Addicted to Failure: The New York Times is highlighting a new book by one of its reporters that accuses the food industry of masterminding consumer "addiction" to unhealthy foods. In "The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food," Michael Moss describes foods that are "hyperengineered, savagely marketed, [in an] addiction-creating battle for American 'stomach share.'" He describes a conscious effort to hook people on convenient and inexpensive foods. Never mind that convenience is a top demand by consumers and that sales of more expensive foods are growing faster than inexpensive ones. The Moss storyline prompts at least three sarcastic thoughts:1. Imagine companies making products that cause consumer addiction — Apple iPhones and iPa...
Yesterday, Alberta held a referendum on whether to begin the process toward independence from Canada. With more than one million votes counted as of early Tuesday morning, around 77 percent supported remaining in Canada, and 23 percent voted to start the process of separation, according to unof...
What You Need to Know Today: Harvest pressure in the U.S. sent corn and soybeans lower as supplies increased and there were signs USDA’s upward revisions to yields in the October WASDE could be close to right. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine escalated over the weekend, with Ukrai...
Key Takeaways: India is excluding sugarcane juice, sugar syrup, and B-heavy molasses from its 2026/27 fuel ethanol procurement program to protect domestic sugar supplies, potentially shifting additional demand toward corn and rice. India’s corn consumption for ethanol has surged from jus...
From WPI Consulting
Infrastructure investment due diligence
On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.