Food, in brief

A fire before dawn on Monday destroyed the Marche des Enfants Rouges, the oldest covered food market in Paris. [1][2]

All 17 of its food stalls burned, and part of its iron and glass roof fell in. [1][2]

No one was hurt except one firefighter, who had a minor injury. [2]

More than 150 firefighters and dozens of vehicles were sent. They fought the blaze for over two hours and kept it from spreading to the buildings around it. [2][4]

Buildings surround the market on every side, and the alleys into it are too narrow for most fire engines, which slowed the firefighters. [2]

Local officials told France 24, a French news channel, that the fire started at 3am and the fire brigade was not called until more than an hour later. [2]

A fire officer said the call came at about 4:15am, and flames already covered about 10,000 square feet when firefighters arrived. [1]

The market opened in 1615, under King Louis XIII. It has been a protected historic monument since 1982. [2][3]

In the 1990s, traders and neighbours held a sit-in to stop it being knocked down for a car park. [1][2]

This year Food & Wine, a US food magazine, ranked it the fifth-best place in the world for street food. [2][4]

Ahmed Ouaddi, who ran a Moroccan couscous stall there for decades, said the traders' livelihoods had gone up in smoke. [2]

The cause is not yet known, and the city says it will investigate. [2][3]

Why it matters. Watch where the city places the 17 traders while the market is shut, which Euronews says could last months, and what investigators find started the fire. [2][3]

The IPC, a partnership of 21 bodies including UN agencies and the World Bank that rates hunger, warned on Monday that famine risk is rising in Sudan's Darfur and Kordofan regions. [5] A drought linked to El Nino now covers about half the country, on top of the war. [5] Crops are growing poorly on nearly two-thirds of North Darfur's farmland. [5] In Nyala, a city in Darfur, the share of children at nutrition clinics with the worst hunger doubled from about 5% to 11% between January and August. [5]

Why it matters. In May, 19.5 million people, over 40% of Sudan, were already short of food. [5] Sudan's government, led by Prime Minister Kamil Idris, says it will sell cheaper bread in Khartoum and other states, and plans an aid convoy to North Kordofan. [6]

Fighting broke out again in September in northern Ethiopia, between Ethiopia's government and an alliance that includes the TPLF, the party that runs the Tigray region. [7][8] Eritrean troops have crossed into Tigray, residents told the BBC. [8] Ethiopia grows about 4.4% of the world's coffee, according to Rabobank, a Dutch bank. [7] Its coffee grows in the south, far from the fighting, and leaves the country through the port of Djibouti. [7]

Why it matters. Expana, a commodity research firm, says coffee prices should feel little unless fighting nears Addis Ababa, the capital. [7] The 2020-22 war in Tigray did not dent coffee exports, but it pushed Tigray itself to the edge of famine. [7][8]

The Trump administration has finished checking a plan by the EPA, the US environment agency, to protect demand for fuel made from crops. [9] In August the EPA let more small oil refineries skip a rule that makes fuel include a share of biofuel. [9] It promised to add the skipped gallons back onto other fuel makers this year and next. [9] Soybean processors expect the proposal to be published in October. [9]

Why it matters. The American Soybean Association warned that without that top-up, biofuel demand would fall by 500 million gallons and soybean farmers would lose almost $1 billion. [9] Independent refiners say the top-up would raise pump prices, and farm and biofuel groups reject that. [9]

The NFU, the main union for farmers in England and Wales, and nine supermarket chains wrote to the UK's finance minister before the 28 October Budget. [10][19] They asked for a tax break on equipment to rise from £1m a year to at least £5m, and to cover farm buildings too. [10] Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Aldi and Lidl were among the signers. [10] The NFU says Britain grows less of its own food than 30 years ago in 10 of 11 main categories. [10]

Why it matters. The change would let a farm take the whole cost of a reservoir, polytunnel or animal shed off its taxable profit in the year it builds it. [10] MPs on the public accounts committee, which checks government spending, were due to hear evidence on Britain's food supply on Monday. [10]

The Tenant Farmers Association, which speaks for farmers who rent their land, asked the UK government for help after what it called a brutal year. [11] It says drought, animal disease and rising costs leave tenants unsure how they will plant next year's crop, or whether banks will keep lending. [11] It wants landlords to cut rents now, without waiting for formal reviews. [11] It backs the NFU's call for interest-free emergency loans. [11]

Why it matters. A tenant must give 12 months' notice to start a rent review, so a cut asked for now lands next year at the earliest. [11] Rents have barely moved for years while costs rose, the association says. [11]

South Dakota farmer Larry Birgen told NPR, a US public radio network, that President Trump's diesel order saves him about 24 cents a gallon at harvest. [12] The order lets trucks use dyed diesel, a fuel normally kept tax-free for farm machines, until the end of the year. [12] US diesel averaged $6.20 a gallon on 5 October, against about $3.50 before the war with Iran. [13]

Why it matters. Scott VanderWal, who leads South Dakota's farm bureau, called it a little bit of a Band-Aid. [12] The BBC found the Iran war cut the Gulf's diesel exports from 1.4 million barrels a day to 670,000, a bigger loss than Russia's. [13]

England's Environment Agency declared drought in Yorkshire on Friday 9 October, after the region's fifth-driest April to September on record. [14] Yorkshire joins central, southern and eastern England. [14] It is England's third drought in five years, after 2022 and 2025. [14] England's reservoirs held 54% of their capacity in early October, and Langsett reservoir held 23%. [14]

Why it matters. The Met Office now expects a wetter, stormier autumn, and heavy rain on hard, dry soil can wash soil and fertiliser into rivers. [14] Until 31 October, farms with water licences may fill their own reservoirs outside the usual dates. [14]

Fires on UK farms cost an estimated £150m in 2025, more than £400,000 a day, according to NFU Mutual, a farm insurer. [15] Fires in crops, buildings and machinery rose 18% to £118m, and vehicle fires added £32m. [15][16] Costs nearly tripled in the east of England, to £23.9m. [15] In Northern Ireland they rose 73%, to £11.8m. [16]

Why it matters. The insurer blames record heat and sunshine, which it says have left the countryside facing an unprecedented fire risk at harvest. [15] It wants more money for rural fire services and a national wildfire plan. [15]

The UK energy department approved the Green Hill solar farm in Northamptonshire on 8 October. [17] It will cover 1,200 hectares, about 2,965 acres, with panels and batteries and make 500 megawatts. [17] Sarah Bool, the local Conservative MP, said the UK government accepts the land will be out of food production for at least 60 years. [17] She wants panels on warehouse roofs instead. [17]

Why it matters. The developer says the farm will power about 200,000 homes and strengthen energy security. [17] The UK government wants 45 to 47 gigawatts of solar power by 2030, and dozens more big solar farms are already in the planning system. [17]

Low Carbon, a developer, plans a 2,400-acre solar farm in west Oxfordshire that would make 500 megawatts, enough for 145,000 homes. [18] It is one of three very large solar farms planned in the county. [18] Because it would make more than 100 megawatts, the UK energy secretary decides, not the local council. [18] Neighbours told the BBC they were shocked, angry and scared. [18]

Why it matters. One resident said it would turn farmland into an industrial landscape, while some farmers see solar as a profitable use of their land. [18] Low Carbon says a public consultation will start in the new year. [18]

Arable land in England sold for an average £10,600 an acre in the first nine months of 2026, and pasture for £8,700, says Strutt & Parker, a land agent. [19] Both are £200 more than a year before. [19] Fewer farms are coming up for sale, which holds prices up: land marketed in the third quarter was 16% below the five-year average. [19] Farmers made 62% of purchases, their highest share in over a decade. [19]

Why it matters. Sales slowed before the 28 October Budget, as buyers wait to see whether new inheritance tax rules on farms are reversed. [19] High fuel and fertiliser costs and low yields still weigh on arable farmers, the agent says. [19]

Yara, a Norwegian company and one of the world's biggest makers of nitrogen fertiliser, has invested in Stenon, a German start-up. [20] Stenon's handheld device measures how much nitrogen a field's soil holds, and its software turns that into fertiliser advice. [20] The money adds to an €18 million round earlier this year. [20] Stenon says its tool is used on several million acres in Europe, Central Asia, Brazil and California. [20]

Why it matters. Nitrogen can vary a lot inside one field, so a reading can show where less fertiliser will do. [20] Stenon's chief executive called Yara a good match because it makes the input his tool helps farmers use more carefully. [20]

B&G Foods, a US food company, has dropped the sale of its Green Giant vegetable brand in Canada to Nortera Foods. [21] In August, Canada's Competition Bureau, which polices competition, asked a tribunal to block the deal. [21] It said prices could rise and choice shrink, because Nortera already leads Canada's canned and frozen vegetables with brands like Del Monte. [21] The 24 September deadline for approval passed without it. [21]

Why it matters. B&G keeps Green Giant in Canada for now. [21] B&G says it will look for another buyer or partner, and Nortera will still make Green Giant's Canadian products under contract. [21]

About 15 of the world's 50 largest consumer-goods companies changed chief executives in 2025, says Issy Perez of Boyden, an executive search firm. [22] Hershey, the chocolate maker, replaced Michele Buck with Kirk Tanner. [22] Perez says boards now want leaders who can reshape whole sets of brands, and expect results within 18 to 24 months. [22] Sales volumes are flat, and weight-loss drugs and cheaper store brands are taking buyers. [22]

Why it matters. Perez says the old ways of growing, such as raising prices on established brands, are losing force. [22] Women are still rare at the top of the biggest food makers. [22]

Kraft Heinz will launch its first ramen, a Mac and Cheese ramen, in early 2027, its first new food category in two decades. [23] It is part of a $700 million plan to revive its brands. [23] The company says it has automated about 85% of the work of rewriting product listings when sites like Amazon change their rules. [23] Spins, a retail data firm, has launched a tool showing brands how AI shopping assistants describe their products. [24]

Why it matters. More shoppers ask AI tools like ChatGPT or Walmart's Sparky what to buy, and those tools choose from the product data they can read. [24] Spins says brands can no longer count on a good product being found on its own. [24]

Clio Snacks, which makes chilled Greek yoghurt bars, has been bought by Stride Consumer Partners, a private equity firm, for an undisclosed sum. [25] Clio's sales grew from $9 million in 2019 to an estimated $60 million in 2024. [25] It expects to make more than 150 million bars this year in New Jersey, and sells in about 60,000 US stores. [25] Stride earlier backed Yasso, a frozen yoghurt brand that Unilever bought in 2023. [25]

Why it matters. Private equity firms buy young food brands, grow them, then sell them on, often to a big food company. [25] Food Dive, a trade news site, says young brands may turn to them to avoid higher borrowing costs. [25]

The US Department of Agriculture expects 50.6 million tons of alfalfa, a crop grown to feed cattle, this year, 1% more than in 2025. [26] Other hay falls 4%, to about 70 million tons, because lower yields cancel out more land. [26] Kansas's other hay dropped from 4.3 million tons to 2.88 million, and Illinois's hit a record low. [26] Final figures come in January. [26]

Why it matters. Yields vary widely because of drought in parts of the central and southern US Plains. [26] Timely rain lifted the estimate for other hay by 7% since August, but not back to last year's level. [26]

Michael Stanek, a farmer in northeast Nebraska, told Brownfield, a farm radio network, that this is the best soybean crop he has ever grown, at 75 to over 80 bushels an acre. [28] US corn prices rose slightly on Monday, recovering part of Friday's fall after the USDA's bigger-than-expected crop forecast. [27] APK-Inform, a Ukrainian grain consultancy, cut its estimate of Ukraine's corn crop to 31.8 million tons and raised wheat to 25.5 million. [27]

Why it matters. Traders expect the war to keep limiting Ukraine's grain exports into at least 2027. [27] Weekly US crop reports were delayed to Tuesday by Monday's federal holiday. [27]

The World Food Forum opened on Monday at the Rome headquarters of the FAO, the UN's food agency, and runs until 16 October. [29] Leaders from Italy, Ireland, Turkey, Peru and Angola were among those who spoke at the opening. [29] FAO launched 35 new national youth groups the same day. [29] Indigenous experts opened their own meeting at FAO, held inside two Sami tents. [30]

Why it matters. FAO's head, Qu Dongyu, said the world has to do more and better at scale as climate extremes grow. [29] Its investment meetings try to match governments with investors for farm projects. [29]

The Welsh government agreed on Friday that members of Red Tractor and Pasture for Life, two farm assurance schemes, can use that membership to meet part of its new Sustainable Farming Scheme. [31] The part covers how farms check and plan animal health. [31] A similar deal with Welsh Lamb and Beef Producers came last month. [31] Farmers outside these schemes must finish the steps by the end of December. [31]

Why it matters. The Welsh government says it removes duplicated paperwork, and the Farmers' Union of Wales had complained about the extra vet costs. [31] The union wants a simpler system for 2027. [31]

Surrey County Council in England has given 17 farms and rural firms grants of £10,000 to £35,000, from a £500,000 fund. [32] More than 50 applied. [32] The money buys GPS steering for tractors, collars that keep cows in without a wire fence, milk and meat vending machines and digital beehive monitors. [32] Surrey has about 500 farms, worth about £502m a year to its economy. [32]

Why it matters. Farmer Hugh Broom said GPS steering means less overlap in the field, less waste and less diesel. [32] The money comes from the UK government's Shared Prosperity Fund. [32]

England's Environment Agency opened Flood Action Online, a website of flood advice, at the start of Flood Action Week on 12 October. [33] The UK government says it will spend £4.2bn on flood defences from April 2026 to March 2029. [33] It aims to protect 200,000 more properties. [33] In its first two years almost 62,000 were better protected, above a target of 52,000, it says. [33]

Why it matters. The Met Office expects a wetter, stormier autumn after the drought. [14] The agency keeps 260 mobile pumps and has 600 people on call at any time. [33]

University of Illinois Extension surveyed more than 11,700 households in 28 rural Illinois counties between 2022 and 2025. [34] Nearly four in five who ran a speed test had connections below the US regulator's benchmarks. [34] Only 39% of farms said their connection could run precision farming, where machines use data to place seed and fertiliser. [34] A third of farms had no fixed line and used satellite or mobile signals. [34]

Why it matters. GPS tractors, irrigation monitors and grain-bin sensors need a steady link, and where it fails farmers drive into town to find a signal. [34] Nearly 60% of farms said they would host broadband equipment on their land. [34]

Togo's cotton company, NSCT, says average cotton yields rose from 570 kilograms a hectare four years ago to more than a tonne in the 2025-26 season. [35] It credits soil-building methods it began teaching in 2023, such as not ploughing and rotating crops. [35] Farmer Badakizi Yawa says insect traps cut her pest sprays from seven or eight a season to three or four. [35]

Why it matters. Cotton earns about 20% of Togo's exports, and many cotton families grow their own food on the same soil. [35] The company's figures cannot show how much of the rise comes from the new methods alone. [35]

Researchers at Imperial College London got lettuce and tobacco plants to make myoglobin, a red protein found in meat, for the first time. [36] They put the instructions into the part of the plant cell that captures sunlight. [36] Meat-free burgers today get a similar red protein from yeast grown in costly sterile tanks. [36] The study is published in Frontiers in Plant Science. [36]

Why it matters. Plants are cheaper to grow than yeast, and lettuce is already a food, which could make approval simpler. [36] A scientist at the Good Food Institute, which promotes meat alternatives, said field crops would likely be faster than tanks. [36]