The US cattle industry is eating its own tail From rising temperatures to water shortages, ranchers need to be thinking about a plan B

Excellent analysis: "The reality is that the cattle industry is eating its own tail — using up the very resources it needs to sustain itself. It is a clear example of “double materiality” — whereby an industry is the victim of the physical risks it creates for itself."
www.ft.com/content/d287...

Scramble for biodiesel as price drops below regular diesel for first time Oil squeeze driven by Iran war triggers rush to secure replacements

Rising demand for biofuels as diesel prices climb is also likely to put pressure on food prices since many of the feedstock (palm oil, soy, maize, etc) are also used in food products.

www.ft.com/content/a122...

PepsiCo warns that Iran war might push up prices Company recently launched a campaign to cut costs for inflation-weary consumers

Pepsi warns it is likely to increase prices b/c of the war on Iran; No surprises here - food price inflation likely to keep on rising

www.ft.com/content/1011...

Out of pocket: the real cost of fossil fuels on our groceries - IPES-Food Why are food prices rising? Fossil fuel dependence in food systems drives price spikes, climate impacts, and corporate profiteering - by Nicole Pita.

🛒 Why are food prices still rising – and set to rise again?

⛽ Because our food systems run on fossil fuels. When energy prices spike, so do grocery bills.

We have to break food’s dependence on fossil fuels. Here's how.
👉 ipes-food.org/out-of-pocke...

#FuelToFork

The (not so) hidden costs of increasing USDA crop insurance subsidies As USDA is cutting programs that support sustainability and market access for smaller farmers, the Department has made a series of changes to crop insurance subsidies mostly benefiting large commodity...

NEW: A series of changes to USDA crop insurance subsidies will cost the public an estimated additional $38.1 billion over ten years, mostly benefiting large commodity farms, and funneling billions directly to insurers. www.iatp.org/costs-increa...

Ultra-processed foods are a key driver of the global plastics pollution crisis - Nature Food The plastic waste generated by ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is a key driver of the global plastics crisis. Recognizing the integral role of plastics in UPF production is essential to developing a more socio-ecological perspective on these food products. This Comment identifies the linkages between the rise of UPFs and the rise of plastic packaging, calling for a renewed research agenda.

new comment by myself, @jennifer-clapp.bsky.social @katesievert.bsky.social @kimanastasiou.bsky.social and Joe Yates in @natfood.nature.com on ultra-processed foods and the global plastics pollution crisis

New paper in @proghumgeog.bsky.social. Some great colleagues' work is sampled @jennifer-clapp.bsky.social @landstuff.bsky.social @brettchristophers.bsky.social @azadehakbari.bsky.social @jamiepeck.bsky.social @reijer.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
#geosky #ipesky

are the new stands meant to be permanent?

FAO Food Price Index rises in March as Near East conflict raises energy costs Pressure on fertilizer supplies and elevated energy prices add uncertainty to markets, despite a broadly comfortable global cereal supply situation.

FAO data shows food price index up 2.4% compared to February. No surprise that the war is driving up the cost of living on multiple fronts.

www.fao.org/newsroom/det...

stable, predictable, and politically acceptable global commodity prices were blocked when the US congress did not ratify the 1948 International Trade Organization (Havana) treaty and when the US state beat down the 1970s New International Economic Order. New Deal agri subsidies for me but not thee.

Easter eggs stay pricey even as cocoa prices plunge Manufacturers try to recoup some losses after margins were squeezed by spike in cocoa prices

On top of shrinkflation last year, firms are keeping prices of chocolate high despite dramatically lower cocoa prices this year; This kind of profit grab could only happen in a concentrated market that lacks real competition (top five firms hold ~ 50% of the market)
www.ft.com/content/f6d4...

Critical Takes on Corporate Power is two years old today!

Forty-six articles and interviews with interesting thinkers from across civil society on human rights, tax justice, monopoly power, food and farming, tech and many other topics.

Read them all here:

criticaltakes.org/our-takes/

Record number of megadeals agreed in first quarter of the year Twenty-two transactions each valued above $10bn announced in past three months

M&A frenzy in the first quarter of 2026 turbocharges corporate concentration and power under a highly transactional US administration. It's a repeat of the gilded age, complete with extreme wealth concentration.

www.ft.com/content/4c00...

Price controls make a troubling return to the mainstream Governments should focus more on boosting supply and productivity

It's not so much price controls @ retail level that we need, but rather we must tackle corporate concentration and market power by preventing big mergers and acquisitions all along food supply chains in the first place.

://www.ft.com/content/d272c711-178c-4c73-a397-5b8fac200e5f?syn-25a6b1a6=1

Food shock is inevitable due to the Iran war – and it could get bad Even if the conflict in the Middle East ends today, higher fuel, fertiliser and pesticide prices will lead to a food shock in the coming months. There is no easy way out, but accelerating the net-zero...

Chatted with @mjflepage.bsky.social at New Scientist :
“There’s a lot of potential for this to spin out of control ...If we have major climate events, it could definitely spiral into something much more severe.” www.newscientist.com/article/2521...

“There’s a lot of potential for this to spin out of control and lead to a just as severe, if not a worse, crisis [as in the 1970s],” says @jennifer-clapp.bsky.social

“If we have major climate events, it could definitely spiral into something much more severe.”

Food shock is inevitable due to the Iran war – and it could get bad Even if the conflict in the Middle East ends today, higher fuel, fertiliser and pesticide prices will lead to a food shock in the coming months. There is no easy way out, but accelerating the net-zero...

The war on Iran is going to trigger a food shock because of higher prices/shortages of fertilisers, pesticides and fuels 🧪

If the war drags on for months - and/or climate disasters hit, too - global food prices could hit their highest levels ever in real terms

www.newscientist.com/article/2521...

The global food crisis unleashed by the war From Minnesota to Punjab, fertiliser costs are up and harvests are set to be hit

Yep - things on the food security front are bad and could get a lot worse on account of the war on Iran. Fertilizers, fuel, pesticides, & grain trade are all disrupted - it's past time to get off of the fossil fuel-addicted industrial agriculture train.

www.ft.com/content/27e0...

Packed rooms for GEP 25th anniversary panels at ISA this week. @gepjournal.bsky.social @stacydvandeveer.bsky.social @kmoneill.bsky.social @jennifer-clapp.bsky.social @devoncantwell.bsky.social @matpaterson.bsky.social @robertfalkner.bsky.social @bethdesombre.bsky.social

Corporate power in the ag/food system, and why change is so hard, on full display. Global ag/chem company threatens to leave US, accesses top White House officials to find a solution - and also happens to be a leading producer of an important mineral used by US military.

The “marvel” of the industrial food system is really a story of input dependence.

Cargill uses AI to get more meat from the bone as beef prices soar System called CarVe spots flecks of meat on carcasses as they move along the production line

AI is taking over food systems: Cargill is using AI to enforce maximum meat yield from its workers to enhance profits

www.ft.com/content/9089...

US fertiliser bosses cash in as Iran war boosts shares CF Industries aided by access to low-cost US natural gas as energy crisis slams Asian and European competitors

Fertilizer companies are the winners of the Iran war : CF Industries execs have pocketed more than $30mn selling their own stock as share prices surged since the start of the war .
www.ft.com/content/3ded...

Worst of times, best of times.

Looming fertilizer shortages push the world into a new hunger crisis.

But for the concentrated fertilizer market the war on Iran is an extraordinary profit opportunity. Stocks are shooting up.

Fertilizer Giants Make Farmers and Food Production More Vulnerable Fertilizer prices are rising as US and Israel’s attack on Iran closes the critical Strait of Hormuz. In theory, nitrogen fertilizer can be made all over the world, so why is the industry so consolidat...

Excellent analysis from @clairek.bsky.social about the power of the big fertilizer firms in crisis moments like this- always happy to talk with her about these kinds of issues!
foodandpower.substack.com/p/fertilizer...

Farming in the Dark: Unreliable USDA data jeopardizes a sustainable farming transition As farmers struggle to adjust to a changing climate that has led to an increased frequency of droughts, floods, and other extreme weather events, incomplete or inaccurate public data has become a grow...

Interesting new piece from @iatp.bsky.social showing how confidence in USDA data is eroding under the Trump Administration, with serious consequences. www.iatp.org/farming-risk...

Province of Manitoba | News Releases | Manitoba Government Ending Predatory Pricing in Grocery Stores and Other Retail Province of Manitoba

Right now Manitoba is the only province in Canada that understands we can have a say over what goes into the prices we see on store shelves. news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.h...

This is great news! Now we need similar rules across the rest of Canada!

Military escalation in the Strait of Hormuz is disrupting shipping in a key global trade corridor.

UNCTAD warns of risks to energy, fertilizers and vulnerable economies.

Full analysis: https://ow.ly/wC3Z50YsYgf

"As U.S. state and Big Tech become one, we become digital serfs, and it sucks" By Canadian Shield Institute Managing Director @vassb.bsky.social

www.theglobeandmail.com/business/com...