Hey there,
Welcome back to Before the Cutting Board, your weekly roundup of food + supply chain hot topics to help keep you up to speed on what’s going down with your food.
If you’re new to Before The Cutting Board, here’s how it works: The “This Week” section focuses on news and current events, while the “Food Fights” section usually explores some of the interesting debates flying around the food news world.
A huge thank you to everyone who has shown love and shared this newsletter! Please continue to share and spread the word!
Without further ado, let’s dig in.
-This Week-
Troubling reports about the (F)DA
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been under intense scrutiny lately due to lack of oversight and enforcement of food safety regulation. Among the most recent issue was the outbreak of foodborne illness linked to major baby formula brands; it took the FDA four months to act on reports of babies falling ill and five months to initiate the recall process. Now, shortages are higher among baby formula than any other product category. Politico reporter Helena Bottemiller Evich, who has been covering the infant formula outbreak and recall extensively, released a harrowing investigative report last week covering a wide range of structural and procedural failures in the FDA’s food safety programs - to the benefit and security of food industry players, and the detriment of those who have been hospitalized, sick, or died as a result of foodborne illnesses. This week, former deputy commissioner Michael Taylor penned an op-ed calling for the break-up of the FDA so that food policymaking can receive the prioritization it requires, instead of falling behind drug and medical product programs.
Water supplies tighten globally
Countries across the world are grappling with record-breaking droughts. Chile, which is responsible for 60% of South America’s fruit exports, announced that their water availability has dropped by up to 37% over the last three decades and that they are instituting an alert system to begin the process of rationing water. In the US, most attention to droughts has been focused on California - understandable given the threat it poses to the state’s robust agricultural industry. The severity of drought in the West extends beyond California, however, to Southwestern states like Arizona. Additionally, the Southern Plains region - which includes most of the corn belt along with Oklahoma and Texas - is facing its eighth extreme drought in 20 years which threatens corn, wheat, and beef production. Across the Atlantic, countries within East Africa and the Horn of Africa, which also rely heavily on agriculture, are preparing for their most severe drought in four decades.
Poultry and egg industry hit hard by bird flu outbreak
Over the last 2 months, 27 million chickens, turkeys, and other birds have been killed or scheduled to be killed due to a quickly spreading outbreak of avian influenza (bird flu) in the US. Of those 27 million birds, around 19 million egg-laying hens were culled with Iowa, the US’ top egg-producing state taking a big hit. Farmers in Europe have culled over 17 million birds as the virus continues to spread internationally, largely due to the infection of migratory birds. During severe bird flu outbreaks like this one, not only do consumers pay higher prices directly for eggs and poultry, but the impact is also felt in supply chains that rely on eggs - mayonnaise, for example.
Honorable Mentions: The Counter is closing its newsroom :( , Agroecology is gaining recognition for the role it will play in reducing global food system contributions to climate change
-Food Fights-
No food fights this week, to be resumed next week!
That’s it for this week. If you enjoyed reading this, please forward to a friend. Even if you didn’t enjoy reading it, still tell your friends - misery loves company :)