Chocolate manufacturers will face a serious cocoa supply shortage unless they work to improve the livelihoods of cocoa farmers and allow them to invest in sustainable production, according to an academic.
French meat industry union Sniv-SNCP has started an “offensive strategy”, including potential court action, to combat misinformation spread by the media.
Brazilian meat industry and government representatives have defended the country’s efforts to reduce deforestation, regretting the “misinformation” spread by the European media.
Ireland’s new animal health and welfare bill must not be an obstacle to the farming sector’s competitiveness, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has said.
A suggestion to remove parts of chicken brains so they become unaware of their living conditions on intensive farms has come under attack from animal welfare organisations.
Dispatches from Feeding the World conference in Geneva
How to tackle obesity and hunger remains a two-pronged challenge for the agri-food industry, but increasing crop yield is not the answer - instead the focus should be on boosting the nutritional value of crops, claims a sustainable food systems activist.
Agricultural scientists in Scotland and Brazil have signed a formal agreement for research teams from the two countries to work together on joint projects.
The discovery of a 'nourishing gene' that controls how nutrients are distributed in plants and crops could offer hope for improved crop yield and increased food production, say researchers.
The balance of power in global food production is shifting away from national governments to multi-national firms and from western economies to emerging nations, warns a new report from SAC’s Rural Policy Centre. In the first of a two-part series, we...
Ketchup made from organically grown tomatoes contain higher levels of beneficial antioxidant compounds – like polyphenols – than ketchup made from conventional tomatoes, say researchers.
Global food systems need an immediate transformation to meet current and future threats to food security and environmental sustainability, according to a new report.
UK consumers are confused by ‘an abundance’ of animal welfare labels on fresh meat and would prefer a single retailer-own substitute, according to the findings of a new poll.
India's new food safety act will strengthen better the ability of regulators and the government to handle food contamination incidents, the head of one of India's top food research institutes has said.
Elevated agricultural commodity prices will remain this season as unfavourable weather impacts production, offering little chance to replenish stocks, according to Rabobank.
Confectionery giant Mars predicts a major cocoa shortage by 2020 and reveals harmonization of global cocoa certification programmes to ensure meaningful income hikes for farmers is one of its sustainable cocoa project goals.
Crop production may be rising but not enough to bring down high and volatile agricultural commodity prices this year, according to the latest analysis from the FAO.
France’s driest spring in 50 years is likely to have a heavy impact on its wheat harvest and could drive up global wheat prices, according to French agriculture minister Bruno Le Maire.
Food prices could double by 2030, claims UK based charity Oxfam, which also estimates that demand in 2050 could be 70 percent higher than current levels.
The vast majority of organic food operators in Finland were in compliance with EU regulations last year, according to the national food safety agency Evira’s report following the 4367 inspections in 2010 – but control decisions should be taken more quickly.
UK-based clean label ingredients company Ulrick and Short has developed its Synergie and Eziglaze range of range of functional clean label starches to aid marinade and glaze adhesion for meat products.
Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) is to source UTZ certified cocoa for the first time, after Nigeria was granted sustainable recognition for its beans.
A new research project aims to optimise the production and quality of oil palm, helping to produce more sustainable crops, by using molecular genetics to boost crop breeding.
Cocoa farming has been a contributor to deforestation and degradation in West Africa due to limited fertilizer use as well as outdated crop husbandry methods, claim two research groups in a newly published study in Environmental Management.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) are promoting new financial instruments to help unlock agricultural potential in Russia and Ukraine at a time of rising food prices.
The recent Ghana-Liberia agriculture pact is unlikely to have a major impact on the global cocoa industry; whereas Nigeria is a region to watch, according to Euromonitor.
The delivery of Cargill’s first UTZ Certified beans from Vietnam marks an important milestone for the company in its bid to establish the region as a new origin country for cocoa, said the ingredients giant.
Food must be a higher priority for decision-makers around the world to ward off disaster in decades to come, concludes a major report from the UK; and new technologies like GM and cloning should not be ruled out but acceptability weighed against the costs...
Unilever boss Paul Polman used his time on the podium at last night's City Food Lecture in London to unveil a radical new manifesto to improve food security and launch a blistering attack on “well-meaning but ill-conceived” policies on biofuels.
Unilever has announced bold plans to halve the environmental footprint of its products and source 100% of its agricultural raw materials sustainably over the next decade.
A breakthrough in cocoa genetics by a collaboration involving Mars, USDA and IBM will accelerate research into the production of trees that can better resist drought, disease and pests, and has met with an enthusiastic welcome from leading cocoa scientists...
Cargill’s global food safety activities have landed it recognition by the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUoFST), which will next week present the firm with a new award in the field.
Global food prices have fallen this year to date as higher cereal production following 2008 spikes kick into the market place, but non-cereals are keeping them way above 2002-4 levels and there may still be trouble ahead.
Improving the efficiency and competitiveness of the European food supply chain will be achieved only with realistic food prices not the current artificially low ones, according to a new report from the EU’s European Economic and Social Committee.
Consumer power packs a punch when it comes to making food production more sustainable and healthier, says Defra chief, as the government publishes its priorities for changing the food system by 2030.
IFPRI's Gerald Nelson explains the importance of leaders reaching a political agreement at the COP-15 climate talks that would channel resources from the developed to the developing world, and protect farmers and the food supply from the effects...
Global food prices are on the rise again, the FAO warns, but a repeat of the 2007/08 spike does not look likely without the same disastrous confluence of factors.
There’s a perfect storm building for food prices. You don’t have to scan the horizon to see the signs; the clouds are developing all around us - at a faster rate than anyone expected.
Everybody wants food to be safe - but the recent slugging match over how best to protect US consumers from E.coli-tainted meat highlights whether legislation or self-regulation is the answer to mending the country's flawed safety system.
Novel food regulation functions as an unintentional trade barrier to heritage foods and affects supply chain development and poverty alleviation in developing countries, according to a new report.
Food prices could more than triple by 2050 as the climate changes, according to a new report from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
Meals based on pea protein make a smaller contribution to global warming and are better for soil than animal protein meals, but they fall down on energy use, says a new Swedish-Spanish study.
Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate is aiming to have 10,000 tonnes of UTZ-certified cocoa available for the market in 2010, as the first two Ivory Coast cooperatives achieve certification and others are expected to get there soon.
The European Crop Protection Association has expressed concern that restrictive EU regulation on pesticide use could stand in the way of global food security, following the UK’s Food Security Assessment.
The CIAA has invited the Swedish presidency to take part in the recently launched Round Table on Sustainable Production and Consumption (SPC); while Sweden has made food and the climate one of its priorities for agriculture over the next six months.
