Food, in brief

The FAO, the UN's food agency, published a brief on Pakistan's food supply, reported on Monday. [1]

It compared the food Pakistan grows and imports with what its 2018 diet guide says people need, across 10 food groups, from 2010 to 2023. [1]

Cereals and sugar are in excess of what the guide calls for. [1]

Vegetables, fruit, roots and tubers such as potatoes, and pulses such as lentils fall well short. [1]

The vegetable gap grew from 10.9-17.8 million tonnes in 2010 to 13-21.6 million tonnes in 2023, and the fruit gap to 3.9-14.3 million tonnes. [1]

More than 60% of Pakistanis cannot afford a healthy diet, the brief says. [1]

Milk, meat and eggs improved over the same years, and fats and oils moved into the range the guide asks for. [1]

The FAO asks for taxes on foods high in sugar, salt and unhealthy fat, front-of-pack labels, and more farm investment in vegetables, fruit and pulses. [1]

Wheat farmers are sowing their third crop since Pakistan's government stopped promising to buy wheat at a set price in April 2025. [2]

Pakistan's new guide price of 4,500 rupees per 40kg names no buyer, Dawn, a Pakistani newspaper, says in an editorial. [2]

Pakistan now has 11.1 million farms, up from 8.26 million in 2010, and the average farm shrank from 6.4 acres to 5.3. [3]

On small, scattered plots the cost of buying and running a machine is hard to earn back, farmers and economists told Dawn. [3]

Why it matters. The next test is the wheat now going into the ground: Dawn says Pakistan's government has not said what it will buy, through which agency, with what money or by when. [2]

Environmental groups welcomed Lula's narrow re-election on Sunday, because they feared a Bolsonaro win would give Brazil's farm and mining businesses more power. [4] The vote drew attention abroad partly for what it means for the future of the Amazon rainforest. [5] But Lula must govern alongside Brazil's most right-wing Congress since democracy returned. [4] Bolsonaro's Liberal Party made the biggest gains of any party. [4]

Why it matters. Mercosur, a South American trade group that includes Brazil and Argentina, has just had its trade deal with the European Union approved after 25 years of talks. [7] The FT reports a feud between Lula and Argentina's president, Javier Milei, and one economist warns that politics inside the group is putting its survival at risk. [7]

Emilia-Romagna, a region of northern Italy, has banned uncooked cherry tomatoes in schools, hospitals, care homes and nursing homes while officials look for a Salmonella source. [8] The region has counted 112 cases of one strain, Salmonella Strathcona, and five of a second between 2024 and 2026. [8] Puglia, in the south, made a similar order earlier. [8] Since July more than 160 people have fallen ill in 10 European countries. [8]

Why it matters. Officials say fresh tomatoes pass through so many hands that they cannot yet name the farms or traders involved. [8] Until they can, schools and hospitals carry the ban instead of one supplier, and the strain has been found before in a Sicilian grower's irrigation water. [8]

Virginia's health department now counts 55 people ill in 19 US states with a strain called Salmonella Telelkebir, linked to oysters from the Little Wicomico River. [9] The Little Wicomico Oyster Company has recalled some of its oysters. [9] It worked with the CDC, the US public health agency, to warn the restaurants and shops that bought them. [9] The river has been closed to shellfish harvesting. [9]

Why it matters. Oysters are often eaten raw, so nothing between the river and the plate kills the germ. The oysters were sold on to restaurants and shops, which is how one river's harvest reached people in 19 states. [9]

Volare, a Finnish start-up, has finished a factory in Pori, Finland, that can make up to 5,000 tonnes of insect protein and 2,000 tonnes of insect oil a year. [10] It was built on schedule and within its 15-million-euro budget, inside an old newspaper printing works. [10] Black soldier fly larvae are fed on leftovers from local food factories. [10] Much of the output is already sold, including to Skretting, a big maker of fish feed. [10]

Why it matters. Its chief executive says plants built now learn from the first insect farms' mistakes, and Volare automates only part of the process. [10] It has raised 7.1 million euros more and is planning a second plant. [10]

Dubai's environment authority announced the Dubai Food Security Strategy 2030 on Sunday. [11] It was approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, the crown prince of Dubai, one of the seven United Arab Emirates. [11] It has five aims: food that is available, affordable, safe, sustainable and backed by local industry. [11] Its plans include growing more food locally, strengthening supply chains, cutting food waste and drawing in investment. [11]

Why it matters. The strategy says it wants a food system that keeps working through emergencies and swings in the market. [11] The announcement, as reported, gave no target for how much food Dubai should grow itself.

On a farm in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, an AI camera films each of George McMaster's 300 cows every day and flags changes, such as lameness, often before a person could see them. [12] Another farmer, Caleb Howard, milks 90 Jersey cows with a robot that the cows visit when they choose. [12] At a Farmers Weekly webinar, adviser Louise Penn said larger farm businesses already invest in AI. [13] Smaller farms often lack the time, money or skills to try it, she said. [13]

Why it matters. Healthier cows give more milk, the McMasters say, so the gain goes to whoever can pay for the camera. [12] Penn said there is too little training for farmers who are interested but short of time and money. [13]

Storm Boelo's rain and 50mph winds forced Bates Farm in Cheshire, England, to cancel pumpkin picking for about 1,000 cars on Sunday. [14] Sisters Ali and Fiona Wilshaw put the cost at about 50,000 pounds, counting refunds, lost sales and repairs. [14] In Ireland, Met Eireann, the weather service, said all well-drained soils are saturated and most heavier soils are waterlogged. [15] It expects few chances to spray crops this week. [15]

Why it matters. The sisters say the farm already runs on tight margins, and that much of the cost, such as refunds and lost sales, is hidden. [14] In Ireland, poor drying weather leaves farmers few days for field work. [15]

Reservoir, a US company that tests farm robots on working farms, said on 20 October it will open a site in Washington state's Yakima Valley in spring 2027. [16] It already runs farms in Salinas and Sonoma in California and Yuma in Arizona, and more than 30 start-ups are members. [16] The new site will test machines on apples, pears, cherries and blueberries. [16] John Deere, the tractor maker, has pledged 10 million dollars over three years. [16]

Why it matters. Labour makes up 50% to 57% of the yearly running costs of a Washington apple orchard. [16] The head of Washington's tree-fruit research body says growers will not take up machines that were not tested locally. [16]

A University of Bath study of a two-year pilot in Peru's Amazon, reported on 20 October, found that cash with no conditions helped protect the forest. [17] Cool Earth, a UK charity, gave 211 Ashaninka people six payments worth about 2 pounds a day. [17] Households unable to afford nutritious food fell from 73% to 26%. [17] Almost 90% of people took up practices such as replanting trees and burning less forest. [17]

Why it matters. Other researchers warn that cash elsewhere has been spent clearing land for farms, and this study did not measure the forest itself. [17] It covered only about 500 hectares, so a bigger trial would be needed. [17]

The FDA, the US food safety regulator, has sent a warning letter to RDM Express, a food maker in San Francisco. [18] Inspectors found gaps in its food safety plan, its cleaning and its controls for chilled, ready-to-eat fermented cabbage. [18] The letter also cites labelling faults on its Russian-style kvas drink, sour cabbage and half-sour pickles. [18] Companies have 15 days to reply to such a letter. [18]

Why it matters. Ready-to-eat food is not cooked again at home, so a mistake in the factory reaches the plate. Warning letters often come only after a firm has had months or years to fix problems. [18]

A flock of 1,250 sheep and 160 goats walked through central Madrid on Sunday for the yearly Transhumance Festival. [19] Transhumance is the old practice of moving animals between summer and winter grazing along drovers' roads. [19] Officials staged the symbolic payment of 50 maravedis, an old Spanish coin, per thousand animals, a ceremony dating from 1418. [19] This year the route avoided Puerta del Sol, where housing campaigners are camped. [19]

Why it matters. Grazing flocks eat dry undergrowth, which lowers the risk of wildfires, the report notes. [19] The festival keeps a farming practice in public view in one of Europe's biggest cities.

Wonder, a US food start-up founded by Marc Lore, plans to open at least 100 shops in Texas by the end of 2027, CNBC reported on Sunday. [20] It cooks food in central kitchens, then finishes it in all-electric shops that sell dishes from more than two dozen restaurant brands. [20] It has opened 170 shops in three years and raised 3.3 billion dollars. [20] From 17 November, influencers and brands can pay 10 dollars a month to run their own restaurant brand from a Wonder kitchen. [20]

Why it matters. Wonder owns Grubhub, a delivery app, so orders on its own app carry no delivery fee. [20] Lore has said the company will be ready to sell shares on the stock market early next year, and he wants cooking and delivery fully automated by 2040. [20]