The Knowledge to Decide

China is set to open a government-sponsored ‘cloning park’ in early 2016, with a goal to produce 100,000 cloned cattle annually. This is because Chinese farmers are not able to meet market demand for beef cattle. Clones ensure a reliable and regular supply. Interestingly, a report highlights the average calorie intake of a person has increased from 1,863 to 3,074 calories – with a major chunk coming from animal calories. China’s meat demand coincides with a tax recommended by U.K. researchers on meat to deal with rising demand along with health and environmental issues that are synonymous with meat consumption and production. Will cloned meat be able to meet rising market demand? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/china-opts-for-cloned-cow-meat/

Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, was invited to share his views on sugar consumption trends on Channel NewsAsia – Money Mind. He observed that sugar consumption in Singapore will decline in the long term, akin to what has been seen in North America and Europe, thanks to rising health literacy and government health campaigns. Natural sweetener producers would need to work hard to find their niche in terms of taste, pricing and a fact-based health message. Sugar is now into its 4th year of global surplus production, primarily thanks to Brazil, Thailand and India. This has exerted downward pressure on prices. Sugar consumption is foreseen to grow below the growth rate of the global population in the next 5 to 10 years. High intensity natural sweetener is now a niche market that faces good growth prospects. However, there are regulatory hurdles facing the industry. What’s more, there is a lot to be done in educating and convincing consumers t