Welcome to the WC, wherein you’re trapped in my mind for eight to ten minutes weekly.
Hope you enjoyed the two-part series on investing in the continental poles of inaccessibility (PIA). IKYMI:
Today, we’ve got two quick ones to whet your appetite:
Table of Contents
Argentina’s other red meat
Raising cattle in Latin America is problematic. Farmers clearing rainforests to raise cattle and grow crops to feed cattle have destroyed over 20 million acres of oxygen-producing and carbon-sinking goodness over the last several decades.
So ranchers in Argentina are considering another red meat option: buffalo. This option is harder, less destructive, and produces a superior product.
Buffalo farming has increased by 54% over the last ten years, and there are nearly 200,000 heads today. That’s up from 4,000 in 1993.
Even though the buffalo are raised in harsh environments with very little traditional care, “the productive indicators of buffaloes are outstanding. In Corrientes, 80 to 90% pregnancy rates are reported, weanings with a weight of 230 kg at 10 months and a fat buffalo finishing at two years with 500 kg.”
That lines up or exceeds figures for cattle raised under ideal environments. With a higher fat content, buffalo milk is also superior to cow milk, they live and reproduce longer (18 years on average) and are cheaper to raise.
While Asia dominates the buffalo market with over 200 million heads (remember, there are 200,000 in Argentina), the species’ popularity is growing quickly.
“We are, perhaps, one of the smallest countries in the world for the activity, but we have been having a sustained growth, close to 15% annually,” said Federico Romero, president of the International Buffalo Federation (IBF).
I’ve never had buffalo meat, but I’m keen to try it.
Would you like to know more?
The Economics Of Livestock Systems In Developing Countries: Farm And Project Level Analysis
Deforestation and Climate Change
Olive oil fraud? Olive oil fraud.
The price of olive oil has more than doubled over the last couple of years, hitting both olive farmers and oil consumers hard.
And where there’s a booming market, there’s fraud.
Outright fraud and its slightly less sketchy cousin, mislabeling, hit record highs this spring in the EU.
“In the first quarter of 2018, just 15 such cases were recorded by the EU. That rose to a record 50 cases in the first three months of this year, more than a threefold increase.”
These stats omit domestic fraud, so the numbers are actually much higher.
How does one commit olive oil fraud? You can
- Add lower-quality oil to the good stuff, cutting it like cocaine
- Label it extra virgin when it’s not
- Lie about the oil’s origin on the label
“In February, in a typical example, Germany reported a case from Israel of “lampante oil”, a quality considered not suitable for human consumption without further refining, being marketed as ‘extra virgin olive oil’.”
Drought and heat waves in Spain are responsible for the spike in prices, and while it rained today in the olive-rich part of Spain where I live, the trend is likely to continue.
Would you like to know more?
Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil: Tom Mueller. This book explores the fascinating and often scandalous world of olive oil production, uncovering widespread fraud and the economic pressures driving it. It’s a deep dive into the quality issues and market dynamics affecting both producers and consumers, making it highly relevant to understanding the current challenges in the industry.
Virgin Territory: Exploring the World of Olive Oil: Nancy Harmon Jenkins. Focused on the culinary and cultural aspects of olive oil, this book also delves into issues of authenticity and quality. It provides readers with a deeper understanding of how economic factors influence the production and labeling of olive oil.
That’s all for this week; I hope you enjoyed it.
Cheers,
Wyatt
Disclosures
- None today
