Welcome to Food Week November 15. Things continue to be …lurid. The announcement of Robert Kennedy Jr. to be nominated for Secretary of Health and Human Services has myriad repercussions for food supply and food safety. The attitude by the incoming administration (and the courts) towards the EPA is hostile and that may have profound impacts on chemical use on farms. The change at the FTC will make consolidation more likely. And I haven’t even gotten to impact of tariffs and deportation on the food supply. A lot more below.
MACRO
- After a week of euphoria after the elections, equity markets fall back towards earth, partially caused by Fed pronouncments about future rate cuts.
- A review of food trade group positions on the new Trump administration. And here are thoughts from groups on RFK Jr. heading HHS.
- There will be a change at the Federal Trade Commission where the anti-consolidation chair Lina Khan will be leaving. Whether this can help get Kroger-Albertson’s merger back off its deathbed remains to be seen.
RETAIL AND CONSUMER
- Costco recalling 80k lbs. of butter because they didn’t have a ‘contains milk’ label.
- Kraft claim of no artificial preservatives in its Mac & Cheese not holding up to legal scrutiny.
- Also not holding up is Trader Joe’s marketing of its olive oil. Aldi consumers similarly happy about Chinese processed cod being called ‘Alaskan caught’.
- Ben & Jerry’s in a row with parent company Unilever over the former’s support for Palestinians.
- Lindt walks a fine line between ‘ the highest quality ingredients’ and ‘how could we know there was lead in our chocolate?’ during lawsuit.
RESTAURANTS AND FOODSERVICE
- Michelin starred tacos from Califa de Leon in Mexico City sends a truck to U.S., draws masses for one day in US.
- Court rules that income isn’t necessarily the right determinant for who should get overtime. But doesn’t offer an alternative.
- Just in time for Dawali, an article on the evolution of fine Indian dining Let em just add that the finest meal I had in 2024 was Indienne in Chicago.
- Weird Iowan food innovations.
FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
- Drought destroying chestnut crops. Also in Greece, warming seas endanger mussel harvest. And climate causing havoc with Indian agriculture.
- Besides his anti-vax stance, Robert Kennedy Jr. has taken aggressive positions against ultra-processed foods and raw milk bans. Of course we don’t know if there is much Avian Influenza in raw milk yet.
- One of the dynamics with a Kennedy led HHS is that, while he pledges to get dangerous chemicals out of our food supply, other forces in the Trump Administration will want a loosening of EPA rules on herbicide and other agricultural chemicals.
- Soybeans flirting with record crop and so prices are depressed. USDA cuts back outlook hoping to help.
- Attempts to get more competition into the meatpacking industry are struggling. Meanwhile,more child labor lawsuit settlements for meat plants.
DRINKS
- The contraction in the beer industry continues
- Is coconut rum worth taking seriously?
- Bartenders agree: Fever Tree is the superior tonic.
- Now that you can find green Chartreuse again, have a Last Word. Also a new one on me: the Debbie. Tequila, amaro, maple syrup; what can go wrong?
FOOD WEEK November 15 LAGNIAPPE
- Erythritol even nastier than suspected; increases blood clots in all users.
- Moral panic journalism: NYT headline stating 3/4s of U.S. adults are now overweight or obese. These are two different things. Obesity is a dangerous medical condition. But being overweight is first measured according to body mass index (BMI), a highly controversial statistic. For instance, many professional athletes would be considered overweight (and NFL players would mostly be obese) using BMI. Secondly, people who are overweight have better general health outcomes than people who are in the ‘normal’ range.
- Getting the pesticides off your blueberries.
- Ordering a baguette in France. Repeat after me Pas trop cuite...
- The church of the turkey. A place I refuse to worship.