World Bank Urges Biodiversity-Centered Agriculture Policies

The World Bank has released a new report examining how modern food production both depends on biodiversity and contributes to its decline, warning that current agricultural practices are undermining the ecosystems that farming relies on.

The report argues that the core challenge is not only reducing agriculture’s environmental harm, but embedding biodiversity into agricultural policies, investments, and public support systems worldwide.

According to the analysis, landscapes that retain at least 20–25 percent natural habitat provide stronger ecosystem services, including pollination, soil fertility, water regulation, and climate stabilization. When natural habitat falls below 10 percent, the report warns that some of these ecosystem services can disappear entirely, threatening agricultural productivity.

The World Bank estimates that 18–33 percent of global agricultural land currently lacks sufficient natural habitat to support pollination, pest control, and other critical services. To address these risks, the report calls for repurposing agricultural subsidies and increasing public investment to help farmers adopt biodiversity-supporting practices.

“When nature and biodiversity collapse, agriculture pays the price,” says Juergen Voegele, Vice President for Planet at the World Bank, emphasizing the economic and food security consequences of ecosystem loss.

Funding Falls Billions Short for Global 30×30 Biodiversity Goal

A new study and interactive dashboard released at the U.N. Environment Assembly warns that international funding to help countries meet the global 30×30 biodiversity target is increasing but remains far below what is required.

Target 3 aims to conserve at least 30 percent of the world’s land, inland waters, and oceans by 2030 to address biodiversity loss and climate change impacts.

The report finds that international public and philanthropic funding for protected and conserved areas in developing countries reached just over US$1.1 billion in 2024, representing roughly 150 percent growth since 2014. Despite this increase, the study estimates that approximately US$6 billion per year will be needed by 2030 to meet Target 3, leaving a projected annual shortfall of about US$4 billion at current funding trajectories.

The report highlights significant disparities in funding distribution, noting that Africa receives nearly half of tracked funding while small island developing states receive only 4.5 percent, despite being identified as priorities under the framework. Marine ecosystems account for just 14 percent of funding. The study also warns that reliance on a small group of donors—including Germany, the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility, the European Union, and the United States—leaves conservation finance vulnerable to political.

“This is a matter of urgency,” says Sierra Leone’s Environment Minister Jiwoh Abdulai, noting that biodiversity loss is already affecting livelihoods in biodiversity-rich countries.

Journal Retracts Influential Glyphosate Safety Study

A leading scientific journal has retracted a widely cited 2000 study that concluded the herbicide Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate, do not pose a health risk to humans.

The study, published in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, had been relied upon by U.S. and international regulators, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as evidence that glyphosate was not carcinogenic. The retracted paper had been among the most frequently cited studies on glyphosate safety, ranking in the top 0.1 percent of glyphosate-related scientific literature.

According to the journal’s co-editor-in-chief, Martin van den Berg, the paper was retracted because its conclusions were based entirely on unpublished studies conducted by Monsanto, the manufacturer of Roundup.

The retraction also cites evidence that Monsanto employees may have helped write the paper without being listed as authors and that financial compensation was not fully disclosed, raising concerns about ghostwriting and scientific independence.

Nathan Donley, environmental health science director at the Center for Biological Diversity, says the retraction exposes “decades of efforts to hijack the science” and called on the EPA to reassess glyphosate’s cancer risk using independent research.

The decision comes as the Trump administration submitted a brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to limit lawsuits against Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018 and faces more than 67,000 glyphosate-related cancer claims.

Trump Administration Launches $700 Million Regenerative Agriculture Pilot

The Trump administration has announced a new US$700 million Regenerative Pilot Program aimed at helping farmers adopt regenerative agriculture practices, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture announcement.

USDA says the initiative is designed to improve soil health, enhance water quality, reduce production costs, and strengthen long-term productivity while supporting the U.S. food and fiber supply.

The program will be administered by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Funding for the pilot will be drawn from existing conservation programs, including US$400 million from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and US$300 million from the Conservation Stewardship Program in fiscal year 2026.

The pilot introduces a streamlined, whole-farm application process that allows producers to bundle multiple regenerative practices under a single conservation plan. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins says the initiative “puts Farmers First” by reducing administrative barriers and encouraging soil health and land stewardship as part of the administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.

The announcement comes as NRCS faces staffing shortages following the loss of at least 2,400 employees and roughly US$100 million in funding, raising concerns about the agency’s capacity to deliver conservation assistance.

Farm Action, a nonprofit that advocates for small farms, welcomes the investment but cautions that adequate staffing will be necessary to ensure funds are distributed “quickly and fairly” to farmers.

FRAC Report Finds Too Many Children Missing Out on Afterschool Nutrition Programs

The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) released a new report, Afterschool Suppers: A Snapshot of Participation, finding that many children are not receiving afterschool meals and snacks through federal nutrition programs.

The report shows that in October 2024, only one child received an afterschool supper for every 16 children who participated in free or reduced-price school lunch, underscoring a significant participation gap.

FRAC reported that approximately 1.26 million children received an afterschool supper on an average school day in October 2024, a slight increase from the prior year but still below pre-pandemic levels. Access declined in other areas, as the number of sites serving afterschool suppers and/or snacks fell to 44,911 in 2024, down 1,397 sites from 2023.

FRAC estimates that if every state met its benchmark of serving 15 children with afterschool supper for every 100 children receiving free or reduced-price lunch, more than 1.8 million additional children would have been served in a single month. Failing to reach that benchmark also resulted in an estimated $163.5 million in lost federal funding for afterschool suppers nationwide in October 2024 alone.

“Families are facing rising food costs, and many parents are working long hours just to get by,” says FRAC President Crystal FitzSimons, noting that afterschool nutrition programs help children “learn and thrive” while supporting working families.

FRAC recommends lowering eligibility thresholds, streamlining administration, and increasing funding to expand access to afterschool meals nationwide.

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Trump-Vance Administration Announces US$12 Billion Bailout for Farmers

The Trump-Vance Administration recently announced a US$12 billion farmer bailout during a White House roundtable, citing financial strain faced by producers following recent tariffs.

According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) press release, the package includes up to US$11 billion in one-time payments for row crop farmers growing commodities such as corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, and cotton through a new USDA Farmer Bridge Assistance program. The remaining funds will be allocated to commodities not covered by the program, including specialty crops and sugar, though payment timelines and formulas for those sectors are still being developed.

President Donald Trump repeatedly stated that the payments were funded by tariff revenue during the roundtable. However, the funding will come from the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation, a government financing mechanism that uses taxpayer dollars.

The announcement follows months of concern among farmers over rising input costs and uncertainty tied to trade policy, particularly for row crop producers. National Farmers Union President Rob Larew says that while the organization appreciates the assistance, “short-term payments, while important, are only a first step,” emphasizing the need for long-term structural reforms to stabilize family farms.

Applications for assistance will open in the coming weeks, according to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. Eligible farmers can expect payments to be distributed by February 28, 2026.

UAE Announces AI Initiative to Support Farmers in Climate Crisis

The United Arab Emirates recently announced a new initiative designed to translate advanced research and artificial intelligence tools into practical support for farmers affected by extreme and unpredictable weather.

The platform, AI Ecosystem for Global Agricultural Development, builds on a US$200 million partnership between the UAE and the Gates Foundation announced at the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, which aims to accelerate agricultural innovation.

The ecosystem is structured around four initiatives intended to guide implementation and deployment. One pillar, the CGIAR AI Hub, is intended to position Abu Dhabi as a center for AI-driven agricultural research using decades of global agricultural data. A second initiative, the Institute for Agriculture and Artificial Intelligence, will provide digital advisory services, training, and technical assistance to governments and non-governmental organizations.

A third component, AgriLLM, is an open-source agricultural large language model designed to improve global agricultural intelligence. The final initiative, AIM for Scale, focuses on AI-powered weather forecasting and advisory services, including recent deployments that delivered AI-supported monsoon forecasts to 38 million farmers in India in 2025.

“By connecting our national research and AI capabilities with leading global partners, we are turning science into real tools that reach people on the ground,” says Mariam Almheiri, Head of the International Affairs Office at the UAE Presidential Court.

EU Negotiators Agree to Relax Regulations on Gene-Edited Crops

European Union negotiators have agreed to ease regulations on crops developed using new gene-splicing practices, concluding that these plants should face fewer restrictions than traditional genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

The agreement distinguishes between conventional GMOs, which insert genetic material from one species into another, and new genomic techniques (NGTs) that precisely add, remove, or alter small sections of a plant’s DNA.

Critics warn that the changes could strengthen corporate control over seeds, particularly as NGT crops become patentable. Franziska Achterberg of Save Our Seeds calls the agreement a “complete sell-out,” arguing it undermines the rights of farmers and consumers.

But lawmakers and other supporters argue that existing GMO rules have slowed innovation and that revised regulations could enable the development of crops that are more resilient to climate stress and require less land and fewer fertilizers and pesticides.

Under the deal, gene-edited crops will be divided into two categories. “NGT1” crops, which are modified to a limited degree and considered comparable to naturally occurring varieties, will be regulated like conventional crops and face looser requirements. “NGT2” crops, which involve more extensive genetic changes, will remain subject to the EU’s stricter GMO approval and labeling rules.

Before taking effect, the agreement must still be formally approved by both the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.

Congressional Delegation Pushes for Action on PFAS

Maine’s congressional delegation is urging federal action to support farmers affected by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), chemicals that have contaminated farmland in the state and elsewhere.

U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree and U.S. Senator Susan Collins reintroduced the Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act, which would authorize grants to states to address PFAS contamination on agricultural land. The legislation would allow states to use federal funds for soil and water testing, remediation efforts, and financial assistance for farmers who may need to relocate from contaminated land.

Additional eligible uses include monitoring PFAS levels in individuals’ blood, upgrading farm equipment to maintain operations, and supporting research into remediation strategies.

Pingree says the bill responds to an ongoing crisis, stating, “The PFAS crisis isn’t some theoretical or distant problem. It’s here, it’s growing, and it’s putting real pressure on farmers in Maine and across the country,” and described the measure as a “critical step” toward safeguarding farm operations.

The proposal builds on steps Maine has already taken, including becoming the first state to require manufacturers to report PFAS intentionally added to products.

Supporters including U.S. Senator Angus King, an original cosponsor of the bill, argue that federal involvement is needed to complement state programs and provide consistent assistance to farmers facing PFAS contamination nationwide.

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Kenyan Court Overturns Seed-Sharing Ban in Landmark Win for Farmers

Kenya’s High Court has struck down sections of the Seed and Plant Varieties Act, ruling that its penalties for saving and sharing indigenous seeds are unconstitutional. Activists are calling the decision a historic victory for food sovereignty and climate justice.

According to the Kenya Plant Inspectorate Service, the legislation was introduced to curb growing sales of counterfeit seeds and to guarantee seed quality and maximize yields. But Wambugu Wanjohi of the Law Society of Kenya argues that the laws “favored big commercial and corporate interests over the rights of farmers.”

The 2012 law had put farmers at risk of up to two years in prison and fines of 1 million Kenya shillings (US$7,700) for saving and sharing or selling uncertified seeds. It also granted licensed companies exclusive seed trading rights, empowered inspectors to raid seed banks and seize seeds, and made it illegal for farmers to process or sell seeds unless registered as seed merchants.

Justice Rhoda Rutto ruled that these provisions violated farmers’ constitutional rights, noting that the law gave “extensive proprietary rights to plant breeders” while offering none to farmers.

The case was filed in 2022 by 15 smallholder farmers. Petitioner Samuel Wathome celebrated the ruling: “My grandmother saved seeds, and today the court has said I can do the same for my grandchildren without fear of police or prison.” Greenpeace Africa calls the ruling “a victory for our culture, our resilience, and our future,” emphasizing that indigenous seeds are vital for biodiversity and climate adaptation.

Australia to Expand Right to Repair Laws, Giving Farmers More Control Over Machinery

Australia’s Federal Government has committed to expanding its forthcoming Right to Repair reforms to include agricultural machinery, giving producers and farmers more flexible and affordable repair options.

Under current law, most farm equipment must be repaired by authorized dealers, leaving producers facing long delays and high costs when machinery breaks down during critical periods. The reforms will allow farmers to choose independent repairers and give local technicians access to essential diagnostic information.

The change is overdue, according to National Farmers’ Federation President Hamish McIntyre, noting that waiting for authorized dealer repairs in the middle of harvest is both inconvenient and costly. The reforms, he says, will mean “less downtime, lower costs, and more control over their own businesses.”

Modeling from the Productivity Commission shows the shift could boost GDP by AU$97 million, with greater competition in the repair sector raising GDP by an additional AU$311 million.

Farm groups have welcomed the announcement. GrainGrowers called the commitment “landmark,” Victorian Farmers’ Federation President Brett Hosking described it as “game-changing,” and NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin said the reforms will allow farmers to support qualified local repairers—reducing wait times and keeping money in regional communities.

Nigeria Launches National Initiative to Advance Sustainable Farming

Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), in partnership with ActionAid Nigeria, has launched a nationwide initiative to accelerate the country’s transition to agroecology—aiming to strengthen food security, improve farmer livelihoods, and expand green job opportunities for youth.

The initiative centers on the adoption of a National Agroecology Strategy, developed through a multi-stakeholder process and designed to shift Nigeria toward a more regenerative, climate-resilient agricultural model. Once adopted, it will guide planning, research, extension services, and resource allocation across all states.

The announcement was made at the National Summit on Agroecology, Climate Justice and Public-Private Partnerships in Lagos, where officials also reviewed findings from a multi-year analysis of public financing for agroecology. The budget review will guide agricultural spending decisions for the 2026 and 2027 budget cycles, helping policymakers identify funding gaps and strengthen investment in climate-friendly farming.

ActionAid Nigeria’s Country Director, Andrew Mamedu, underscored agroecology’s proven benefits: “The evidence is clear: agroecology works. It empowers smallholder women farmers to produce more sustainably, preserve indigenous seeds, and improve household nutrition.”

San Francisco Sues Major Food Companies Over Ultra-Processed Products

San Francisco has filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against 10 of the nation’s largest food manufacturers, alleging that ultra-processed products have fueled a growing public health crisis. The suit targets Kraft Heinz, Mondelez International, Post Holdings, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, General Mills, Nestlé, Kellogg, Mars Incorporated, and ConAgra Brands.

City Attorney David Chiu argues that these companies knowingly engineered and marketed foods linked to rising rates of type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, cardiovascular disease, colorectal cancer, and depression—while presenting them as convenient everyday products. “These companies engineered a public health crisis… and now they need to take responsibility for the harm they have caused,” Chiu says.

According to research published in Nature Communications, over 70 percent of the U.S. food supply is ultra-processed. Chiu’s office alleges that manufacturers designed these products to be addictive, inundating consumers despite surveys indicating that Americans want to avoid them.

The complaint seeks to halt deceptive marketing, restrict advertising to children, require consumer education on health risks, and impose financial penalties to offset healthcare costs borne by local governments.

“San Francisco families deserve to know what’s in their food,” says Mayor Daniel Lurie, calling the case a major step toward public health protection.

Microbes With an Appetite for Methane Offer New Climate Tool

Researchers are testing methane-eating microbes as a potential tool to slash emissions from food and agriculture, energy, and waste systems, the Washington Post reports. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas—about 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over 20 years—and is released from livestock operations, rice paddies, landfills, and other sources.

At a California dairy farm, Bay Area startup Windfall Bio ran a month-long trial in which pink microscopic organisms absorbed more than 85 percent of methane rising off a manure lagoon. The company estimates that, if deployed across U.S. energy, waste, and agriculture sectors, its technology could remove up to 1.6 gigatons of CO₂ equivalent annually—roughly the emissions from more than 370 million gas-powered cars.

A University of Washington team working with similar microbes projects potential cuts equivalent to emissions from about 98 million gas-powered cars each year, according to the Washington Post.

Both groups see economic value in the resulting biomass: UW researchers aim to turn it into protein-rich fish feed, while Windfall is producing microbe-based fertilizer that farmers can use or sell. “If you are asking people to pay more for a climate solution, it doesn’t happen,” says Windfall CEO Josh Silverman. “We need these things to be able to pay back for the operator itself.”

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The Federal Government Shutdown Ends

Earlier this week, eight members of the Senate Democratic Caucus sided with Republican colleagues by voting to reopen the government and end the longest shutdown in U.S. history. On Wednesday, the House passed the spending package, sending it to President Donald Trump, who quickly signed it into law.

Prior to the end of the shutdown, several states including New York, Delaware, Rhode Island, Virginia and Maryland allocated funding to their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs. Most states announced that residents enrolled in the program will receive their November benefits by the end of the week, but households in states such as Louisiana and Kentucky may have to wait a bit longer until all benefits are issued in full.

The end of the shutdown also came with an extension of the 2018 Farm Bill for another year.

COP30 Opens in Brazil as Food, Climate, and Finance Take Center Stage

The 2025 U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP30) opened this week in Belém, Brazil, where food systems, forest protection, climate finance, and agricultural adaptation are emerging as central themes. “Your job here is to fight this climate crisis, together,” U.N. Climate Chief Simon Stiell urged delegates during the opening session.

Ahead of the summit, 43 countries and the European Union adopted the Belém Declaration on Hunger, Poverty, and Human-Centered Climate Action, calling for a shift in how the international community addresses the climate crisis and recognizing that the world’s poorest communities often bear the brunt of its impacts. The declaration highlights a shift toward adaptation-focused finance. As Raj Patel of IPES-Food notes, “Brazil’s recent history proves that when governments back family farmers and prioritise social policies, hunger falls.”

The Brazilian COP30 Presidency also launched the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), designed to provide long-term, predictable funding for tropical forest protection. Brazil, Indonesia, Norway, and Portugal made initial pledges toward the initiative’s US$125 billion target. Food and agriculture action continued with the U.N. Environment Programme’s Food Waste Breakthrough, a four-year, US$3 million initiative to help cities halve food waste and cut methane emissions. The effort aims to tackle “the unforgiveable amount of food” wasted globally each year, says Executive Director Inger Andersen.

Separately, Italy announced it is joining the Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformations, committing to integrate climate action, nutrition, livelihoods, biodiversity, and mitigation across food systems policy. And Ethiopia is set to host COP32 in 2027, signaling increasing engagement from African nations in global climate and food negotiations.

Subscribe here to receive Food Tank’s special daily newsletter series throughout COP30, sharing on-the-ground updates and key developments from Belém. And see Food Tank’s first daily dispatches HERE and HERE, with reporting from week one of the Conference.

UNHCR Warns 250 Million Displaced by Climate Disasters, Urges Urgent Climate Finance Reform

A new report from the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR), No Escape II: The Way Forward, reveals that climate-related disasters have forcibly displaced 250 million people over the past decade—equivalent to 70,000 people every day. Floods, storms, droughts, and extreme heat are driving increasingly severe humanitarian crises, with 150 record-breaking weather events recorded in 2024 alone.

The report finds that climate impacts are compounding conflict, deepening poverty, and threatening food and water security through desertification, rising sea levels, and ecosystem collapse. By mid-2025, 86 million displaced people were living in areas facing high to extreme exposure to climate hazards, with many of the world’s largest refugee settlements located in zones of intense heat and flooding.

UNHCR warns that climate finance is failing to reach those most in need. Extremely fragile states receive just US$2 per person per year in adaptation funding, compared with more than US$160 per person in stable countries. “If we want stability, we must invest where people are most at risk,” said Filippo Grandi, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. “To prevent further displacement, climate financing needs to reach the communities already living on the edge.”

UNHCR urges governments and donors to bridge the growing gap between rhetoric and reality—“not with words, but with firm will, solidarity, and sustained climate action.”

China Ends Ban on U.S. Soybean Imports Following Trump-Xi Summit

China has lifted its months-long suspension on U.S. soybean imports, reopening its market to American farmers for the first time since the spring. The decision, which restores import licenses for three major U.S. exporters, follows last week’s trade summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

As part of the agreement, Beijing pledged to buy at least 12 million tons of U.S. soybeans before year-end, with purchases expected to rise to 25 million tons annually over the next three years. The move marks a key step in restoring agricultural trade between the world’s two largest economies, which has been strained by years of tariffs and retaliatory restrictions.

Chinese buyers have already booked 120,000 tons of U.S. wheat and a shipment of sorghum—their first in a year—after Beijing confirmed it had suspended additional retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports, including farm goods. However, a 13 percent tariff still applies to soybean imports, making U.S. shipments less competitive than cheaper Brazilian cargoes.

While the White House hailed the deal as a win for American agriculture, many U.S. farmers remain cautious. Two producers in West Tennessee told CBS that they expect to lose a combined US$800,000 this year despite the policy shift, reflecting years of high costs, low prices, and lingering debt. “It will help pay some bills, but that’s not fixing the problem,” says farmer Franklin Carmack, noting that farmers “can’t wait this out”.

Others remain hopeful. Missouri farmer Brent Foreman says he trusts the administration’s approach: “I think he’s tryin’ to make us the best deal he can—for the whole country, but for the American farmer, for the long term”.

East Africa Takes Steps to Boost Agroecology Through Regional Trade Commitments

The East African Community (EAC) is stepping up efforts to strengthen agroecological cross-border trade across its eight member states. A regional conference in Jinja, Uganda, concluded with the Jinja Declaration on Advancing Cross-Border Trade for Agroecological Produce, a landmark commitment to promote trade grounded in justice, sustainability, and ecological integrity.

The declaration urges governments to remove non-tariff barriers, improve market infrastructure, and harmonize agricultural and trade policies to benefit smallholder farmers, women, youth, and Indigenous communities. “Every stakeholder has a responsibility to ensure accelerated regional economic growth through agroecology,” says Dr. Million Belay, General Coordinator of the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA).

The resolutions call for investment in cold storage, transport networks, and border facilities to strengthen supply chains and reduce post-harvest losses. They also emphasized expanding Participatory Guarantee Systems and traceability mechanisms to build consumer trust in sustainably produced goods. The commitments stress gender equity, financial inclusion, and capacity building for producers and traders while recognizing the vital role of traditional knowledge and biodiversity in regional food systems.

AFSA noted that the initiative goes beyond economic reform, describing it as a moral and ecological imperative for Africa’s sustainable future.

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Federal Shutdown Jeopardizes SNAP Benefits for 42 Million

As the U.S. government shutdown continues, concerns are growing that nutrition assistance benefits currently provided to around 42 million people under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) may soon disappear.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins recently announced that if the shutdown continues, SNAP benefits will not be issued for November. “We’re going to run out of money in two weeks,” she said during a press briefing. Many states already warned that benefits may be delayed or suspended if the shutdown is not resolved.

Crystal FitzSimons, President of the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), describes SNAP as a lifeline supporting health and food dignity. According to Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America, if SNAP shuts down, the U.S. will face the most mass hunger suffering since the Great Depression.

The USDA has a contingency fund that allows the agency to use emergency reserves to maintain operations. While the contingency reserves would not cover the full amount needed, the agency could legally transfer additional funds, as they’ve done for the WIC nutrition program according to Katie Bergh, a senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

FRAC argues the shortfall is a policy choice. “Allowing hunger to deepen during a shutdown is not an inevitability,” says Gina Plata-Nino, FRAC’s Interim SNAP Director. She notes that previous administrations maintained SNAP during past shutdowns in 2013, 2018–19, and 2023 using carryover funds and short-term budget measures.

Obesity Rate Declines in U.S. States for First Time in a Decade

For the first time in more than a decade, the number of U.S. states with adult obesity rates of 35 percent or higher has declined. According to the State of Obesity 2025 report from Trust for America’s Health (TFAH), 19 states reached that threshold in 2024—down from 23 the year before.

“It’s too soon to call it a trend,” said Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, President and CEO of TFAH. While the drop is encouraging, she warned the progress is fragile and under threat due to recent federal funding cuts, layoffs of chronic disease prevention staff, and limited access to nutrition support.

Obesity continues to affect Black and Latino adults, rural communities, and low-income groups at higher rates—populations with limited access to affordable healthy food and safe spaces for physical activity. Childhood obesity is also rising, with 21 percent of U.S. children and adolescents affected.

TFAH warns that the president’s FY2026 budget proposal would eliminate the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, which funds many local obesity prevention programs. The report urges lawmakers to restore funding and expand support for proven public health interventions.

“It is vital that government and other sectors invest in — not cut — proven programs that support good nutrition and physical activity,” Gracia says.

Scientists Warn of Irreversible Climate Tipping Points

Rising greenhouse gas emissions have pushed the planet past a critical threshold, according to a new Global Tipping Points report authored by 160 researchers from 23 countries.

The report finds that warm-water coral reefs are headed toward irreversible decline. In the past two years alone, marine heatwaves have stressed 84 percent of coral reefs to the point of bleaching or death, according to the International Coral Reef Initiative. Coral reefs are home to roughly 25 percent of all marine species, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, making them as biodiverse as tropical rainforests.

The report also warns that Earth is nearing several other major tipping points, including the collapse of the Amazon rainforest, disruption of major ocean currents, and the loss of polar ice sheets.

While the findings are stark, the authors note that the same science identifying ecological tipping points also points to “extraordinary potential” for positive change. Triggering so-called “positive tipping points” in food and fiber supply chains, for example, could halt deforestation and ecosystem conversion.

The researchers say such shifts are possible at a global scale—with strong policy signals, enforcement, coordination across supply chains and markets, and investment to help farmers transition to more sustainable practices. “The race is on to bring forward these positive tipping points to avoid what we are now sure will be the unmanageable consequences of further tipping points in the Earth system,” says lead author Tim Lenton.

U.N. Climate Chief Urges Urgent Adaptation Finance

At the recent launch of the National Adaptation Plans Progress Report, U.N. Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell called for immediate financing to support global climate adaptation. Speaking from Brasília, he emphasized: “Finance must flow right now.”

National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) outline countries’ medium- and long-term responses to climate risks. Stiell reports that nearly all developing countries are working on their plans, with 67—including 23 Least Developed Countries and 14 Small Island Developing States—already submitted to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The report highlights growing integration of adaptation into national development strategies and increased engagement across sectors, including women, youth, Indigenous Peoples, and the private sector.

But Stiell warns that progress is too slow, primarily due to funding shortfalls. He cited burdensome approval processes, fragmented support, and overreliance on external expertise. “Investors and financial institutions can no longer say they don’t know where or how to invest in adaptation,” he said. “These plans make it clear.”

Looking ahead to COP30 in November, Stiell said adaptation will be central—particularly efforts to close the finance gap and mobilize a US$1.3 trillion roadmap. He stressed that climate finance is not charity, but vital to global economic stability, food systems, and supply chains. “Before this report, we faced two adaptation challenges: direction and speed,” Stiell said. “Now there’s just one. We know where to go—now we need to get there faster.”

Nestlé to Cut 16,000 Jobs in Global Restructuring Effort

Nestlé, the world’s largest food company, recently announced plans to eliminate 16,000 jobs globally over the next two years as part of a cost-cutting strategy. The cuts represent about 6 percent of the company’s workforce.

Roughly 12,000 white-collar positions will be eliminated, with an additional 4,000 jobs impacted in manufacturing and supply chain operations. The company says the changes aim to increase operational efficiency and leverage automation.

“The world is changing, and Nestlé needs to change faster,” says newly appointed CEO Philipp Navratil in a statement.

Investors responded positively. The Wall Street Journal reports the company’s share value surged following the announcement, marking one of Nestlé’s largest single-day stock gains since 2008.

However, the decision has drawn criticism. In the U.K., Unite, the country’s largest private-sector union, condemned the move. “Nestlé is a profitable company, selling billions of produce every month. Job losses are simply unacceptable,” says Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham.

In the U.S., Nestlé operates 112 plants. It remains unclear how individual facilities will be affected, but facilities in Iowa, Washington, and South Carolina are bracing for possible impact.

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Loss and Damage Fund to Open Call for Proposals at COP30

The Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) will launch its first call for project proposals to provide financial support to vulnerable countries hardest hit by climate impact during COP30 in Belém, Brazil. The call follows the Board’s seventh meeting, where members adopted interim operational procedures to govern funding decisions until permanent rules are finalized.

First agreed upon at COP27 and formally operationalized at COP28, the FRLD aims to support vulnerable communities facing irreversible harm caused by the climate crisis, including sea level rise, extreme weather, and prolonged droughts. In doing so, the FRLD integrates response to loss and damage as a core pillar of climate action, alongside mitigation and adaptation.

According to the Board, US$250 million is currently available for this initial round of funding and Co-Chair Richard Sherman says the Board intends to adopt the first proposals within six months.

Board member Elizabeth Thompson of Barbados is optimistic that the fund will be a real source of support, but points to the growing pressure to match the Fund’s ambitions with available resources. “[T]he need and scale of the crisis far outstrip the monies in the fund to date,” says Thompson.

Governments have pledged approximately US$768 million to the FRLD but around US$400 million has actually been deposited. Once the US$250 million from this funding round is spent, the FRLD will have approximately US$150 million. The FRLD’s estimated funding needs for the year 2025 is around US$395 billion.

Longer-term replenishment planning is expected in 2027, but discussions on how to raise future funds remain unresolved. These debates will continue at the Board’s 10th meeting in October 2026.

Meanwhile, a recent International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion affirmed that international law requires states to prevent “transboundary environmental harm,” act with precaution, and take due diligence measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change. The ICJ confirmed that states violating their international obligations can face a full range of legal consequences.

African Union Commits $100 Million to Transform Agri-Food Systems

The African Union (AU) has adopted a ten-year strategy and action plan to transform Africa’s agri-food systems and improve food security. As part of this effort, the AU has pledged to mobilize US$100 million in public and private sector investment by 2035.

One in five persons in Africa is faced with hunger, according to The National Focal Person for the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), Onijighogia Emmanuel. And African continent’s population is projected to reach 2.5 billion people by 2050.

The strategy, referred to as the Kampala Declaration, aims to reduce post-harvest losses by 50 percent, triple intra-Africa trade in agrifood products and inputs, and raise the share of locally processed foods to 35 percent of the sector’s GDP by 2035.

The strategy identifies ten key levers of change, including scaling up agroecological practices, strengthening land governance, building resilience to climate change, and increasing intra-Africa trade in agricultural products. It also emphasizes reforms to public procurement systems to benefit small-scale producers, along with expanded support for women and youth in agriculture.

AU leaders stress that successful implementation will require political commitment, national coordination, and inclusive governance. “This strategy cannot succeed unless we break down silos,” says H.E. Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, AU Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment.

Internal Turmoil at the CDC as Layoffs and Reinstatements Unfold

Hundreds of employees at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were recently terminated as part of the Trump Administration’s broader effort to downsize the federal workforce during the ongoing government shutdown. The rollout quickly descended into confusion and prompted legal intervention.

Originally, more than 1,300 CDC staff received notices that their jobs had been eliminated. Many of those affected—already furloughed by the shutdown—learned of their dismissal only after Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought announced on social media that “the RIFs have begun,” referring to reductions in force (RIFs).

The next day, roughly 800 employees received emails revoking their termination notices due to “data discrepancies and processing errors,” according to Health and Human Services (HHS) Deputy Assistant Secretary Thomas Nagy Jr. in a court filing. HHS acknowledged that nearly half of the 1,760 RIF notices were issued in error but indicated it still planned to proceed with 982 layoffs.

The cuts hit core CDC functions, affecting staff in statistics, chronic disease programs, and units that brief Congress, drawing condemnation and concern from union leaders and public health experts. Yolanda Jacobs, a health communications specialist at CDC and president of AFGE Local 2883, called the firings callous and illegal and argued they threatened public health and workers’ livelihoods. “With the staff cuts we’ve had, with the budget cuts that are proposed, as well as the lack of stable leadership at CDC, the nation is in trouble,” former CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry says.

In 2025, the CDC has lost an estimated 3,000 employees, about a quarter of its workforce, increasing strain on its capacity to monitor public health threats.

Shortly after the layoffs and reinstatements, a federal judge’s order blocked Trump administration officials from “taking any action” to issue RIF notices to employees in any federal program or activity that includes workers represented by the American Federation of Government Employees, the country’s largest federal employees’ union. According to U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, the administration isn’t following legal requirements for conducting RIFs, officials have exceeded their authorities, and the layoffs appear to be unlawfully targeted at Democrats.

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USDA Sets Deadline to Implement SNAP Cuts

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released a memo announcing that states have until November 1 to implement the changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) required under President Trump’s recently enacted tax and spending legislation.

The “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act (OBBB) contains several provisions that substantially change SNAP eligibility, benefits, and program administration. Approximately 4 million people per month will lose some or all of their SNAP food benefits once the changes are fully implemented, the Congressional Budget Office estimates. Affected groups include families with children, older adults, people with disabilities, young adults aging out of the foster care system, and veterans. OBBB also introduces more stringent work requirements.

OBBB contains no effective dates for the provisions impacting SNAP, leaving the implementation timeline unclear. The USDA memo terminates waivers that have allowed dozens of states to largely suspend SNAP eligibility requirements. It gives the states less than one month to implement OBBB’s changes.

The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) says that state agencies need at least 12-18 months to implement changes of this kind, but they’re being forced to speed up the process without the necessary information or support.

In a statement, the FRAC’s President Crystal FitzSimons said that the hastened timeline “will lead to unnecessary chaos and confusion in the midst of widespread uncertainty, record inflation, and a government shutdown.”

According to a joint statement from the National Association of Convenience Stores, National Grocers Association and FMI – The Food Industry Association, the changes also “represent significant new costs and operational challenges” for food retailers and the customers they serve. Upfront costs to implement the new SNAP purchasing restrictions is approximately US$1.6 billion, according to a recent report from the trade groups.

Government Shutdown Leads to Major Disruptions at USDA

After Republican and Democratic politicians failed to agree how to resolve a budget dispute, the U.S. government shutdown on October 1, 2025. After over a week, Congress remains deadlocked and 750,000 federal employees have been furloughed, or placed on unpaid leave. Others, whose work has been deemed “essential,” are working without pay.

About 42,000 USDA staff are furloughed, according to the agency’s 2025 shutdown contingency plan, including researchers, supervisors, administrators, and those responsible for handling grants, loans, and producing statistical reports. The agency’s workforce has been cut in half and major operations have stopped.

The Trump administration pushed back its plans to roll out disbursement of disaster-assistance payments for farmers impacted by extreme weather events. The Farm Service Agency, which oversees these payments, will also not process any new loans during the shutdown, such as those that provide assistance to farmers during the harvest.

According to Walter Schweitzer, President of the Montana Farmers Union. Without loan processing and crop report verification, farmers are unable to pay their expenses or plan for the future growing season. “If you’re trying to buy land with an FSA loan, you could have that opportunity disappear,” says Zach Ducheneaux, a former Administrator of the USDA’s Farm Service Agency under the Biden-Harris administration.

Vanessa Garcia Polanco, the Government Relations Director for the National Young Farmers Coalition also stresses the reality of the shutdown for farmers. “Young farmers run on tight cash flow,” Garcia Polanco says. “Disruptions like this can tip a season—or a business—over the edge.”

EAT-Lancet Commission Calls for a “Planetary Health Diet” to Cut GHG Emissions

According to the authors of the latest report from the EAT-Lancet Commission, a shift to their Planetary Health Diet can lead to a 15 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Building on its 2019 report, the analysis sets global scientific targets for healthy diets and sustainable food production, and it outlines strategies for addressing the interconnected challenges of human health, environmental sustainability, and food and nutrition insecurity.

The Commission again recommends what it calls a “planetary health diet”—a flexible eating pattern designed to reduce environmental harm while improving nutrition worldwide.  The plant-rich diet is designed to be flexible for different geographies and cultures. It recommends doubling the consumption of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes, and reducing animal products. In addition to reducing environmental harm, healthier diets can help avoid roughly 11 million deaths each year, the report finds.

The authors acknowledge that a “substantial” investment is needed to support the transformation of global diets—somewhere in the range of US$200-500 billion per year—but say this price is much lower than the costs of inaction. Without progress on diet, according to the report, the world is at risk of failing to meet the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.

According to Jess Fanzo, a member of the Commission, the new publication also centers justice in new ways, defining healthy diets as both a human right and a shared responsibility. Fanzo says this focus was “largely absent” in the first report, which came out in 2019.

World First Treaty to Protect International Waters Will Enter into Force

Enough countries have ratified the High Seas Treaty, allowing it to take effect in January of next year. The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement (BBNJ), commonly known as the High Seas Treaty,  is the first legal framework to protect the two-thirds of the ocean that lie beyond national jurisdiction.

The high seas are “the world’s largest crime scene,” according to Johan Berganas, Senior Vice President of Oceans at WWF. The Treaty aims to address overfishing, the threats of the climate crisis, and deep-sea mining. It also seeks to protect marine biodiversity and ensure developing countries will benefit from scientific discoveries made in these waters.

Although the Treaty was first adopted in 2023, 60 countries must ratify for it to be fully implemented. Morocco recently became the 60th country to ratify the Treaty, triggering an 120-day countdown before it becomes a legally binding agreement. 15 more countries have since ratified the Treaty, bringing the total to 75.

Experts welcome the pivotal new era in ocean governance, while raising concerns regarding implementation. Guillermo Crespo, a high seas expert with the International Union for Conservation of Nature commission, worries that some of the world’s biggest players on the high seas have not yet ratified the Treaty. “If major fishing nations like China, Russia and Japan don’t join, they could undermine the protected areas,” Crespo  says.

The BBNJ is one the most significant international treaties to enter into force since the Paris Agreement, according to Tom Pickerell, Global Director of World Resources Institute’s Ocean Program. But Pickerell says truly supporting a thriving ocean and protecting marine biodiversity will also require nation action in addition to international cooperation.

Research Backs the Benefits of Zero Budget Natural Farming

Recent research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution finds that agroecological-based farming systems are more effective at curbing food insecurity, improving human well-being, and tackling biodiversity loss than agrichemical-based farming systems.

“Developing agricultural land systems that are simultaneously productive and environmentally sustainable is perhaps the greatest challenge of the twenty-first century,” according to the researchers. To assess whether agroecological approaches constitute sustainable food solutions, the study analyzes the impact of the world’s largest agroecological transition, the zero budget natural farming (ZBNF) program in Andhra Pradesh, South India.

The research shows that the government-incentivized program—which requires fewer inputs, helping producers cut costs—significantly boosts farmers’ economic profits, while maintaining crop yields.

The agroecological approach eliminates chemical inputs, relying instead on natural, locally-sourced materials, producing positive effects on the environment: bird biodiversity improved on plots managed through the ZBNF program, which helps with both pest control and seed dispersal.

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The Commission, co-chaired by Shakuntula Thilsted, Walter Willett, and Johan Rockström, convened 37 scientists from 16 countries with the goal of setting universal scientific objectives for the food system. The Commission’s report includes targets with substantial ranges to maximize flexibility and choice, Willett tells Food Tank. But feeding the expected population of 2050 will not be possible if only part of the global population achieves something close to the targets, Willett says.

Building on its 2019 report, the Commission again recommends what it calls a “planetary health diet”—a flexible eating pattern designed to reduce environmental harm while improving nutrition worldwide. According to the report, food is the single most powerful tool for improving both planetary and human health.

Without action, the Commission warns, the world risks failing to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. The Commission estimates that transitioning to healthier diets and more sustainable food systems could help avoid approximately 11 million deaths each year.

The report sets out five core strategies to enable this transformation including international commitment to implementing updated dietary guidance, coordinated global governance of land use and ocean management, prioritizing nutrition rather than volume in agriculture, and action to reduce food loss and waste. Packages of strategies are likely to be more effective than the sum of the individual strategies, Willett explains.

The updated dietary guidance remains largely consistent with the 2019 framework. It recommends doubling global consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts, while reducing red meat and sugar. It suggests modest amounts of animal products and emphasizes flexibility across cultures and individual preferences.

The latest analysis has also an added emphasis on food system equity. “The most distinctive advance” of the report, according to EAT–Lancet Commissioner Jessica Fanzo, “is its centering of justice.” It aims to account for cultural acceptability, nutritional adequacy, and accessibility of the recommended dietary patterns across diverse communities.

The 2019 EAT–Lancet report faced pushback from the livestock industry, friends of the industry, international organizations, and some governments. Some industry experts questioned the strategy’s affordability and whether diets limiting or excluding meat would be appropriate in many parts of the world. Others raised concerns regarding the data and modeling used to calculate estimates.

However, a recent Changing Markets Foundation investigation points to evidence that some of the backlash was fueled by coordinated disinformation campaigns. These efforts, according to the investigation, used social media tactics, misleading health claims, and targeted messaging to discredit the Commission’s work and influence policymakers.

In response to renewed criticism from groups like Quality Meat Scotland, which argue that meat-reduction messages may harm nutrient intake, the Commission emphasizes that the planetary health diet is not intended to be prescriptive but to serve as a global reference point, highlighting the need for dietary transitions that are aligned with local contexts. The Commission report includes targets broad goals to ensure a versatile and agile framework, Willett says.

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Food education often drives food systems change, but it rarely receives recognition, says Carolyn Federman, Charlie Cart Founder and Executive Director. As a result, it lacks the resources and legislative support needed to have broader impact. By collecting and sharing a range of perspectives, the campaign aims to build a broader understanding of food education’s value across sectors, demonstrate the relevance and diversity of food education today, and amplify efforts already underway to expand food education nationally.

The initiative also aims to highlight the role of food education in building informed communities that can access, prepare, and share nutritious meals. “Food education is more than a lesson in nutrition or farming—it’s a pathway to community empowerment and transformation,” says Dani Nierenberg, Food Tank’s President and Co-Founder.

The organizers emphasize the urgency of the moment: “There could not be a more important time to support food systems advocacy, beginning with empowering people with as much information as possible. That begins with education,” says Federman.

Video and written responses from chefs, activists and educators will be featured across the organizers’ social media channels. Campaign participants currently include Marion Nestle, Food Policy Author and Researcher, Chef Sean Sherman, Founder of Owamni + The Indigenous Food Lab, Shreela Sharma, Co-Founder of Brighter Bites and Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Texas, and Pierre Thiam, Chef, Author and Restaurateur. The public is also encouraged to participate and share their own reflections using campaign materials available at @GoCharlieCart.

The campaign will run September 22–29, 2025 during Climate Week NYC. For more information on how to participate, visit charliecart.org.

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As China Retaliates Against Tariffs, U.S. Soybean Farmers Face Losses

China’s decision to suspend U.S. soybean purchases in response to the Trump administration’s tariffs on Chinese goods is having severe consequences for American farmers—especially in North Dakota, where more than 70 percent of soybean exports previously went to China, the New York Times reports.

With harvest season fast approaching, the absence of Chinese demand is triggering financial distress across the state. Jordan Gackle, a local farmer, estimates a US$400,000 loss for his 2,300-acre farm this year. “If this continues, foreclosures could follow,” Gackle says, worrying the situation could rival the 1980s farm crisis.

According to John Newton, agricultural economist at Terrain, export commitments for the upcoming soybean harvest are at their lowest since 2018–19. Meanwhile, production costs are rising. According to the American Soybean Association, expenses for fertilizer, chemicals, land, and equipment are increasing—while commodity prices decline.

Farmers are also struggling with uncertainty. Christie Jaeger says she’s never before had to worry about whether her crops would find a market. Since the tariffs came into effect, Jaeger has been concerned about loan payments and income.

In August, President Trump urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to increase U.S. soybean purchases on social media, but no agreements have followed. “If there’s no deal in the next few weeks, this turns from a one-year issue into a multiyear problem,” says Just Sherlock, President of the North Dakota Soybean Growers Association.

Some groups are still working to preserve trade ties. The North Dakota Soybean Council hosted a Chinese trade delegation in August. “The lines of communication are open,” said Scott German, a farmer and director for the North Dakota Soybean Growers Association, urging leaders to “get the politics out of it.”

Meanwhile, China is meeting its soybean needs elsewhere. According to traders, Chinese importers have booked 7.4 million metric tons of mostly South American soybeans for October—nearly all of the country’s projected demand for the month.

The U.S. Supreme Court has taken up a case concerning the legality of Trump’s tariffs, and will begin hearing arguments on November 5.

EPA Proposes Rollback of Emissions Reporting Program

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed eliminating a program requiring over 8,000 major emitters—including power plants, refineries, and industrial manufacturers—to publicly report their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The EPA announced plans to reconsider the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), a 15-year-old program, earlier this year. The recently released proposed rule aims to remove all GHG reporting requirements, except those subject to the Waste Emissions Charge (WEC).

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin says the program is “nothing more than bureaucratic red tape that does nothing to improve air quality.” According to Zeldin, the EPA is not legally required under the Clean Air Act to collect greenhouse gas data from industry. The EPA estimates the proposed rollback would save US$303 million annually from 2025 through 2033.

The proposed rule would end reporting requirements across more than 40 sectors and delay reporting for oil and gas facilities until 2034. The remaining WEC disclosures are a methane fee created by the Inflation Reduction Act. But a recent amendment in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act limits the WEC’s scope to data reported for 2034 and later.

Critics argue the rollback could significantly undermine transparency and climate progress. “The proposal gives polluters the secrecy they want in violation of the law,” says David Doniger, a senior strategist at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Since its launch in 2009, the GHGRP has helped track a 20 percent reduction in industrial carbon emissions. In a letter calling on the EPA to reverse course on its GHGRP plans, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) emphasized the data’s value for investors, scientists, and regulators. “These data inform our national GHG inventory, support international emissions reporting obligations, and serve as the de facto standard for many companies’ climate disclosures in the absence of industry-wide methodologies,” Whitehouse says.

Carbon Capture Coalition Executive Director Jessie Stolark warns the rule could also threaten investments linked to the Section 45Q carbon capture tax credit, which relies on GHGRP data.

A virtual public hearing will be held on October 1, 2025 and the EPA will accept public comments until November 3, 2025.

Unsustainable Practices Pose Major Financial Risks, Report Finds

Environmental degradation could carry a price tag of up to US$430 billion per year for eight major global industries, according to a new report from Ceres. The analysis, Nature’s Price Tag, identifies the five leading drivers of nature loss—land-use change, resource exploitation, pollution, climate change, and invasive species—and quantifies how these forces are already impacting the private sector.

The report estimates that unsustainable practices and the resulting ecosystem disruptions could cost food-related businesses US$253 billion annually. These costs stem from pollinator decline, drought, soil erosion, pollution, and more. Meryl Richards, Program Director for Food and Forests at Ceres, describes the risks from inaction as “staggering.”

Ceres points to recent examples to illustrate how these risks are already materializing. Droughts in major coffee-producing countries like Brazil and Vietnam have reduced yields, driving arabica prices to record highs earlier this year. In retail, Walmart reported that 14 percent of its global facilities are exposed to hurricanes and 16 percent to flooding—hazards that have already caused tens of millions of dollars in damages to storefronts and supply chains. Darden Restaurants, which owns Olive Garden and other chains, experienced a US$4–5 million increase in operating costs due to a spike in lettuce prices caused by crop disease and poor weather.

According to the report, these examples underscore a broader trend: natural systems are deteriorating, and businesses that fail to respond may face growing financial volatility. Ceres calls on investors and corporations to proactively assess and disclose nature-related risks in financial decision-making, suggesting that ignoring ecological pressures may ultimately undermine long-term profitability.

“Nature loss is not just an ecological issue—it’s an economic one,” the report concludes.

Malawi Government Supports Generative AI to Assist Farmers Amid Climate Pressures

The government of Malawi is backing a new generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) pilot program designed to help smallholder farmers adapt to intensifying climate challenges, Associated Press reports. Led by the international nonprofit TechnoBrain, the project aims to improve farmer decision-making by providing locally tailored information via generative AI tools that do not require internet access.

Malawi’s agriculture-dependent economy has suffered repeated setbacks from droughts, floods, and erratic rainfall. In 2024, the country’s GDP growth fell to 1.8 percent due to a severe El Niño-induced drought, and poverty rates rose to over 71 percent, according to the World Bank. Meanwhile, over 80 percent of Malawians rely on agriculture for their livelihoods.

The AI initiative enables farmers to ask questions about planting schedules, pest control, soil health, and other topics through mobile phones. The system responds in local languages using information generated from expert sources and validated by agricultural researchers. Farmers can access the system offline through locally installed servers, making it usable in remote areas without stable internet.

In one pilot community, farmers say the tool has helped them adapt crop schedules to climate forecasts and make more informed decisions. “Before, we planted crops based on how things have always been done,” one farmer explains. “Now, we plant based on what we know will work this season.”

WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement Enters Into Force

The first part of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) treaty prohibiting harmful fisheries subsidies entered into force on September 15, 2025, following its ratification by more than two-thirds of member countries. The agreement, adopted in June 2022 after over 20 years of negotiations, is WTO’s first binding multilateral accord focused on environmental sustainability.

The agreement establishes a set of binding prohibitions and rules that seek to ensure that the support provided by governments to their fishing sector does not undermine the sustainability of marine resources. Specifically, it prohibits government subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, the exploitation of overfished stocks, and unregulated high seas fishing. According to the International Institute for Sustainable Development, certain subsidies can incentivize unsustainable levels of fishing and contribute to the depletion of fish stocks.

Fishing provides livelihoods and food security to an estimated 600 million people. Yet the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 35 percent of fishery stocks are exploited beyond sustainable levels. The agreement aims to help reverse this trend by curbing harmful incentives and enhancing transparency in fisheries management.

Manuel Barange, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization’s Assistant Director-General and head of its Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, calls the agreement “very positive for the sustainability of fisheries resources, which we all depend on.” UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan calls it “a reminder of what becomes possible when multilateralism meets political will.” The Pew Charitable Trusts praised the agreement’s ratification, calling it a landmark deal.

However, some organizations are concerned about loopholes. Countries are not obligated to investigate IUU fishing or to penalize violations, and governments can continue subsidizing unassessed or “managed” overfished stocks. And part one of the agreement, known as “Fish One,” will expire in four years unless WTO members reach consensus on broader reforms.

“There are weaknesses and gaps, and there’s still work to be done, but this is the start of the WTO trying to have a positive impact on environmental sustainability,” says Daniel Skerritt, a senior analyst at U.S.-based conservation NGO Oceana.

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Born on February 4, 1935, during the Great Depression and the worst drought in United States history, Kirschenmann grew up on his family’s farm in Medina, North Dakota.

Kirschenmann earned degrees from Yankton College in South Dakota, Hartford Theological Seminary in Connecticut, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Chicago. He began his academic career as the first Chair of the Department of Religion at Yankton College and later served as Dean of the College at Curry College in Boston.

In 1976, inspired by a student who introduced him to organic farming, Kirschenmann converted his family’s 2,600-acre farm to a certified organic operation. Through diverse crop rotations and a focus on soil health, the farm became a model of resilience and sustainability, featured in publications including National Geographic and Audubon, and the award-winning documentary My Father’s Garden.

Kirschenmann later served as the Director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University (ISU), a role in which he emphasized soil health as the cornerstone of sustainable farming and fostered research and collaboration on resilient food systems. Following his directorship, he became Distinguished Fellow at the Leopold Center, continuing to advocate for innovative solutions to agricultural challenges. He also held roles as a Professor in ISU’s Department of Religion and Philosophy and as President of the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in New York.

A prolific writer and thinker, Kirschenmann authored numerous essays, articles, and publications, including Cultivating an Ecological Conscience: Essays from a Farmer Philosopher, a collection tracing the evolution of his philosophy and chronicling decades of insights into the intersections of farming, ethics, and ecology. According to Michael Pollan, “these essays make clear to all what some of us have long known: that Fred is one of the wisest, sanest, most practical, and most trusted voices in the movement to reform the American food system.”

His speeches and lectures offered inspiration and practical solutions, often emphasizing that soil is not just dirt, it is a living substance. “The most important inheritance we can leave for our children,” Kirschenmann argued, “is biologically healthy soil.” Tom Philpott describes that “you leave Fred’s talks awed at the vastness of the task ahead of us—yet hopeful in the knowledge that change is afoot.”

Kirschenmann’s leadership extended to national and international advisory roles, including appointments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Standards Board and Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future’s National Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production. His work also earned numerous accolades: Kirschenmann received the One World Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Sustainable Agriculture Achievement Award from Practical Farmers of Iowa and he was among the first ten recipients of the James Beard Foundation (JBF) Leadership Award. When presenting Kirschenmann with the JBF Leadership Award, Dan Barber described Kirschenmann as a great man with incomparable intellect and humility, who has done “more to affect farming and good flavor than just about anybody else.”

Throughout his life, Kirschenmann championed a vision of agriculture rooted in harmony with natural systems. He believed in the power of soil as a vibrant, living community essential for producing food, sustaining ecosystems, and securing the future of farming.

“Fred was a mentor and friend to so many of us who work in food and agriculture. I am honored to have known him,” says Food Tank President Danielle Nierenberg.

An intellectual mentor for the broader sustainable food movement, as described by Grist, Kirschenmann highlighted the importance of doing “everything we can to enable this new generation of young people to actually become farmers.”

He advocated for “revolutionizing the way we do agriculture” and emphasized the need to transition to a future defined by what he called the “three R’s“—a framework of regeneration, resilience, and relationships.

Kirschenmann is survived by his wife, Carolyn Raffensperger, and his children, Ann Marie and Damon Frederick.

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MAHA Commission Strategy Report

The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission has released its Strategy Report, outlining the federal government’s approach to reducing childhood chronic disease. The 20-page document confirms earlier leaks that the administration will avoid imposing new restrictions on pesticides or ultra-processed foods—despite naming them as key contributors to poor health outcomes in the Commission’s initial report assessing the key contributors to rising rates of chronic disease among American children.

The strategy focuses on four pillars: advancing research, realigning incentives, fostering private sector collaboration, and increasing public awareness. While the report highlights nutrition-related goals—including reforms to dietary guidelines, food labeling, and federal meal programs—it stops short of regulatory mandates. Instead, it promises measures such as closing the “GRAS loophole” for food additives and allowing full-fat milk in schools.

Some agriculture groups welcomed the report. The American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall expressed gratitude for the report’s recognition of the vital role farmers play in the food supply chain and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers applauded the MAHA Commission. According to the International Fresh Produce Association, the strategy report “marks an important step in elevating nutrition as a national public health priority.”

Others, like the American Soybean Association (ASA), expressed more cautious optimism. Though grateful for the opportunity to provide input on the report, the ASA remains concerned about the Commission’s “misinformed rhetoric” regarding the safety of soybean oil, which the organizations says has been backed by decades of science. The Modern Ag Alliance praised the report for avoiding “damaging potential outcomes for American agriculture,” but urged the Commission to “support sound scientific standards that are based on real-world risk.”

Health advocates and environmental groups were more critical, lamenting the report’s tepid recommendations and criticizing the agricultural sector’s influence. Marion Nestle noted missed opportunities to curb ultra-processed food consumption and promote school gardens. Rebecca Wolf of Food & Water Watch called the report “a gift to big agriculture,” arguing it lacks meaningful action on toxic pesticides. Earthjustice said the plan dismantles protections and benefits corporations “while families, especially children, will pay the price.”

Zen Honeycutt, founder of the Moms Across America movement and a vocal MAHA supporter, says her group is “deeply disappointed that the committee allowed the chemical companies to influence the report.” George Kimbrell, legal director of the Center for Food Safety, called the report a betrayal of the MAHA grassroots movement.

Critics also point to contradictions between the report’s goals and recent policy actions, such as cuts to nutrition education and local food programs under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. As Kennedy declared the strategy “the most sweeping reform agenda in modern history,” skeptics like Jennifer Harris, senior research advisor with the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at the University of Connecticut, questioned its capacity to deliver change without clearer enforcement or new regulatory mechanisms.

FAO Reveals “Pervasive” Gender Inequalities in sub-Saharan Africa’s Agri-Food Systems

A new report from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reveals persistent gender disparities in agrifood systems across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), despite women comprising nearly half of the sector’s workforce.

About 76 percent of all working women in the region are employed in agrifood systems, with increasing participation in off-farm roles like processing and packaging, the report finds. Yet over 90 percent work in the informal sector, where jobs tend to be low-paid, precarious, and largely unrecognized.

Women dominate food processing and services—making up 73 percent of the workforce in those segments—but represent just 3 percent of workers in transport, reflecting a concentration in roles tied to domestic labor, FAO says. In 28 of 33 countries, men are more likely than women to own land or hold secure land rights and In 2023, 64 percent of men held a financial account, compared to 52 percent of women—a 12-point gender gap, up from 5 points in 2011. Nearly half the countries in the region have weak or no legal protections for women’s land access. And women face higher food insecurity: 11.2 million more women than men in the region are affected by hunger.

The report emphasizes that women are essential to food systems—as farmers, processors, traders, and caregivers—but their contributions are often invisible. “Their productive work is often informal, precarious, and poorly paid, while reproductive labour remains invisible,” says Dr. Fiorella Picchioni, a lead author of the report.

FAO’s Abebe Haile-Gabriel calls for “investments and enabling policies” to create formal jobs and expand social protections, arguing that supporting women will strengthen both food security and resilience.

Punjabi Farmers See Worst Floods in Three Decades

Heavy monsoon rains have caused severe flooding across the Punjab province of Pakistan and the Indian state of Punjab. Rivers across the region have breached their banks, submerging entire towns, decimating farms, and displacing millions.

Over 950 people have died in Pakistan in rain-related incidents since the monsoon season began in late June, according to the disaster management authority. Floods have submerged 4,000 villages, impacting 4 million people, including almost 2 million who have been evacuated.

In Punjab, the country’s breadbasket, hundreds of thousands of people and businesses rely on agriculture. The floods have destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres of crops, including rice paddies, cotton, and sugarcane, and grazing fields for livestock are now muddy pools.

Watching the floodwaters rise, Surinder Singh, a farmer from Sarala Kalan village in Patiala, said: “Floods and extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, and the future does not look any better. If the farmers of Punjab—the food bowl of India—cannot even feed themselves, how will they feed others?”

In the Indian state of Punjab, tens of thousands have been evacuated and over 60,000 square miles of farmland have been destroyed. Over 500 cows died in the floods, and around 18,000 chickens died in collapsed poultry sheds, according to India’s Animal Husbandry Minister.

While heavy rains are typical during the monsoon season, the United Nations says that the conditions have been exacerbated by the climate crisis.

Countries Take Action on Hazardous Pesticides

Recent developments in Mexico, France, and South Africa signal growing, though uneven, momentum for global pesticide reform.

Mexico has enacted a ban on the use, production, import, and commercialization of DDT and 34 other pesticides identified as high-risk by international agreements. The new regulation is part of a broader national strategy to transition to safer agricultural practices.

“The goal is to establish much stricter regulations because these are products that cannot be used as if they were aspirin,” says Julio Berdegué, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. The decree commits to supporting small- and medium-sized producers in accessing safer, cost-effective alternatives. A second round of bans is planned for 2026, followed by a third in 2027.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) welcomed the move, stating: “It has been 34 years since Mexico adopted a measure of this scale. This is a key step toward sustainable and safe agriculture.” However, civil society groups expressed concern that the ban falls short. Pesticide Action Network and Alternatives in Mexico (RAPAM) notes that most of the banned chemicals are older substances, while over 200 pesticides restricted in other countries remain authorized. These include ethyl chlorpyrifos, fipronil, paraquat, and neonicotinoids.

In France, the Paris Administrative Court of Appeal ruled that the government must revise its pesticide authorization procedures. The court found that existing rules violated a 2009 EU regulation requiring that pesticides cause no harm to human health or the environment. The case was brought by five environmental groups, who argue that the state has failed to protect biodiversity through weak pesticide rules. The government has now been asked to review pesticide authorizations that have already been granted to make sure they meet the rules.

Pollinis, one of the advocacy organizations, celebrated the court’s decision, calling the ruling a “historic victory.” Other organizations voice concerns that, despite stricter domestic regulations, EU-based manufacturers—including in France—continue to create and export banned pesticides abroad, especially to countries in the Global South.

Meanwhile, South Africa recently banned the import of terbufos, a highly toxic pesticide linked to the deaths of six children. The South African Human Rights Commission called the ban a “historic milestone” for realizing basic rights such as health, food, and a safe environment.

Nearly US$50 Million for Farmers on Hold at USDA

Nearly US$50 million in congressionally mandated funding for farmers remains unspent at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and time is running out before the unspent money is automatically returned to the U.S. Treasury, Politico reports. The funds are intended to support the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, which helps farmers test new methods, manage environmental challenges, and collaborate on research.

The SARE program, first authorized in the 1990 Farm Bill and reauthorized in subsequent legislation, typically distributes grants to more than 500 farmers and ranchers annually. Thousands more benefit from research funding administered through universities. Recipients use the grants for projects such as pest management, yield improvement, drought mitigation, and cover cropping.

If the USDA does not obligate the unspent US$48 million by September 30, the money may be returned to the U.S. Treasury through a process known as impoundment. Sources familiar with the situation say the reason for the delay is unclear. No public explanation has been provided by the USDA.

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), alongside 100 food, farm, conservation, and rural organizations, urges Congress to fully fund the SARE program, highlighting the need for and value of the initiative. According to NSAC, SARE helps farmers make meaningful changes, like adopting new practices or reducing inputs and is one of the most cost effective and administratively efficient competitive research programs within the USDA.

Others, including the National Organic Coalition, assert that SARE funds may not be impounded without congressional authority. The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the “power of the purse,” meaning it has the sole authority to control government spending. Under the Impoundment Control Act (ICA) of 1974, legislation passed to protect this power from presidential overreach, prohibits the President from impounding congressionally mandated funds without Congress’s approval.

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The Importance of Climate Week NYC

In a recent Reuters op-ed, Helen Clarkson, CEO of Climate Group, explains why Climate Week NYC 2025 is essential, particularly amid political setbacks on climate action in the U.S.

Since its creation in 2009, Climate Week NYC has coincided with U.N. General Assembly. The goal, Clarkson describes, is to draw attention to the climate crisis and create space to talk about solutions. And, as she says, it works. Climate Week NYC has become a trusted platform for driving action across sectors. Clarkson cites key announcements made during past events, including California’s 2023 lawsuit against fossil fuel companies, Volvo’s diesel phase-out, and L’Oréal’s EUR€15 million disaster risk fund.

“These aren’t just bold headlines,” Clarkson writes. “They happened because Climate Week NYC brought the right people together at the right time.” Clarkson concludes that Climate Week NYC is not about asking whether to act, but about coordinating how to act—on finance, risk, clean technology, and energy demands. She writes, “We finished conversations about ‘should’ we act years ago, now we’re outlining ‘how.’”

Food Tank is honored to help ensure that food and agriculture remain central to these critical climate conversations. Food Tank has 15 Summits planned for Climate Week NYC 2025, bringing together over 300 chefs, performers, journalists, advocates, academics, business leaders, and more. From soil health to school meals, we’re proud to spotlight the solutions that make our food systems part of the path forward.

Climate Change Could Push Millions More into Poverty

A new report from the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) finds that the climate crisis could push at least 5.9 million more children and young people in Latin America and the Caribbean into poverty by 2030. The report analyses the potential effects of extreme weather events on increasing poverty levels among children, adolescents and youth, along with countries’ efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and their strategies to adapt and reduce losses and damages caused by climate change.

In what UNICEF describes as an optimistic scenario, in which governments implement rapid actions to limit GHG emissions, at least 5.9 million more children, adolescents and youth could be living in poverty by 2030. If governments implement mitigation and adaptation measures insufficiently or inefficiently, the number could be as high as 17.9 million.

Children and adolescents bear the greatest burden of climate change, according to Roberto Benes, UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. They are more vulnerable to extreme weather events, which also disrupt their education and families’ livelihoods. “If children and young people don’t have the resources to meet their basic needs and develop their potential, and if adequate social protection systems are not in place, the region’s inequalities will only be perpetuated,” Benes says.

The report recommends that governments strengthen the climate resilience of social services and critical infrastructure to protect children, with a particular focus on the first 1,000 days of life. It also urges child-sensitive climate policy financing, pointing out that less than 3.5 percent of all multilateral climate finance is dedicated to children—something particularly distressing as humanitarian aid declines.

Turmoil at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced on social media that Dr. Susan Monarez was “no longer” the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The announcement came after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pressured Monarez to resign, and she refused. Meanwhile, four CDC senior leaders have resigned, citing political interference and a decline in scientific integrity. Kennedy has tapped one of his top advisors who has no medical or scientific training to be acting director of the agency, and recently appeared before the Senate Finance Committee to defend his tenure as Health Secretary.

Monarez, an infectious disease expert, was sworn in less than a month ago, but was at odds with Kennedy over vaccine policy, according to an administration official who is familiar with the events. Prior to HHS’s social media post, Monarez was asked to fire top agency leaders and to sign off on proposed vaccine policies, according to Richard Besser, CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a former acting CDC director. Firing talented civil servants and rubber stamping recommendations that fly in the face of the science were the two things Monarez said she would never do on the job, Besser says.

After Monarez refused, Kennedy and one of his top aides pressured her to resign, says an HHS official granted anonymity to discuss the details. In response to HHS’s post firing Monarez, her lawyer confirmed that Monarez has not resigned and will not resign, and rejected the firing as “legally deficient.”  As a presidential appointee confirmed by the Senate, according to Monarez’s lawyer, Monarez can only be fired by the President.

Meanwhile, four senior CDC officials have resigned in protest. They include: Dr. Debra Houry, the CDC’s Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director for Program and Science, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, the Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Dr. Daniel Jernigan, Director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), and Dr. Jennifer Layden, Director of the office of public health data, science, technology.

NCEZID is responsible for the prevention, early detection, and control of foodborne illnesses and zoonotic diseases like Salmonella. When Dr. Monarez was fired from her position, NCEZID’s former Director Dr. Jernigan says, the agency lost the remaining leadership that would promote scientific processes and an evidence-based approach. “And for that…now is the time to go.”

Houry objected to politicization of science, vaccine misinformation, and looming budget restrictions. “Enough is enough,” Daskalakis said in his resignation letter, which describes his refusal to serve an organization whose policies do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than improve the public’s health.

Fiona Havers, a former CDC official who resigned in June, says the recent resignations are devastating for the agency. She adds that these officials acted as a “buffer between career CDC scientists and RFK Jr. and this administration’s attacks on public health.” “People will die because of this,” says another senior official at the CDC who asked to remain anonymous.

Kennedy has tapped one of his top advisors, Jim O’Neill, to be acting Director of the CDC. O’Neill will continue in his current role as Deputy Secretary at HHS while leading CDC. O’Neill previously served various roles at HHS under President George W. Bush. Since then he’s mostly run investment funds for billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel.

O’Neill was an early supporter of Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again movement and a longtime vaccine critic. The Guardian reports that O’Neill voiced public support for unproven treatments that were not supported by scientific evidence, including ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.

Officials and policymakers expressed concerns regarding O’Neill’s lack of medical or scientific training. “You can be a great administrator but you do need to at least have a knowledge of how you’d handle an outbreak or an emerging pathogen,” Houry told NPR. According to Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), O’Neill “can’t be trusted with your health.”

Kennedy recently appeared before the Senate Finance Committee to face questioning on his vaccine policy and record as Health Secretary. The hearing was tense and combative, and some Senators called for Kennedy’s resignation.

“People are hurt by his reckless disregard for science and the truth,” says Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR). Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) expressed deep concerns regarding Kennedy’s vaccine policy, while Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) describes constituents including doctors and patients who are having trouble accessing COVID-19 booster shots because of conflicting recommendations from health agencies.

Kennedy blamed the CDC for the number of American deaths during the pandemic, and said he did not trust the data showing that vaccines saved millions of lives. Kennedy also defended the decision to fire Dr. Monarez, and wider recent layoffs at the CDC, calling them “absolutely necessary.”

Fortune: Economists Warn Produce Food Prices Could Double

Agricultural economists interviewed by Fortune are warning that produce prices in the United States could surge 50 to 100 percent by early 2026, citing labor shortages and new tariffs. It’s like seeing a tsunami coming in, and the water’s gone up two inches, describes Raymond Robertson, a labor economist at Texas A&M.

According to Gordon Hanson, an economist at Harvard Kennedy school, the impacts of tariffs and recent loss of labor are “unambiguous.” Deportations and restrictive immigration policies have sharply reduced the supply of undocumented workers, who make up the majority of U.S. agricultural labor. Robertson explains that while these workers typically earn about US$18 an hour to pick strawberries, American-born workers would require US$25 to US$30 an hour to do the same work—an unsustainable cost for most farms.

Some farms have turned to the H-2A visa program for foreign agricultural labor, but economists like Hanson say the program is too small and inefficient to fill the gap. H-2A guest workers still represent only a “small fraction” of the total farm labor force, and the program requires employers to reapply each season, according to Hanson. And the Trump-Vance administration’s arrival adds uncertainty to the future of the H-2A program.

At the same time, new tariffs on imported goods such as tomatoes, coffee, and orange juice are putting additional upward pressure on prices. Hanson warned that consumers will see a noticeable increase in prices, estimating that shoppers may face at least 50 percent increases as the effects of the tariffs ripple through the supply chain. Economists predict that the rising costs of produce and dairy will leave few healthy alternatives and drive many families to shift toward cheaper, ultra-processed foods, potentially worsening public health outcomes.

Hanson recommends expanding legal pathways for farm labor and reducing tariffs. “If we were able to create larger flows of legal farmworkers and lower tariffs, consumers are going to be better off,” he told Fortune.

Land Reclamation Threatens Indigenous Sea Communities and Coastal Ecosystems in Malaysia and Singapore

Indigenous sea communities in Malaysia and Singapore are facing growing pressure as land reclamation projects continue to degrade coastal ecosystems and deplete fish stocks, The Guardian reports.

The Orang Seletar are among the Orang Laut (which means “sea people), Indigenous communities who have historically relied on fishing. Some Orang Laut have assimilated into urban communities in Singapore, but many, including the Orang Seletar, still live in coastal villages along the Johor Strait in southern Malaysia.

These communities are witnessing severe disruptions from large-scale land reclamation efforts. Land reclamation typically involves dumping sand, cement, or rocks into the sea to create artificial landmasses for urban development.  One of the most prominent examples is Forest City, one of the largest real estate projects on the planet, which was designed to house 700,000 people and employ 250,000 workers.

Only 15 percent of Forest City has been built in over 10 years of construction, and only 1 percent of the development is occupied. Already, a significant patch of fragile mangrove forest has reportedly been wiped out to make way for a golf course. And the the proposed artificial islands themselves would directly lie on swathes of species-rich seagrass beds, where fish spawn and thrives. According to Tok Batin Salim Palon, a village leader, the destruction of mangroves means that “the fish have nowhere to go.”

These ecological losses are compounded by mud stirred up by development. New landmasses and changes to shoreline contours alter wave directions and sediment transport, making waters murky and fishing even harder. “There’s no use” fishing in dirty water, says community member Bowen Bin Terawin.

Numerous similar projects across the Malay Peninsula echo the impacts of Forest City. Projects like Penang South Islands, which would reclaim over 4,500 acres of shallow fishing grounds, could bury key habitats for fish, prawns, and crabs, according to marine biologist Evelyn Teh. And these projects are often marketed as sustainable, with co-benefits for ecotourism and other commercial activities.

Some descendants of the Orang Laut in Singapore who have assimilated into urban communities are using cultural events and education to reclaim and celebrate their heritage, according to The Guardian. Meanwhile those who are still dependent on fishing are trying to find ways to adapt. Terawin now has a fish farm which allows him to produce more than traditional fishing methods provide. Others are encouraging education to prepare youth for futures beyond fishing

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Meat Returns to Eleven Madison Park After Four Vegan Years

Eleven Madison Park will reintroduce meat and seafood to its menu this October, ending its four-year run as a fully plant-based fine dining restaurant. Chef Daniel Humm, who helms the three-Michelin-starred Manhattan restaurant, cites financial pressures and a desire to be more inclusive as key reasons behind the pivot. “While we had built something meaningful, we had also unintentionally kept people out. This is the opposite of what we believe hospitality to be,” Humm says.

The restaurant introduced its vegan menu after a 15-month pandemic closure. Concerned with the sustainability of how food is sourced and consumed, EMP vowed to create exciting meals without moving a single animal product. In 2022, EMP became the first restaurant in the world to earn three Michelin stars for a fully vegan menu.

But some doubted diners would be willing to pay as much for a plant-based meal, and some dismissed it as a high-end stunt.

Over the past year at EMP, private bookings dwindled and Humm says the labor-intensive, high-concept menu became harder to sustain. The decision also followed a trip to Greece, where Humm watched a goat being slaughtered with reverence. The experience, combined with guest feedback about the restrictive menu, led him to reconsider.

Humm says plant-based option will remain on the menu but will no longer be the only option.

USDA Cancels Contract for Food Safety Inspectors

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently moved to cancel collective bargaining agreements with employees at its animal health and food safety inspection agencies, affecting more than 8,000 unionized workers.

Notices provided to union leaders at the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) explain that the move was aligned with Executive Order 14251. Signed in March, the executive order excludes some federal workers from collective bargaining if their agencies have national security roles.

But according to Cole Austen Gandy, president of the National Association of Agriculture Employees (NAAE), which represents nearly 1,500 APHIS workers, none of the employees’ work involves national security.

The USDA says the change will allow the agency to be nimble and “farmer-first.” But critics warn the shift may undermine food safety and labor protections. “It doesn’t just erode labor rights — it damages the public’s trust in the safety of our food supply,” says Milton Jones, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.

Paula Soldner, chair of the National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals, which represents some FSIS employees, notes that the move “flies in the face of every promise [FSIS] has made to protect America’s food supply.

The National Association of Agriculture Employees recently filed a suit challenging the executive order and its revocation of its collective bargaining rights. According to the union, it is the sixth lawsuit contesting Executive Order 14251.

Environmental Data Is Disappearing from Government Websites

A new Environmental Data & Governance Initiative (EDGI) report finds that scope and speed of the second Trump administration’s changes to websites related to environmental regulation has far exceeded that of the first. According to the researchers, the removals and revisions have significantly altered the federal environmental information landscape.

EDGI began documenting loss of access and usability of government environmental information during the first Trump administration. The organization found that the second Trump Administration has made 70 percent more changes to government websites related to environmental regulation during the first 100 days than the first administration did.

The amount of information being scrubbed has surprised Gretchen Gehrke, Co-Founder of EDGI, who tells NPR that the level of “total erasure” of any topic was never seen under Trump’s first term.

The report also finds that the changes are getting bolder, with intensifying rhetoric and increasing challenge to statutory authorities for information sharing. The changes’ biggest targets include diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and environmental justice, according to EDGI.

The Council on Environmental Quality’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, which identified disadvantaged communities to ensure a percent of climate program benefits reached them, was removed. Nine similar screening tools also disappeared.

On the EPA’s website all pages about environmental justice are gone. And following layoffs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), climate.gov—which shared information about changing weather patterns, drought conditions, and greenhouse gas emissions—stopped publishing new content this summer.

Europe Faces Worst Wildfire Season in Nearly 20 Years

The European Union is experiencing its most destructive wildfire season in nearly two decades. Fueled by heat waves, prolonged drought, and strong winds, the fires have ravaged the continent, displacing tens of thousands, burning homes, and devastating farmland.

Satellite data from the Copernicus space program show that almost 9,000 square kilometers—roughly the size of Puerto Rico—have burned in 2025. Several deaths and many injuries have been reported.  Thousands of fire crews have been deployed across the continent.

In Greece, flames swept through pine forests and olive groves, burning houses, dozens of vehicles. Spain is experiencing its highest fire emissions since 2003, severely degrading air quality up to several hundred kilometers from the fires.

Turkey has been battling wildfires since late June, with 18 deaths reported so far. And Portugal, facing its worst year of fires since 2006, has been in a state of emergency for weeks. “We are at war and we must win this war,” says Portugal’s Prime Minister Luis Montenegro.

Last week, evacuations affected thousands, with more than 31,000 people displaced in Spain alone. Many have lost homes and farmland, and agricultural infrastructure has been severely damaged. Images from the Associated Press show scorched barns, charred equipment, and families fleeing with their livestock. In Albania, where rural communities rely heavily on animals for food and livelihood, some were forced to leave livestock behind. Residents are now returning to assess the damage, with volunteers helping to care for injured animals.

Though wildfires are common during European summers, their severity can be exacerbated by heatwave conditions—which meteorologists say are becoming more frequent.

Mexico Celebrates “Historic” Reduction in Poverty

More than 8.3 million people in Mexico rose above the poverty line between 2022 and 2024, according to a recent report from the national statistics agency. The report shows a nearly 18 percent overall drop in poverty, with extreme poverty falling 23 percent and moderate poverty decreasing by over 16 percent. About one in three Mexicans remains below the poverty line.

According to Manuel Martínez Espinoza, a researcher at Mexico’s National Council of the Humanities, Sciences and Technologies, the progress can likely be attributed to a number of factors. But the decrease in poverty can likely be attributed to increased wages and social programs under Former President López Obrador, says Espinoza.

Between 2018 and 2025, Mexico’s minimum wage rose from 88.40 pesos to 278.80 pesos per day, a threefold increase. Former President López Obrador also implemented cash transfers for elderly people, unemployed youth, farmers, and others, significantly raising total social spending.

López Obrador successor, President Claudia Sheinbaum called the progress “extraordinary” and “historic,” stating that “‘For the food of all – first the poor’ is not just a slogan, but a reality in Mexico.” Viri Ríos, an independent public policy expert, notes that “there has never been a single six-year term in which poverty has been reduced or decreased so significantly.”

But experts caution the gains may not be sustainable. “If people stop receiving [the transfers], they could fall back into poverty because there wasn’t enough investment in things other than addressing people’s most immediate needs,” says Manuel Martínez Espinoza.

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The New York Times first obtained the draft of the Strategy report, which has not been confirmed by the White House and will go through revisions before finalization. It was initially expected to be publicly released on August 12, 2025, the date of the deadline for submission to the President. But the White House delayed publication, citing the need to coordinate officials’ schedules.

The new Strategy from the Commission—chaired by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—will build on the Commission’s first publication, an Assessment released in May. The Assessment identified four main drivers of childhood chronic disease: poor diet, chemical exposure, lack of physical activity and chronic stress, and overmedicalization.

On issues such as poor diets and pesticides, the draft expands on the original report, emphasizing additional research, improved public education, and voluntary industry action. But it offers few new recommended restrictions. “This report has one overriding implied message,” Marion Nestle says of the draft. “More research needed.”

To address poor diet, one of the Assessment’s four key drivers of childhood chronic disease, the draft emphasizes research and education. It calls for studies on sleep and nutrition, the impact of food and lifestyle interventions, and how additives affect individuals.

It recommends expanding access to nutrition information, launching campaigns tied to updated dietary guidelines, and encouraging community-level interventions, such as pediatric care teams working with parents and students on healthy eating.

Both the Assessment and draft Strategy identify processed foods as a major contributor to poor diet, but the draft mentions them only once, in reference to defining the term ultra-processed foods. The New York Times notes this omission raises questions about the administration’s willingness to regulate, a step the food industry strongly opposes.

The draft endorses the prioritization of whole, healthy foods in federal programs, proposing measures like promoting full-fat dairy in schools and distributing MAHA boxes of healthy food through SNAP. But many of these programs have faced recent funding cuts, and Nestle describes a similar food box initiative under the first Trump administration as a disaster for small farmers.

If left unchanged, the draft’s language on pesticides and chemical additives will mark a win for the agriculture industry and a setback for Kennedy, MAHA supporters, and the health of the American people, according to Kari Hamerschlag, the Deputy Director of the Food and Agriculture Program at Friends of the Earth.

The Commission’s first report identified common ingredients such as glyphosate as threats to children’s health, prompting 500 people to send a letter calling for a ban on the additive. But industrial farmers and agricultural groups pushed back. Hundreds of organizations urged the Commission to rely on sound science rather than outlier studies and warned that the Assessment report contained numerous errors that fueled unfounded fears about food safety.

Since then, industry groups have lobbied heavily to shape the draft Strategy, and the National Corn Growers Association said it has spent months raising alarms about the Commission’s focus on herbicides. EPA Deputy Administrator Nancy Beck said the agency will continue to deem glyphosate safe “until the weight of scientific evidence shifts.”

But the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified glyphosate as a “probable human carcinogen,” and Friends of the Earth has reported thousands of lawsuits linking it to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The draft, which does not specifically mention glyphosate, contains no recommendations to restructure federal oversight of pesticides. Instead, the document suggests publicizing existing EPA review processes, which the document calls “robust,” to ensure confidence.

To reduce pesticide usage, the draft suggests implementing programs to help growers adopt precision agricultural techniques and conducting research demonstrating how these technologies can help to decrease pesticide use. It also calls for new research to address cumulative exposure to chemicals, including pesticides.

The final draft of the MAHA Commission’s Strategy Report is forthcoming and, according to three people familiar with the matter, will be publicly launched by the end of August.

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An Ohio Farm Community Attracting the “MAHA Mom”

A recent New York Times article spotlights Aberlin Springs, an “agri-community” near Cincinnati, Ohio that’s become a magnet for families pursuing a return to traditional, agrarian living. According to the Times, the neighborhood has become a mecca for the “MAHA mom,” a label applied to a growing group of women who champion improved American diets and a return to traditional domestic roles and a homestead lifestyle.

At the heart of the development is a farm that feeds residents, with a farm store selling products ranging from fresh sourdough and eggs to beef tallow balm. The grounds are also pesticide-free, and residents must agree not to spray Roundup or other pesticides on their property.

Aberlin Springs appeals to people from both sides of the political spectrum, the Times reports. Leslie Aberlin, the development’s owner, describes the community as a place where “the far lefts with their pictures with the Bidens” can find common ground with “the far rights with their Trump flags and their guns,” connecting over healthy food and close community.

The community has attracted a diverse range of family types, including single women and LGBTQ couples who are drawn to the Aberlin Springs’ reverence for healthy soil, farm-fresh meals, and family-centered living. But and a shared passion for healthy soil and fresh vegetables sometimes fails to bridge the political divide, according to the Times—particularly when it comes to topics including vaccination and mothers pursuing careers.

Parents sometimes take the advice of a neighbor over that of a pediatrician when considering whether to vaccinate their child, the article describes. And many of MAHA’s followers are proponents of a familial utopia that includes a homestead lifestyle and farm-fresh dinners, ideally prepared by a mother who stays home.”

Leslie Aberlin, the community’s developer, celebrates what she calls “traditional wives” who are raising families in the neighborhood. And, a vocal community member, described modern parenting culture as overly reliant on shortcuts, citing takeout meals, epidurals, and frozen dinners as examples.

To maintain the property’s finely tuned state of political harmony, most residents just try to not talk about their differences.

MAHA Commission Backtracks on Glyphosate

The second report from the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission, chaired by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was expected to be released to the public on August 12, 2025. While the public still awaits the final report, which will outline a strategy for ending childhood chronic disease, members of the Commission have indicated that it will likely walk back its prior criticism of glyphosate and similar pesticide ingredients.

The MAHA Commission, created by an executive order earlier this year, released its first publication, Make Our Children Healthy Again: Assessment, in May.  The report identified three active ingredients commonly used in pesticides and herbicides— glyphosate, atrazine and chloripyrifos— stating that they may pose a threat to children’s health and wellbeing.  But industrial agriculture groups pushed back, particularly regarding glyphosate and how it will be addressed in the forthcoming Strategy report.

Over 300 farmers and agriculture groups wrote a letter to government agencies expressing concerns. And the the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) said it has spent the ensuing months sounding the alarms about the MAHA Commission’s focus on herbicides.

Nancy Beck, Deputy Administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that the upcoming MAHA report on recommendations for action will, the EPA will continue to say that glyphosate is safe and will continue to respect regulatory frameworks that have found glyphosate is safe “until the weight of scientific evidence shifts.”

But Glyphosate has been deemed a “probable human carcinogen” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. And Friends of the Earth reports that thousands of lawsuits have linked the weedkiller to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The Strategy report has been provided to the President, but the White House says it will require more time to coordinate officials’ schedules to release the report to the public. According to CNN, the Strategy Report will be launched by the end of August.

Study Links Gaps in Soil Health Research with Environmental Vulnerabilities

A new study from the University of São Paulo, analyzing nearly 32,000 studies, highlights major blind spots in global soil health research, particularly in regions harboring rich biodiversity but facing the highest rates of deforestation, severe erosion, and the changing climate.

Published in Communications Earth & Environment, the article finds that though there has been a significant uptick in publications on soil health — up 74 percent in the last decade — but the science is concentrated in European countries, China, the United States, India, and Brazil.

Meanwhile, gaps in research on soil health persist in Central and South America (excluding Brazil), the African continent, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Many of these regions are home to rich biodiversity but face high rates of soil erosion, nutrient depletion, and deforestation.

The researchers emphasize that efforts to address soil degradation and environmental vulnerability must go hand in hand, waring that without more targeted soil health research in these regions, global sustainability goals could be undermined. The study suggests focusing on zones where these challenges intersect could yield meaningful benefits for ecological restoration and sustainable agriculture.

The authors note that continental and intercontinental collaborations can ensure that research is taking place in areas where it’s needed most. Fortunately, the researchers note, there are examples of where this is happening.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization’s Global Soil Partnership, established in 2012, has strengthened mechanisms to identify and establish priorities for action on soil health. And the Living Soils of the Americas initiative led by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Ohio State University’s Carbon Management and Sequestration Center is bringing together local universities, national agencies, and research and development centers to monitor and promote soil health.

The authors call for increased funding, greater collaboration, and more equitable distribution of soil health research to close these critical gaps.

Mexico Declares Sargassum a National Resource

Mexico’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER) has designated sargassum a national fishing resource, a move that broadens how the seaweed can be managed and used.

Vessels equipped for high-seas collection are now authorized to harvest sargassum under updated terms in the National Fisheries Charter. Previously limited to coastal cleanup efforts, the classification shift allows for upstream collection, potentially reducing shoreline accumulation.

Sargassum, a yellowish floating seaweed, provides food, shelter, and breeding grounds for various marine species, plays an important role in the health and biodiversity of open ocean ecosystems. But when washed ashore, it can adversely impact coastal ecosystems, tourism, and public health.

The University of South Florida recently reported a record 38 million metric tons of sargassum in the Caribbean in June 2025—nearly 60 percent more than the previous record set in 2022.

SADER’s move to reclassify sargassum expands its management beyond beach cleanup and allows equipped vessels to capture the seaweed before it reaches shores and decomposes. The government aims to collect up to 945,000 tonnes of dried sargassum annually for industrial applications ranging from biofuels and fertilizers to animal feed and textiles.

SADER called the update a significant milestone in managing marine resources and enabling sustainable economic use, and Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena praised the reclassification as a “key step that enables [sargassum’s] sustainable use”.

WFP Aid Cuts Hit Refugee Camps in Kenya Amid New Needs-Based System

The World Food Programme (WFP) recently launched a new assistance system in Kenya in response to major funding shortfalls, including recent drastic cuts from the U.S. Agency for International Development. The new approach shifts focus from refugee status alone to a detailed needs assessment in determining food aid.

Al Jazeera reports that residents of the Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps — home to roughly 800,000 people fleeing drought and conflict in Somalia and South Sudan— are among the first to experience the impact.

International support for WFP has waned in recent years, but drastic cuts to U.S. government funding through USAID in recent months have pushed the organization over the edge. WFP is projecting a 40 percent reduction in funding, and has plans to cut over a quarter of its workforce by next year.

According to WFP, the significant funding shortfall comes at a time when humanitarian need is high, particularly for refugees and Kenyans in food-insecure and drought-affected areas. With resources stretched to their limits, WFP’s deputy country director in Kenya says, they have had to reduce food assistance.

Under the prioritization approach, households that are highly vulnerable or have limited ability to meet basic needs are seeing food rations reduced by 60 percent. Those who have some form of income will not receive food rations but may benefit from livelihood interventions.

WFP says the shift is intended to preserve aid for those most in need amid ongoing funding gaps. With its current resourcing, WFP will only be able to provide assistance until December or January, according to a WFP employee.

The lack of food has lead to an increase in violence in the refugee camps. Al Jazeera journalist Catherine Soi, reporting from Kakuma, said tensions have escalated. “People were very angry” about the changes, she notes. Protests last week reportedly left one person dead and several others injured.

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Escoffier uses data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Feeding America to examine how geography, infrastructure, and income shape food access and health—and how accurately LILA scores and RFEI values reflect those outcomes. Their key finding: food deserts are not a strong predictor of poor health outcomes.

Although the term “food desert” remains widely used by media, researchers, academics, policymakers, advocates, and public health agencies, the USDA has moved away from the term. Since 2013, the agency’s Economic Research Service has instead used “low-income, low-access” to describe areas with limited access to healthy food.

According to Escoffier, 18.8 million Americans, or about 6.1 percent of the U.S. population, live in LILA tracts, where residents are both low-income and geographically distant from a grocery store. But the analysis found little national correlation between LILA scores and public health outcomes.

Meanwhile, food insecurity—which Escoffier defines as limited or uncertain access to enough food due to economic constraints—meaningfully correlates with diabetes and obesity, suggesting that the ability to afford food may matter more than physical proximity to it.

Geography, an incomplete lens according to Escoffier, also doesn’t reflect whether people have the means of reaching nutritious foods, even if stores are nearby. The study scrutinizes RFEI values, a measure that compares the density of fast food and convenience stores to that of supermarkets and grocery outlets.

While LILA scores highlight geographic isolation, RFEI values reflect abundance—specifically, an oversupply of poor-quality food. A widely cited measure of the quality of food options, according to Escoffier, RFEI values show little correlation with LILA scores, meaning they often describe different places entirely.

Escoffier points to the presence of independent restaurants and access to fresh produce as more reliable indicators of a robust food ecosystem. But even these factors show limited connection to health outcomes—highlighting the complexity of the issue.

“Ultimately, our findings suggest that the reality of food deserts is far more complex than a simple lack of grocery stores—and that meaningful solutions would require an equally layered understanding of food access, affordability, and community context,” the analysis concludes.

By unpacking the interplay between infrastructure, income, and food culture, Escoffier’s findings underscore the need to move beyond outdated metrics in favor more nuanced, context-specific responses to food insecurity.

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The SOFI report, released annually by five United Nations agencies, shows that Brazil’s undernourishment rate fell below 2.5 percent between 2022 and 2024. This prompted the country’s removal from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Hunger Map, an interactive tool presenting the latest global estimates on the prevalence of undernourishment, and moderate or severe food insecurity.

The 2025 SOFI report notes that the world is far from eradicating hunger and food insecurity, and not on track to end malnutrition, by 2030, citing persistent food price inflation as a major barrier. But Brazil is making rapid progress in reducing hunger.

After national food insecurity spiked between 2020 and 2022, the Brazilian government launched an initiative to eradicate hunger in 2023 called Brazil Sem Fome (BSF), which translates to Brazil without hunger. BSF’s approach emphasizes coordinated public action and civil society engagement, and centers access to nutritious foods over agricultural productivity.

Policies include school meals sourced from local and agroecological producers, higher minimum wages, support for smallholder and Indigenous farmers, expanded food banks, and legal recognition of the right to food.

The number of people in Brazil experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity fell from 70.3 million in 2022 to 28.5 million in 2024, SOFI data indicate. The number of people unable to afford a healthy diet dropped 20 percent, while the portion of the Brazilian population facing severe food insecurity has been reduced by two-thirds—from 21.1 million to 7.1 million.

The latest SOFI report also confirms that Brazil has achieved BSF’s first goal of getting the country off the FAO Hunger Map.

Elisabetta Recine, head of Brazil’s National Food and Nutrition Security Council and IPES-Food expert, credits the country’s success to concerted political action and policies that put “people, family farmers, Indigenous and traditional communities, and access to good local food at the centre—and by including those most affected.”

Brazil’s progress shows that effective solutions to hunger are neither new nor out of reach. What’s missing, according to Jennifer Clapp, a Professor, IPES-Food expert, and Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security and Sustainability, is the political will to confront its root causes.

Policies that work—like supporting family farmers rather than agribusiness and investing in public programs like school meals—are effective, proven, and widely available, says Raj Patel, an IPES-Food member and research professor at the University of Texas. The only question that remains, according to Patel, is whether other governments will act with the same courage as the Brazilians and make the choice to implement those proven tools.

Despite gains, the SOFI report and public health experts caution that rising food prices, new tariffs, and further looming tariff threats continue to threaten food access, including in Brazil. “We must stay the course,” Recine says, “because the cost of inaction is measured in lives.”

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U.N. Food Systems Summit Stocktake Kicks Off in a Few Days

From July 27–29, the second U.N. Food Systems Summit Stocktake will convene in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Four years after the inaugural summit launched a global push to transform how food is produced, distributed, and consumed, more than 3,000 delegates from around the world will assess whether those efforts are translating into meaningful change.

Co-hosted by Ethiopia and Italy, the meeting—referred to as UNFSS+4—will examine national progress on food systems transformation in alignment with Sustainable Development Goal 2: ending hunger, improving nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture.

While over 120 countries have now developed national pathways, advocates express concerns about the  slow pace of implementation. Food and agriculture systems “are finally on the global agenda,” Ambassador Ertharin Cousin, CEO and Managing Director of Food Systems for the Future, tells Food Tank. But heading into this year’s Stocktake, she says, “progress remains too slow.”

The summit arrives amid growing criticism. Civil society groups are boycotting the event, citing concerns over corporate influence and a lack of focus on urgent humanitarian crises. But FAO’s Corinna Hawkes hopes the Stocktake offers a crucial opportunity for solidarity, learning, and renewed commitment and hopes UNFSS+4 will create a greater sense of solidarity between countries.

Indigenous Vegetables See Greater Demand in Kenya

Kenya is experiencing a resurgence in demand for indigenous vegetables. Long marginalized and once dismissed as weeds, these nutrient-rich crops are now gaining recognition for their health benefits, climate resilience, and cultural importance.

A resurgence began in the early 2000s, as rising food prices, malnutrition, and concerns over chemical inputs led researchers and activists to investigate the nutritional and ecological benefits of indigenous crops. Studies highlighted their nutritional value, pest-resistance, low input needs, and climate resilience. Kenya also launched national initiatives to inventory traditional foods and document indigenous knowledge and practices.

Demand grew, farmers responded, and efforts to preserve traditional foodways took root. In 2021, the country was acknowledged by UNESCO for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage.

Today, indigenous greens are more popular than imported varieties, despite higher costs, a restaurant near Nairobi tells BBC . Horticulture professor Mary Abukutsa-Onyango says production of these vegetables has doubled in the past decade, reaching 300,000 tons last year.

But efforts to scale up indigenous vegetable production in Kenya face legal hurdles. A law—introduced in 2012 to protect farmers from poor quality and counterfeit seeds—criminalizes the sale or exchange of uncertified seeds, carrying penalties of up to two years in prison or a US$7,700 fine, or both. Wambui Wakahiu, who trains farmers on seed conservation, tells the BBC that such policies do not support efforts to save indigenous crop varieties, as their seeds are not available in farm-supply shops.

But farmers are taking action. 15 smallholder farmers petitioned the High Court to challenge the law, arguing it makes seed access unaffordable. Meanwhile, chefs, farmers, researchers, and vegetable vendors see the demand and the benefits and they are committed to helping more eaters enjoy these once-overlooked crops.

Tanzania Launches a Digital Agricultural Extension System

Tanzania’s Ministry of Agriculture has launched e-Kilimo, a digital platform designed to help farmers—particularly in rural and remote areas—connect with certified extension officers for real-time, location-specific technical advice.

Accessible via a mobile app, the platform aims to improve productivity and enhance public sector responsiveness by bridging gaps in farm-level support. The system also includes a registry of agricultural input suppliers, enabling the government to trace product distribution and crack down on counterfeit seeds and agrochemicals.

To improve service delivery, e-Kilimo incorporates a performance evaluation system for extension agents, including mandatory feedback forms and annual reviews. “This is about protecting the farmer and safeguarding our national food security,” the Minister of Agriculture says.

Despite its promise, national adoption may face challenges. According to the International Telecommunication Union, only one-third of Tanzanians are online, and 75 percent live in rural areas where internet and smartphone access remains limited. Still, the government says it is optimistic and working toward wider platform uptake.

EPA Plans to Close its Scientific Research Arm

The U.N. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will close the Office of Research and Development (ORD), the arm of the agency that is responsible for providing scientific expertise for environmental policies and regulations.

The Office analyzes dangers posed by hazards including toxic chemicals, the climate crisis, water pollution, soil pollution, smog, wildfires, indoor air contaminants, watershed destruction, and drinking water pollutants. The Associated Press reports that as many as 1,155 chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists could be laid off.

The news has been expected since March, when the New York Times first reported on a leaked document calling for the closure of ORD. And in May, EPA said it would shift its scientific expertise and research efforts to program offices that focus on major issues like air and water.

Former EPA and ORD scientists argue that dismantling ORD will “jeopardize human and environmental health” and “weaken American science and global competitiveness.” They write that the Office “provides the scientific backbone for response and recovery—safeguarding human health, the environment, and the economy.”

And U.S. Members of Congress Chellie Pingree and Jeff Merkley writes that eliminating ORD will “have devastating consequences.” The decision, they say, “will weaken scientific oversight, eliminate critical regulatory safeguards, and give polluting industries unchecked influence over environmental policy and ultimately human health.”

In ORD’s place, the agency is creating a new Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions. Officials say that once fully implemented, it will save the EPA nearly US$750 million.

New Report Reveals Insufficient Progress to Reach Global Nutrition Targets

A new report from the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the World Bank reveals that there has been significant progress made in the last decade, but we are “still far from a world without malnutrition.”

The Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), released annually, track global trends in child stunting, overweight, underweight, wasting, and severe wasting. The latest edition of the JME show that wasting—the most life-threatening form of acute malnutrition—has declined from 50.9 million cases in 2012 to 42.8 million in 2023.

But rates of stunting, a condition where a child’s height is significantly below average for their age, remain high. There are 150.2 million children affected and just over a quarter of countries are on track to halve the number of children affected by stunting in 2030. And child overweight continues to affect nearly every region, with 35.5 million children under five classified as overweight—an increase of 2.2 million since 2000.

The agencies cite challenges in data collection and monitoring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, armed conflict, and declining development aid. In 20 percent of countries, there is insufficient data to assess progress. Without reliable data and sustained investment, the report stresses, countries risk reversing gains in child health and nutrition.

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Farm Workers Fear for Safety Amid Immigration Raids

As Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids continue on farms, workers report feeling targeted, with one saying, “we are being hunted like animals.”

Federal agents recently conducted two large-scale raids on farms in Southern California and arrested at least 361 people, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The raids, and the protest that developed in response, resulted in the injury of at least 12 people, including eight who were hospitalized, and one farm worker’s death.

The action is thought to be the largest raid and the first death linked to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in California.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, agents also “rescued” 14 migrant children from suspected forced labor or trafficking. But they have released no additional information about the children, including their ages and what they were doing on the property.

The raids come amid shifting White House policies. President Trump initially paused farm raids in June, but ICE reversed the decision within days. After Trump said that migrant workers “vouched for” by farmers could remain in the country, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins quickly clarified that there will be “no amnesty” for undocumented farmworkers. Rollins also suggested that Medicaid recipients can replace the current farm labor force and stated that increased automation will also play a role.

Nearly half of U.S. farmworkers are undocumented, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. But economists and agriculture experts continue to warn that welfare reform and automation cannot adequately fill the gap left by deportations. And advocates says that continued enforcement threatens agricultural stability and food security.

WWF Calls for Emergency Recovery Plan to Protect Africa’s Freshwater Species

A new WWF-led report is calling on governments to implement an emergency recovery plan to address the decline of freshwater fish populations across Africa, warning of severe consequences for food and nutrition security. Titled Africa’s Forgotten Fishes, the report celebrates the variety of fish species across the continent and highlights the role they play in maintaining the health of freshwater ecosystems.

Africa’s freshwater ecosystems—including rivers, lakes, and wetlands—are home to at least 3,281 known fish species, according to the report. At least 3 million tons of fish are caught in Africa annually, sustaining over 3 million jobs and the highest per capita freshwater fish consumption globally.

Despite their ecological and economic importance, WWF reports that freshwater species are “in freefall,” with global populations down 85 percent since 1970. In Africa, at least 26 percent of freshwater fish species are threatened—and the report suggest that the actual figure may be significantly higher due to lack of data. These declines threaten not just biodiversity, the report finds, but also the food systems, livelihoods, and cultural traditions of millions across the continent.

“When these fish disappear, we lose much more than species: we lose food and nutrition security, livelihoods and ecosystem balance,” says WWF Africa Freshwater Lead Eric Oyare. Yet freshwater fish remain undervalued and overlooked by decision makers.

WWF’s proposed Emergency Recovery Plan outlines six priorities for action including improving water quality, protecting habitats and species, and ending unsustainable management. The urges African nations to adopt the plan as part of broader efforts to meet biodiversity and sustainable development goals.

Companies Are Falling Short on Regenerative Agriculture Programs

A new report from As You Sow grades 20 major food suppliers and manufacturers on the quality of their regenerative agriculture programs. The report aims to establish standards for measuring regenerative success, and sheds light on the extent to which major food companies are implementing effective programs.

On the basis of 15 key performance indicators related to regenerative agriculture goals, progress, and transparency, the report finds that most major food companies are failing to implement program components that are necessary for achieving regenerative outcomes.

A majority of companies have not adopted clear, outcome-based definitions of regenerative agriculture, and 14 of the 20 are not collecting field-level data from suppliers. McCain Foods received the highest score, earning a B grade, followed by Lamb Weston and PepsiCo. The industry average grade is a D.

As You Sow warns that labeling programs reliant on synthetic inputs as regenerative misleads stakeholders and invites greenwashing claims. It calls on policymakers to fund regenerative transitions and on consumers to support certified regenerative products.

And it urges companies to set quantitative targets, use reliable soil measurement tools, and provide stronger support for farmers. Food companies have the power to regenerate healthy soil and food – a win for farmers, consumers, investors, and the environment,” says Cailin Dendas, lead report author and As You Sow’s environmental health sr. coordinator.

Syria Wildfires Devastate Crops Amid Drought and Conflict

Some of Syria’s worst wildfires in years have been brought under control, according to the Civil Defense and the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management. The fires, which burned for over a week across forested and agricultural lands, destroyed over 14,000 hectares.

Rugged terrain, limited water access, fuel shortages, and unexploded ordnance from years of conflict severely hindered containment efforts, UNICEF reports. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that up to three quarters of Syria’s wheat crop — enough to feed 16.3 million people for the year — may be lost as a result of the fires and a severe drought.

Rural livelihoods, especially in farming and herding, have been severely impacted. With roughly 70 percent of the affected population relying on agriculture, most systems are currently inoperable. FAO is urging immediate support to restore food production and prevent irreversible livelihood loss.

U.S. Tariffs on Mexican Tomatoes Expected to Raise Food Prices

The Trump-Vance Administration imposed a 17 percent tariff on most fresh tomato imports from Mexico, ending a long-standing trade agreement that had previously suspended such duties. The decision, announced by the Department of Commerce, stems from a decades-old anti-dumping case in which Mexican growers were found to be selling tomatoes below market value in the U.S.

About 70 percent of fresh tomatoes consumed in the U.S. are imported from Mexico, and experts warn the new duty could push prices higher for consumers and restaurants. “Even a few cents adds up, especially for low-income households,” says David Ortega, an economist at Michigan State University.

The U.S. tomato industry, particularly in Florida, supports the measure as protection against unfair trade practices. But critics—including the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas—warn of reduced selection and higher costs. Mexican officials deny the dumping allegations and say it is “impossible to substitute Mexican tomatoes” given the volume exported.

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