Business Daily Folgen

What is at stake when a big company like Meta comes knocking on your door? The small Dutch town of Zeewolde is grappling with this. Meta - the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp - wants to build a huge data centre in the area which could be the biggest in Europe. It is a proposal which has raised questions about land-use, water consumption, political power and energy. The municipality says it will bring significant benefits – but not everyone agrees. Opponents like local resident Sipke Veentra, say the centre will use five times the amount of energy that their local windmills provide. And local farmer Carla Dekker is concerned that prime agricultural land is being given over to development and is worried about the amount of water Meta will use. They both claim Meta is being given preferential treatment over local businesses. But those in favour, like Egge Jan de Jonge the local cabinet member who is steering the deal through, says Meta will have to provide new power supplies to feed the centre and that they have a proven record of having done this in the past. Stijn Grove, from the Dutch Data Centre Association says there is no Dutch national strategy and that more political leadership is needed from the top. And Sebastian Moss, who watches the data centre industry for the website DatacenterDynamics says companies face similar challenges to Meta when trying to site hyper-scale data centres all over the world. (Picture: Data centre; Credit: Getty Images)

The pet food industry is a multi billion dollar business but are premium brands - with premium ingredients - worth spending more money on? And could insect protein be the key to a more sustainable way of feeding our animal companions? Elizabeth Hotson gets the facts and figures from Kate Vlietstra, a global food and drink analyst at Mintel. We also hear from Tom Neish, founder of insect-based cat and dog food company, Yora. Plus, Rachel Grant from premium pet food brand, Laughing Dog, tells us why she believes her product is worth splashing out on. A trio of dog owners tell us what's on their pets' menu and Sean Wensley, senior vet at the pet charity, PDSA explains how to make sure your animal companion eats a balanced diet. Plus, Natalia Santis, manager at the Java Whiskers cat cafe, describes the eating habits of their eleven fussy felines. (Picture of treat time at Java Whiskers cat cafe. Picture by Elizabeth Hotson).

Leishmaniasis may not be a household name in much of the rich world, but the parasitic disease is found in over 90 countries, and can lead to agonising disfigurements, and death. It’s classified as a neglected tropical disease, which means treatment is underfunded and under-researched. We hear from British adventurer and writer Pip Stewart, who contracted Leishmaniasis on an expedition through the jungle of Guyana. She received treatment in the UK, but it was a harrowing experience. Pip explains how her Guyanese friends have to resort to excruciating home remedies to try and stem the parasite. She’s written a book about her ordeal: Life Lessons from The Amazon. We also get the view from Ethiopia, where Dr Helina Fikre explains the difficulties in treating the same parasitic illness. Dr Laurent Fraisse from the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative tells us about his organisation’s search for better treatments, while Dr Madhukar Pai calls for an overhaul of the way tropical diseases are funded. Image: The Leishmaniasis parasite under a magnification factor of 1000. Photo By BSIP/UIG Via Getty ImagesPresenter: Vivienne Nunis Producer: Sarah Treanor