Food, in brief

Defra, Britain's farm and food ministry, proposed on Monday 26 October to phase out stunning pigs with high-strength carbon dioxide before slaughter. [1][2]

Stunning makes an animal unconscious before it is killed. The Animal Welfare Committee, which advises the UK governments, found carbon dioxide causes pigs pain and anxiety first. [2]

It reported breathing distress and other bad reactions in pigs before they lose consciousness. [1]

Defra wants argon gas or automated electrical stunning instead. The committee found argon far less unpleasant and electricity close to instant. [1][2]

Stunning a pig with carbon dioxide costs about 42p, by an estimate from AHDB, the farm levy body. Argon would cost 1.36 to 1.49 pounds, and electricity about 1.11 pounds. [1]

A consultation runs until 21 December and asks about welfare gains, costs, practical problems and how long a switch should take. [1]

Defra has worked on it since April 2024 with pig processors, equipment makers, gas suppliers and animal welfare groups. [2]

The National Pig Association, which speaks for pig farmers, says no alternative has yet worked at the scale of a commercial plant. [1]

It wants time to test the options, a full study of the costs, and a look at pork from abroad that is still stunned with carbon dioxide. [1]

AHDB also warned of slower slaughter lines and more competition from imports. Defra says dropping carbon dioxide would make plants less exposed to gas shortages. [1]

Farming minister Stephen Morgan said shoppers want to know their meat meets high welfare standards. [1][2]

Committee chair Madeline Campbell called the case for change "incontrovertible" and asked for the shortest possible switch. [1][2]

Why it matters. The consultation closes on 21 December, and the next test is what timescale Defra sets and whether its rule reaches imported pork stunned with carbon dioxide. [1]

Luz Maria de la Mora, a trade official at UNCTAD, the UN's trade and development body, said on Monday that fertiliser prices have risen dramatically. [3] She said many countries now use less, which will hurt crops next year. [3] She spoke at a forum in Doha, Qatar, as the US-Israel war on Iran disrupts the Strait of Hormuz. [3] About a third of the world's traded urea, a nitrogen fertiliser, usually comes from the Gulf, Reuters reported in April. [4]

Why it matters. Nitrogen must be spread every season, so cutting it puts yields at risk. [4] Zimbabwe's minister Monica Mutsvangwa said more than 70% of her country's people depend on farming. [3]

US farmers had harvested 60% of their corn by Sunday, up from 44% a week earlier, the US farm department said on Monday. [5] That is behind the five-year average of 66%. [5] The soybean harvest reached 79%, a little ahead of the usual 77%. [5] In Minnesota, corn jumped to 65% from 38%, and one farmer reported 60-bushel soybeans and corn above 200 bushels an acre. [6]

Why it matters. The cotton harvest is 52% done, ahead of its usual 45%. [5] Only 23% of US pasture is rated good to excellent, the same as a week earlier. [5]

NASS, the statistics arm of the US farm department, said on 23 and 24 October that an error had skewed its September corn forecast. [11] It had used the wrong weights to combine watered and unwatered fields in Kansas and Nebraska. [11] The corrected yields are 119 bushels an acre in Kansas, down 3, and 182 in Nebraska, up 5. [11] The national figure rose 0.3 to 178.8. [8][11] Economist Dan Basse said it took 30 days and the industry to find the mistake. [9]

Why it matters. Farmers in Illinois, Nebraska, Missouri and Indiana told Brownfield, a US farm news service, that they trust the numbers less, because the numbers move grain prices. [10] The USDA says it will add checks before it publishes, and its deputy secretary Stephen Vaden says it is reviewing how results are added up. [9][10]

Pakistan's food security minister, Rana Tanveer Hussain, said on Monday the government will keep wheat reserves of up to six million tonnes. [12] Days earlier the prime minister raised the price the state pays farmers by 1,000 rupees, to 4,500 rupees for 40kg. [12] The minister said imported wheat would cost about the same, so the state will buy from Pakistani farmers first. [12] Up to 550,000 tonnes may still be imported if provinces need it. [12]

Why it matters. He called the latest jump in wheat prices artificial and said prices should settle within days. [12] He also said the higher price could let Pakistan export wheat next year. [12]

The US shut its border to cattle from Mexico in May 2025 to stop the New World screwworm, a fly whose young feed on live flesh. [13] It partly reopened in August and September 2026. [13] Economists at FAPRI, a farm policy centre at the University of Missouri, modelled imports staying near 330,000 head a year instead of returning to over 1.2 million. [13] US beef and cattle prices rise, with ready-to-slaughter cattle 4.2% dearer in 2029 than if trade recovered. [13]

Why it matters. The cattle do not vanish: Mexico fattens and slaughters more of them and sells more beef to the US. [13] Less beef is made in total, and it costs more. [13]

US agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins announced 325 million dollars for 42 projects on Monday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. [14] The money comes from a programme that pairs federal funds with private ones to protect soil and water on farms. [14] One Iowa project plans more than 300,000 acres of cover crops, which are grown between main crops to hold the soil. [14] Separately, the USDA's conservation service is putting 65 million dollars into 34 projects testing new methods. [15]

Why it matters. In the field trials, farmers are paid to cover the risk of trying a new method. [15] The USDA says the Iowa project will cut nitrogen losses by about 3.3 million pounds and soil losses by 1 million tons. [14]

A letter from 88 farm, labour, processor and environmental groups asked the US Congress on Friday to pass the Milk from Family Dairies Act. [16] Senator Peter Welch of Vermont brought the bill in July. [16] It would pay dairy farmers a price based on their costs, curb huge dairies, and tighten controls on imported milk. [16] The US has lost more than 70% of its dairy farms since 1997, and 24,000 are left. [16]

Why it matters. The groups say it would save taxpayers about 1.5 billion dollars by ending dairy insurance schemes it makes unneeded. [16] Wisconsin farmer Sarah Lloyd said her family sold its herd two years ago after years of low prices. [16]

Ernst Tanner, the 80-year-old chairman of Lindt, the Swiss chocolate maker, said he will not resign. [17] He told a Swiss paper that Lindt underestimated how shoppers would react to its steep price rises. [17] Some shops now sell Lindt on discount, which he said pains him to see. [17] The chief executive left last week, and former boss Dieter Weisskopf is running the company for now. [17]

Why it matters. Tanner ruled out job cuts across Lindt's roughly 15,000 staff. [17] Cocoa costs are still high, so every chocolate maker faces the same pull between price and how much it sells. [17]

J.M. Smucker, an Ohio food company, has grown Uncrustables, its crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, into a 1 billion dollar brand, Food Dive reported on Monday. [18] They have been sold frozen since 2000 and take about 30 minutes to thaw. [18] This year Smucker released a version that keeps in the fridge for up to five days. [18] It changed the recipe so the bread stays soft and the filling stays in. [18]

Why it matters. Smucker says shoppers had been thawing them on car dashboards, so a fridge version reaches people who will not wait. [18] It has also sold a version with 12 grams of protein. [18]

Zevia, a US soda brand with less sugar, got 20 million dollars from GP Investments, a private equity firm. [19] Founded in 2007, it has seen years of falling sales while newer rivals Olipop and Poppi grew. [19] An activist investor had called for it to be sold earlier this year. [19] It hired a former Red Bull executive as chief executive. [19]

Why it matters. The money pays for new products and wider sales, as low-sugar sodas crowd the shelf. [19]

A University of California, Davis study of 16 fruit farms in California and Washington found robots and AI still depend on human judgement. [20] At one orchard a system predicted 420 bins of fruit; a manager said 385, and he was within 2%. [20] A worker and a ripeness sensor agreed on 200 apples 76% of the time. [20] One robot harvester ran at under a third of a human crew's speed and spoiled twice as much fruit. [20]

Why it matters. The researchers found machines change farm jobs more than they remove them, adding work such as repairs and reading data. [20]

Two large Alsatian dogs killed 59 lambs near Wigan, in north-west England, on 21 October, and eight more are recovering. [21] The farmer, Mr Blacklidge, says police told him two days later they would not pay for more enquiries and would return the dogs. [21] He puts his loss at 23,000 pounds. [21] A law giving police more power over dog attacks on livestock came into force in March 2026. [21]

Why it matters. Greater Manchester Police now tell Farmers Weekly an investigation is under way. [21] The farmer says the new law gives police exactly the power to act in a case like his. [21]

At least 18 million people living in poverty across the Indo-Pacific fish in seagrass meadows, researchers wrote in The Conversation on Monday. [22] Seagrass is a flowering plant that grows in shallow coastal water. [22] The team surveyed nearly 2,000 households in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Tanzania. [22] Families fishing only in seagrass earned about 23% less than those fishing elsewhere. [22]

Why it matters. Seagrass can be fished on foot without a boat, so it may matter most to families who cannot afford one. [22] About a fifth of the region's surveyed seagrass has been lost over 70 to 90 years. [22]

USDA staff in Bogota expect Colombia's corn crop to fall 6.9% this season, to 1.4 million tonnes. [23] El Nino, a warming of the Pacific that shifts weather, is bringing heat waves. [23] Heat above 35C cuts pollen and can dry out corn before it is fertilised. [23] Low prices paid to farmers have also kept them from planting more, and rice output is set to fall too. [23]

Why it matters. Colombia's imports are set to rise, and the US stays its main supplier of corn and rice under a trade deal. [23]

The UAE Food Bank and Dubai's Community Development Authority have signed an agreement to collect surplus food from weddings and events, The National reported on Monday. [24] The food will be moved and handed to people in need under food safety rules. [24] It extends Dubai Weddings, a government programme that supports families. [24] The two will also run campaigns on food waste and recruit volunteers. [24]

Why it matters. Food that would have been thrown away goes to families who need it. [24]

London firms Azoma and Opply raised 11.2 million and 7.5 million dollars in October, FoodNavigator reported. [25] Profound, from New York, raised 180 million dollars in September. [25] Azoma and Profound help brands show up when shoppers ask an AI assistant what to buy. [25] Opply uses AI to buy ingredients and run supply chains. [25]

Why it matters. McKinsey, a consulting firm, estimates such assistants could handle 3 to 5 trillion dollars of consumer goods sales by 2030. [25] Food brands are paying to appear in their answers. [25]

Indonesia's halal agency, BPJPH, sent the World Trade Organization a 21-page draft decree on halal rules for genetically modified food. [26] The rules would cover the whole chain, from ingredients to storage and sale. [26] Food safety bodies for six Gulf states and Yemen also notified the WTO of rules for gluten-free food. [26] Such food must hold no more than 20mg of gluten per kilo and no wheat, rye, barley or oats. [26]

Why it matters. Countries tell the WTO about new rules so trading partners can comment before they start. More Indonesian halal measures are expected to follow. [26]

A report from the Center for the Environment and Welfare, which calls itself a watchdog, came out on Monday. [28] It says 96% of Farm Action's donations came from animal-rights and environmental foundations and funds that do not name their donors. [28] Farm Action, founded in 2017, says it speaks for small farmers. [28] It has worked with the Make America Healthy Again movement and opposes genetically modified crops, AgDaily reports. [28]

Why it matters. The fight is over who gets to speak for small US farmers in debates over food and farm rules. [28] Farm Action's answer is not in the article. [28]

All Things Rural, a seed wholesaler in Warwickshire, England, is investing 3 million pounds in its site and renaming itself ATR Seed. [27] It has bought what it calls the UK's largest grass-seed mixer, which mixes over 120 tonnes a day. [27] It has also formed a partnership with Feldsaaten Freudenberger, described as Europe's second-largest grass-seed supplier. [27]

Why it matters. British farmers sowing grass for grazing get a bigger supplier with access to German seed stocks. [27]

ODI Global, a London think tank, warns that a new EU rule could cut many of Ethiopia's coffee growers out of Europe, Semafor reported on Monday. [29] From the start of next year, sellers of coffee and cocoa into the EU must prove the crop did not come from cleared forest. [29] Ethiopian coffee is grown mostly by smallholders, whose beans are mixed before sale, so tracing each farm is hard. [29] ODI estimates 60% of these growers could be shut out. [29]

Why it matters. About 15 million Ethiopians work in coffee, and 30% of the country's crop goes to the EU. [29] Ethiopia's coffee authority is still gathering the farm data the rule needs. [29]

The Trump administration is meeting food groups over a proposed US definition of ultra-processed food, Semafor reported on Monday. [30] These are factory-made foods with many additives, and health adviser Calley Means blamed them for a US "chronic disease crisis". [30] The National Restaurant Association is due on Tuesday and the Center for Food Safety on Thursday. [30] The Consumer Brands Association, which speaks for big packaged-food makers, and a flavourings group come after the US midterm elections. [30]

Why it matters. Food makers fear an official definition could be used against them in lawsuits. [30] People familiar with Means's exit say slow progress on a paper proposing the definition helped push him to resign. [30]

Alpha-gal syndrome is an allergy to the meat of mammals such as cows and pigs, caused by certain tick bites. [31] The CDC, the US public health agency, estimates 450,000 Americans have been diagnosed, NPR reported on Monday. [31] Kentucky farmer Brent Williams caught it and now raises ostriches, whose dark red meat lacks the sugar that sets off the allergy. [31] A restaurant in western Kentucky added his ostrich burgers to its menu. [31]

Why it matters. A University of Kentucky nutrition professor says the lone star tick that causes it is growing in number, especially in the US Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and Deep South. [31] The restaurant's owner says people drive three or four hours for an ostrich burger. [31]

A two-year EU-funded project called ECO FLOW is watering olive trees in Gallipoli, in southern Italy, with treated wastewater that would otherwise go to the sea, Euronews reported on Monday. [32] Puglia, the region around it, is short of water, and a bacterium called Xylella has killed many of its olive groves. [32] The trees are two Xylella-resistant varieties. [32] Researchers compare well water, treated water, and water cleaned again with hydrogen peroxide and ultraviolet light. [32]

Why it matters. They will check how much salt and pollution builds up in the soil and in the olives. [32] The project costs more than 1.5 million euros, 75% of it paid by the EU. [32]