Britain warned its food producers to prepare for a 500% rise in carbon dioxide prices on Wednesday after extending emergency state support to avert a shortage of poultry and meat triggered by soaring costs of wholesale natural gas. Natural gas prices have spiked this year as economies reopened from COVID-19 lockdowns and high demand for liquefied natural gas in Asia pushed down supplies to Europe, sending shockwaves through industries reliant on natural gas. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a by-product of the fertilizer industry where natural gas is the biggest input cost. This has forced some plants to shut in recent weeks, leading to a shortage of the gas used to put the fizz into beer and sodas and stun poultry and pigs before slaughter. read more As CO2 […]