Government efforts to control prices, now that food inflation has risen to the top of political agendas across the globe, may hamper a needed increase in supplies, a Cargill director warned Feb. 15. Paul Conway, senior vice-president and board member with the U.S. agribusiness and trading giant, said it was clear that political instability in
Food Inflation Controls May Backfire
U.K. Organic Sales Stable After Recession Fall
Sales of organic products in Britain has stabilized after a recession-driven decline which was particularly severe in the meat sector, the incoming director of the Soil Association said on Feb. 9. “Last year we saw a drop (in demand), particularly in some areas. The feeling is very much that it is more stable now and
Food Price Spike Shows Reform Urgent
The current spike in food prices is a repeat of the 2007-08 crisis and indicates urgent reforms are needed to a stressed global agricultural system, John Beddington, the U.K. government’s chief scientist said on Jan. 24. “In 2007-08 everyone said this was just a one-off because we have been looking at price declines for 30
Britain Wants Deeper CAP Reform
The EU executive’s plans to reform the common agricultural policy are too timid, Britain’s farming and Environment Minister Caroline Spelman said Dec. 6. The European Commission adopted plans last month that would force farmers to do more to protect the environment in order to justify public subsidies. It also proposed moving some funding from direct
Human Waste Could Be Phosphate Source
Human excreta could have a key role in securing future food security, helping prevent a sharp drop in yields of crops such as wheat due to a shortage of phosphorus inputs, a U.K. organic body said Nov. 29. “It is estimated that only 10 per cent of the three million tonnes of phosphorus excreted by
EU Biofuels Growth On Hold As Green Benefits Queried
The European Union’s biofuels industry is unlikely to expand until the debate about their impact on climate change is resolved and clear policies emerge, the head of a major U.K. biofuels firm said on Nov. 10. “The (biofuels) industry is being held back by a lack of robust discrimination between what is good and what
Food Prices Seen Lower Than In 2007-08 – for Sep. 16, 2010
Rising prices for a wide range of agricultural commodities are stirring fears of global food-driven inflation, but there should be no repeat of the crisis seen in 2007-08 unless governments start to panic. Analysts cite much higher global stocks of staples such as wheat and a more challenging economic environment as factors which should temper
Rapemeal Seen Threatened By U. K. Biofuels Expansion
Rapeseed meal’s place in animal feed rations in Britain looks under threat with the first of two major bioethanol ref ineries due to enter commercial production soon, industry sources said Jan. 28. Ensus is due to ramp up its biorefinery in northeast England during the first quarter of this year. It will take about 1.1
Smaller World Wheat Crop In 2010
World wheat production looks set to fall this year following a sharp drop in plantings in the United States but the crop should still be the third highest on record, the International Grains Council said Jan. 21. The London-based IGC, in a monthly report, forecast world wheat production in 2010 at 653 million tonnes, down
Consumers Seen Holding Key In Food Revolution
“We need to ensure the consumer really is king.” – TORY AGRICULTURE CRITIC NICK HERBERT Consumer power must bring about a revolution in the way food is produced and sold, with healthier food delivering a smaller environmental impact a top priority, according to Britain’s Farm Minister Hilary Benn. Benn, unveiling a new government strategy, said
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