“Food Insecurity”

The grocery industry’s annual “blackout” begins in November and generally runs through the end of January. During this period, grocery chains applying the policy refuse certain price increases requested by their suppliers. For shoppers hoping for relief, that may sound reassuring. But freezing suppliers’ prices does not mean freezing the grocery bill.

Seattle city government faces a steep budget deficit amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars over the next three years—an estimated 10 percent of its revenues. Yet the city just allocated $1.7 million to help struggling independent supermarkets avoid going out of business. The money is both more than the stressed budget should apportion and not enough to make a difference in a metropolis of nearly 400 food stores.

President Donald Trump knows how to provoke and move markets. But when it comes to beef prices, he may have missed a few briefings on cattle economics.

Last week, Trump authorized an additional 300,000 metric tonnes of lean beef trimmings to enter the United States at the lower, within-quota tariff rate. Beginning September 1, the measure will permit up to 100,000 tonnes a month for 90 days. The imported trimmings will be blended with American beef to produce ground beef. The White House is encouraging suppliers to offer it at a 25% discount.

Earlier this year, the Agri-Food Analytics Lab forecast that Canada could lose approximately 4,000 restaurants on a net basis in 2026. The prediction attracted considerable attention because it captured the financial anxiety spreading across the industry.

At mid-year, however, the evidence suggests that the forecast was likely too pessimistic.

Britain is facing its worst food security crisis in decades as repeated heatwaves risk ruining farmers’ harvests, analysts have warned.

The warning was issued as nearly three quarters of England was declared to be in drought, increasing the threat posed to food production across the country.

Soaring temperatures are damaging wheat yields, vegetable crops and milk production, Shore Capital warned, leaving the UK increasingly reliant on food grown abroad.

At first glance, the presence of inexpensive Australian beef in Canadian grocery stores seems absurd. How can beef raised thousands of kilometres away, shipped across the Pacific and distributed through Canada sell for substantially less than beef produced in Alberta?

Following a unanimous vote at city council this week, the City of Toronto is looking into ways to regulate and ban surveillance pricing in the city’s grocery stores.

Surveillance pricing refers to the practice of using an individual consumer’s data, such as their gender, location, purchase history, and socioeconomic status, to set prices. This can result in a business charging different prices for the same item, depending on who’s buying it.

Carney & Chairman Chow’ may end up creating Food Deserts.

The Major Grocers have promised the poor will get it if surveillance pricing is challenged.