Welcome to Food Week August 15, 2025. Notice: because of inflation we are doubling our price. Inflation is bad but you could be growing corn, soybeans or vegetables. Or work at the Tesla diner. A QSR. Or someone who eats a lot fries. Or if you are forced to drink the Dolly Parton Dirt Road Martini. Otherwise, enjoy!

MACRO

• Wholesale prices grew fasttest in 3 years. Tariffs and inflation worries are making consumers gloomy.

• For instance beef prices are at an all time high. And leading the way on the inflation front is Vegetables; up 38% versus a year ago.

• Make America Healthy Again apparently doesn’t include regulating pesticides, at least as far as RFK Jr. is concerned.

RETAIL AND CONSUMER

• Big CPG trying to connect with MAHA moms.

• Coke and Dolly Parton team up for a new cola flavor at Dollywood.

• We live in the age of the QR code.

• More from those Market Basket maniacs.

RESTAURANTS AND FOODSERVICE

• $1 sushi balls at a place called Bloop Bloop

• QSR chains struggling. Almost all of them.

• The Tesla Diner is the Cybertruck of restaurants: Nothing as promised, nothing works right.

• Starbucks wants you to have your coffee in less than four minutes.

• A restaurant that serves only Lasagna and Tiramisu.

• Millions in Texas told to avoid drive-thru lines because of air pollution.

• World’s biggest menu? Mother’s Comfort Food and Cocktails.

• Eating your face off in New Orleans.

FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN

• California has some of the strictest labor laws in the country but farmworkers still die from heat.

• Brazil happy to supply China with soybeans if the US wants to play tariff games.

• Bumper crop of corn just when export markets are getting trickier. Farmers are worried they are going to go broke.

• VIneyards in Southern France hit by wildfires.

• Chlormequat is a banned chemical that shows up in oat cereals..

• Who is the largest tomato producer in the world?

DRINKS

• The destruction of Irish whiskey industry via tariffs.

• The origins of the Pina Colada.

• Lager contest to determine the best.

• Umami getting to be a big deal in craft cocktails.

• Dolly Parton’s Dirt Road martini sounds horrible. Here are some better cocktails. The Transfusion. The Southside.The Amelia. The Green Tomato Martini (maybe).

FOOD WEEK August 15 LAGNIAPPE

• How to make an Italian upset? Add another ingredient to Cacio e Pepe.

• Fermenting unripe coffee beans works as well as waiting for the crop to come in.

• Don’t take food advice from a Large Language Model (AI). ChatGPT almost ends a guy.

• The impact of the high protein diet.

• Brussels sprouts are good for you but only if you don’t add bacon and sugary things and other stuff which means they probably aren’ good for you.

• You ‘ll be shocked to learn that french fries are really bad for diabetes too.