$3 for a single McDonald’s hash brown? Customers are fed up and pushing back
By Allison Morrow, CNN
Updated 10:03 AM EST, Wed February 7, 2024
New York (CNN) — Corporate America may be bumping up against the limit of its power to keep raising prices as consumers in some markets cry uncle.
At McDonald’s, which has repeatedly boasted about its ability to raise menu prices without denting sales, executives are finally acknowledging that customers need a break.
On Monday, as the burger chain reported weaker-than-expected sales at its US stores, CEO Chris Kempczinski addressed McDonald’s “affordability” problem, and indicated the chain would cut prices on some menu items.
“Eating at home has become more affordable,” Kempczinski said.
He’s right: Grocery prices are still high, but they rose just 1.3% overall in 2023, while dining out surged 5.2%, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report.
Cadbury responds to furious Mini Egg fans who say they 'cost more than a chicken'
15:58, 22 Feb 2024
Valentine's Day is over and it's time to roll in the Easter eggs and munch on a packet of Cadbury's Mini Eggs, but fans of the iconic chocolates say "you need to take out a loan" if you plan on buying any this year.
It's no secret that going to the supermarket has become less and less enjoyable as we have seen the price of food items rise significantly due to the rising cost of living crisis. If only we could go back to the bliss days of pulling out a few pennies for a chocolate treat. Remember when Freddos only cost 10p?
Cadbury fans have branded the skyrocketing prices as "shambolic" and "disgusting". It comes after chocolate lovers discovered a large bag of 1kg Mini Eggs will now set you back a whopping £17.50. Some claimed they could do a weekly food shop for the same price. But, Mondelēz, who owns Cadbury, say raising the prices was the company's "last resort".
"We still face considerable challenges," they added.
The 110g Mini Eggs Bar has also increased in Tesco and Morrisons from £1 to £1.25. If you are looking for a 38.3g carton of Mini Eggs Carton in Tesco or Morrisons you will need more than 50p as they have now risen to 60p. What's more, a 95g bar of Dairy Milk increased has increased by 8% and the Christmas staple Cadbury Milk Tray has increased by 50% since 2013.
I have boycotted the main big chocolate companies for environmental reasons but this is ridiculous, As I now buy chocolates from Aldi which are far cheaper than Cadburys and other brands.
"We all have our time machines, don't we. Those that take us back are memories...And those that carry us forward, are dreams."
Can Hunger Be Eradicated by 2030? February 26, 2024
Entire article:
(Eurekalert) World hunger is growing at an alarming rate, with prolonged conflicts, climate change, and COVID-19 exacerbating the problem. In 2022, the World Food Programme helped a record 158 million people. On this trajectory, the United Nations’ goal to eradicate hunger by 2030 appears increasingly unattainable. New research at McGill University shines the spotlight on a significant piece of the puzzle: international food assistance.
With no global treaty in place, food aid is guided by a patchwork of international agreements and institutions. Using the concept of a “regime complex,” a study published in the Journal of International Trade Law and Policy examines those rules and the systems that shape them. Rather than create a new entity to solve the problem, the findings point to paradigm shift in the existing systems. Rethinking the dominant discourse among institutions is crucial to work towards zero hunger, posits author Clarisse Delaville, a second-year doctoral student at McGill’s Faculty of Law.
“There are two main regimes that govern global food assistance—the trade regime and the food security regime. I encourage a stronger commitment from both regimes to implement a human-rights based approach, in order to question the prominent discourse on food trade regimes, which paints food assistance as a distortion in trade that ought to be minimized,” says Delaville.
About the study
“A regime complex for food assistance: international law regulating international food assistance” by Clarisse Delaville was published in the Journal of International Trade Law and Policy.
A Reliable Food Supply in West Africa Requires Smarter Planning for Low-yield Events February 28, 2024
Introduction:
(Eurekalert) A stable and reliable food production system is a prerequisite for food security. However, food production in many regions of the world is significantly threatened by the variability of yearly crops due to extreme weather events such as droughts or floods. Climate change makes these weather events more severe and more frequent. In West Africa, where the population is growing fast and conflicts are common, the lack of progress in meeting SDG 2 Zero Hunger is especially evident.
In their new study published in Communications Earth & Environment, IIASA researchers propose a stochastic modeling framework that provides insights to achieve a more reliable local food supply. The study demonstrates how this kind of modeling can help different regions in the world facing extreme weather events to meet the zero-hunger target. It analyzes food production under crop yield uncertainty due to natural variability in weather conditions and explores different strategies as to how this reliability could be increased at a minimum cost by sharing risk over time and space.
“Longer periods of drought combined with a growing population put pressure on farming communities. Governments must play a crucial role in creating financially sustainable mechanisms to support their citizens and prevent farmers from reverting to negative coping strategies,” explains Matthias Wildemeersch, a researcher in the IIASA Advancing Systems Analysis Program and coauthor of the study. “Our model focuses on the risk dimension of local food supply and clarifies the trade-off between cultivation costs and the reliability of food production. By highlighting this trade-off, policymakers can make better informed decisions about how much risk of food insecurity is acceptable and the cost associated with mitigating it, ultimately strengthening the resilience of the food system.”
Wildemeersch and his colleagues found that risk-sharing under regional cooperation can improve the reliability of food production and also enhance the ability to guarantee stable livelihoods for farmers. Their results show how food shortages can be virtually eliminated under cross-regional cooperation in a most cost-effective way.
Consumers Across Political Spectrum Share Food Pricing Frustrations March 14, 2024
Introduction:
(Eurekalert) URBANA, Ill. – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign agricultural and consumer economist Maria Kalaitzandonakes recently completed a survey of U.S. consumers, gauging their perceptions of market share and tendency to overcharge by different players in the food system. The survey was in response to continuing consumer frustration at the grocery store, despite cooling inflation, an issue at the center of the 2024 presidential campaign.
“Our results indicate that over 65% of consumers think food manufacturers are too big or have too much market power. More than 70% of consumers think that food manufacturers, grocery stores, and restaurants are overcharging consumers,” Kalaitzandonakes said.
Interestingly, political affiliation didn’t sway survey responses.
“There aren't many things that the U.S. public agrees on, but this seems to be an exception,” Kalaitzandonakes said. “Democrats, Republicans, and Independents all feel like they're being overcharged.”
