a diverse ecology microbes. However, that diversity is collapsing and, among other things, cheeses like camembert and brie are threatened.
- Walmart and General Mills are working on scaling up regenerative agriculture. A goal is to keep carbon in the soil rather than the atmosphere. How much carbon can farms really sequester? A lot, in theory, but it is really hard to tell.
- The herbicide Dicambia outlawed by the FDA, much to the chagrin of the large farms that use it.
- Listeria outbreak in Cotija cheese.
- El Nino causing bankruptcies among Brazilian farmers.
- The concept of an octopus farm is controversial.
- Producing cinnamon. Plus the difference between Ceylon and Saigon varieties.
- Tennessee latest state to ban cultivated meat. It’s part protectionism and part culture war BS. And probably not constitutional.
- Milk Wars. The dairy industry’s fight to hold onto the word milk.
DRINK CORNER
- Fraud, bankruptcy and crisis in the Rioja industry. So if you can’t get a rioja, try a Barolo.
- Correct usage of your Hawthorne strainer.
- Alcohol industry scared but intrigued by ‘sober curious‘ younger generation.
- The Snifter vs. the Glencairn for your whiskey tasting. A listicle of 10 best whiskey glasses. But if you like it on the rocks…
FOOD WEEK FEBRUARY 16 LAGNIAPPE
- I would check the coding; 1700 year old egg discovered, preserved by anaerobic conditions.
- The role of the gut in maintaining mental health.
- Stealing 133 tons of chicken will get you in trouble anywhere. But in Cuba, it is practically treason.
- Sardinia is in the ‘Blue Zone;’ People there frequently live to 100. Here is a look at their diet.
- Which came first, the can or the can opener? (The can, thanks to Napoleon.) Also, John Locke’s recipe for pancakes. But, also, too pancake syndrome – an allergic reaction not from wheat but that can land you in the hospital.
- Ingredient swap-outs. Myths about cooking. Homemade bread hack. And one for parchment paper. No, really.
- Introducing the better-for- you purple tomato. The health miracle of black pepper.
- Wooden cutting boards have been preferred by many but not being made of plastic maybe their best selling point as this time.