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RIYADH: Achieving food security and sustainability is a top priority for Saudi Arabia as it works toward building a more inclusive economy. The Kingdom aims to accomplish this by boosting domestic production and investing in international supply chains to secure key commodities that are unavailable locally. Strategic transformations as well as enhanced international cooperation are both essential in efforts to address global food insecurity, Abdulrahman Al-Fadley, Saudi Arabia’s minister of environment, water and agriculture, said at the recent meeting of G20 agriculture ministers in Brazil. “There is a pressing need to adopt a long-term transformation for food security and nutrition,” he told decision-makers on the second day of the conference. “This underscores the need to intensify our efforts and strengthen collaboration to develop pragmatic solutions for building sustainable, healthy and inclusive food systems.” The G20 agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture ministers met on Sept. 12-13 in Chapada dos Guimaraes, Brazil, to discuss strengthening the resilience and sustainability of food systems across economic, social and environmental dimensions. These sectors are key to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Increased efforts to boost Saudi Arabia’s food production resulted in the country announcing in September 2023 that it had achieved self-sufficiency in fresh dairy products and eggs, with surpluses available for export. In addition, the Kingdom has significantly increased domestic production of various crops, including potatoes, tomatoes, carrots and onions, as well as red meat. This progress comes from increased efforts to boost domestic food production by involving all stakeholders, including the private sector and civil society. One notable company is Topian, which was launched by NEOM in 2023. Topian aims to redefine food production, distribution, and consumption by creating sustainable, innovative solutions in five key areas: climate-proof agriculture, regenerative aquaculture, novel foods, personalized nutrition, and sustainable food supply and environmental, social and governance. Founded with the support of the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Topian aligns with the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan for national development and diversification. The company is leading efforts to ensure food security, combat climate change, and achieve net-zero emissions by 2060. “As a wholly owned subsidiary of NEOM, Topian is fully aligned with NEOM’s commitment to providing high-quality food products to the market, and promoting food security and sustainability, while contributing to the Kingdom’s self-sufficiency objectives and long-term economic goals,” said Juan Carlos Motamayor, the company’s CEO. “Topian is leading the food-security conversation to create a resilient food supply in line with the Saudi Green Initiative and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. “We are not only committing to shaping a transformative global food system, but also to setting a global benchmark by pioneering new technologies and innovative solutions to overcome food-related challenges and create a more secure, sustainable and prosperous future for all.” Topian has formed several local and international strategic partnerships with organizations committed to reshaping the future of food. These agreements include collaborations with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Tabuk University, Tabuk Fish Company, BlueNalu, Van der Hoeven Horticultural Projects, and Cargill. Through these partnerships, it aims to drive research and development, leveraging expertise to create innovative and sustainable food-production methods. The company is also committed to the NEOM CARE partnership, which focuses on educational initiatives to promote local sustainable gastronomy and develop Saudi talent through training opportunities and chef camps. Another key Saudi initiative aimed at achieving food security is the Center of Excellence for Sustainable Food Security. Founded by KAUST in 2024, the center focuses on the advancement of technology-driven solutions to help enhance sustainable food production, particularly in arid environments. Its primary goal is to translate research into practical applications that minimize the environmental impact of food systems. The center is led by Mark Tester, an expert in plant science and agriculture in arid environments, and co-chaired by Brande Wulff, a leader in crop genetics, and Peiying Hong, an expert in environmental microbiology and wastewater treatment. It aims to address key challenges in resource efficiency, crop improvement, and sustainable biosystems, with the goal of enhancing food security in Saudi Arabia and beyond while minimizing environmental impacts. “To deliver food to our plates, we need to prepare the land, improve our crops, harvest, process and distribute,” Tester told Arab News. “Together, these activities are arguably the most environmentally impactful of all human activities, using half of all the land and three-quarters of all the water we use, and the food sector is probably the second-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. “All steps in the process need to be improved to increase sustainability, from fertilizer production and the deployment of technologies to increasing our ability to grow fresh fruits and vegetables locally, through to education to improve nutrition and reduce waste.” The center uses advanced technologies to boost sustainability in the food sector, including artificial intelligence-machine learning, Internet of Things sensors, and computer vision and robotics, all key components of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It also employs nanotechnology, such as heat-absorbing nanoparticles that reduce heat load in greenhouses, and biotechnologies such as genomics, gene editing and modifications to enhance crops in ways previously not possible. Tester said the center has also introduced the Sustainable Food Security Edible Education Program, which is designed to “help reconnect young people with the sources of their food — ultimately plants — and to do this in a way that is fun and engaging, and in a way that kids can immediately relate to; i.e., through food.” He added: “We all get hungry, several times a day, and if we are growing at least some of our food that we then eat, it reminds us of how our meals end up on our plates. In the Edible Education Program, we help children and their teachers grow plants in the schoolyard and use these for some of their school lunches. It is immediate, direct and fun.” Saudi Arabia has actively promoted domestic and foreign investments in agriculture, Al-Fadley, the environment, water and agriculture minister, said during the G20 meeting in Brazil. Over the past four years, agricultural loans have surged, contributing to growth of 35 percent in the Kingdom’s agricultural gross domestic product.Manchester City's struggles continued as Pep Guardiola's side remarkably blew a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 with Feyenoord in the Champions League on Tuesday, while Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain to leave the French club in danger of elimination. There were also big wins for Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen, while Inter Milan went top of the standings after five games and Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski reached a century of Champions League goals. However, the biggest drama came at the Etihad Stadium, where City were cruising early in the second half with a three-goal advantage as they sought to end a run of five successive defeats in all competitions. Erling Haaland opened the scoring from a penalty just before half-time, and Ilkay Gundogan's deflected shot made it 2-0 in the 50th minute. Haaland struck again to make it 3-0, but Feyenoord's comeback began on 75 minutes when Anis Hadj Moussa took advantage of hapless defending to round goalkeeper Ederson and pull one back. Substitute Santiago Gimenez bundled in to make it 3-2 on 82 minutes and the equaliser arrived a minute from the end. Ederson was again caught out with Igor Paixao going around the goalkeeper and crossing for Slovak international David Hancko to head in. "We concede a lot of goals because we are not stable," complained Guardiola. "We lost a lot of games lately. We are fragile and of course we need a victory." It is the first time that a team has gone into the last 20 minutes of a Champions League game trailing by three goals and still avoided defeat, as the point boosts the Dutch side's hopes of progressing. City are two points outside the top eight places which offer direct qualification for the last 16, while Bayern moved above them by beating PSG 1-0 in Munich. South Korean defender Kim Min-jae scored the only goal seven minutes before half-time, heading in after goalkeeper Matvei Safonov failed to clear a corner. PSG had Ousmane Dembele sent off in the second half and the French champions have just four points, and three goals, from five games. They are a lowly 26th in the 36-team league, a point adrift of the positions which offer a place in the play-off round in February. "We need to win our last three matches, otherwise we risk being eliminated," admitted PSG coach Luis Enrique. Lewandowski notched his 100th goal in the competition with an early penalty in Barcelona's 3-0 home win over French side Brest. Dani Olmo netted midway through the second half before Lewandowski sealed Barca's win at the death, his 101st goal in the Champions League -- only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have scored more. Inter lead the standings with 13 points, a point ahead of Barcelona and Liverpool, after a 1-0 win at home to RB Leipzig which means they are also still yet to concede a goal. Castello Lukeba's own goal made the difference at San Siro, and Leipzig are one of only three teams to have lost five games out of five. Arsenal romped to a 5-1 victory away to Sporting in Lisbon, as the Portuguese side adapt to life without coach Ruben Amorim, who has departed for Manchester United. Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Magalhaes all scored in the first half for Arsenal, before Goncalo Inacio pulled one back shortly after the restart. Bukayo Saka converted a penalty on 65 minutes after Martin Odegaard had been brought down, and Leandro Trossard headed in to seal Arsenal's win late on. Atalanta romped to a 6-1 win over rock-bottom Young Boys in Switzerland, with Mateo Retegui and Charles De Ketelaere both scoring braces. Sead Kolasinac and Lazar Samardzic also netted for the Italians, with Silvere Ganvoula getting the hosts' reply. Florian Wirtz struck twice, including a penalty, as Leverkusen crushed Red Bull Salzburg 5-0, with Alejandro Grimaldo scoring a superb free-kick and Patrik Schick and Aleix Garcia also netting. Julian Alvarez and substitute Angel Correa each scored twice and Marcos Llorente and Antoine Griezmann once as Atletico romped to a 6-0 win away to Sparta Prague. Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao and Tammy Abraham were the scorers in AC Milan's 3-2 win at Slovan Bratislava, whose goals came from Tigran Barseghyan and Nino Marcelli. Marko Tolic saw red at the end for Slovan, who are without a point. as/nf

Butterball, a popular turkey company, is facing calls for a boycott ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday amid allegations of animal abuse that are circulating online . The claims about animal abuse stem from a video that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an animal rights organization, shared on its X and Instagram accounts in November. That video accuses Butterball employees of abusing turkeys. “Do you know what happened to your Butterball turkey before they were killed?” the videos’ caption says. A VERIFY reader texted us to ask if Butterball turkeys have been recalled amid the abuse allegations. Google Trends data show other people online are also wondering if there’s a recall on Butterball turkeys. Have Butterball turkeys been recalled amid abuse allegations? No, Butterball turkeys have not been recalled amid abuse allegations. There isn’t a recall for Butterball turkeys, a spokesperson for the company and federal government websites confirm. The video circulating online alleging animal abuse is nearly 20 years old. If any food products were recalled, federal health officials would post notices on their websites. But that hasn’t happened as of Tuesday, Nov. 26. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) websites do not list any recent recalls for Butterball turkeys. A Butterball spokesperson also confirmed to VERIFY that none of the company’s products are recalled. The video accusing Butterball employees of abusing turkeys that sparked recall concerns is almost 20 years old, the company spokesperson said. "We are aware of a video from nearly 20 years ago, which is being re-shared across social media. This video is not current and was taken prior to Butterball becoming a private company and prior to our engagement and certification through American Humane,” the spokesperson told VERIFY. “Eleven years ago, Butterball was the first, and remains the only, turkey company to be American Humane certified. That means we have yearly audits conducted by a third party to ensure compliance with our 200+ science-based standards of best practice for care of turkeys, well exceeding industry best practices,” they added. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has a longer version of the video alleging turkey abuse posted on its website. That webpage links out to an article where PETA details an undercover investigation into a Butterball slaughterhouse in Ozark, Arkansas, that occurred nearly 20 years ago, from April to July 2006. During the undercover investigation, PETA investigators “documented that Butterball workers punched and stomped on live turkeys, slammed them against walls, and worse,” the animal rights organization said. In response to the old video recirculating online, the Butterball spokesperson added that the company has a “zero-tolerance policy for animal mistreatment."

Christmas Day was once the exclusive territory of the NBA. In recent years, the NFL has decided to invade that territory and play multiple games on Christmas. While this has yielded increased revenues for the NFL, it doesn’t make former Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger happy at all. “It’s miserable. It’s a shame that the league does this. It just shows that it’s all about money, and this is a way that they can, you know, make more money and figure this thing out because it’s not fair for the players,” Roethlisberger said on his podcast, Channel 7. “You wanna talk about injuries and making the game safer, changing the kickoff rule and preventing guys on hip-drop tackles, and concussions, and this that and the other, and you’re going to make guys play the most violent game in the world, arguably, three games in 11 days. I mean, there’s no time for your body to get healthy and rest.” The Christmas games themselves aren’t such a big deal. What’s a big deal is that teams who played last Saturday (the Steelers, Chiefs, Ravens, and Texans) now have to play again on Wednesday. With those teams having to turn around and play on January 5, it all adds up to three games in 11 days. Roethlisberger isn’t alone in his criticism; Chiefs QB Pat Mahomes recently indicated that he is also not a fan of the scheduling. “It’s not a good feeling,” Mahomes told reporters. “You never want to play this amount of games in this short of time. It’s not great for your body. But, at the end of the day, it’s your job, your profession. You have to come to work and do it.”

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