By Gwynne Dyer -The French government has just published a decree banning the use of terms like “steak,” “spare ribs” and “ham” on plant-based foods. It’s not that the French are so stupid that they don’t know which is meat from dead cattle and which is “plant-based steak,” a label that has been used in French supermarkets for at least 40 years.
Uruguay's Agriculture and Livestock Minister Fernando Mattos was voted unanimously by all 32 attending delegations to chair the Inter-American Board of Agriculture (IABA) for the period 2023-2025 during a convention held in San José, Costa Rica, it was announced Friday. Mattos' candidacy was put forward by the representatives from Argentina, it was also reported.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of globally-traded food commodities, averaged 121.5 points in September, compared to 121.4 points in August. At this level, the index is 10.7% below its value a year ago and 24.0% below its all-time high reached in March 2022.
Beef exports from Uruguay were down 19% in July 2023 compared to last year, according to the Uruguay XXI report. Exports in July totaled US$ 144 million, below the US$ 177 million reached in the same month last year.
Brazil is planning to curb dairy imports from Mercosur countries. In the next few days, a decree will be published that will change the rules for tax benefits for dairies, agro-industrial companies, and cooperatives that participate in the Ministry of Agriculture’s milk program PMLS. The objective is to reduce tax incentives for companies that purchase dairy products from abroad.
Some 60 million ducks are to be vaccinated in France over the next year as the country embarks on a campaign to combat bird flu and put an end to mass culls, which cost the poultry industry millions every year.
New global rules for the safe handling of chemicals were adopted at a United Nations conference in the German city of Bonn on Saturday. The Global Framework on Chemicals sets out a roadmap for reducing environmental risks from chemicals and waste.
Brazilian meatpacker Minerva said on Monday it had received a notification from Colombia’s government saying that China has approved a sanitary protocol in order to open its market for Colombian beef exports.
The European Commission has proposed extending approval of the controversial weed killer glyphosate, long manufactured under the name Roundup, by 10 years. Approval in the European Union for the agrichemical is due to lapse this December unless member states agree to a reauthorization.
Falling prices for milk, cheese, and vegetables helped drive a surprise fall in United Kingdom inflation in August, with prices now rising at their slowest rate in a year-and-a-half.