Plus: Kraft Heinz’ pledge to remove artificial food dyes, the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen and more. |
| America is headed down a food insecure path. Amid last week’s immigration raids targeting farms and food processors across the country, President Donald Trump expressed concern over carrying out those raids on farms, food processors, meatpackers, restaurants and hotels. That prompted official guidance from the Department of Homeland Security that advised agents to “hold on all worksite enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants and operating hotels,” according to the Washington Post. But by Monday, the administration backtracked. And it’s currently looking like Trump’s attempt to enact the largest domestic deportation operation in American history will continue to include workers in agriculture. If that happens en masse, we are headed for food shortages. The Agriculture Department estimates over 40% of crop farmworkers do not have legal status. I broke down the chaos and answered the pressing questions of Forbes anchor Brittany Lewis. Give it a watch. There’s a lot to discuss. And, in sum, I’ll share this: Immigrants are essential to feeding all Americans. They deserve to be treated with dignity. Full stop. And, remember, there’s been a labor shortage in agriculture and food processing for years. Ask any food business owner and they will tell you. And, to counter one point proliferating in the media, these farm and food processing workers are not taking jobs from anyone. They are typically filling roles that would otherwise go unfilled. That’s for a variety of reasons, but mainly because this is very dangerous and grueling work. Plus, these agricultural jobs take a lot of skill. Which means more immigration raids will leave massive holes across the food supply chain—jobs that are not going to be filled easily or quickly. These raids have begun as summer plantings of corn and soybeans are getting underway, and as the harvests of berries, tomatoes and other specialty crops are just starting up. And fall, prime time for harvest, is only a few months away. I promise to keep you updated on the latest developments. With Juneteenth on Thursday, I am wishing you a wonderful day (or long weekend) of rest and remembrance! |
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| Forbes anchor Brittany Lewis asks me all about the immigration raids rocking the agriculture industry and the misconceptions proliferating. |
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| The world’s largest meatpacker began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday under the ticker JBS, and the stock had a tepid start before ending the day up nearly 5%. During the first day of trading Monday, shares rose around 3% before briefly falling past where the stock opened at $13.65 per share at around 2:30 p.m ET. By close, the stock was back up and hit a high of $14.29. And the billionaire sons of the company’s founder, who guided the expansion of JBS beyond Brazil—and went to jail seven years ago after its American acquisition spree got ensnared in a massive corruption scandal involving 1,800 politicians in in their homeland—became richer for it. As JBS stock rose, the net worths of Joesley and Wesley Batista increased an estimated $200 million each and the brothers, who are the top shareholders in the company and serve as board directors, are now worth $4.8 billion each. Together, through family holding companies, they own nearly 50% of JBS. JBS stock has risen a bit more since then, even as global stocks tumbled on renewed conflict in Israel and Iran. As of Wednesday morning, the share price was $14.44. It looks like it’s going to be a wild ride for this stock. And if you’re interested in learning the whole story, read my book, Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed and the Fight for the Future of Meat. |
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| Bye Bye, Dyes: Jell-O, Kool-Aid and Crystal Light and the rest of Kraft Heinz’s products will be rid of Red Dye 40 and all other chemical additives by the end of 2027, the company announced on Tuesday. The Trump Administration has been pushing big food companies to speed up the timeline for reformulating products without food dyes. Companies have complained it will take years, but the Trump Administration wants at least six food dyes out of recipes by the end of 2026. |
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| But What’s The Cleanest? The Environmental Working Group released the results of its annual tests of pesticide residue on America’s produce, in the hopes of helping shoppers better prioritize which produce is worth the splurge for organic. In its ranking of the produce that pesticides stick to the most, better known as the Dirty Dozen, there are a lot of thin-skinned fruits like strawberries, blackberries, grapes and apples. The Dirty Dozen also includes greens like spinach and kale. EWG also released its counterpart ranking, the Clean Fifteen, with produce testing among the lowest pesticide residues, which featured thicker-skinned fruits like pineapple, bananas and mangoes, as well as avocados, cauliflower and asparagus. |
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| A Requiem for Rhubarb: I loved this deep dive into rhubarb’s “surprising unpopularity” from Ambrook Research and one of my favorite food journalists Lela Nargi. The story also brings readers into the fascinating trend of growing forced rhubarb in dark hothouses and harvesting the stalks by candlelight. |
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| In Korean, ‘ato’ means gift, and I can now attest to the fact that the fried chicken served at Atoboy in New York City is a gift to all. All of their dishes are gifts, really. Including the cod (upper right) and pork ribs (upper left) pictured. The four-course pre-fixe meal I so enjoyed there recently was both innovative and yet delicious and comforting, which is exceedingly hard to pull-off at the same time. Add Atoboy to your list! (And consider the hospitality group’s other restaurants, too: For example, Atoboy’s sister restaurant, fine dining establishment Atomix, was awarded a James Beard for Outstanding Hospitality this week.) |
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| Thanks for reading the 147th edition of Forbes Fresh Take! Hit reply to let me know what you think. |
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