Vice Presidents and Penny Pinchers

Nothing like a surprising change to keep food production leaders chattering through the late-summer heat:

• Biden ceding the Democratic presidential nomination rekindled election fervor and set off a tide of food and ag policy angles. 
• Quarterly earnings analysis from all corners of food production yielded mixed results and signaled further uncertainty.

Campaigns Get Cookin’

After President Biden withdrew from the 2024 election, food and farm policy wonks dug into Vice President Kamala Harris’ track record for a glimpse at what the presumed nominee’s campaign may hold for the industry. Then her VP selection stirred the pot even further.

• Initial coverage focused on Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign promises and her tenure in the U.S. Senate. Politico noted that Harris opposed trade deals in the past “unless it protected American workers and it protected our environment.”
• Politico further covered where Harris is likely to follow or veer away from Biden’s economic policies when it comes to food prices. Although she has pledged to tackle antitrust issues in recent campaign speeches, inflation remains a common point of criticism from Republicans.
• The Washington Post’s Emily Heil investigated how Harris’ cooking skills — on display in her Cooking with Kamala YouTube series — can translate into policy plans and voter appeal.
• On August 6, Harris tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to run as her vice president. Feedstuffs detailed how Walz has demonstrated his own policy chops around agricultural and rural issues.
• Fast Company dug into Walz’s role in eliminating income requirements for Minnesota students to receive free school meals.
• Investigate Midwest tracked how agribusiness donors have funded election campaigns over the past 30 years, finding that Republicans draw more support — and by an increasing margin. The 2024 campaign numbers haven’t caught up yet, but appear to follow the same trend.

Our Takeaway: Just when we thought this election would be bereft of much food and ag policy, all heck broke loose. Watch for an Ag on the Ballot explainer from the Plated staff before the election.

Walletsworth

The wave of earnings reports from the first half of 2024 has crested, bringing some interesting insights into the food economy. We’ll start at the beginning of the supply chain:

• Reuters reported that grain trader ADM underperformed predictions — but still turned a profit — due to “waning demand for U.S. crops.” Large, persistent stockpiles of crops could limit farmers’ and commodity brokers’ profits come harvest time.
• In contrast, low crop prices bode well for feeding poultry cheaply. Meat+Poultry covered positive results for Tyson Foods and JBS subsidiary Pilgrim’s Pride.
• Big CPG brands proved to be more of a mixed bag. Food Business News cataloged positive results from Danone, Kellanova and Nestlé. Meanwhile, the outlet tracked poor performance from Hershey, Mondelēz and Kraft Heinz. 
• Foodservice has suffered from the consequences of food inflation. Nation’s Restaurant News analyzed how McDonald’s value menu marketing efforts boosted traffic, but saw earnings fall for the first time since the pandemic.
• Even the chain restaurants that fared well were more about bright spots in a cloudy quarter: Taco Bell fared well while the rest of the Yum! Brands portfolio (KFC, Pizza Hut) faltered; and the introduction of breakfast carried Wendy’s to profit.