Each week, Food Tank is rounding up a few news stories that inspire excitement, infuriation, or curiosity.
Budget Reconciliation Bill Becomes Law
Withstanding 493 amendments and narrow-margin votes in Congress, President Trump’s Budget Reconciliation Bill became law on July 4, 2025. Officially titled H.R. 1 – One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), the nearly 1,000-page bill implements much of the Trump-Vance Administration’s domestic policy agenda, shifting trillions of dollars of resources from programs like food aid, insurance coverage, and healthcare to national defense, immigration enforcement, and tax cuts.
Over the next decade, OBBBA will cut an estimated US$287 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and US$1 trillion from federal health program spending. It also includes new work requirements for many adults receiving Medicaid and SNAP benefits, and requires states to begin financing SNAP benefits.
As a result of the SNAP cuts, millions of U.S. families will lose some or all benefits. Up to 9 billion fewer meals will be provided nationwide and millions of children are expected to lose access to school meals and summer food programs. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the cuts to federal health spending will increase the number of uninsured by 10.9 million within ten years. And the combination of cuts to SNAP and health programs means that many will be at risk of losing both food assistance and health coverage simultaneously.
Though the White House has promised substantial savings, the CBO estimates the Bill will increase the deficit by US$3.4 trillion over the next 10 years. And experts say the food aid and healthcare cuts could produce higher rates of food insecurity and poorer health outcomes in the long run.
Because of OBBBA, “decades of progress in addressing America’s hunger crisis will be reversed,” says Crystal FitzSimons, president of the Food Research & Action Center.
World’s Biggest Climate Fund To Make Largest Investments To Date
The Green Climate Fund (GCF), the world’s largest multilateral climate fund, announced its largest-ever round of financing, committing US$1.225 billion for 17 new projects for global climate action.
The funding will support initiatives across 36 countries, including programs to strengthen food systems in East Africa and expand renewable energy and energy efficiency in South Asia. In total, GCF’s portfolio now spans 314 projects across 133 countries, amounting to $18 billion in GCF financing and $67 billion with co-financing.
To accelerate access, GCF also overhauled its accreditation process, reducing the approval timeline for partner organizations from 30 months to nine to increase access and country ownership. Eight new entities were accredited during the Board Meeting, including seven Direct Access Entities.
The announcements come as the U.S., France, Germany, and the United Kingdom—GCF’s top three contributors—all announced a withdrawal in aid for the first time in 30 years, prompting a projected 17 percent drop in global official development assistance this year.
GCF is attempting to fill that gap. “At a time when collective climate action is more needed than ever, GCF is stepping up to deliver on its mandate,” GCF Co-Chair Seyni Nafo says.
Heatwaves Continue in Europe
Europe is facing record-breaking heat wave that is damaging crops, fueling wildfires, and endangering farm workers. Several countries reported their hottest June on record as soaring temperatures brought hazardous and unbearable conditions throughout the continent.
France responded by banning fieldwork during the hottest times of the day to protect workers and reduce risk of fires, and parts of Italy did the same. Greece imposed mandatory work breaks in parts of the country where temperatures are pushing beyond 40 °C (104 °F). The heat is also fueling wildfires that have destroyed olive groves and farming equipment in Crete and killed two farm workers in Spain.
According to the European Commission, droughts and heatwaves already cost EU farms and livestock producers around to €28.3 billion in annual losses, and extreme July weather is further exacerbating this year’s production outlook. Meteorologists warn that if the heatwave continues, it will compound crop stress and affect yields for farmers even further.
Japan Reports Record Low Food Waste
Japan’s food loss and waste dropped to 4.64 million tons in fiscal year 2023—the lowest since tracking began in 2012, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF). The figure, announced in MAFF’s annual survey of food loss and waste, marks a 1.7 percent decline from the previous year, with households and food-related businesses accounting for 2.33 million tons and 2.31 million tons, respectively.
According to a MAFF statement, the reduction marks an important milestone towards Japan’s national target of reducing commercial food waste generated by food business by 100 percent by 2030 and reducing emissions by 60 percent by 2050.
Commercial food waste has declined 58 percent since 2000, and the country reached its 2030 goal of halving business sector waste eight years early. But household waste—now slightly above 2.3 million tons—remains a greater challenge. Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency estimates that in 2022 alone, household food waste led to an estimated JPY¥40 trillion (US$277 billion) in economic losses and over 10 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
But as the World Economic Forum reports, the country is taking steps help eaters reduce food waste. New guidelines to extend expiration dates promoting food donations to food banks and children’s cafeterias, and new technologies to improve demand forecast accuracy have helped the country move toward its food waste reduction goals. And local governments are providing a platform where residents can share recipes, tips, and videos to teach children and adults strategies to reduce waste in the home.
The Ministry also reports that consumer awareness campaigns—such as reward points for purchasing near-expiry items and the “3010 movement,” which encourages diners to finish food during parties—have helped reduce waste.
U.S. to Block Farmland Sales to Foreign Adversaries
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will restrict investments in and acquisition of U.S. farmland for persons and entities linked to China, and other countries that the government deems to be a national security risk, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins recently announced.
The policy is part of the National Farm Security Action Plan, which the USDA recently announced at a press conference with the U.S Attorney General, Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security, and several state governors. Rollins described foreign agricultural land ownership as a weapon threatening national security and the U.S. food supply. “Farm security is national security,” says Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The Action Plan seeks to further integrate agriculture into broader national security efforts, in part by taking swift action to end the direct or indirect purchase or control of U.S. farmland individuals from “countries of concern or other foreign adversaries.” According to the Action Plan, those countries include North Korea, China, Russia, Iran, and any other country that certain national security officials determine to be engaged in conduct that is detrimental to the national security or foreign policy of the United States.
The Plan also includes initiatives to pursue “robust and overdue” data collection on foreign investments, including an online portal allowing the public to anonymously report suspected noncompliance with foreign farmland ownership laws and potential foreign influence over U.S. agricultural policy.
Experts and data indicate that most foreign-owned land is used for timber or renewable energy and that Canada is the top foreign U.S. land-holder. China-linked individuals and entities own less than 1 percent of foreign-held U.S. land, most of which is linked to Smithfield Foods.
Nonetheless, federal and state leaders continue to link farm security to national security, citing the need to limit foreign influence over the U.S. food supply. In 2023 alone, at least 81 bills were proposed across 33 states that would restrict Chinese ownership of farmland and of any land near military bases and Arkansas ordered the Chinese-owned seed producer Syngenta to sell 160 acres of U.S. farmland. Currently, 26 states restrict foreign ownership or investment in agricultural land.
Though no federal law exists that restricts foreign persons from acquiring or holding U.S. agricultural land, Congress has introduced around 25 measures that seek to restrict persons from certain countries from acquiring or owning an interest in U.S. agricultural land. Congress is also considering legislation to prohibit some foreign persons and entities from participating in certain USDA-administered programs.
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Photo courtesy of Leandre C, Unsplash
