#dairy industry targets

[farmerstrend]

Kenya Dairy Board’s 10-Year Plan: More Milk, Sustainability, and Climate Action

The Kenya Dairy Board unveils a 10-year plan to transform the dairy sector by focusing on sustainability, increasing milk production by 2.5 billion litres, and ensuring environmental and economic benefits for farmers. Kenya’s 10-year Dairy Industry Sustainability Roadmap aims to produce an additional 2.5 billion litres of milk annually, promoting sustainable farming, reducing greenhouse gas…

[lydiardbell]

Finally... A backpack that meets MY country boy needs

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"Canada's Farmers Fight Production Battle to Fuel United Nations War Machine," Brantford Expositor. July 13, 1942. Page 5. ---- Canadian cheese producers expect this year to exceed contracts for shipments to England, as they did last. Photo shows man testing aroma of card after milling. Future crop conditions augur much greater excess of cheese production over contract than in 1941, when conditions were comparatively poor. In 1941 contracts called for 112,000,000 pounds: 115,000,000 pounds were shipped to England. New contracts set 125,000,000 as goal. Photo shows delivery of milk at a cheese factory.

The kitten, forbidden to enter the milk shed, slipped in with the photographer. Electric milkers are widely used in dairy industry, though manual method persists. High quality of Canadian dairy products is appreciated by this calf, enjoying a meal at the milk stand. Herds have been increased to meet growing needs an importance of food as war weapon places greater responsibility on the farmer.

In spite of production difficulties, shortage of labor, supplies and materials due to the tremendous demands of war industries, cheese production continues to increase. Milk sheet at cheese factory shows dally deliveries by farmers.

Canadian cheddar cheese is regarded as best in world, winner of many international prizes. This young man is putting the hoop on a cheese after it is bandaged.

[probablyasocialecologist]

One simple way to look at it is to take the rate of emissions reductions achieved in countries that have successfully decoupled, and see how long it would take for them to fully decarbonize. That’s essentially what Jefim Vogel and Jason Hickel — researchers at the University of Leeds and the Autonomous University of Barcelona, respectively — did in the Lancet Planetary Health study. They found that, if 11 high-income countries continued their achieved rates of emissions reduction, it would take them more than 220 years to cut emissions by 95 percent — far longer than the net-zero-by-2050 timeline called for by climate experts. “The decoupling rates achieved in high-income countries are inadequate for meeting the climate and equity commitments of the Paris Agreement and cannot legitimately be considered green,” the authors wrote. In an interview with Grist, Vogel likened optimism around gradual decoupling to saying, “Don’t worry, we’re slowing down,” while the Titanic races toward an iceberg.

[...]

“Absolute decoupling is not sufficient to avoid consuming the remaining CO2 emission budget under the global warming limit of 1.5 degrees C or 2 degrees C and to avoid climate breakdown,” concluded the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its most recent assessment. Instead of making growth greener, some economists call for a whole new economic paradigm to address converging social and ecological crises. They call it “post-growth,” referring to a reorientation away from GDP growth and toward other metrics, like human well-being and ecological sustainability. Essentially, they want to prioritize people and the planet and not care so much what the stock market is doing. This would more or less free countries from the decoupling dilemma, since it eliminates the growth imperative altogether. Raworth, the professor at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, calls her version of the post-growth agenda “doughnut economics.” In this visual model, the inner ring of the doughnut represents the minimum amount of economic activity needed to satisfy  basic needs like access to food, water, and shelter. The outer ring signifies the upper limits of natural resource use that the Earth can sustain. The goal, she argues, is for economies to exist between the inner and outer rings of the doughnut, maintaining adequate living standards without surpassing planetary limits.  “Our economies need to bring us into the doughnut,” Raworth told Grist. “Whether GDP grows needs to be a secondary concern.”  Vogel and Hickel go a little further. They call for a planned, deliberate reduction of carbon- or energy-intensive production and consumption in high-income countries, a concept known as “degrowth.” The rationale is that much of the energy and resources used in high-income countries goes toward carbon-intensive products that don’t contribute to human welfare, like industrial meat and dairy, fast fashion, weapons, and private jets. Tamping down this “less necessary” consumption could slash greenhouse gas emissions, while lower energy demand could make it more feasible to build and maintain enough energy infrastructure. Some research suggests that reducing energy demand could limit global warming to 1.5 degrees C without relying on unproven technologies to draw carbon out of the atmosphere.

[mariacallous]

President-elect Donald Trump built his campaign on the promise of the “largest deportation operation in American history.” In early December he told NBC’s Meet the Press that he planned to start by deporting convicted criminals and then “the others,” including whole families where some members are in the US legally.

The human and financial costs of such an operation would be staggering. There are an estimated 11 million undocumented people in the US and a further 2.3 million who have been released into the US after crossing the border illegally during the Biden administration. According to an analysis from the American Immigration Council, deporting all of these people would cost nearly $968 billion over more than a decade, as well as requiring 24 times the detention capacity currently available and more than 1,000 new immigration courtrooms.

Mass deportations would also have a big impact on America’s meat industry, which is heavily reliant on undocumented laborers. Around 23 percent of workers in the meatpacking industry are undocumented and 42 percent are foreign-born, says Steven Hubbard, senior data scientist at the American Immigration Council. The meatpacking industry, where animals are slaughtered, processed, and packaged for human consumption, has one of the highest ratios of foreign-born workers of any industry in the US, says Hubbard.

The industry’s reliance on undocumented labor made it a target of immigration raids under earlier administrations. In August 2019 immigration authorities arrested 680 people in raids on seven food-processing plants across Mississippi, just one of several rounds of raids that targeted meatpacking plants during the previous Trump administration.

Wages in the meatpacking industry are low, and conditions are dangerous. A 2018 analysis of data from the Occuputational Safety and Health Administration by The Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism found that amputations happen on average twice weekly across US meat plants. Some meatpacking companies also hire incarcerated laborers to work in their plants.

“Poultry has been maintained as a pretty low-cost protein in this country, and that is largely on the backs of low-wage workers and people with precarious statuses,” says Angela Stuesse, an anthropologist at the University of Carolina, Chapel Hill, who has studied poultry workers in Mississippi.

In recent earnings calls, shareholders in some publicly traded meat companies have asked whether the Trump administration’s deportation plans—among other issues—may pose a challenge to their industry. “We’ve been there before. It did not impact our business,” said Tim Klein, CEO of National Beef, which is owned by the Brazilian food company Marfrig, in response to a question from a shareholder. In response to a similar question in a Tyson Foods earnings call, CEO Donnie King said, “There’s a lot that we don’t know at this point, but I would remind you that we’ve successfully operated this business for over 90 years, no matter the party in control.”

It’s not clear whether the Trump regime would target meatpacking facilities operated by the biggest firms in the industry, given the favorable treatment these companies received at times during the first Trump presidency. During the Covid-19 pandemic, President Trump issued an executive order that allowed plants to keep operating, even as meatpackers were some of the hardest hit by infections. The US House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis later found that Tyson’s legal department drafted a text of the proposed order.

“These large meatpacking companies prevented additional protections from being put in place to protect workers, in part by engaging in a concerted effort with Trump administration political officials to insulate themselves from oversight, to force workers to remain in dangerous conditions, and to shield themselves from liability for any resulting worker illness or death,” the committee concluded in the report released in December 2022.

The supply of labor is tight in meatpacking plants and the farming industry as a whole, says Cesar Escalante, a professor at the University of Georgia’s College of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences. The industry is in need of more workers, says Escalante, who argues that the US should expand the H-2A seasonal agricultural worker visa scheme to include more livestock workers. Smaller farms are more likely to be affected by a lack of workers, says Escalante, while larger farms may switch to mechanization.

If meatpacking workers are deported en masse, then that could translate into a rise in prices for consumers. A report from Texas A&M Agrilife Research estimates that eliminating immigrant labor on US dairy farms would nearly double retail milk prices. It’s not clear what the impact of Trump’s deportation plan would be on meat or food prices more generally, because so much about the plan remains unknown. “We don’t know yet how this is all going to pan out,” Hubbard says.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from DeSmog Blog:

In the chilled section of any major supermarket, from London to Lagos, you’re likely to find a taste of Ireland – a stick of premium butter wrapped in gold or green packaging, celebrating a superior product from grass-fed pastures. 

But the gleaming image of Ireland’s agri-produce hides a number of inconvenient truths, among them the damage the sector is wreaking on Ireland’s climate targets, as well as its waterways and soils.

Ahead of a general election due no later than March next year, DeSmog has launched a new interactive map revealing the power of the Irish agribusiness sector and its hundreds of connections spanning politics, marketing, academia and industry.

Dairy production in Ireland has boomed since 2011, as the EU started phasing out its cap on milk production, with a devastating impact on the climate. Latest figures show that instead of cutting its agricultural emissions, Ireland has increased them – by 10 percent over the period 2010-2023.

While profitable for dairy industry bosses, the expansion is highly detrimental to Ireland’s declared aim to cut agriculture emissions by 25 percent by 2030, as part of its legally binding commitment to achieve net zero emissions no later than 2050.

Intensive farming practices lead to excessive levels of nitrates in fertilisers and manure, harming the lush green pastures Ireland prides itself on. These nitrates lead to oxygen-sucking algae growth in lakes and rivers, and have contributed to 99 percent of Ireland’s ammonia air pollution. 

Despite a slight reduction in overall emissions last year, Ireland is still “well off track” in meeting its EU and national climate targets for 2030, according to its Environmental Protection Agency – in large part due to the methane from Ireland’s unchecked dairy production. The agriculture sector was responsible for over a third (37.8 percent) of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2023, the highest proportion in Europe. 

The intensive farming lobby appears to be in the driving seat. Major dairy processors in particular have been ramping up lobbying efforts around Ireland’s derogation from the EU Nitrates Directive, designed to tackle farming pollution. The country’s exemption allows certain farms to use larger amounts of manure as fertiliser, despite the fact it releases significant amounts of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that is 265 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 100 year period.

[beardedmrbean]

Q “How do you tell if someone is a vegan?” 

A: “You don’t have to, they’ll tell you.” 

Maybe it’s jokes like that, highlighting society’s stereotypical view of vegans as arrogant virtue-signallers, that have led to a slump in demand for some plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy, as well as a slew of business failures among manufacturers of plant-based food – most recently Heather Mills’s company VBites, which has just announced it is going into administration. 

Despite veganism being endorsed by a number of celebrities, such as the BBC’s controversial wildlife presenter Chris Packham, it doesn’t seem to have made much headway beyond those segments of the market that are either apocalyptic about climate change or fanatical about animal rights – or both. Perhaps much like Mr Packham himself. 

Then there’s the argument that veganism is good for your health, which has been on an increasingly sticky wicket, deconstructed by books such as the award-winning The Great Plant Based Con by Jayne Buxton. There is also a growing backlash against ultra-processed foods, which many vegan products are. 

But Ms Mills had the gall to blame “gaslighting” by the meat industry for the collapse of her vegan food empire. As a member of the meat “industry”, I take exception to that. Of course it is not really an industry at all in the UK – it is made up of family farms, in stark contrast to the public relations agencies promoting vegan diets. 

Farmers have been hounded and smeared by radical vegan activists for years. I wrote in these pages back in September about Laura Corbett, the Gourmet Goat Farmer, who was targeted by vegan “activists” on social media. Her business was attacked by malicious Trip Advisor reviews. 

Indeed, I would suggest that consumers have been put off by the taint of fanaticism surrounding vegan foods. Recent research has shown that omnivorous consumers are less likely to buy products if they are labelled with the V-word. While it is too early to consign veganism to the history books, I suspect when that history is written it will be seen as a fad that was rejected by the British public largely because the wild behaviour of its more extreme followers trashed the brand. 

It always seemed unlikely that, after millennia evolving on an omnivorous meat-rich diet, we would then wholly abandon it. There is only one species that has ever done that: the panda. And that has not been an unqualified success. 

If the vegans had wanted to actually persuade people to eat better, rather than hector them, they could have chosen a much less blunt message. But a more effective, nuanced approach, focused on stopping the harmful aspects of meat and dairy production, was not pursued and all livestock farmers were tarred with the same brush. This happened even after the positive environmental role of grass-based beef farmers was recognised by the authorities, as they began to be paid carbon credits for the net carbon they sequester.

We can’t allow vegans to continue to ruin the debate about food. We need a real food counter-revolution. 

[sewagetreatmentplant01]

Netsol Water: Leader in Sewage Treatment Plant Manufacturers in Delhi

Water pollution is turning into a global crisis, as industries and urban centers produce massive amounts of wastewater each day. In populous areas like Delhi, the challenge of an effective sewage treatment has never come at such a crucial juncture. Netsol Water is one of the best Sewage Treatment Plant Manufacturers in Delhi, providing best solutions for waste waste management.

Untreated water is one of the major threats to public health, ecosystems, and the environment. It ruins the freshness of fresh-water sources, poses a threat to aquatic life and may unleash a waterborne diseases upsurge. And so comes companies like Netsol Water, breathing hope and practical solutions.

Netsol Water: A Brief Overview

With a mission to come out strongly with this vision in solving the needs of India pertaining to water treatment, Netsol Water has picked up the pace in this multiple-choice game-like environment of Delhi. The firm offers systems for designing, manufacturing, and installing the most sewage treatment plants (STPs) specifically designed according to the diversified needs of various industries.

 

What's special about Netsol Water?

Customized Solutions: Netsol Water knows that no two places are alike when it comes to sewage treatment. They thus ensure that solutions put in place specifically target the problem at hand and also meet the local regulatory compliances, based on their work with clients.

Latest Technology: By being on the forefront of water treatment technology, Netsol Water ensures efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and environmental friendliness of plants.

Comprehensive Services: Netsol Water offers complete services right from consultancy to installation and then next-line maintenance, thus making it a one-stop shop for all types of sewage treatment requirements.

Commitment towards Sustainability: Netsol Water doesn't treat water; it does water management sustainably with industries.

Science behind Netsol Water's Sewage Treatment Plants

Need of the Multistage Process Netsol Water STPs efficiently employ a multi-stage process so that polluted wastewater becomes usable clean water. A basic description of how such plants function would include the following:

Preliminary Treatment: It removes big debris and waste by screening and grit removal.

Primary Treatment: Sedimentation tanks allow suspended solids to settle, thereby reducing the overall pollutant load.

Secondary Treatment: Organic matter is broken down through biological processes that work through activated sludge or other microorganisms.

Tertiary Treatment: Final filtration and disinfection take away any remaining impurities and pathogens.

Sludge Management: Byproducts from the treatment process are managed safely and are frequently reused for beneficial purposes.

This multi-stage approach ensures that the water leaving Netsol Water's STPs meets or exceeds regulation standards; such water can be safely discharged or reused.

Netsol Water Changing Industries

Netsol Water caters to the diversified sectors, so its versatility can be seen in the diversified sectors that it caters to. Some of these sectors are as follows:

Textile and Dye Industries: Wastewater produced by this section of industries is heavily polluted. So they easily require the specialist treatment solutions of Netsol Water. 

Pharmaceutical Companies: Sewage produced from drug manufacturing should be handled with care. To this, Netsol Water provides precision.

Food and Beverage Producers: From dairy plants to breweries, Netsol Water helps these businesses handle their organic-rich wastewater effectively.

Chemical Sector: Netsol Water's advanced technologies overcome the intricate chemical Sewages.

Automotive Industry: Netsol Water provides the automotive manufacturing and servicing industries with overall wastewater treatment solutions.

Environmental Impact of Netsol Water Delhi

Being one of the top Sewage Treatment Plant Manufacturer in Delhi, Netsol Water has been significantly contributing towards Delhi's environment. With effective wastewater treatment solutions, Netsol Water is assisting in all the ways:

Clean up pollution in the Yamuna River, which is Delhi's primary source of water

Reduce contamination and consequently boost the quality of groundwater

Improve public health by reducing probable waterborne diseases

Support the sustainable goals for the development of Delhi

Innovations and Future Outlook

Netsol Water does not boast of resting on its oars. The company keeps abreast of emerging challenges in water treatment with continuous innovations. A few areas of focus are:

Energy Efficiency: Developing treatment processes that consume less energy, thereby reducing the carbon footprint of STPs. 

Water Reuse Technologies: Enhanced techniques to make treated water suitable for various industrial and agriculture applications. 

Smart Monitoring Systems: Implementing IoT-based solutions for real-time monitoring and optimization of treatment plants.

Modular Designs: Creating scalable modular designs of STPs which can easily expand or change as and when the need arises.

Why Netsol Water?

For the sewage treatment requirements of any business firm at Delhi, Netsol Water offers:

Specialized Consultation: Professional experts to calculate exact requirements.

Tailor-made Design: Space-suitable, budget-suitable, and requirement-suitable STPs.

Installation Process: No Disruption in Its Services.

Comprehensive Training: Your manpower operates and maintains the STP

Ongoing Support: Maintenance and Troubleshooting services are provided to ensure the continuity of the plant.

Conclusion: A Greener Future with Netsol Water

In the middle of the ongoing rapid growth phase of the city, Delhi cannot afford to have anything short of industry-level wastewater management. Netsol Water stands at the forefront of this critical industry: With innovative, reliable, and sustainable solutions for sewage treatment. Netsol Water is top on Sewage Treatment Plant Manufacturer in Delhi, offering solutions for waste waster.

Therefore, by opting for Netsol Water, a Delhi based company would be abiding by the rules of the land while creating an environment for the generations to come that will be cleaner and healthier. And with such companies like Netsol Water, we do have hope for the future because the right technology combined with the right commitment can significantly assist in conquering the obstacles presented in front of us by water pollution and creating a more sustainable world.

Whether a small businessman or industrial giant, if you are based in Delhi and battling against wastewater issues, there is hope for you, perhaps in the form of Netsol Water, transforming those battles into opportunities for environmental stewardship.

[acti-veg]

have you seen the new “wood milk” ad? honestly it seems pathetic that they have to put this much effort into bashing their competition

I thought it was pretty funny to be honest, in a cringey sort of way. I think we're supposed to think that plant milk as a premise is as ridiculous as wood milk, but that's about a decade too late. I’d try it if it were real - I think a lot if people would. The joke doesn’t land because the premise is just not that silly.

People are very comfortable with the existence of oat, soy and almond milk, many non-vegans already use it regularly, and those that don't, don't need to be reminded of what 'real' milk is. Only old conservatives seem to think plant milk is ridiculous, and that's not who the ads are targeting, they're going for Gen Z, who are drinking less dairy than previous generations.

It just seemed like an ad designed by a 40 year old marketing manager trying to relate to 'the youth' and get someone young people respect as the industry's mouthpiece. But how much are their purchasing habits really going to be influenced by Aubrey Plaza deadpanning a script for big dairy because she got paid a shit load of money to do it?

It's not just the ad either, it's part of a wider campaign. They've set up a website for it posing as a start up, even social media accounts which are just obviously corporately managed and very overdone. When you consider the fact that this is all being written and orchestrated by an extremely rich and powerful corporate entity it’s all just a bit embarassing isn't it?

[notwiselybuttoowell]

A public statement signed by more than 1,000 scientists in support of meat production and consumption has numerous links to the livestock industry, the Guardian can reveal. The statement has been used to target top EU officials against environmental and health policies and has been endorsed by the EU agriculture commissioner.

The “Dublin Declaration of Scientists on the Societal Role of Livestock” says livestock “are too precious to society to become the victim of simplification, reductionism or zealotry” and calls for a “balanced view of the future of animal agriculture”. One of the authors of the declaration is an economist who called veganism an “eating disorder requiring psychological treatment”.

The declaration was published a year ago but gave no information on its provenance. Its supporters appear to be overwhelmingly researchers in animal, agricultural and food sciences.

Documents obtained by Unearthed, Greenpeace UK’s journalism project, and seen by the Guardian, show the creation, launch and promotion of the declaration have significant links to the livestock industry and its consultants.

The declaration and associated studies are viewed as “propaganda” by leading environmental scientists. Prof Matthew Hayek of New York University in the US said: “The scientific consensus is that we need rapid meat reduction in the regions that can afford that choice.”

Studies in the highest-ranking scientific journals have concluded that cutting meat and dairy consumption in rich countries is the single best way to reduce a person’s impact on the environment and that the climate crisis cannot be beaten without such cuts. People already eat more meat than health guidelines recommend in most developed nations.

The EU was pursuing policies to reduce meat consumption on environmental and health grounds, but some of these have recently been dropped.

[luxe-pauvre]

There was a time not long ago when our news sources seemed monolithic, authoritative and trusted. It’s odd to reflect how much we once craved more information on subjects of interest to us: there was ultimately less of it about. Somehow, we were happy to accept that the vastness and complexity of humanity’s last twenty-four hours could be summarised in a handful of curated articles or reports from the studio. Then in the late 1990s came the first blogs, and Wikipedia a little later; soon old-fashioned journalism was all but crushed under the weight of information’s democratisation. The old behemoths started to look biased, elitist, or at best arbitrary in terms of what they chose to report. Newspapers seemed out of touch and were a day late with everything. At least the establishment had a budget: glossy production values allowed us for a while to distinguish between professional news and amateur. But with fewer technical and financial barriers to film-making, even that visual distinction has disappeared. I’ve watched documentaries that have successfully turned me from much of the meat market, but now films about dolphin genocide and the iniquities of the fishing industry leave me confused and guilty when I scan the weekly deli counter. I have no context in which to assess the damning information I receive about the slabs of salmon and tuna that denounce me glassily from the ice; there is no equivalent of peer review for these authored and passionate documentaries. When I read accusations of deliberate one-sidedness I wonder if such criticism is tainted by the financial interests of dark conglomerates, or whether bias even matters much any more. It seemed to matter when Michael Moore made Fahrenheit 9/11, criticising Bush and his War on Terror: I remember the accusations of propaganda and the queasiness they produced in me after watching it. But now, partisanship is a given, and a lack of a strong authorial voice only has the old-fashioned and troubling effect of making us think for ourselves. All I have instead to guide me is how the programme made me feel, which means I am entirely in the hands of how shrill its tone was, how much it seemed to engage with conflicting viewpoints, and technical considerations such as the quality of editing. I am clueless as to how I should judge the fairness of the content. I turn from the tuna and consider the neighbouring arrangement of cheese with as much disquiet, aware that the next devastating exposé will target the violence and misery of the dairy industry. I glance hopefully at the veg, and then recall a report from Tel Aviv University in which researchers had recorded ultrasonic distress signals from tomatoes that were left unwatered or had their stems cut. The result of this avalanche of modern information and the canniness of communication and marketing surrounding it has been a disconcerting lack of confidence in any information source at all. And we are left to respond to that perpetual mode of uncertainty with only anxiety or indifference.

Derren Brown, A Book of Secrets: Finding Solace in a Stubborn World

[ardri-na-bpiteog]

Why does Ireland have the best milk?

Because that's my personal opinion and I'm always right 😌

Although genuinely Ireland has a very large grass-fed dairy industry and the dairy products from Ireland are generally considered quite good. It's part of why we're not meeting our emissions targets though because the dairy industry is very greenhouse gas intensive so that's fun.

[dagwolf]

EVERYONE RECALLS THE SHORTAGES of toilet paper and pasta, but the early period of the pandemic was also a time of gluts. With restaurants and school cafeterias shuttered, farmers in Florida destroyed millions of pounds of tomatoes, cabbages, and green beans. After meatpacking plants began closing, farmers in Minnesota and Iowa euthanized hundreds of thousands of hogs to avoid overcrowding. Across the country, from Ohio to California, dairies poured out millions of gallons of milk and poultry farms smashed millions of eggs.

The supply chain disruptions continue. Last year, there was a rice glut, and big box stores like Walmart and Target complained of bloated inventories. There was a natural gas glut in both Europe and in India, as well as a surfeit of semiconductor chips in the tech sector. Florida cabbages, microchips, and Asian rice may not seem like they have much in common, but each of these stories represents a fundamental if disavowed aspect of capitalism: a crisis of overproduction.

All economic systems have problems of scarcity, but only capitalism also has problems of abundance. The reason is simple: the pursuit of profit above all else leads capitalism to produce too much of things that are profitable but socially destructive (oil, private health insurance, Facebook) and not enough of things that are socially beneficial but not privately profitable (low-income housing, public schools, the ecosystem of the Amazon rainforest). For over a century, from the Industrial Revolution through the Great Depression, crises of overproduction were the target of criticism from across the political spectrum—from aristocratic conservatives like Edmund Burke who feared the anarchy of markets was corroding the social order to socialist radicals like Eugene Debs who thought it generated exploitation and poverty.

But the idea of capitalism’s inherent predilection for overproduction has almost completely disappeared from economic discourse today. It seldom appears in the popular press, including in stories about producers destroying surpluses, a problem that is instead explained away by pointing to freak accidents, contingencies, and unforeseen dislocations. To be sure, many gluts of the past few years have been the result of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. But overproduction preceded 2020 and shows no signs of going away. Revisiting historical arguments about the problem can help us better understand the interlocking crises of supply chain disruption, deliquescent financial markets, and climate change. The history of overproduction and its discontents offers a set of tools and ideas with which to consider whether “market failures” like externalities and inventory surpluses really are exceptions or are intrinsic to commercial society, whether markets ever actually do equilibrate, and whether the drive for growth is possible without continual excess and waste.

[tubetrading]

Private Labeling:  The Key to Building Your Brand Empire

In the fast-paced and highly competitive modern food industry, establishing a unique and recognizable brand is essential for long-term success.  One effective strategy to achieve this is through private labeling.  This approach allows businesses to create and sell products under their own brand names by partnering with established manufacturers.  For companies in Vadodara, Gujarat, private labeling offers a significant opportunity to build a strong brand presence without the need for extensive manufacturing capabilities.

What is Private Labeling?

Private labeling is a business practice where a company manufactures products that are then branded and sold by another company.  This allows businesses to focus on marketing, sales, and brand development while leveraging the manufacturing expertise of third-party producers.  For the food industry, this means that businesses can offer a variety of products under their own brand without having to invest in production facilities.

The Food Industry Landscape in Vadodara

Vadodara, a prominent city in Gujarat, boasts a vibrant food industry.  The city is home to numerous food processing companies that produce a wide range of products, from snacks and beverages to dairy and packaged foods.  These companies provide ample opportunities for private labeling, making Vadodara a hub for food entrepreneurs.

List of Food Industries in Vadodara

1.   Balaji Wafers Pvt. Ltd.

Known for its extensive range of potato chips and snack foods.

2.   Amul Dairy

A major player in the dairy industry, producing milk, butter, cheese, and other dairy products.

3.   Vadilal Industries Ltd.

Specializes in ice creams, frozen foods, and ready-to-eat meals.

4.   Haldiram's

Famous for its wide variety of sweets, snacks, and ready-to-eat packaged foods.

These companies are just a few examples of the thriving food processing sector in Vadodara, each offering unique products and capabilities that can be harnessed for private labeling ventures.

Benefits of Private Labeling in Vadodara

Cost-Effectiveness

Private labeling is a cost-effective way to enter the market or expand product lines.  By partnering with established manufacturers, businesses can avoid the high costs associated with setting up and maintaining production facilities.  This allows for significant savings that can be reinvested into marketing and brand development.

Market Differentiation

In a crowded market, differentiation is key.  Private labeling allows businesses to offer unique products under their own brand names, helping them stand out from competitors.  This is particularly important in the food industry, where brand loyalty can drive repeat purchases and long-term success.

Flexibility and Innovation

Private labeling provides businesses with the flexibility to experiment with new product lines and quickly respond to changing market trends.  Without the constraints of production, companies can innovate and adapt their offerings to meet consumer demands, ensuring they stay relevant in a dynamic market.

Brand Control

When you engage in private labeling, you maintain control over your brand’s image and quality.  You can dictate the design, packaging, and marketing strategies, ensuring they align with your brand values and target audience.  This control is crucial for building and maintaining a strong brand identity.

Finding the Right Private Label Partner

Choosing the right food product company in Gujarat, especially in Vadodara, is crucial for a successful private labeling venture.  Here are some key factors to consider:

Manufacturing Capabilities

Ensure the manufacturer has the necessary infrastructure and expertise to produce your desired products at the required scale.  This includes checking their production capacity, technology, and quality assurance processes.

Quality Standards

Quality is paramount in the food industry.  Partner with companies that adhere to stringent quality control measures and industry standards.  This will help maintain consistency and ensure your products meet consumer expectations.

Flexibility and Customization

Look for manufacturers that offer flexibility in terms of product customization.  This includes the ability to adjust recipes, packaging designs, and production quantities to meet your specific needs.

Case Study:  Modern Food Products

Modern Food Products, a burgeoning food brand in Vadodara, successfully utilized private labeling to expand its product range and establish a strong market presence.  Initially focused on a small selection of snacks, the company partnered with Balaji Wafers Pvt. Ltd. to introduce a new line of gourmet potato chips under the Modern Food Products brand.

By leveraging Balaji Wafers' advanced manufacturing capabilities and expertise in snack production, Modern Food Products was able to quickly bring their new line to market.  The private label partnership allowed them to focus on branding and marketing, resulting in a successful product launch that significantly boosted their market share.

Navigating the Food Industry in Gujarat

Gujarat, and Vadodara in particular, offers a fertile ground for private labeling due to its diverse and well-established food processing industry.  The state is home to numerous companies specializing in different food segments, providing ample opportunities for businesses looking to enter the market or expand their product lines.

List of Food Processing Companies in Gujarat

1.   Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF)

The organization behind the renowned Amul brand, offering a wide range of dairy products.

2.   Parag Milk Foods Ltd.

A leading dairy product manufacturer known for its Gowardhan and Pride of Cows brands.

3.   Adani Wilmar Ltd.

A major player in the edible oil market, producing the popular Fortune brand of cooking oils.

4.   Britannia Industries Ltd.

Known for its bakery products, dairy items, and snacks.

These companies represent the diverse and dynamic food processing industry in Gujarat, providing numerous opportunities for private labeling partnerships.

Conclusion

Private labeling is a powerful strategy for building a strong and recognizable brand in the competitive food industry.  By partnering with established food processing companies in Vadodara and Gujarat, businesses can leverage manufacturing expertise to offer high-quality products under their own brand names.  This approach not only enhances brand visibility and differentiation but also provides the flexibility to innovate and adapt to market trends.

For businesses looking to establish a foothold or expand their presence in the food industry, private labeling in Vadodara offers a cost-effective and efficient pathway to success.  By focusing on branding, marketing, and customer engagement, companies can build a robust brand empire that stands out in the crowded marketplace.  Whether you are a startup or an established business, private labeling holds the key to unlocking your brand's full potential and achieving long-term growth in the dynamic world of food products.

[elliepassmore]

Ruin Their Crops on the Ground review

5/5 stars Recommended if you like: nonfiction, medical anthropology, social justice, food studies

Big thanks to Netgalley, Metropolitan Books, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wow. I cannot sing the praises of this book enough. It goes in-depth into the way food and food policy has been, and continues to be, weaponized as a means of control. I got my BA in anthropology and got very into medical anthropology when doing that, so I knew a little about the stuff Freeman talked about, but she goes into detail and provides a lot of context for these topics and clearly elucidates the historical-to-contemporary connections. I learned a lot of new information from this book and found that it was presented in a very understandable manner. This is definitely one of those books that I think everyone should read.

The book is broken up into seven chapters and an introduction, the first three chapters each focus on an ethnic and cultural group in the US: Native American, Black, and Hispanic. In each of these chapters, Freeman looks at the traditional foods eaten by those groups and the benefits those foods provide nutritionally. She then examines how colonialization altered those foods and forced people in these groups to start eating according to how white people wanted them to, often switching from highly nutritious foods to foods of subpar quality and foods with empty calories (i.e., bison to canned meat, hand-made corn tortillas to white bread, etc.). From there she discusses the impacts, historically and modern-day, of those changes and the actions some people are taking to return to traditional foods.

I already knew some of the stuff covered in these chapters, but it was absolutely horrifying to learn more of the details and I found them to be very informative. It feels weird to say I liked these chapters because so much of the information contained in them is horrifying, but it's something I haven't seen touched on in too much depth in my studies and I want to learn about it. It's these chapters in particular that I feel people should read because they're so informative and provide a lot of historical and contemporary context, and I think it really showcases how things are connected through time.

The next two chapters of the book focus on specific aspects of American food and food policy. Chapter 4 looks at milk and the USDA's ties into the dairy industry. A majority of people in the world are lactose intolerant (including me, lol), though population to population the percentage changes, with Caucasians having some of the highest percentages of lactose persistence into adulthood. Not only did Freeman use this chapter to discuss the inadequacy and capitalistic-driven motivations of the USDA's milk requirements, but she also uses it to dive into the health issues associate with dairy products, as well as the racist rhetoric surrounding milk in the past and present. Chapter 5 looks at school lunches and again targets the USDA's Big Agriculture ties for why school lunches lack nutrition. Freeman also uses this chapter to touch on school lunch debt and the myriad of ways policies surrounding lunch debt serve to humiliate and starve children.

I found these two chapters to be interesting and informative in a different way than the preceding chapters. Like with the first three, I did already know a lot of what Chapter 4 covered before going into it. Milk, lactose intolerance/persistence, and the USDA were things we discussed in my medical anthro class, but the historical ties and legal efforts to change (or not change) things were new to me. I also didn't know a lot of the negative health side-effects Freeman discussed in the milk chapter and it was definitely eye-opening. Chapter 5 was interesting to me because I rarely ate school lunch as a kid, and then as a late-middle schooler and in high school I did school online so I wasn't exposed to a lot of the stuff Freeman discussed in the chapter. I definitely remember the school lunches though and how they often lacked veggies and seemed always to contain a milk carton. It was super interesting to read the politics behind what goes into school lunches and how laws to change them or keep them the same were often tied into monetary interests.

Chapter 6 talks about racist food marketing and turns somewhat away from food itself and focuses on how branding utilizes some of the things discussed in chapters 1-3 to brand food, advertise to certain groups, or both. It was definitely disgusting to hear about the racist marketing techniques and how long it took companies to actually start doing better. Chapter 7 looks into the laws surrounding food policy, and SNAP in particular, which is an area I don't know too much about. I found the discussion to be very interesting and am definitely interested in seeing how this area of law and policy develops over time, hopefully in a positive way.

Overall I found this book to be very impactful and informative. I've already recommended it to 3 or 4 people and definitely think this is an area of study more people should know about. I'll probably check out Skimmed by this author as well.

[iiidinncubatore]

How to Start a Food Processing Business: A Complete Guide

Are you interested in launching a business that processes food because you have a strong passion for it? Starting a business that processes food is a terrific way to make your passion profitable. But launching a company that processes food can be challenging and needs careful planning and preparation. We will provide you a step-by-step explanation of how to launch a food processing business in this manual.

Introduction :

It's critical to comprehend what food processing is before getting into the technicalities of launching a firm in this industry. Processing food entails converting basic materials into finished goods. Cooking, baking, canning, freezing, and packing are some examples of this.

The food processing sector is significant and expanding, with a $4 trillion global market. The industry is divided into a number of subsectors, including those that prepare meat and poultry, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, and snack foods.

Market Research :

Before starting any business, it is important to conduct thorough market research to determine if there is a demand for your product. In the case of food processing, you will want to research the industry trends, consumer preferences, and competitors in your market.

Some key questions to consider during your market research include:

- What are the current trends in the food processing industry?

- Who are your competitors and what are their products and pricing strategies?

- Who are your target customers and what are their preferences?

- What are the regulatory requirements for starting a food processing business in your area?

Business Planning :

Once you have conducted your market research, it is time to develop a business plan. A business plan is a document that outlines your business goals, target market, products and services, marketing and sales strategies, financial projections, and more.

Your business plan should include the following sections:

- A concise explanation and description of your business and its goals

- Market research is the analysis of your competitors, target market, and current market trends.

Services and products a list of the products and services you provide

- Sales and marketing plans: How you plan to promote and market your products.

- Budgetary goals: a projection of your expenses and income for the ensuing three to five years.

Financing :

Starting a food processing business can be expensive, so it is important to have a solid financing plan in place. There are a variety of financing options available, including loans, grants, and investors.

Some key factors to consider when seeking financing include:

- How much capital do you need to start your business?

- What is your business credit score?

- Do you have collateral to secure a loan?

- Are there any grants or incentives available in your area?

Equipment and Supplies :

Once you have secured financing, it is time to purchase the equipment and supplies you will need to start your business. The specific equipment and supplies you will need will depend on the type of food processing business you are starting.

Some common equipment and supplies needed for a food processing business include:

- Processing equipment, such as ovens, mixers, and blenders

- Packaging equipment, such as sealers and labelers

- Storage equipment, such as refrigerators and freezers

- Ingredients and raw materials

Developing a Product Line :

Your ability to sell your products will have a big impact on how well your food processing company does. It's critical to have a product lineup that appeals to your target market and distinguishes you from your rivals.

Keeping the following things in mind will help you design your product line:

- Your target market's preferences and needs

- The price point of your products

- The packaging and labelling of your products

- The shelf life of your products

- The availability of ingredients and raw materials

Marketing and Sales :

Once you have developed your product line, it is important to develop a marketing and sales strategy to promote your products. Your marketing and sales strategy should be tailored to your target market and should aim to differentiate your products from those of your competitors.

Some key marketing and sales considerations include:

Developing a brand identity and messaging that resonates with your target market

Identifying your distribution channels, such as retail stores or online marketplaces

Developing a pricing strategy that is competitive but still profitable

Creating a promotional plan, such as social media advertising or email marketing campaigns

Legal Compliance and Safety :

The operation of a food processing firm requires adherence to numerous regulatory and safety requirements. Depending on the kind of food processing business you're beginning and where it's located, you'll need to adhere to a certain set of rules.

Among the most important legal and safety factors are:

securing the authorizations and licences required to run your enterprise

observing food safety guidelines, such as those established by the FDA and USDA

planning a HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) strategy

upholding sanitization and hygiene standards

ensuring that your staff is educated on proper food handling and safety practices

Conclusion :

Although it requires careful planning and preparation, starting a food processing business can be a rewarding and profitable venture. You can improve your chances of success by carrying out in-depth market research, creating a strong business plan, obtaining finance, buying the essential tools and materials, developing a product line, and putting a marketing and sales strategy into action. The health and safety of your clients and staff are also dependent on your ability to adhere to legal and safety requirements. You can convert your love of cooking into a successful business with the correct preparation and execution.