Dear readers,

As always, good news for the beginning:

• The European Parliament agreed with EU member states to stop classifying livestock farms in the Union as industrial businesses. The agreement is a success for Radan Kanev, member of the European Parliament’s Christian Democratic Group (EP) and the parliament’s chief negotiator on the Industrial Emissions Directive
• An Illinois state representative has filed the “Illinois Cultivated Meat Act”, which intends to outlaw the production or sale of cultivated meat in the state.

In announcing the proposed bill, state representative Chris Miller declared:

“We don’t need fake meat laboratories creating a highly expensive product that tries to replicate real meat.”

• The Leipzig-based startup Alife Foods no longer exists. The company was working on a cultured schnitzel that was to be marketed as a hybrid product with plant proteins.
• The USDA and Heartland Regional Food Business Center (RFBC) launched a $3.7 million grant program aimed at supporting small and mid-sized food and farm businesses across Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and northwest Arkansas. The Business Builder Grants are designed to help businesses expand, create jobs, enhance capacity and bring more local products to market.
• According to the monthly cold storage data of the USDA, supplies of frozen pork declined 5% in July. Pork in freezers on July 31 was 4% lower than the same date a year earlier. The July pork belly supply represented a drop of 30% from June and 17% from a year ago.
• The President of the Andalusian Government of Spain, Juanma Moreno, is on an official visit to China where he has met with the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the CCP.
  
  The Andalusian official has recalled that Andalusian products are highly sought after here, which is why it is important to incorporate Andalusian products such as cured ham into international fairs.

Events calendar:

• The ASEAN FOOD & BEVERAGE EXHIBITION (FNB ASEAN) is a leading trade fair specializing in the food and beverage industry within the ASEAN region, held annually at the IMPACT Exhibition Centre in Nonthaburi, a suburb of Bangkok, Thailand. This year it will take place on 3 days from Tuesday, 03 of September to Thursday, 05 of September 2024.
• RIGA FOOD is a leading trade fair for the food industry, held annually at the International Exhibition Centre Kipsala in Riga, Latvia. This year it is held  on 3 days from Thursday, 05.09.2024 to Saturday, 07.09.2024.
• The ALIMENTARIA in Guatemala City stands as a premier food and beverage trade fair in Central America. The fair will take place on 3 days from Monday, 09 of September to Wednesday, 11 of September 2024.

Extreme Ways

      In the east of Europe we believe that all the meat that is not exported to China from Spain ends up in our markets. But is it so? The data provided by ICEX show how in the first half of 2024 the value of Spanish meat exports reached 5,642 billion euros , this is 1,3% less than in 2023, and the quantity exported totaled 1,66 million tons , which is 1,4% less. After the decline in pork purchases from China in the first half of 2024, the EU Member States represented 63% of the value of Spanish exports, compared to 41% in 2022. By country, the main buyer has been France with a value of 836 million euros for 205.295 t imported, followed by Italy with 590,75 million euros and 173.299 tons imported. The main non-EU customer is China with 511,5 million euros and 256.466 tons imported. Japan is next in importance with 395,5 million euros for 103.087 tons imported. So, we are not the main target…

The former pig industry leader Germany is in a total chaos. Max Tönnies is gradually taking over the management of the pork concern from his father Clemens. In an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, he strongly criticizes  the agricultural policy of the German Federal Government. While Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir wants to reduce the number of farm animals in the interest of the climate and animal welfare, Tönnies calls for a new agricultural policy: „Germany needs more pigs, not fewer…The revenue and finances that we lose are what Spain gains. After all, pigs in Spain are fed soy from South America, which endangers the rainforest. This is not the case in Germany. German pork is the most climate-friendly in the world…A few years ago, a million pigs were slaughtered every week in Germany, now it’s only 700,000.

Is Max right? According to statistics, In 2023, around 3.19 million tons of soybeans were imported to Germany, mainly from Brasilia. At the presentation of the 2024 harvest report, Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir is called for a political agreement to finance the restructuring of livestock farming. The minister stressed that the grain stores are well filled – but climate change is reducing crop yields. For a vegan Muslim, it may be a direct correlation between pigs and climate change, but science operates a bit different…for now.

Decisions should be based on consultations. The veterinary authorities in the Lower Saxony districts have largely stopped their cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture , this was decided by the presidium of the Lower Saxony District Council From September 1, 2024, all districts will withdraw their employees from the state’s numerous working groups. Exceptions are participation in statutory training and examination committees and mandatory meetings in the event of an animal disease crisis or large-scale food-borne disease outbreaks in Lower Saxony. The reason for the boycott: a deficit of €41 million per year for the performance of a state task.

Yesterday there were elections in two German federal states. In the country’s eastern region of Thuringia far-right Alternative für Deutschland – or Alternative for Germany (AfD) – is on track to claim victory in state parliamentary elections. AfD is projected to get 33.5% of the vote, well ahead of the conservative party Christian Democrats (CDU) with 24.5%, according to ZDF. In Saxony, which also held a regional election Sunday, the two parties are neck and neck, according to state broadcaster ZDF. Newly founded left-wing party, the Sarah Wagenknecht alliance – or BSW – looks to be coming in third in both Thuringia and Saxony. All three parties are in opposition with the governing “traffic light” coalition. For many years the “greens” seemed to be the acceptable coalition partner for any political coalition in Europe. Now this color became dark, greens are pushing through their agenda, a loud minority tries to change our lives according to their believes. We have seen this before, and Germany is the right place for a wake-up call. The green agenda brought the far right and left parties in the top of the preferences. Traditional parties should understand the message of the people, we do not need politics to go in extreme ways!