CF Industries is one of the world’s biggest nitrogen fertilizer producers and competes against Russian imports.  Photo: Thinkstock

U.S. fertilizer imports helping fund Russian war effort, CF Industries says

Reuters – U.S. agriculture companies have been brisk importers of Russian fertilizer since the 2022 Ukraine invasion, a practice that is unwittingly helping fund Russia’s war against Ukraine, U.S. producer CF Industries CF.N said on Thursday. The U.S. does not impose sanctions directly on Russian fertilizer, which is important to global food supplies and prices. […] Read more


Higher prices of basic foodstuffs such as corn, soy and meat are affecting food supplies for both animals and people as the U.S. economy picks up steam.  Photo: Thinkstock

Pet food shortages leave owners on the hunt for kibble

Chicago | Reuters – Black short-haired kitty Astra, one of millions of pets acquired during the COVID-19 pandemic last year, had to go without salmon-flavored Whiskas treats that were sold out at stores in New Orleans this month. Loki, an Alaskan malamute dog in Ontario, Canada, did not have his usual Royal Canin kibble in […] Read more


U.S. grocer Kroger’s plant-based burger patties are sold under its in-house brand, Simple Truth. (Kroger photo via Brandfolder.com)

Major grocers roll out plant-based burgers, undercut Beyond Meat

Chicago | Reuters — Cashing in on rising demand for imitation meat, major retailers including Kroger and Walmart recently began to carry Beyond Meat’s plant-based burgers and sausages. Now, several stores are creating similar products that will compete with Beyond Meat. Kroger Co., the biggest U.S. grocer, on Wednesday rolled out its own line of […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Impossible Whoppers contaminated by meat, suit claims

Reuters — Burger King was sued on Monday by a vegan customer who accused the fast-food chain of contaminating its meatless “Impossible” Whoppers by cooking them on the same grills as its traditional meat burgers. In a proposed class action, Phillip Williams said he bought an Impossible Whopper, a plant-based alternative to Burger King’s regular […] Read more

Vanilla farmer Jao Nasaina holds a spear and a handmade gun as he patrols at his plantation, to guard the crop against thieves, in Ambavala, near Andapa in the Sava region of Madagascar on July 14, 2018. (Photo: Reuters/Clarel Faniry Rasoanaivo)

Spice maker seeks path to make vanilla milkshakes cheaper

Chicago/Antananarivo, Madagascar | Reuters — A kilo of vanilla beans costs more than a kilo of silver. Cultivated painstakingly over years from an orchid plant, vanilla is the second most expensive spice in the world, after saffron. In less than five years, the wholesale price has risen nearly 500 per cent, partly because of growing […] Read more