Here’s the July issue of my food-tech curated newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every 4-6 weeks, you can subscribe here.
The latest in design: pink chickens
What do you get when you mix environmental activism, design and gene editing technology? Pink chickens!
These People Want to Genetically Engineer Pink Chickens
Cage-free eggs: after the revolution, the surplus
A couple of years ago, the shift from battery to cage-free eggs started to catch momentum and it became a global thing.
For egg producers, the move of food corporations to cage-free required considerable investments, but now they’re struggling to see returns. Egg prices are generally low due to global oversupply, but cage free are still more expensive. And most consumers continue to prefer the cheapest kind.
Food waste stats with a grain of salt
Every now and then, a new study exposes the inaccuracy of statistics the we take for granted. A couple of months ago, it happened to the “we’ll have to double our food production by 2050” notion. In fact, the increase in production won’t have to be so drastic.
Recently, a new study took a closer look at two ubiquitous pieces of data about food waste: “Americans waste about $165 billion worth of food each year” and “40% of all food in the United States goes uneaten.” As it turned out, figures on food waste heavily depend on how we define it.
We’ve all heard the staggering statistics about food waste. A new study says they’re wrong.
Blue Apron goes public, Amazon steals the show
All eyes were on Blue Apron last month, when the meal kit delivery company went from seed to IPO in just five years.
That’s a remarkable thing, especially in the food-tech space. Admittedly though, there was more skepticism than enthusiasm around it, and the all but overwhelming results of the IPO didn’t help dissipate the concerns.
Is Blue Apron Even Going To Exist In Five Years?
Blue Apron May Need to Raise More Money Soon After Shrunken IPO
Blue Apron’s Perishable IPO
Truth be told, Blue Apron’s timing was unfortunate: Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods happened in the same week and completely stole the show. Here’s a round-up of different opinions about this move:
Food Innovators Respond to the Whole Foods Acquisition
How the Amazon-Wholefoods deal could hit the food industry
In the meantime, at Hampton Creek…
A lot of stuff happened and is happening at Hampton Creek, which is one of the other poster children of food-tech.
- Troubles started last year when the start-up was accused of buying its own vegan mayo to inflate sales.
- Earlier this year, a few key executives were fired by the CEO after poor fundraising.
- Recently, Target removed all of their products from the shelves due to unconfirmed food safety concerns.
All of the above didn’t stop Hampton Creek from announcing their next project: lab-grown meat. In stores by 2018.
When selected breeding goes bad
Selected breeding in cows increases productivity. However, when a bull is too good and gets used over and over, there may be issues, especially if that bull is not so perfect after all.
The Dairy Industry Lost $420 Million From a Flaw in a Single Bull
Small farms and ag-tech: it’s complicated
Ag-tech is changing the face of agriculture for the better. However, can small farmers afford the ticket to the party?
AgTech — Not Just for Large Farms?
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