Each week, Food Tank is rounding up a few news stories that inspire excitement, infuriation, or curiosity.
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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Photo courtesy of Siwawut Phoophinyo, Unsplash
