FOOD

US FDA declares lab-grown meat safe for consumers to eat

US authorities have deemed a lab-grown meat product derived from animal cells to be safe for human consumption. The US food and drug administration (FDA) will allow a California company called Upside Foods to take living cells from chickens and then grow them in a controlled laboratory environment to produce a meat product that doesn’t involve the actual slaughter of any animals. The FDA said it is ready to approve the sale of other lab-grown meat, stating that it is “engaged in discussions with multiple firms” to do the same, including companies that want to grow seafood from the cells of marine life. The US approval could accelerate a new food market that backers say is more environmentally friendly than traditional livestock farming. (The Guardian)

CLIMATE CHANGE

COP27 draft deal published, no proposal on ‘loss & damage’ 

The United Nations climate agency has published a draft negotiating text of the deal that delegates at COP27 are hoping to agree on in the coming days. The text, which builds on earlier, less formal iterations, does not set out the proposed solution to one of the most contentious issues at the summit – the 'loss and damage' financial arrangements to provide funding to developing countries suffering catastrophic climate events. While the issue of ‘loss and damage’ made it onto the formal summit agenda for the first time in what was seen as a breakthrough on a subject that has long divided developed and developing nations, since then, talks saw little progress. The overarching deal text reaffirms key points from the 2021 COP26 deal and the Paris Agreement on limiting the rise in global temperatures. (Reuters)

DEFORESTATION

UK businesses set out plan to boost sustainable soy production

A group of almost 40 UK food producers and the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC). has unveiled a set of commitments to help move all the UK’s soy imports to be free from deforestation. The organisations account for around 60% of the UK’s soy consumption and have moved to strengthen the aims of the ‘UK Soy Manifesto’, which was launched in November 2021 aiming to eliminate soy that causes deforestation from animal feed and product supply chains. The likes of Danone, Nestle, Nando’s, KFC and McDonald’s are signatories of the Manifesto. The new commitments cover the soy supply chain. Members have committed to producing a quarterly soy deforestation risk register for UK imports and agreeing to publish a “transition plan” to ensure the risks and challenges of moving to deforestation-free are shared across the value chain. (edie)

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Danone pledges 100% renewables by 2030, ups energy efficiency

Multinational food and beverage giant Danone has published a new global energy strategy, including new commitments on renewables and energy efficiency to accelerate its decarbonisation efforts. The strategy includes a commitment for all electricity used in its operations to be renewable by 2030, up from 68.4% at present. Increased renewable energy procurement, plus fuel switching elsewhere, will mean that at least half of Danone’s total global energy use in 2030 will be renewable. The ’Re-fuel Danone’ strategy also includes a pledge to improve energy efficiency by 30% by 2025. It stated it will use “a range of measures” to improve energy efficiency, including behavioural changes and more high-tech solutions, including real-time building energy management systems. In some sites, it will leverage artificial intelligence to enable accurate analysis of energy use. (edie)

EMPLOYEES

Workers at over 100 US Starbucks stores strike on ‘Red Cup Day’

Workers at over 100 unionized Starbucks stores around the US walked off the job on 17^th November, coinciding with Starbucks’ ‘Red Cup Day’, a promotional day where customers receive a free reusable cup. The strike was launched to protest against Starbucks’ failure to bargain with unionized stores and failure to adequately staff stores, especially on one of Starbucks’ busiest days where no pay differential is offered to workers. About 2,000 workers at 112 stores participated in the strikes in 25 states. Workers have criticized Starbucks for delaying union bargaining after union elections and recently walking out on recent bargaining sessions across the US. The National Labor Relations Board has issued 39 complaints against Starbucks, encompassing more than 900 unfair labour practice charges. (The Guardian)

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