A McDonald’s crew member prepares french fries in Miami, Florida. Getty Images It’s a timeless question at fast-food counters: Do you want fries with that? Responders continue answering affirmatively at a higher-than-average rate, a top potato supplier indicated. It underscores the resilience of consumer spending, even as inflation pinches pocketbooks and pandemic savings dry up. … Read more
To get an idea of the financial toll extreme weather is taking on this country’s agriculture industry, look no further than the government of Saskatchewan’s books. The prairie province had forecast a more than $1 billion surplus for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, but fresh budget documents released last month show that surplus … Read more
More subtly, heat influences volatile compounds that turn into gas—that’s the “nose” you get when tasting wine—which break down under higher temperatures. “The profiles tend to get pushed to what sensory scientists would call the ‘cooked’ side of the spectrum: more jammy, or like cooked fruit,” says Gambetta. “This can be a good thing. Some … Read more
Coles and Woolworths are being urged to scrap member-only prices for customers who have joined membership programs. A parliamentary hearing into supermarket prices will take place in Melbourne on Wednesday, with consumer advocates to push for fairer prices at the check-out. The inquiry was launched in response to allegations of major supermarkets price gouging customers, … Read more
If you ever watch a duck float across a pond, gobbling up the vegetation coating the surface, that bird is way ahead of its time. The buoyant greenery is azolla, a tiny fern that grows like crazy, doubling its biomass as quickly as every two days to conquer small bodies of water. The duck doesn’t … Read more
Workers collect dry cocoa beans in front of the store of a cocoa cooperative in the village of Hermankono on Nov. 14, 2023. Sia Kambou | Afp | Getty Images Analysts believe the cost of the core chocolate ingredient may have room to extend its record-breaking run, with no sign of significant demand destruction yet … Read more
Major South Australian wine producer Salena Estate Wines has entered voluntary administration, almost a year after it tried to find a buyer. The family owned Riverland winery behind the plonk stocked at Dan Murphy’s and Liquorland was appointed KPMG administrators Tim Mableson and Ryan Eagle last Thursday. The Loxton winery and sprawling vineyard, much of … Read more
Ethanol plant, Milton, Wisconsin. Getty Images Ethanol producer and agri-tech company Green Plains said on Wednesday it would initiate a strategic review, a year after activist investor Ancora sent a letter to its board encouraging it to do just that. Shares jumped more than 15% in midday trading following the news, which was announced alongside … Read more
Some of the sheep and cattle stranded in heatwave conditions aboard a ship off Western Australia after almost a month at sea will be offloaded, with others set to be re-exported. About 16,500 animals are packed into the MV Bahijah, which was ordered by the federal government to abandon its voyage to the Middle East … Read more
JOSSIGNY, France — JOSSIGNY, France (AP) — Protesting farmers encircled Paris with traffic-snarling barricades Monday, using hundreds of lumbering tractors and mounds of hay bales to block highways leading to France’s capital to pressure the government over the future of their industry, which has been shaken by repercussions of the Ukraine war. The blockading of … Read more
