This week’s standout figures include: the large group of petrochemical lobbyists attending next week’s crucial talks on a global plastic treaty; a new 1,000-acre biodiversity highway being driven by a supermarket; the agriculture and food firms that are closing; and the Welsh councillors going back to school to try the dinners (and understand how they could be improved as new regulations are debated by ministers).
300. Negotiators will next week meet in Geneva to (hopefully) finalise a new global agreement on tackling plastic pollution. Environmental NGOs say the attendance of almost 300 petrochemical and fossil fuel lobbyists could result in a weaker Global Plastics Treaty. Greenpeace said industry lobbyists now outnumber many national delegations, scientists and Indigenous groups, as it launched a new report: Plastics, profits and power.
1,000. US-based grocery retailer Whole Foods Market has set out plans to rewild up to 1,000 acres of farmland across the US, creating a ‘biodiversity highway’ that will begin in Wisconsin. The Amazon-owned business has partnered with regenerative agriculture and nature-based solutions experts at Mad Agriculture to roll out the project, reports edie.net. Whole Foods Market said in a statement that the biodiversity highway project will “reduce fragmentation” of sustainability efforts within local watersheds.
6,365. A record 6,365 agriculture, forestry, and fishing businesses closed in the past year, the highest number since quarterly data was first collected in 2017, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Farmers Weekly noted that the sharp decline coincides with chancellor Rachel Reeves’ announcement in October 2024 of changes to inheritance tax (IHT) relief on family farms.
19,000 meals a day. Swansea councillors will roll back the years and sit down to a school meal as Welsh ministers consult on plans to reduce fried food, processed meat and cakes served to primary pupils. Wales Online reports that the group want to “see and taste for themselves what’s on the menu, having heard from education and school catering staff at a committee meeting”. The catering service provides more than 12,000 meals a day in primary schools and nearly 7,000 in secondary schools, as well as a breakfast or mid-morning option in many secondary schools and a free breakfast club in all primary schools. Around 550 cooks and kitchen assistants are employed.
