The Morning Briefing: Food production, shortages

By Charlie Osborne | January 4, 2013

“The Morning Briefing” is SmartPlanet’s daily roundup  of must-reads from the web. This morning we’re reading about the food production industry.

1.) U.K. skills shortage threatens food and drink manufacturing competitiveness. A shortage of talented candidates is threatening the food and drink manufacturing sector.

2.) Future food shortage a major area of concern: Scientist. Emphasising the need to undertake more innovative research work, a senior science academician today said shortage of food could be a major concern in India because of increasing population and declining productivity.

3.) Surging mainland demand milks Aussie stores dry. Australian supermarkets and pharmacies are running out of a popular baby formula amid a sales spike blamed on mainland customers trying to secure supplies.

4.) Food shortages in Syria send prices soaring. “Plenty of food lines the shelves in Abd al-Razzak’s warehouse, but only for those who can afford the sky-high prices needed to cover the bribes it took to transport it there.”

5.) Consumers say food production headed in right direction, widespread misperceptions remain. The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) recently released findings of a survey conducted about Americans’ perceptions on food production.