Jaume Collboni has returned from New York with an idea under his arm. After meeting with Mayor Mamdani, he announced that Barcelona will have a network of affordable shops. The concern is easy to understand: in five years, the purchase of food has become nearly 30% more expensive, and for many families this item already weighs too much on the family budget. The proposal also has a certain glamour: it has been presented as a "genuinely New York experience". But what does it exactly mean to make shopping more affordable?It may be difficult for us to fill the fridge for different reasons. Perhaps in the neighborhood we do not have enough supply of fresh produce. Or perhaps we have supermarkets and shops within reach, but we cannot afford their prices. In one case, there is a lack of supply; in the other, purchasing power: having a store downstairs is useless if we cannot pay for it. Both hinder access to adequate nutrition, but they are not the same problem nor do they require the same response.The City Council's pilot project will begin in La Marina del Prat Vermell, a growing neighborhood where the commercial offer is still limited. Bringing fresh produce there responds to the first of the problems and makes sense. But the project wants to go further: it not only promises proximity, but also affordable prices. And here begins the most interesting question: what will make them so? Because lowering the price has a cost: someone has to assume it, be it the City Council, the manager, the suppliers, or a combination of all three.There is no single way to lower the cost of groceries. New York is planning five municipal supermarkets: the city covers part of the costs and requires the savings to be passed on to prices, with a discount for everyone who shops there. Istanbul, on the other hand, has for decades combined a public network of food at low prices with aid directed at families with fewer resources. In the first case, public support makes the same basket cheaper regardless of who is doing the shopping; in the second, part of the effort is concentrated on those with lower income. Each formula allocates public resources differently and does not necessarily benefit the same families.Barcelona, furthermore, does not start from zero. It has a network of municipal markets, farmers' markets, and consumer cooperatives, as well as experience with aid such as prepaid cards. It already has, therefore, instruments to act both on supply and on the purchasing power of families. The question is whether it is necessary to create a new structure or if part of the objective can be achieved by reinforcing, connecting, or reorienting those that already exist. In Marina itself, in fact, the City Council was already working to promote local commerce before the trip to New York. Looking at what other cities are doing can be useful, but the question is not where we import the idea from, but who we want to reach, with what instrument, and what problem we want to solve.

Housing and inflation are the two main concerns of the Catalan and Spanish population. This is confirmed by the latest Eurobarometer from the European Parliament, where at least one in three respondents in Spain identify access to a home and the rising cost of living as the biggest headaches they have to face in their daily lives. The rising cost of rents and food is changing consumption habits and requires great effort for families – especially the most vulnerable – to adapt to the new reality. A reality that leaves less time for leisure and where any unforeseen event can unbalance a budget with ever-decreasing room for manoeuvre. And among the juggling acts of some families to balance their accounts, the following diagnosis emerges: the economic effort to fill the fridge is growing more than that of paying for housing.

Health, ecology, trends in prepared meals, territory, impact and social inclusion shape the synergies of the global project driven by the Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera through MANS Agrosocials and the Fundació Alícia. Food is the common thread: a commitment that goes beyond the promotion of healthy habits to also become a driver of territorial development and a tool for social integration for people in situations of vulnerability or at risk of exclusion.

The major distribution companies in Spain have warned that private consumption shows "slight signs of exhaustion" caused by the war in Iran, at the annual meeting that the entity grouping them (Aecoc) held this Tuesday in Barcelona. Domestic consumption and investment have marked the good performance of the Spanish economy once the pandemic hecatomb was overcome. Now, the president of Aecoc, José María Bonmatí, has assured that "we are still in very positive ratios", but has warned that "the consumer confidence index is not particularly sky-high". "Crises begin and end when the consumer perceives it that way," he recalled.

Although the scenario is not the same as in 2022 or 2023, at the height of the inflationary crisis, the cost of living remains high: 2025 ends with an average inflation rate of 2.7%, so it's impossible to speak of a normalization of prices, considering the European Central Bank's 2% target. The main concern lies in the price behavior of some basic necessities, such as housing, currently one of the biggest problems in Spain and Catalonia. In fact, 2025 ends with warning signs regarding the cost of real estate, whether rented or purchased, as well as the cost of food.

In 1975, following a conference on recombinant DNA in Asilomar, California, a moratorium—self-imposed and widely accepted by experts—came into effect to allow time to assess the risks of the new technology, which for the first time allowed the mixing of genetic material from different species, thus creating modified organisms. The potential applications were fabulous, as was the possibility of generating unimaginable disasters. It was necessary to carefully consider the consequences of using the knowledge that had been acquired and to agree on minimum regulations that everyone could follow.

The heat of the summer months can be a threat when consuming certain foods, and beyond considering hygiene conditions, it's necessary to pay attention to temperature. "From the perspective of food safety, the main problem in summer is the breaking of the cold chain in raw foods," explains José Juan Rodríguez, professor in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). According to him, several aspects must be taken into account.

Ukraine is known as Europe's breadbasket. Last year alone, the country led by Volodymir Zelensky produced 86 million tons of grain and is one of the world's leading exporters of cereals. The data is convincing: it is the fourth biggest exporter of corn (16%) and wheat (12%) and the largest exporter of sunflower oil, with 50% of world exports, followed by Russia with 30%. Moreover, 41.3% of the corn that Spain receives comes from Ukraine (in the European Union it is 55%) and the same happens with 10% of the wheat.

Electricity prices have once again marked the monthly consumer price index (CPI). This December, the price increase was 6.7% compared to a year ago, more than one point above November's rate (5.5%), and has become the highest level since 1992. The main reason is the upward spiral in electricity prices and, to a lesser extent, food prices. Month on month, prices have risen by 1.3%, according to advanced data published this Monday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).