Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Lab-grown meat can be labeled kosher and halal as long as its cells are derived in methods compliant with religious standards, according to two panels of experts commissioned by the nascent industry. The opinions are a win for cell-cultivated meat companies, executives said, because it means observant followers of Judaism and Islam could […] Read more
Lab-grown meat can be kosher and halal, experts say
Opinions seen as guidance for future products
Brazil’s JBS reboots plan to list shares in New York
International meat packer hopes for access to lower-cost capital
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — JBS SA, the world’s largest meat packer, on Wednesday proposed listing its shares in New York, hoping the move will bring its multiples closer to peers and that a broader investor base will give it more access to cheaper capital, sending its shares up eight per cent in mid-morning trade. […] Read more
Canada warns VCOOL would sabotage shared Canada-U.S. goals, supply chains
The Canadian government has submitted its views on proposed U.S. food labelling rules
Reading Time: 2 minutes Proposed U.S. country of origin labelling rules run contrary to mutual Canada and U.S. goals to reduce inflation, improve food security and build resilient supply chains, according to a submission from the Canadian government to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “One of the great strengths of the U.S.-Canada bilateral relationship is the successful integration of […] Read more
Inflation, interest rates, input costs catch up to meat sector
Canada's meat industry hits hard times
Reading Time: 4 minutes There’s been a torrent of bad news in the meat sector in the last two months. Tyson Foods reported its first quarterly loss since 2009; HyLife’s processing plant in Windom, Minn., declared bankruptcy; Smithfield Foods is closing 40 sow farms in Missouri; Olymel announced the permanent closure of its Vallée-Jonction hog plant in Quebec; and […] Read more
Italy moves to ban lab-grown food in drive to protect tradition
Ag lobby praises government move; angry reactions from food companies, animal rights groups
Reading Time: 2 minutes Rome | Reuters –– Italy’s government on Tuesday approved a bill banning the use of laboratory-produced food and animal feed as it aims to safeguard the country’s agri-food heritage, its agriculture minister told a news conference after a cabinet meeting. If the proposal is passed by parliament, Italian industry will not be allowed to produce […] Read more
Meat lobby says U.S. voluntary label rule could spur trade action
Ottawa to review Washington's proposed 'Product of USA' rule
Reading Time: 5 minutes U.S. meat industry lobbyists say Washington’s proposed new rules governing voluntary ‘Product of USA’ or ‘Made in the USA’ labels would “impose the same standard” as that country’s now-defunct mandatory country-of-origin labelling (COOL) law — and frustrate U.S. packers who import Canadian meat or livestock. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and its Food Safety and […] Read more
Food, farming, forestry must be transformed to curb global warming, UN says
Earlier draft of panel report called for reduced intake of meat
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Protecting forests, changing diets, and altering farming methods could contribute around a quarter of the greenhouse gas cuts needed to avert the worst impacts of climate change, according to the United Nations’ climate panel. But the changes are unlikely to happen unless governments act to spur them along, the report from the Intergovernmental […] Read more
Biden unveils plan to boost competition in U.S. meat industry
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — The United States will issue new rules and US$1 billion in funding this year to support independent meat processors and ranchers as part of a plan to address a lack of “meaningful competition” in the meat sector, President Joe Biden said Monday. The initiative comes amid rising concerns that a handful of big […] Read more
U.S. packer profit margins jumped 300 per cent during pandemic, economists say
Increased costs don't explain higher profits, White House advisors say
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — Four of the biggest meat-processing companies, using their market power in the highly consolidated U.S. market to drive up meat prices and underpay farmers, have tripled their own net profit margins since the pandemic started, White House economics advisers said. Financial statements of the meat-processing companies — which control 55 to […] Read more
U.S. to lift BSE-related rules off sheep, goat imports
New scrapie-specific rules take effect next month
Reading Time: 3 minutes U.S. restrictions that have hindered that country’s imports of live Canadian sheep and goats, going back to the start of the BSE crisis in 2003, are set to be scrapped and replaced with rules applying specifically to scrapie. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on Friday published a new […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
