Jordan Chamberlin, an agricultural economist and a principal scientist at CIMMYT, works with his colleagues to understand the constraints farmers face and how they allocate their resources. All of this helps the team target “the bottlenecks for unleashing the potential farmers have,” he tells Food Tank.

In Kenya, producers are working in rainfed systems, which are “inherently risky,” Chamberlin explains. He notes that many solutions being developed for farming systems aim to harness big data and analytics to provide better predictions and site-specific advice that will help producers thrive. But these tools don’t account for everything. 

CIMMYT’s researchers acknowledge that each suggestion provided by these new and emerging tools demand investment from farmers upfront. But recommendations to adopt a new technology or follow a set of practices to grow their crops doesn’t offer the full picture. Farmers may not understand the potential or the risks associated with that approach, making them reluctant to make a change. Knowledge can empower them to make more informed choices. 

“We’re trying to ask: How do we think about the information that we present to farmers to clarify what the value proposition is if we’re trying to encourage technology change on smallholder farms that don’t have a lot of resources?” Chamberlin says. 

In agriculture, however, the return on investment can take years to see and in the face of inconsistent rainfall patterns, pests, and price uncertainty, it’s not always easy to predict. That’s why Chamberlin’s modeling is trying to “better characterize that kind of variability.”

Once researchers have the information, the next step is to share it with farmers who are often coming from different educational backgrounds. 

“Some of the work that we’ve done indicates that farmers respond better to information about the variability of financial returns,” Chamberlain tells Food Tank. And they’ve seen that presenting this clearly can help producers “overcome some of the inertia in the face of all this uncertainty.”

Listen to or watch the full conversation with Jordan Chamberlin on Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg to hear more about how we can better mitigate risks for farmers, what CIMMYT is doing to help producers improve soil health, and the effects of funding shocks and conflict that are rippling through communities. 

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California “has always been this incredible leader in terms of social, economic, and ecological progress,” Kristin Coates, Co-Founder and CEO of Regenerative California, tells Food Tank. “And yet, as the fourth largest economy in the world, it’s still quite extractive.” But she wondered what the future could look like if the state prioritized regenerative systems.

To pilot this vision, Coates and her team looked to Monterey County. “At the time, it was considered California’s most wealthy and also poorest county in the state,” she explains. It’s also home to the Salinas Valley, nicknamed the salad bowl of the world.

The Regenerative California team began by interviewing community members to understand the challenges and opportunities they face in creating a more regenerative economy in the region. From these conversations, Coates says that two main themes emerged: the transition to regenerative organic agriculture and the revitalization of the blue economy.

As their priority issues came into focus, they developed a 70-acre demonstration farm, called Regenerate 68! Farm. “Obviously, 70 acres is not going to change the entire system of agriculture in California,” Coates tells Food Tank, “but we’re really using it as sort of a Petri dish.”

Located just off Highway 68 in Monterey County, the farm is a demonstration site for regenerative organic agriculture training, where they can grow nutrient-rich crops. The land is also part of a much larger ranch to be stewarded by the Big Sur Land Trust. Coates says this is an opportunity to prove that their approach to farming can be integrated into broader conservation efforts.

2026 marks the first year that Regenerative California will begin monitoring the farm’s environmental progress. They’re also considering the social and economic benefits that they can offer to farmers and institutional buyers in the area.

Coates recognizes that what’s successful on one farm may not yield the same results on another, but there are ways to translate the lessons they’re learning to scale impact. “We can create a flywheel,” she says. “And we really, genuinely believe that California can lead that work.”

And Regenerative California is capturing the attention of others interested in this transformation. “A dozen other regions want to join in this movement. They want to be the next area where we apply this process of listening, engaging, creating community momentum,” Coates tells Food Tank. “That really excites us.”

This article was written with the support of Katherine Albertson

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

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The post From Soil Health to Economic Growth: Regenerative California’s Vision for Transformation appeared first on Food Tank.

Investment in Africa’s Agrifood Systems Is Growing—But Not Enough

A new joint report by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa, the World Food Programme, and the African Union Commission finds that since 2018, the African continent has seen a general upward trend in government spending on agriculture, forestry, and fishing. In 2022, public expenditure in these sectors amounted to US$16 billion, up from US$12.6 billion in 2020 and US$14.6 billion in 2021. 

While encouraging, the investment is still not enough to meet targets for ending hunger and transforming food and agriculture systems in a region where hunger has increased for eight consecutive years. 

Private sector funding in the form of bank credit and foreign direct investment is particularly low and far below potential, the authors state. The perceived high risk of investing in food and agriculture markets remains a key barrier to financing solutions that can boost food and nutrition security for communities. 

That’s why the report urgently calls for public-private collaboration that will de-risk investments. Policy reforms that are inclusive of women and youth are needed as well. The report also identifies climate finance—which rose nearly 50 percent in two years—as an untapped opportunity if decisionmakers can align this funding with food systems transformation that builds resilience.

COP31 Presidency, IEA Team Up to Push Clean Energy

The COP31 Presidency recently announced a partnership with the International Energy Agency (IEA) to speed up the transition to clean energy. This comes during what IEA’s Executive Director Fatih Birol calls “the biggest energy crisis in history”

Murat Kurum, Turkey’s Minister of Environment, says that it will take collaboration to “transform the crisis into an opportunity.”

While details of the partnership are still limited, one of the most important pillars of this transition will focus on clean cooking, helping the roughly 2.3 billion people reliant on polluting fuels like charcoal, firewood, and waste switch to cleaner cooking solutions. This move can not only reduce emissions but also lower the associated negative health impacts.

The Environment Minister also shared that the IEA will conduct special research on the impact of recycling, which will inform the COP31 Presidency’s agenda on cutting emissions from waste—a top priority for Turkey. 

New South Wales Prepares for Food Waste Prevention Laws

Beginning July 1, sites in New South Wales that generate 3,960 liters of waste a week will be required to separate food waste from their general waste. This will impact larger operations including hotels, food courts, and other high-volume venues. 

By July 2028, the rules will apply to sites that produce at least 1,980 liters of waste per week. By 2030, it will apply to those generating at least 720 liters. 

Currently, households spend roughly AU$2,000 every year on food that goes uneaten. And by 2030, the government states that the country’s landfills will not be able to accept additional waste. 

The New South Wales Environment Protection Authority is offering programs and grants that will help businesses comply with the new laws. 

While their timelines vary, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, and Queensland are also moving toward circular economy frameworks that will prioritize diverting organic waste from landfills. 

Agricultural Cooperatives Offer Resilience and Hope

A new policy paper from the Co-operative Party finds that agricultural cooperatives could “unleash growth” and boost food security in the United Kingdom. 

At a time when the conflict is driving fuel and fertilizer prices higher, co-ops offer stability. By allowing farmers to pool resources, and share risks, and invest collectively, this model can improve resilience in the face of volatile input markets. 

Paul Gerrard, Director of public affairs at the Co-operative Group, says that a co-op “naturally lends itself to sharing costs and spreading risk” while making “the day-to-day fundamentals of farming more efficient.”

There are around 500 agricultural co-ops in the UK and around half of UK farmers are estimated to be members of a co-op of some kind. But the paper says there is “significant room for expansion.” A new Farming Roadmap for England, which will be published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The report’s authors believe this Roadmap is an opportunity to formalize a commitment to expanding co-ops even further. 

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The post Food Tank’s Weekly News Roundup: Australia Cracks Down on Food Waste, COP31 Pushes Clean Energy, Ag Co-ops Offer Hope appeared first on Food Tank.

Food and agriculture systems generate a variety of environmental, health, social, and economic impacts that are not generally reflected in the prices consumers pay for food, referred to as externalities in economics. True Cost Accounting (TCA) is an evolving, holistic framework for measuring and valuing the positive and negative externalities of the food system.

TCA seeks to make the impacts of food production, processing, distribution, and consumption more visible to support improved decision making by policymakers, farmers, and consumers and reduce the true costs of food. Drawing from the four-capitals framework of the TEEBAgriFood Evaluation Framework, TCA assesses four key capitals: natural, human, social, and produced.

The agrifood system generates myriad positive and negative externalities, says Salman Hussain, Coordinator The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for Agriculture and Food initiative (TEEBAgriFood).

Common examples of positive externalities include a beekeeper incidentally providing a benefit to neighboring farmers when their bees pollinate the farmers’ crops and community cohesion. Examples of negative externalities include emissions from use of fuel in farm machinery, water pollution from fertilizer runoff, and healthcare costs for workers in unsafe conditions.

Though invisible in market prices, the costs of externalities across agrifood systems are nonetheless borne—just rarely by those who create them. Instead, they are passed on to the environment, workers, consumers, and society more broadly.

Environmental costs show up in the 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions that agriculture produces, soil degradation, and biodiversity loss. Workers in food and farming systems face risks like pesticide exposure and heat-related illness and death.

Consumers bear rising rates of diet-related diseases and issues that are linked to modern food environments. 2.5 billion adults suffer diet-related illnesses, 733 million people live in hunger, and 2.8 billion people are unable to afford a healthy diet. And these burdens are often disproportionately carried by vulnerable populations who face higher exposure to environmental risks, poor health outcomes, and economic instability.

The hidden environmental, health, and social costs of global agrifood systems amount to roughly US$12 trillion each year, according to a U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report that Lauren Baker, the Deputy Director of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, calls a “startling call to action.” A Rockefeller Foundation study attributes US$1.1 trillion unaccounted-for costs to human health, US$900 billion to environmental and biodiversity damage, and US$100 billion in unaccounted livelihoods.

TCA evaluates four forms of capital—natural, human, social, and produced—reflecting the environmental, health, social, and economic dimensions of agrifood systems. The eco-agri-food system is like a puzzle, Alexander Müller, Study Leader for TEEBAgriFood, tells Food Tank. One only understands the full picture when all the pieces are considered together unclear.

TEEBAgriFood established the four-capital framework in 2018 with contributions from more than 150 researchers and experts across 30 countries. It now underpins most True Cost Accounting assessments used today.

Natural capital refers to the stock of physical and biological resources and ecosystem functions that sustain life and enable food production. In agriculture, this includes land, water, soil, biodiversity, and atmospheric systems.

Social capital captures the networks, institutions, and shared norms that enable cooperation and collective action within societies. This can include labor conditions, fair wages, worker protections, community well-being, and the broader social impacts of food production, such as rural livelihoods, job creation or loss, and community stability.

Human capital refers to individuals’ knowledge, skills, health, and capabilities. This includes farmers’ expertise, agricultural training and education, food system innovation, and the health outcomes associated with both food production and consumption.

Produced capital includes the manufactured and financial assets that support economic activity. This encompasses physical infrastructure such as buildings, machinery, and irrigation systems, as well as financial and intellectual capital that enable food production, processing, distribution, and retail.

The goal of TCA is not to increase retail prices, according to Adrian de Groot Ruiz, Co-Founder of True Price, a Dutch social enterprise that helps identify and measure products’ social and environmental costs. Rather, TCA seeks to reveal information that can ultimately help improve the way food is made and reduce the true costs of food, De Groot Ruiz tells Food Tank.

When externalities go unmeasured, they remain unaccounted for in policy decisions, private purchases and markets fail to prevent or address them. Failing to put a value or price negative impacts “creates a dishonest pricing scheme and perpetuates farming systems which destroy our planet and cause a catastrophic impact on public health,” says Patrick Holden, Founder and CEO of SFT.

By identifying and valuing externalities, TCA can help governments, businesses, and investors design policies, legislation, incentives, and investments that reduce harmful impacts, reward practices that generate public benefits, and support food systems in which nutritious food is accessible, workers are compensated fairly, and consumers can make informed choices.

As detailed in FAO’s reports, The State of Food and Agriculture 2023 and 2024, identifying and assessing all hidden costs across agrifood systems is resource- and data-intensive, requiring collaboration between political, economic and social actors and prioritization of the most decision-relevant impacts.

To be effective, TCA must be incorporated into national and international policy frameworks, accounting standards, and performance evaluation systems, supported by standardized metrics that allow impacts to be measured consistently across food value chains, according to government bodies and industry experts.

Some organizations and researchers advocate for policies under which governments tax activities that impose environmental or social harm so market prices reflect their full costs, alongside subsidies or incentives for practices that generate positive externalities such as improved soil health or ecosystem protection. Ultimately, according to Nature Food, TCA calls for a fundamental change to the valuation of food.

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Many consumers reasonably assume that regenerative food is grown without toxic pesticides. After all, how can a system claim to regenerate soil, biodiversity, and human health while relying on chemicals designed to kill living organisms? 

Yet Friends of the Earth’s new label guide finds that some regenerative labeling programs still allow the use of synthetic pesticides, including substances linked to cancer, hormone disruption, infertility, and neurological harm.

That disconnect matters. For families trying to reduce pesticide exposure—especially those with young children or who are pregnant—labels are not just values statements. They are health decisions.

It also matters for the land itself. Decades of scientific research make it clear that reducing reliance on fossil-fuel-based pesticides and fertilizers is foundational to any credible regenerative system. These chemicals degrade soil biology, decimate pollinators, contribute significantly to climate emissions, and pollute our air and water. A label that ignores this reality risks reinforcing the very system it claims to transform.

The report finds that certifications using the term regenerative vary dramatically in what they require—not just for harmful inputs but also for soil health practices. It also finds that some of the most rigorous standards meeting regenerative principles don’t use the term at all. 

Overall, the analysis shows that the USDA Organic seal, and labels that build on it—Regenerative Organic Certified and Real Organic Project—lead in prohibiting toxic pesticides and synthetic fertilizers as well as in requiring ecological soil health practices like cover cropping, crop rotations, appropriate tillage, and feeding the soil with biological sources of fertility.

A label is only as strong as the verification system behind it. The report also highlights another source of inconsistency: some labels are backed by rigorous, enforceable criteria while others rely on vague requirements and weak verification systems.

For a labeling program to be credible, it needs to do more than make claims—it needs to define clear standards and verify that farmers meet those standards through independent audits. 

Equally important is traceability—the system a labeling program puts in place to track a product through the supply chain. 

This matters in a very practical way for consumers trying to avoid pesticide residues. With no reliable way to trace a product from the field where it’s grown to the labeled product, it’s impossible to know whether it was mixed with conventional supply at some point along the way.

Again, organic stands out: it requires third-party certification, annual inspections, and binding standards with a full audit trail from farm to shelf. And it’s the only food labeling system in the U.S. backed by federal law.

Studies show that just one week on an organic diet can reduce pesticide levels in people’s bodies up to 95 percent. And decades of data show that organic farming systems result in regenerative outcomes for the land. 

More concerning still is how thoroughly the term regenerative can be co-opted when it’s not attached to any standards at all. Pesticide companies now market themselves as leaders in regenerative agriculture, even as they continue to profit from the very products that decimate soil life, biodiversity, and our health. When a single word can be used to describe both pesticide-free farming and farming systems drenched in toxic chemicals, it ceases to function as a meaningful word. 

This kind of greenwashing doesn’t just create confusion—it diverts public energy and attention away from true solutions. For those seeking a genuinely healthier food system, labels grounded in rigorous standards—like organic—offer a clear path.

Labels matter because public policy is failing. The explosion of regenerative labels points to a deeper issue: the failure of U.S. food and farm policy. Farmers operate within a system that heavily subsidizes chemical-intensive monocultures while making it riskier to adopt ecological practices like crop diversification or cover cropping. 

Meanwhile, regulators in the United States continue to allow over 80 pesticides banned in other countries because science shows they threaten our health or the environment.

Meaningful labels are doing important work to bridge the chasm between what farmers, consumers, and the planet need and the toxic food system our public policies are delivering.

But labels alone cannot fix a broken system. Ultimately, the goal should not be a marketplace crowded with competing labels, each asking consumers to decode its meaning. It should be a food system where the highest standards—healthy soil, clean water, thriving biodiversity, safe food, and fair conditions for farmers and workers—are the baseline, not the exception.

Until then, the clarity, transparency, and integrity of food labels matter. 

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Q2 2025

May 2025

• May 2, 2025: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests and detains 14 farmworkers from a farm in Western New York.
• May 3, 2025: At least 15,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) employees have taken the Trump-Vance Administration’s offers to resign, according to a briefing from the agency.
• May 12, 2025: The USDA rescinds decades-old regulations that required farmers to record their use of pesticides known to pose the highest risk to human health.
• May 14, 2025: The House Agriculture Committee voted 29-25, along party lines, to advance legislation that would cut as much as US$300 billion in food aid spending, shifting costs to the states.
• May 14, 2025: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces plans to rescind several key protections intended to keep perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, out of drinking water, about a year after the Biden-Harris administration finalized the first-ever national standards.
• May 15, 2025: EPA approves the first permit allowing an industrial-scale fish farm to begin operating in federal waters.
• May 19, 2025: Rollins announces the Small Family Farms Policy Agenda, a set of policy proposals she says are aimed at improving the viability and longevity of smaller-scale family farms.
• May 22, 2025: The Trump-Vance Administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission releases a new MAHA report identifying the key contributors to rising rates of chronic disease among American children. According to the report, ultra-processed foods, exposure to environmental chemicals, lack of physical activity, and the overuse of medications and vaccines are among the primary drivers.
• May 27, 2025: U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announces a plan to increase funding for US$14.5 million in reimbursements to states for meat and poultry inspection programs.
• May 28, 2025: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cancels funding for a trial testing the safety and efficacy of a vaccine to protect Americans from bird flu, should the virus begin circulating in humans.
• May 29, 2025: The White House acknowledges errors in the MAHA Assessment report, including citations to studies that do not actually exist.

June 2025

• June 2, 2025: The U.S. Department of the Interior proposes reversing an order issued by President Joe Biden in December that banned oil and gas drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.
• June 9, 2025: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announces that the agency will get rid of all members sitting on a key U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel of vaccine experts and reconstitute the committee.
• June 10, 2025: ICE arrests and detains 70 workers at Glenn Valley Foods, a meat production plant in Omaha, Nebraska.
• June 12, 2025: President Donald Trump acknowledges on social media that his immigration policies are hurting the farming and hotel industries, making a rare concession that his crackdown is having ripple effects on the American workforce. “Changes are coming,” he says.
• June 12, 2025: The Senate Agriculture Committee releases its proposed text for the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” While the House plan proposed cuts of nearly US$300 billion in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) spending, the Senate’s plan would cut US$209 billion from the program. According to the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, a “vote for this bill is not a vote for farmers – it’s a vote to abandon them.” The Food Research and Action Center says the bill marks “a devastating reversal in the fight against hunger in America.”
• June 13, 2025: The Washington Post reports that there will be no policy changes underway to exempt farm, hotel and other leisure workers from Trump’s immigration crackdown.
• June 12, 2025: Trump pulls the U.S. federal government from an agreement brokered by President Joe Biden with Washington, Oregon, and four Native American tribes to recover the salmon population in the Pacific Northwest, calling the plan “radical environmentalism”.
• June 17, 2025: Rollins announces that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will terminate over 145 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion focused awards, totaling US$148.6 million. Programs that will be terminated include: educating and engaging socially disadvantaged farmers on conservation practices, creating a new model for urban forestry to lead to environmental justice through more equitably distributed green spaces, and expanding equitable access to land, capital, and market opportunities for underserved producers.
• June 20, 2025: Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate parliamentarian appointed to oversee the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act as it moves through Congress, rules that Republicans can’t use the budget reconciliation process to impose a state cost-share for SNAP, negating a major source of spending cuts for the legislation. She also says Republicans could not include a provision that would bar immigrants who are not citizens or lawful permanent residents from receiving SNAP benefits.
• June 25, 2025: The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will no longer enforce a 2024 rule that expanded protections for guest workers who come to the U.S. to work on farms through the H-2A program. According to DOL, “The decision provides much-needed clarity for American farmers navigating the H-2A program, while also aligning with President Trump’s ongoing commitment to strictly enforcing U.S. immigration laws.”

Q3 2025

July 2025

• July 1, 2025: Senate passes the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act with SNAP cuts intact. The bill is now headed to the House, where it’s still unclear if Republicans have the votes to pass it.
• July 10, 2025: The USDA will no longer employ the race- and sex-based “socially disadvantaged” designation to provide increased benefits in USDA programs. Rollins says: “We are taking this aggressive, unprecedented action to eliminate discrimination in any form at USDA.”
• July 10, 2025: ICE arrests and detains 361 workers during farm raids in Carpinteria and Camarillo, California.
• July 12, 2025: A Mexican farmworker dies from injuries sustained during a federal immigration raid on July 10.
• July 15, 2025: USDA terminates the Regional Food Business Centers (RFBC) program, which provided funding for organizations to build support for local and regional farm and food businesses.
• July 24, 2025: Rollins announces that the USDA will close the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. The plan could undermine research on pests, blight, and crop genetics crucial to American farms, according to lawmakers, a farm group, and staff of the facility.

August 2025

• August 11, 2025: The U.S. Congressional Budget Office releases a report confirming that reductions to SNAP will significantly shrink access to food assistance, disproportionately harming children, older adults, people with disabilities, and working families. The report projects that millions will see reduced benefits or lose access to SNAP entirely.
• August 12, 2025: The USDA notifies union leaders representing the Food Safety and Inspection Service and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service that the agency plans to end contracts for thousands of employees.
• August 19, 2025: The USDA announces it will no longer fund taxpayer dollars for solar panels on productive farmland or allow solar panels manufactured by foreign adversaries to be used in USDA projects. The announcement describes that prime farmland has been displaced by solar farms and the new investment guardrails are meant to keep farmland affordable, but data from the agency show that a very small amount of rural land is used for solar and wind projects and that most continues in agricultural production even after the projects are installed.
• August 26, 2025: Trump revokes an executive order, issued by President Joe Biden, that tasked the USDA and Federal Trade Commission with curbing consolidation across the food system to improve fairness and competition for farmers and consumers.
• August 28, 2025: Kennedy and Trump fire Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez over disagreements on vaccination policy. Four other officials quit in frustration over vaccine policy and Kennedy’s leadership.
• August 29, 2025: The Trump-Vance Administration suspends an annual charity drive that resulted in federal employees donating about US$70 million a year to nonprofit organizations, including US$5 million to food and agriculture initiatives.

September 2025

• September 2, 2025: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announces that the agency is abandoning a plan to regulate water pollution from the country’s slaughterhouses and meat processing facilities.
• September 4, 2025: In one of the largest workplace raids in New York, ICE arrests and detains 57 people from Nutrition Bar Confectioners, a nutrition bar manufacturer.
• September 9, 2025: The Trump-Vance Administration’s Make America Healthy Again Commission releases 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.
• September 20, 2025: The USDA announces the termination of future Household Food Security Reports, calling the study “redundant, costly, and politicized.”
• September 25, 2025: Rollins announces new efforts to investigate market conditions that have led to high input prices for farmers, shortly after the USDA quietly cancelled partnerships that helped states tackle anticompetitive markets in agriculture.
• September 30, 2025: The Trump-Vance Administration is canceling US$72 million for USAID’s Feed the Future Innovation Labs by using a controversial loophole to cancel federal funding at the end of the fiscal year, which ended on September 30, 2025.

Q4 2025

October 2025

• October 1, 2025: The U.S. federal government shuts down, following a failure by Congress to pass appropriations bills for the new fiscal year. Federal agencies will be governed by their respective Lapse of Funding plans until the government reopens.
  • According to the USDA Lapse of Funding Plan, approximately 42,000 agency employees will be furloughed. 67 percent of employees at the Farm Service Agency will be furloughed. The Farm Service Agency will stop processing farm loans and commodity payments, and it will stop implementing disaster assistance programs. 96 percent of the Natural Resources Conservation Service will be furloughed, effectively freezing conservation programs. The National Organic Program will cease operations, leaving certifiers without oversight or support. The Economic Research Service, National Agricultural Statistics Service, and National Institute for Food and Agriculture are each losing more than 90 percent of their staff and ceasing all program operations. Core operations related to nutrition programs, including SNAP, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and school meals will continue but funding for those programs could start to become an issue depending on how long the shutdown lasts.
  • According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plan, the agency will retain about 86 percent of staff. Routine inspections will be suspended and the agency will instead focus on “for-cause” inspections, or those tied to foodborne illness outbreaks, recalls, or consumer complaints.
  • According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s shutdown plan, the agency will retain about 11 percent of its total workforce. The agency will stop conducting and publishing research “unless necessary for exempted or excepted activities.”
• October 2, 2025: A news release posted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security adjusts the H-2A paperwork process to speed up applications with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
• DHS says the changes are part of a larger collaborative effort with the DOL to streamline the program “in light of an urgent demand for an authorized agricultural labor force and requests from the regulated community and members of Congress to make the H-2A program easier to use and more efficient for U.S. agricultural producers.”
• October 2, 2025: The DOL publishes rules altering the way H-2A wage rates are calculated, effectively lowering wages for labor across the board. United Farm Workers calculated that the change will reduce wages by US$5 to US$7 per hour in some states, leading to US$2.46 billion less paid to H-2A workers annually.
• October 2, 2025: The DOL warns in an obscure document that the Trump-Vance Administration’s immigration crackdown is threatening “the stability of domestic food production and prices for U.S. consumers.”
• October 7, 2025: Civil Eats reports on industry ties within Trump’s food and agricultural leadership. Many of the president’s top officials at the USDA, EPA, HHS, and FDA have connections to chemical, agribusiness, or fossil fuel interests.
• October 10, 2025: According to a letter obtained by Politico, SNAP is running out of funds. Ronald Ward, the USDA’s acting associate administrator for the program, instructed regional and state SNAP directors to delay sending next month’s funds to electronic benefit transfer vendors responsible for delivering benefits to participants: “We understand that several States would normally begin sending November benefit issuance files to their electronic benefit transfer (EBT) vendors soon,” Ward writes. “Considering the operational issues and constraints that exist in automated systems, and in the interest of preserving maximum flexibility, we are forced to direct States to hold their November issuance files and delay transmission to State EBT vendors until further notice.”
• October 16, 2025: NPR reports that at least 27 states have turned over data (including their names, dates of birth, home addresses, Social Security numbers, and benefits amounts) about millions of food stamp recipients to the USDA, which framed the data demand as necessary to accomplish the Trump-Vance Administration’s goal of identifying and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse.
• October 16, 2025: Rollins says SNAP will run out of funds in two weeks because of the partial government shutdown, potentially leaving nearly 42 million people without monthly benefits.
• October 20, 2025: Politico reports on six food and agriculture programs experiencing delays or funding concerns as a result of the shutdown: SNAP, school meals, WIC, H-2A processing, farm aid, and Farm Service Agency offices.
• October 22, 2025: Trump announces plans to increase the volume of beef imports from Argentina, raising concerns among American cattle-producing farmers and ranchers.
• October 31, 2025: Two federal judges order the Trump-Vance Administration to use emergency funds to keep SNAP running.

November 2025

• November 1, 2025: Nearly 42 million Americans lose their food stamp benefits as Congress fails to reopen the government. Politico reports that the Trump-Vance Administration says they don’t have the authority to use emergency money for SNAP or have enough funds to support the estimated US$9 billion for November benefits. Even if they comply with the court order to fund benefits, it could still take days or weeks to disburse partial funds.
• November 3, 2025: NPR reports that the Trump-Vance Administration will restart SNAP benefits, but only at 50 percent of normal payments and the payments will be delayed. The Trump-Vance Administration says it will use money from a US$5 billion Agriculture Department contingency fund. Officials say that depleting the fund means “no funds will remain for new SNAP applicants certified in November, disaster assistance, or as a cushion against the potential catastrophic consequences of shutting down SNAP entirely.”
• November 8, 2025: The USDA directs states to “immediately undo” any steps that have been taken to send out full food aid benefits to low-income Americans, following a U.S. Supreme Court order temporarily halting a lower court order requiring those payments.
• November 10, 2025: Retrieved from the USDA website on Nov. 10: “Senate Democrats have voted 14 times against reopening the government. This compromises not only SNAP, but farm programs, food inspection, animal and plant disease protection, rural development, and protecting federal lands. Senate Democrats are withholding services to the American people in exchange for healthcare for illegals, gender mutilation, and other unknown “leverage” points.”
• November 12, 2025: The U.S. federal government shutdown ends after Congress signs a funding package for 2026. Lasting 43 days, the shutdown was the longest in U.S. history. Roughly 670,000 federal employees were furloughed, and 730,000 worked without pay.
• November 13, 2025: The U.S. Department of the Interior reverses an order issued by President Joe Biden in December 2024 that banned oil and gas drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.
• November 14, 2025: Trump rolls back tariffs on more than 200 food products, including such staples as coffee, beef, bananas and orange juice, in the face of growing angst among American consumers about the high cost of groceries.
• November 21, 2025: According to an annual FDA report, sales of antibiotics for farm animals climbed 16 percent in 2024, the “biggest increase we’ve ever seen,” according to Steve Roach, director of the Safe and Healthy Food Program at Food Animal Concerns Trust.

December 2025

• December 1, 2025: The FDA announces “the deployment of agentic AI capabilities for all agency employees” for tasks including meeting management, pre-market reviews, review validation, post-market surveillance, inspections, and compliance and administrative functions.
• December 6, 2025: Trump issues an executive order directing the U.S. Attorney General and Federal Trade Commission to investigate food-related industries and determine whether anti-competitive behavior exists in food supply chains.
• December 10, 2025: The USDA announces a US$700 million Regenerative Pilot Program.
• December 10, 2025: Rollins approves SNAP Food Restriction Waivers in six states, Missouri, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Hawai’i.
• December 17, 2025: The USDA’s Office of the Inspector General releases a report finding that the agency lost nearly one-fifth of its workforce in the first half of 2025: more than 20,000 employees left the agency out of more than 110,000, including 15,114 who accepted a voluntary resignation program.

Q1 2026

January 2026

• January 1, 2026: SNAP waivers go into effect in Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah, and West Virginia, bringing the total number of states with approved waivers to 18.
• January 7, 2026: The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services release the Dietary Guidelines for 2025 to 2030, recommending a reduction in highly processed foods with added sugar and excess sodium and endorsing whole, nutrient-dense foods and products like whole milk, butter, and red meat.
• January 14, 2026: The American Federation of Government Employees announces that the Department of Health and Human Services is reinstating National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) employees laid off in 2025, but does not specify how many will return to their jobs. Almost 900 of NIOSH’s 1,000 employees were laid off last year.
• January 14, 2026: Trump signs the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act into law. The legislation modifies current regulations, which require milk to be fat-free or low-fat, to permit schools to offer students whole, reduced-fat, low-fat, and fat-free organic or nonorganic milk.
• January 15, 2026: Rollins publishes an op-ed in The Hill promoting the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans. She writes, “Eating healthy can cost as little as $3.00 per meal.”
• January 19, 2026: The USDA launches Lender Lens on the Rural Data Gateway, making Rural Development’s entire commercial guaranteed loan portfolio available to the public, guaranteed borrowers, and commercial lending stakeholders.
• January 22, 2026: The USDA launches an online portal for reporting foreign-owned agricultural land transactions. They say the portal is part of a broader effort to “strengthen enforcement and protect American farmland” as the agency continues its implementation of the National Farm Security Action Plan.
• January 30, 2026: Rollins shares that around 1.75 million fewer people are participating in SNAP since the start of the Trump-Vance Administration.

February 2026

• February 2, 2026: Trump announces plans to lower tariffs on goods from India from 25 percent to 18 percent after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to stop buying oil from Russia.
• February 4, 2026: The USDA announces that it is assuming operation of the foreign food aid program Food for Peace, formerly operated by USAID. Humanitarian aid experts say the program has been used flexibly to respond to different emergency settings, but it may become a way to offload surplus U.S.-grown food commodities.
• February 6, 2026: The FDA publishes a letter to the food industry announcing that the agency will scale back artificial food dye labeling enforcement.
• February 6, 2026: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reapproves dicamba, a pesticide that has raised concern over its tendency to drift and destroy nearby crops, for use on genetically modified soybeans and cotton.
• February 6, 2026: Trump issues a proclamation opening a marine protected area off the northeastern U.S. to commercial fishing. The 4,913-square-mile area was the only U.S. marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean.
• February 6, 2026: Trump releases an Executive Order, calling for higher volumes of imported beef from Argentina to lower prices for eaters.
• February 11, 2026: The USDA announces the Farmer and Rancher Freedom Framework, a plan to protect, preserve, and partner with American agriculture, while “ending onerous regulations and the weaponization of government against American farmers and ranchers. It formalizes USDA’s ongoing efforts to eliminate systemic agricultural lawfare,” according to the agency.
• February 12, 2026: The FDA publishes final guidance which advises, but does not require, drug companies to set “duration limits” for livestock antibiotics in animal feed.
• February 13, 2026: The USDA issues final Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP) payments totaling more than US$1.89 billion. Eligible applicants who applied for ELRP 2023 and 2024 Flood and Wildfire assistance will receive 100 percent of their eligible payment in a single lump sum.
• February 13, 2026: The USDA announces US$1 billion in assistance for farmers of specialty crops and sugar, commodities not covered through the previously announced Farmer Bridge Assistance program.
• February 13, 2026: Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee release a draft farm bill package. The draft is scheduled to be reviewed and revised the week of February 23, 2026.
• February 13, 2026: USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden announces on social media that the Department of Justice will stop defending farm programs that benefit socially disadvantaged producers.
• February 17, 2026: The USDA announces proposed updated regulations that would speed up line speeds at poultry and pork production facilities.
• February 18, 2026: Trump issues an Executive Order directing the Secretary of Agriculture to ensure “a continued and adequate supply of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides.”
• February 20, 2026: Trump announces new tariffs under the Trade Act of 1974, and increases the tariff rate to 15 percent.
• February 20, 2026: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency repeals a 2024 rule that imposed limits on mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, the primary source of the mercury that accumulates in fish.

March 2026

• March 3, 2026: Trump-Vance Administration lawyers submit an amicus brief in favor of Monsanto to the U.S. Supreme Court, stating that the Court should rule in favor of Bayer in a case that could prevent individuals from suing pesticide companies over claims their products cause cancer and other illnesses.
• March 4, 2026: The USDA approves SNAP waivers in four states: Kansas, Nevada, Ohio, and Wyoming.
• March 4, 2026: The U.S. House Agriculture Committee votes to advance a 2026 Farm Bill. To be adopted, the legislation must still pass a vote in the full House of Representatives before going to the Senate.
• March 6, 2026: U.S. officials release a video of an explosion on social media, capturing the destruction of what they said was a drug trafficker’s training camp in rural Ecuador. A subsequent New York Times investigation indicates that the military strike appears to have destroyed a cattle and dairy farm, not a drug trafficking compound.
• March 10, 2026: During a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing, lawmakers and witnesses including American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall, multiple senators from both parties, and farm advocacy group Farm Action warn of how the war in Iran, and its impact on fertilizer markets, could affect farmers.
• March 18, 2026: Rollins and Kennedy publish the joint opinion piece, “We’re bringing families more healthy foods in a SNAP.”
• March 23, 2026: USDA issues termination notices for 49 of the 50 projects under the Increasing Land, Capital, And Market Access (ILCMA) Program.
• March 27, 2026: Speaking at a White House event celebrating farmers, Trump promises to bolster small-business loan guarantees for farmers, who have been hit hard by his tariffs and rising prices from the war in Iran, and announces a final EPA rule raising the minimum amount of renewable fuels that must be blended into the U.S. fuel supply. Biofuels like ethanol, biodiesel, and renewable diesel are largely made with corn and soybean oil, meaning this rule could boost demand for those crops.
• March 30, 2026: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sends a memo to hospitals requesting they align meals with the updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans by phasing out ultra-processed food and high-sugar foods in favor of fruits, vegetables, and minimally processed proteins.
• March 31, 2026: The USDA suspends all grants under the Rural Energy for America Program to comply with an Executive Order issued in July 2025.

Q2 2026

April 2026

• April 1, 2026: The FDA approves Foundayo, a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist in tablet form. The approval was issued 50 days after filing, marking the fastest new molecular entity approval since 2002.
• April 3, 2026: The Trump-Vance Administration releases its proposed budget for fiscal year 2027, which begins on October 1, 2026. The proposal includes a 19 percent cut in the USDA budget.
• April 7, 2026: The USDA finalizes regulations that overhaul how the National Environmental Policy Act is implemented, including by reducing and removing procedural requirements, removing climate change and environmental justice considerations, and eliminating opportunities for public comment.
• April 8, 2026: The Trump-Vance Administration nominates Luke Lindberg, Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at the USDA, for Executive Director of the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP). United Nations officials subsequently announce that Secretary-General António Guterres will not appoint a new Executive Director to WFP before he steps down.
• April 10, 2026: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration removes workplace inspection goals related to heat-related hazards, both indoors and outdoors, that may lead to serious illnesses, injuries, or death.
• April 15, 2026: Rollins announces the creation of the new USDA Office of Seafood.
• April 22, 2026: The U.S. House Appropriations Committee releases the Fiscal Year 2027 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Bill. It cuts the overall funding level by US$1.1 billion compared to 2026.
• April 23, 2026: The USDA announces reorganizations of the Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Research, Education, and Economics Mission Area, aiming to streamline functions and improve operational efficiency. As part of the reorganizations, a substantial portion of the agencies’ workforces will be relocated and the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center will be decommissioned.
• April 30, 2026: The House of Representatives votes to pass the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026. The Farm Bill now advances to the Senate.

Is there an update you want to see included that isn’t on the list? Email Danielle at danielle@foodtank.com.

The post One Year On: How Trump and Vance Have Changed Food, Agriculture, Health, and Climate appeared first on Food Tank.

Barfield returns to her central philosophy often: “Agriculture is the culture.” This means that farming is not separate from daily life. From food to clothing to building materials, agriculture underpins the systems people rely on, even if they rarely see it, she says: “Everything you touch on a daily basis…that is thanks to a farmer somewhere sometime.”

Barfield did not set out to become a farmer. But after spending her early career in a high-volume medical office in Philadelphia, she took a trip to the island of Martinique. There, she encountered a community-based model of food production, where people sourced food directly and regularly from those growing it. The experience shifted her perspective on what food systems could look like.

Barfield describes drinking tea picked fresh from her hosts’ backyard garden and joining community members distributing boxes of fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs for their neighbors. These were direct, human-to-human transactions paid in cash—something she rarely saw at home.

“The real magic of that moment was that I then was able to see these multicultural people walking in, and they were coming in and taking these boxes,” says Barfield. She remembers thinking, “What is this that I’m seeing?”

She was hooked, deciding shortly after that she would become a farmer. “I was going to start a tea company, and I was going to start a farm,” Barfield says. “And that’s exactly what we did.”

But bringing FarmerJawn to life required a period of intense work and instability. Barfield says she would drive for ride-share companies from 5 to 9 a.m., manage her business all day, then make grocery deliveries from 5 to 9 p.m. to make ends meet. She experienced housing insecurity for years.

“I built it brick by brick,” says Barfield.

Now FarmerJawn is expanding its impact, with the farm now eligible for regenerative organic certification. Barfield is prioritizing stable, well-paying jobs—an approach she sees as essential to building a more just food system.

“The only way that businesses can actually grow the right way is if you’re paying and taking care of your team,” says Barfield.

Her work has earned national recognition, including a James Beard Award in 2024 and a role in state-level agricultural leadership. But Barfield says visibility does not shield her from the challenges facing Black farmers: “Just a few months after winning that James Beard award, there was an eight-foot swastika painted on my barn. It reminded me and my team that our safety was in question.”

For Barfield, these experiences reinforce the urgency of her work. She sees agriculture as a critical front line in addressing interconnected crises, from climate change to public health.

“What I’m getting to do is really just be used as a tool to tell the story that the Earth can’t,” she says. “That it’s literally dying right before our eyes.”

Barfield believes, however,  that agricultural systems can reconnect people to land, food, and each other. She believes that transforming agriculture can help transform broader systems of health and equity.

“When I think about, is it worth it?” Barfield says. “Honestly, the only answer, it is.”

Watch Barfield’s story below and find others from our farmer storytelling events on Food Tank’s YouTube channel.

This article is part of Food Tank’s ongoing Farmer Friday series, produced in partnership with Niman Ranch, a champion for independent U.S. family farmers. The series highlights the stories of farmers working toward a more sustainable, equitable food system. Niman Ranch partners with over 500 small-scale U.S. family farmers and is committed to preserving rural agricultural communities and their way of life. 

Photo courtesy of FarmerJawn

The post ‘Agriculture Is the Culture’ at Pennsylvania’s Largest Black-Owned Farm appeared first on Food Tank.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump announced that John Deere will open two new U.S. facilities—a distribution center near Hebron, Indiana, and a manufacturing site in Kernersville, North Carolina.

According to a press release from Indiana Governor Mike Braun, the company plans to invest US$125 million to construct and equip a 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse and distribution center on 234 acres near Hebron. In North Carolina, Deere is putting US$70 million toward expanding its Kernersville plant, which will take over excavator production previously based in Japan.

John Deere estimates that each site will generate about 150 jobs, underscoring the company’s intent to continue driving U.S. innovation and jobs, says John May, Chairman and CEO of John Deere.

Deere has also pledged to invest US$20 billion in U.S. manufacturing and is reinstating some previously laid-off employees including 146 employees in Waterloo, 24 in Dubuque, and 75 in Davenport.

But the new facilities and limited callbacks make only a modest dent in the significant losses across Deere’s U.S. operations in recent years. John Deere, an American company with deep midwestern roots, began making substantial lay-offs in October 2023, when the company fired 225 production employees from a plant in East Moline, Illinois.

In 2024, Deere cut 2,167 jobs across key facilities, including nearly 1,000 in Waterloo and hundreds more in Davenport, Dubuque, Ankeny, Ottumwa, Moline, and East Moline. Layoffs continued into 2025, with over 500 workers let go in Iowa alone.

Deere says that about 80 percent of the equipment it sells in the U.S. is manufactured domestically. Nevertheless, its international operations remain integral to its business model and supply chain.

International markets are a major driver of Deere’s revenue, providing nearly half of its consolidated net sales and revenues. The company employs 75,000 people worldwide, but more than half are abroad: only 30,000 employees are located in the U.S.

The company manufactures equipment and components throughout a global network, producing backhoes and planting equipment in Brazil, tractor engines and combines in Argentina, crushers and sprayers in Germany, feederhouses in France, cotton harvesters in China, and tractor screens in India.

And Deere continues to expand internationally, prompting scrutiny over how the company balances U.S. manufacturing with global production. The company recently announced that they’re moving their skid steer and track loader manufacturing from Dubuque, Iowa, to a new facility in Ramos, Mexico, and confirmed plans to build a US$55 million plant in Nuevo León to manufacture mini track loaders and mini wheel loaders.

Trump has said Deere’s new facilities as a win for U.S. manufacturing, announcing the projects at a January rally and on social media. The White House also highlighted Deere’s U.S. projects as part of a list of new investments during Trump’s second term as evidence of the President’s “unwavering commitment to revitalizing American industry.”

However, the groundwork for both projects had been laid in 2024 under the Biden-Harris administration. Deere’s planned expansion in Kernersville was first announced in 2024, according to Reuters.

Plans for the Indiana site trace back to a land acquisition that same year, which details the purchase of a 234-acre undeveloped parcel in northwest Indiana that “will be the future site of a 1.2-million-square-foot John Deere warehouse/distribution.” When asked about the timing, the company noted that some of these plans had been disclosed earlier.

Deere has indicated that its long-term strategy will continue “regardless” of political developments in the U.S.. But policy changes under the Trump-Vance administration are proving expensive. According to The Wall Street Journal, Deere incurred roughly US$600 million in tariff-related costs in its 2025 fiscal year and expects that figure to climb to about US$1.2 billion this year.

The broader equipment manufacturing sector is also facing headwinds: output and employment have declined from 2022 levels, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, prompting concerns about the long-term trajectory of U.S. production. “The path that we are on is leading us to less manufacturing in the United States,” says Kip Eideberg, the Association’s Senior Vice President of Government and Industry Relations.

The workers being called back represent a small but significant reprieve for communities hit hard by recent layoffs. “When those layoffs are announced, it doesn’t just throw the family—it throws an entire town into confusion and chaos and worry,” explains Charlie Wishman, President of the Iowa AFL-CIO.

But for many others, the damage remains: Deere’s sweeping changes to its U.S. workforce have sparked both uncertainty and outrage, leaving hundreds of families questioning how they will pay rent, put food on the table, and find new sources of income.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Chris Robert, Unsplash

The post Can New Deere Jobs and Facilities Offset Years of Layoffs? appeared first on Food Tank.

Food sovereignty is the right of peoples, communities, and countries to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through socially just, ecologically sound, and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own policies, strategies, and systems for food production, distribution, and consumption.

While food security names the destination, food sovereignty defines a democratic path to reach it. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), food security is a condition in which everyone has reliable access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food.

Food sovereignty accepts that objective but shifts the focus to power and governance, arguing that achieving lasting food security requires placing decision-making in the hands of the people who produce, distribute, and consume food, rather than markets or dominant governments.

Food sovereignty emerged in the 1980s and 1990s as a response and challenge to the social, economic, and environmental consequences of globalization and industrialized agriculture. 44 percent of the world’s population was living in extreme poverty in 1981, and the number of hungry people grew by 15 million between 1970 and 1980, even as surplus food flooded global markets.

Mechanization of agricultural tasks like sowing seeds, harvesting crops, milking cows greatly reduced and sometimes eliminated the need for human and animal labor, leaving many without jobs. The share of the U.S. workforce employed in agriculture fell from 41 percent in 1900 to 2 percent by 2000, and between 1950 and 1997 the average farm more than doubled in size while nearly half of farms disappeared.

The 1980s marked a sharp increase in global temperatures and, in 1988, NASA scientist James Hansen told Congress he was “99 percent sure” that global warming was upon us. Indigenous, rural, peasant, and small-scale farming communities were left facing overlapping crises of poverty, environmental degradation, and hunger.

Recognizing urgent necessity for an organized, collective, and internationalist response, La Via Campesina coined the term food sovereignty at the 1996 World Food Summit. A decade later, 700 delegates from five continents gathered at the 2007 International Forum for Food Sovereignty in Nyéléni, Mali to further deepen collective understanding on the topic, developing the six pillars of food sovereignty.

The framework centers food as a human need rather than a commodity, supports sustainable livelihoods for food providers, and localizes food systems and shortens the distance between producers and consumers. It places decision-making power in the hands of local communities, builds on traditional knowledge strengthened by research, and works with nature instead of industrial, energy-intensive models.

During Canada’s subsequent People’s Food Policy process, members of the Indigenous Circle added a seventh pillar, which states that “food is sacred,” asserting that food is a gift of life and must not be reduced to a commodity.

Nearly three decades after La Via Campesina introduced food sovereignty, the hunger, poverty, ecological degradation, and concentrated market power it sought to confront persist. Today’s industrial food system generates record levels of calories, yet nearly one-third of the global population remains food insecure. Food systems contribute up to one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, and agriculture threatens more than 80 percent of species at risk of extinction.

Corporate consolidation has deepened across the food system, with four firms controlling nearly 70 percent of the global pesticide and seed market. And small-scale and family farmers comprise over 98 percent of farms, but control just 53 percent of agricultural land.

Beyond codifying the right to food and control over food systems, and recognizing the contribution of indigenous peoples, pastoralists, forest dwellers, workers and fishers to the food system, food sovereignty offers a framework to address the harms of industrial agriculture.

By localizing production and prioritizing agroecological methods, food sovereignty can shorten supply chains and reduce emissions while restoring soil health and biodiversity. Research also finds that food sovereignty–based approaches, such as strengthening school food systems, improving soil fertility, advancing gender equity, and confronting structural racism, can support long-term health equity.

Scaling food sovereignty requires structural reforms that confront concentrated power and expand equitable access to land. IPES emphasizes the need to democratize governance and counter corporate control of the food system through stronger conflict-of-interest safeguards, revitalized antitrust enforcement to reduce market concentration, and stricter transparency and lobbying rules.

Others like the National Young Farmers Coalition call for eliminating inequities in land ownership, protecting farmland, securing affordable land tenure, and supporting farm viability and transition.

“If people don’t control the food, they don’t control the power,” Morgan Ody, General Coordinator for La Via Campesina, tells Food Tank.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Evan Rally, Unsplash

The post Food Tank Explains: Food Sovereignty appeared first on Food Tank.

Earth Day is this week, on Wednesday, April 22. From my vantage point, two of the most impactful forces shaping the health of our planet are converging—the climate crisis and urbanization—and it’s up to us whether it’ll be a cataclysmic collision or a chance to collaborate on change.

We’ve just lived through the three hottest years ever on record: 2023, ‘24, and ‘25. Ocean temps were higher than ever last year. And the global population is not only growing but getting more dense: According to United Nations data, close to 70 percent of the world’s population will live in cities by 2030.

What does this mean? In my view, this cements the power—and the responsibility!—of local food and ag systems to lead the charge toward more sustainability and climate resilience on a global scale.

“With bold investments and good planning and design, cities offer immense opportunities to slash greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to the effects of climate change, and sustainably support urban populations,” says António Guterres, Secretary-General of the U.N.

Through efforts like the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP)—signed by more than 330 cities worldwide—local leaders can share knowledge and experiences in strengthening equitable food systems. Earlier this year, I had the honor of emceeing a MUFPP Regional Forum, and the collective food system power we have in each of our communities is electric and unbelievably inspiring.

Already, so many municipalities and local governments and advocates are stepping up to the plate, which is amazing to see and learn from. This Earth Day, I want to highlight some success stories that are turning cities into sites of big-picture transformation:

On the subject of procurement: Last year, Seoul, South Korea launched a new Climate-Friendly Meal Service initiative to expand nutrition education for students and improve the sustainability of food grown for the country’s universal school meals.

“Because school meals are universal and publicly funded, they embody social equity, while simultaneously shaping demand for eco-friendly and local agricultural products,” says Seulgi Son, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Yonsei University.

New York City is prioritizing plant-based meals in public institutions such as schools, where students participate in Meatless Mondays and have “plant-powered” options, and hospitals, where vegetarian options are default. In just the first year of this transition, the city reported a 36 percent reduction in carbon emissions!

When it comes to fighting food waste: Milan, Italy, has launched an award-winning food waste hub model to help the country halve food waste by 2030 by facilitating food recovery and distribution, and each of five hubs within the model have recovered the equivalent of over 260,000 meals per year.

Or, take Baltimore, where the Baltimore Zero Waste Coalition is dedicated to promoting waste diversion practices that minimize landfill or incineration use and maximize recovery work through education, collaboration, and advocacy. Meanwhile, the city is also focusing on better managing the waste that does occur. The city’s Department of Public Works adopted a 10-Year Solid Waste Management Plan in 2024, aimed at increasing organics recycling and promoting backyard and community composting.

And cities can also vitally support farmers and food production: In Brazil, São Paulo’s Connect the Dots program brings together urban buyers for organic produce, helps train the family farms growing those crops in more sustainable practices, and safeguards farms and forests from urban development.

In Xochimilco, in Mexico City, researchers, farmers, and government entities have partnered to create a sustainable certification program that has helped to restore 40+ floating farms, protect endangered axolotls, and connect producers to premium markets while improving local livelihoods.

And across the world in Kenya, we’re seeing action on the county level, too. Several Kenyan counties have adopted policies to expand agroecological production and help farmers access markets.

As U.N. Habitat analysts write, “While the overlapping challenges of environmental stress and rapid urbanization are uniquely daunting, it is precisely this intersection that makes urban climate action so opportune.”

If cities or other local governments where you live are taking bold action on food systems and climate, share their stories. And if your city is not doing its part, then it’s time for us as citizen eaters to use Earth Day as an opportunity to push for change! Reach out to your local elected officials and community advocates this week to share these success stories from other cities. And do reach out to me via email too, to let me know how Food Tank can use our resources to help.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The post Earth Day Is Global—But We Know Food and Climate Solutions Start Locally appeared first on Food Tank.

Development Aid Plummeted in 2025

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), preliminary data show that last year, ODA from member countries and associates of the Development Assistance Committee fell by nearly a quarter compared to 2024.

This is the largest decline in foreign aid in history and it marks the second consecutive year that ODA has fallen. According to the OECD, this means that development assistance is back to where it was when the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was first released.

The United States alone drove the majority of the decline, where ODA fell by nearly 60 percent compared to 2024. Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, and France are also responsible. Together with the U.S. these countries accounted for more than 95 percent of the total decline in ODA. Bilateral aid—financial assistance given from one government to another—and U.N. funding have been hit the hardest.

Carsten Staur, DAC Chair at the OECD says that the world is seeing the exact opposite of what it needs, stating, “We are in a time of increasing humanitarian needs; strong pressures on the poorest and most fragile countries; and facing growing global uncertainties and massive insecurity. In this situation, the world needs more ODA, not less.”

Low Staffing at USDA Slows Progress on Regenerative Agriculture

Politico reports that staffing cuts in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) have left farmers with little to no support as they try to transition to more regenerative practices.

The NRCS has lost more than 2,500 workers—over a fifth of its staff across the country. That’s the second-highest number of any branch at the USDA, which has suffered more than many government agencies. According to an analysis from Inside Climate News, the entire federal government saw a 12 percent reduction in its workforce since President Trump took office, but the USDA lost 21 percent of its staff.

The shortage at NRCS means fewer program applicants, fewer approvals, and more payment delays for conservation work. Gabe Averson, a beef and grain producer in Minnesota, described his local NRCS office as “a ghost town.” And when talking about an employee in his region’s NRCS office, he said they are “spread so thin that they can’t even think straight.”

Other farmers say that they have had to wait weeks to receive basic information on farming practices and grant programs, which has impeded their ability to move forward with conservation projects on their land.

At the end of last year, the USDA announced a US$700 million pilot program to scale regenerative agriculture. At the time, advocates such as Sarah Starman of Friends of the Earth expressed concern that the program can only be effective if the USDA reverses their cuts to conservation staff.

Now producers like Averson, who is a member of the pilot, see why. He says that he has been waiting three or four months “just to get the basic information” about it.

Rwanda’s Capital Takes Steps to Protect Farmland, Scale Urban Agriculture

The city of Kigali is taking steps to protect farmland from development, the Associated Press reports.

Land data from the mayor’s office reveal that the city plans to dedicate 22 percent of land to agriculture. In September, the government began mapping agricultural land and they soon plan to deploy drones for real-time monitoring as they track any developments encroaching on farmland and forests.

Authorities say that they understand that housing construction is attractive, but projects show “farming will be even more productive,” especially at a time when demand for food is rising and the country’s population is growing.

To encourage local production, city developers are also requiring that developers seeking building permits, include green spaces and gardens in their designs.

Richard Bucyana, an agronomist, says that he wants to see African governments “start thinking how they can be self-sustainable.” He and other young agronomists are training farmers to embrace technologies like hydroponics to get around limited land access and maximize productivity.

Bangladesh Launches New Scheme to Boost Agricultural Productivity for Small Farmers 

This week, the Banladeshi government launched a “Farmers’ Card” scheme, which is designed to support the country’s farmers and help modernize the agricultural sector. The initiative is focused on small farmers, including sharecroppers who often lack access to banks or other forms of institutional support.

During the official launch event Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said, “If farmers of this country are well-off, if the ​farmers of this country survive, then the whole of Bangladesh will do ​well and the people of entire Bangladesh will live well.”

Developed with guidance from the Ministry of Agriculture and in collaboration with Sonali Bank PLC, the card integrates identification with digital payment capabilities, helping farmers access government services and benefits more efficiently, according to a press release.

Those registered in the program will receive access to subsidized fertilizers and seeds, agricultural machinery, low-interest loans, crop insurance, and advisory services.

Shawkat Ali Khan, Managing Director and CEO of Sonali Bank PLC says that the initiative is “strengthening how financial support is delivered to farmers across Bangladesh.”

The scheme is beginning with a pilot project that includes more than 22,000 farmers. It will then be rolled out in phases over the next five years. By the end, the government hopes to reach all 27.5 million farmers in the country.

U.S. Makes Progress on Food Waste

ReFED’s 2026 U.S. Food Waste Report reveals that in 2024, total surplus food decreased to 70 million tons, representing a 2.2 percent reduction from 2023 levels. That’s equal to a 3.7 percent decrease per capita.

ReFED finds that households are helping to drive this progress. Residential food waste fell by nearly 950,000 tons. This is the first year-to-year reduction in food waste since there was a dip during the COVID-19 pandemic, which the organization calls “a significant milestone in the movement to reduce food waste.”

At a time when eaters are looking for ways to stretch their dollars, Dana Gunders, President of ReFED says, “this is an opportune moment to focus on wasting less food…The wind is at our backs, and it’s time to step on the gas.”

ReFED’s report also digs into the food waste solutions that are working — like centralized composting and smaller portion sizes — and why they’re so impactful. It also outlines opportunities such as legislation and AI that can be unlocked to drive progress even further.

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In 2023, the USDA selected grantee projects across 40 states and territories to expand land ownership opportunities for marginalized farmers under the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access (ILCMA) Program. Many of these efforts also offered agricultural training, promoted sustainable production practices, and helped farmers connect to markets.

In late March, the agency issued termination letters to 49 of the 50 projects. Farm Service Agency Associate Administrator Steven Peterson called the grants “discriminatory.” And the USDA claimed “most of the awards did little to improve land access” and that there was “excessive spending on outreach and technical assistance.” 

But the projects were hardly allowed to move forward, says Amanda Koehler, Manager of the Land, Capital, and Market Access Network, an independent group that brings together awardees and sub-awardees of the grant program.

“They froze the funding for four months. They cut off communication with awardees,” Koehler tells Food Tank. She says that program officers were trying to purchase land or create mini-grants for producers, but the required pre-approvals from officials never came. “The USDA really undermined this program and made it really challenging for these projects to do what they were designed to do.”

The kind of support that the ILCMA Program offered, however, is crucial to sustaining the agriculture sector, according to the National Young Farmers Coalition. USDA data show that the average age of farmers in the U.S. is on the rise and nearing 60.

The issue isn’t that young people don’t want to farm, Koehler says. It’s that the infrastructure doesn’t exist as they try to enter the sector. “We have a very fragile farm and food system right now, one that young people do want to be a part of, but we have so many barriers against us.”

Land access is the biggest challenges, but consolidation in the agriculture sector, student loan debt, and the rising cost of healthcare and housing are also holding back young and young and beginning farmers. The burden of these obstacles is particularly felt by Black farmers, who make up less than 2 percent of producers today.

But farmers are increasingly speaking out and sharing their stories, helping policmakers see the realities that they face. And Koehler is made optimistic by the solidarity she sees in her own community. The urgency is great, she says, and time is running out, but change is possible.

“Even if we don’t make progress in the next year or two, we will make progress on this in the long run,” Koehler tells Food Tank. “I am hopeful that we can right the ship.”

Listen to or watch the full conversation with Amanda Koehler on “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg” to hear more about the challenges stacked against new and beginning farmers, the land transition that’s needed to support them, and hopes for the next Farm Bill and future agriculture policies.

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I’m in Nairobi right now conducting ground-truthing research alongside farmers, plant biologists, beekeepers, and local food system leaders in cooperation with our partners at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe).

In fact, we just announced an event with Enviu and The Rockefeller Foundation, “Celebrating our Farmers and Spotlighting Food System Visionaries.” Please share with colleagues on the ground or join us in person on Saturday April 11 if you’re local in Kenya. Tickets are free and available HERE!

One of the things I appreciate about icipe’s work is how deeply rooted it is within what they call the One Health paradigm: integrating plant, human, animal, and environmental health.

And insects sit at the intersection of these spheres, making them a vital player in solutions to climate risks, biodiversity loss, poverty, hunger, and other global challenges. Sometimes, we lump all insects together into negative categories—bugs, pests—which I think shows how tragically misunderstood some of these creatures can be!

“Food is produced in the field. You have a diversity of living beings, including insects, that are part of that production landscape,” Abdou Tenkouano, Director General of icipe, tells Food Tank.

One example: in just the commercial poultry sector, replacing half of conventional protein and energy feed sources (fishmeal, soymeal, maize) with insect-based feed could free up fish and maize as food for 4.8 million people per year; create employment opportunities for 33,000 people per year; and lift 740,000 people out of poverty in Kenya alone.

As I’m seeing first-hand here in Kenya this week, this is just one potential success story of many. Insects can be used “to recycle organic waste [into fertilizer], mitigate environmental pollution, and produce rich biomass,” among other benefits, says Chrysantus Tonga, Senior Scientist and Head of icipe’s Insects for Food, Feed, and Other Uses Program.

Today, I’m opening up my notebook to you and introducing eight of the many beneficial insects that can help shape a healthier food system.

Black Soldier Flies: icipe researchers consider the black soldier fly to be one of the most versatile insects. Larvae can become high-protein feed for livestock and aquaculture. Mature flies can be used to manage organic waste. Then, an organic mixture called frass fertilizer (made of uneaten substrate, feces, and exoskeletons) can also help boost agricultural productivity.

Crickets: When it comes to insects and food systems, crickets have earned their high profile: A study of 60 edible species shows they’re rich in protein and also contain notable levels of calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, iron, zinc, manganese, and copper, as well as vitamins in the B group and vitamins A, C, D, E, and K. Researchers at icipe say crickets are “among the praised insects that are gaining recognition as human food and livestock feed with a potential of contributing to food security and reduction of malnutrition,” and they’re investigating how the insects can also contribute to ethnomedicine, livestock feed, and pest management strategies.

Dung Beetles: I know the name isn’t doing them any favors, but these insects have huge potential, icipe research concludes. Their larvae are protein-rich and safely consumed globally. When mature, these beetles recycle nutrients from organic waste and carry more nitrogen into the soil, which can help soils retain water and support healthy crops.

Locusts: This week was also Passover, so let’s talk about locusts! A small swarm can consume the same amount of food in one day as 35,000 people, per the World Bank. But for millennia in more than 65 countries, about half of known locust species have been consumed by humans or fed to animals, and icipe research shows that “their nutritional composition is comparable or superior to that of conventional meat” and may support heart health.

Mealworms: Yellow mealworms are high in protein and rich in micronutrients including zinc, iron, magnesium, calcium, and vitamin B12. Fascinatingly, mealworms can also be used to combat plastic waste! An icipe study shows that these insects can ingest polystyrene, which could offer a better alternative to current recycling practices that are expensive and can actually produce toxic byproducts.

Parasitic Wasps: Another insect whose name belies the good it can do: Yes, these wasps lay their eggs on or in the bodies of other arthropods—but icipe finds that one particular species can be used to naturally control an invasive and highly destructive caterpillar known as a tomato leafminer, which tends to quickly develop resistance to major pesticides. These wasps have also proven helpful in controlling fall armyworm, which can be “devastating” to maize crops on the African continent.

Silkmoths: Silk farming, or sericulture, offers sustainable employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for women and youth, icipe finds. And the global silk market is projected to double in value to around US$34.1 billion by 2031—making sericulture especially attractive for rural off-farm employment and in areas where the risk of crop failure is high. And icipe has provided direct support to these folks through its MOre Young Entrepreneurs in Silk and Honey (MOYESH) Program.

Stingless Bees: Stingless bees, like other bees, offer important ecosystem services by pollinating crops. But in particular, these more than 600 species with highly reduced stingers make honey used for medicinal and traditional purposes, and beekeeping offers yet another way for smallholder farmers—particularly women and youth, like silk farming—to diversify their income.

And, as I do with all Food Tank’s ground-truthing trips around the globe, I want to continue bringing you along with me! Over the next couple days here on the ground, we’re continuing to meet with farmers and conduct interviews and field observations. And in the coming weeks, I’ll share more updates in the newsletter and in our “On The Ground with Dani Nierenberg” series on FoodTank.com. Plus, filmmaker Haven Worley, who directed Food Tank’s recent debut documentary short “Irish Farmers: A Love Story,” is here with me, helping share stories in different mediums.

It’s been eye-opening so far both to spotlight the good work of organizations like icipe—prioritizing science and collaboration to build a healthier planet—and to bear witness to the destruction that can result from national governments unjustly pulling away funding for international development programs like the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

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The post Inside My Ground-Truthing Notebook: Here in Kenya, Insects Are Success Stories appeared first on Food Tank.

“How do I balance that out, a respectful balance between this animal that is very special towards our people, and how do I follow within the business plan for profit? How do I pursue all this with a good amount of respect?” says Kanip, now Chief Operating Officer for Ute Tribal Enterprises and Manager of Ute Bison Meat Company. “It’s not easy.”

Kanip and his team built infrastructure, navigated federal regulations, and ultimately developed a tribally owned bison business. Today, Ute Bison Meat Company generates revenue for the tribe while supporting local food access.

But Kanip says this success required going beyond a business-as-usual model. The bison are not simply livestock for the Ute; they are central to the tribe’s culture.

“Our elders tell us that the bison is not cattle or beef,” says Kanip. “They remind us that the animal comes from the open range. There’s a certain spirit that comes with them from those areas, and we need to have a traditional way of thinking when we work with them. We follow ranch procedures, but we don’t practice them entirely.”

The bison management team blends Western practices with Indigenous knowledge, prioritizing observation and relationship with the animals and land. “We look for the signs” from the animals, Kanip says, remembering one particular sign during a wildfire near the ranch.

“The amount of climate change nowadays causing destruction all over the world, I thought of the worst…that our ranch was going to burn up,” says Kanip. But “the fire didn’t even touch us, only about maybe 10 square feet, but to the west of us, it consumed 11 acres.”

For Kanip, the experience reinforces his belief that the business’s approach is aligned with the needs of not only the tribe but the animals and land. “It was then that we started to realize…what we’re doing must be approved by the bison,” he says.

Kanip emphasizes that tradition and science must work together to continue to grow this business sustainably. Bison have survived centuries of disruption, and for him, their continued presence offers lessons for the future.

“The American bison, a resilient animal, will continue to teach as long as we listen,” says Kanip.

This article is part of Food Tank’s ongoing Farmer Friday series, produced in partnership with Niman Ranch, a champion for independent U.S. family farmers. The series highlights the stories of farmers working toward a more sustainable, equitable food system. Niman Ranch partners with over 500 small-scale U.S. family farmers and is committed to preserving rural agricultural communities and their way of life. Food Tank was proud to collaborate with Niman Ranch in amplifying the voices of producers like Kanip during an evening of farmer storytelling in Park City, Utah. Watch his story and others on Food Tank’s YouTube channel.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

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Despite their size, arthropods, which refer to insects and other invertebrates including ticks, spiders, and centipedes, have a significant impact on food systems. They can “cause a huge amount of damage in the agricultural value chain,” by destroying crops in the field or post-harvest, Sunday Ekesi, icipe’s Deputy Director General for Research for Development, tells Food Tank. Some species are also vectors for disease that threaten the wellbeing of humans and animals along with the livelihoods of farmers. 

icipe’s research addresses these challenges, but they also see the “beneficial aspects of insects,” Ekesi says. This might mean using insects to fortify cereals or create a high-protein animal feed, supporting the ecosystem services offered by pollinators, or creating opportunities to improve the livelihoods of those in the food and agriculture sector. 

This last point is particularly important for future farmers and researchers, Ekesi explains. “We have a very young generation on the continent compared to our colleagues in the Global North,” he tells Food Tank. Sensing a responsibility, icipe feels they have a “huge role” to play in supporting young people. This requires the institute to leverage new technologies, train young people in entrepreneurship, and invest in capacity building. 

Ekesi is clear that this work isn’t about getting young people any job. Rather, it’s about “creating a dignified job.” icipe wants to see the next generation use their careers to support their livelihoods while strengthening the broader ecosystem. They hope it will lead to the development of even more economic opportunities that will support the sustainable growth of the African continent. 

Listen to the full conversation with Sunday Ekesi on “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg” to hear about how icipe is working to control infectious diseases spread by insects, how their research can be used to improve global food and nutrition security, and what organization is doing to fill the gap left by the withdrawal of foreign development aid.

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Hosted by the Food & Environment Reporting Network (FERN), the Global Food Institute at GW, GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs, and Planet Forward, the taping will take place from 6:00-8:30 PM ET. 

Sherman, whose work champions Indigenous food and agriculture systems, will sit down with “Forked” co-host Theodore Ross, Editor-in-Chief of FERN, and Leah Douglas, a food and agriculture journalist for Reuters. A reception will follow. 

The bi-weekly podcast from FERN examines the issues and events shaping food systems. Episodes have covered topics including action on glyphosate, ultra-processed foods, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.  

The taping is free to attend. Learn more about the event and reserve a ticket by clicking HERE. 

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U.S. Farm Bankruptcies Climb, Consolidation Grows

An analysis from Politico reveals that the number of farms in the U.S. are falling three times as fast as the country is losing acres of farmland, suggesting that farms are consolidating or being absorbed into bigger operations. 

In the last five years, the country has lost 150,000 farms. But the total area of farmland fell by 21 million acres—far less than might be expected. This is taking place across the U.S., with some of the dramatic trends being seen in Montana, Texas, Kansas, and South Dakota. Montana, for example, lost 14 percent of its farms between 2021 and 2025, but just 1 percent of its farmland.

Nate Sheets, the Republican nominee for Texas agriculture commissioner, tells Politico that, “All small farms are getting taken out of the market because of scale.” 

Meanwhile the number of farm bankruptcies more than doubled in states including Arkansas, Georgia, and Wisconsin last year. And Chapter 12 bankruptcy filings were up 46 percent across the board last year compared to 2024. Bailey Conrady, Manager of Illinois’ Champaign County Farm Bureau, says that as farmers retire, file for bankruptcy, or go out of business, it drives further consolidation. Farmers are being increasingly squeezed by rising input costs, disruptions to trade and demand, and falling commodity prices.

Wildfires Scorch Nebraska’s Farmland

In the last two weeks, Nebraska has seen massive wildfires that have burned more than 800,000 acres of land—an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen first declared an emergency on March 13, as fires began to spread. Then on Thursday last week, another wave of wildfires broke out, affecting more than 64,000 acres and forcing more evacuations.  

The area impacted by the recent fires was used for grazing of roughly 40,000 cows, according to Director of Nebraska’s Department of Agriculture Sherry Vinton. 

U.S. Department of Agriculture data show that cattle herds across the country are at a 75-year low. Nebraska’s ranchers have been working to rebuild their herds, but drought—and now the wildfires—are slowing progress. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says the fires are hitting “at a time when the national cow herd is at the lowest…and demand is at the highest, so this offers additional layers of challenges.”

Rollins adds that federal aid, in the form of emergency loans, conservation assistance, and more, is available to farmers and ranchers affected by the fires. The Nebraska Farm Bureau has also activated its disaster relief fund to support the state’s agriculture community. 

Nigerian Government to Distribute 2.4 Million Clean Cooking Stoves

This week, Nigeria’s government pledged to distribute 2.4 million clean cookstoves in the northern part of the country in 2026.

The stoves will be made available through a partnership between the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) and BURN Manufacturing, a producer of cookstoves. 

Director-General of NAGGW Saleh Abubakar says that traditional methods of cooking, which more than 40 million households in the region rely on, “contributes significantly to deforestation, air pollution, and health risks, especially for women and children.” Abubakar adds that the collaboration with BURN Manufacturing could unlock NGN300 billion (approximately US$214 million) in carbon financing. It will also create jobs and expand access to affordable clean cooking for rural and underserved communities.

The announcement comes on the heels of a new publication from the C2REST Nigeria Study, a three-year research project funded by the Medical Research Foundation in the United Kingdom. Their latest paper reveals that Nigeria’s transition to clean cooking may come with a higher investment upfront, but in the long-term, it ultimately saves households money by reducing healthcare costs. 

Yusuf Kilani, Nigeria’s Special Assistant to the President on climate matters, says that some of the new cookstoves will be made free to low-income households while others will be available at “at affordable rates.”

Pacific Island Nations Receive US$42 Million for Climate-Resilient Farming

Three Pacific Island nations received a significant investment to improve their food and farming systems through a five-year program called “Establishing Climate Resilient and Regenerative Agricultural Systems in Tonga, Vanuatu and Samoa.”

The US$42 million in grant financing for the program—which will be led by the organization The Pacific Community—comes from the world’s largest climate fund established as part of the Paris Agreement known as the Green Climate Fund. 

Investments will help farmers in Tonga, Vanuatu and Samoa adopt practices that restore soil health, diversify cropping systems, and rebuild ecosystem services.

Demonstration farms, farmer-to-farmer learning, tailored technical support, and investment in farm-level technologies will be used collectively to achieve these goals. 

The program is also designed to address challenges to adopting climate-resilient practices, including gaps in extension services, limited information on the local climate, and constraints in market systems.

According to Coral Pasisi, Director of the Climate Change and Sustainability Division at The Pacific Community, the funding is essential to long-term sustainability for the region. She states: “For these nations living on the frontline of climate change, investing in resilient food systems is essential to reducing vulnerability and strengthening long-term stability in an increasingly uncertain global context.”

Uganda Moves to Certify Agroecological Produce

There is “a growing demand” for agroecologically produced crops, says Bob George Sunday, a Senior Agricultural Officer for Uganda’s Ministry of Agriculture.

To help the farmers meet the moment, the Ugandan government is finalizing its National Agroecological Strategy and implementing a new model to certify foods produced using agroecological practices.

According Jane Nalunga, Executive Director of Southern and Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI) Uganda, many East African farmers are already practicing agroecology to grow food. But the lack of a formal certification process keeps farmers from accessing regional and international markets. 

Farmers cannot charge a premium for their products in the marketplace without validation, Sunday explains. This means that they’re missing out on opportunities to bring in higher earnings. 

But Nalunga argues, “If we are to make agroecology sustainable, the farmer has to be able to make a profit.” 

During a recent workshop hosted by SEATINI, Edie Mukiibi, President of Slow Food International, also reminded those gathering that agroecology isn’t only an economic tool. It’s about “social reconstruction,” which can improve nutrition, health, and community. Mukiibi also pointed out that to scale agroecology even further, it will be important to harmonize the local and national standards already in place before creating a set that apply to the entire region. 

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The Bill includes a provision to create uniformity in pesticide labeling. It would prohibit states and courts from requiring manufacturers to include health warnings not recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Nonprofits including the Center for Food Safety and Food & Water Watch say that it will restrict states and local governments from adopting stronger pesticide regulations. They also worry it will limit state-level protection for farmers, public health, and the environment.

The Bill has drawn backlash from environmental groups, with critics arguing it aims to protect pesticide companies from litigation. “A liability shield for pesticide manufacturers would mean indiscriminate use of thousands of harmful pesticides linked to cancer and water pollution,” Mitch Jones, Food & Water Watch’s Managing Director of Policy and Litigation, tells Food Tank.

Under existing law, pesticide regulation operates through a shared federal-state system. The EPA evaluates pesticide safety and approves product labels under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). And states retain authority to regulate pesticide use and to pursue legal action related to health risks or labeling disputes. The provision will shift authority to the federal government by making EPA-approved labels the benchmark for liability.

“Because it’s much easier for industry to capture a single federal agency than to capture 50 statehouses, this would be a huge win for industry. Conversely, it would be a huge loss for states: guaranteeing their residents’ health and safety lies at the core of their historic powers,” Claudia Polsky, Director of the Environmental Law Clinic at UC Berkeley, tells Food Tank.

Days after the Farm Bill draft was introduced, President Trump issued an executive order to expand domestic production of glyphosate-based herbicides, one of the most widely used weed-control tools in American agriculture. The executive order invokes the Defense Production Act and frames domestic herbicide supply as critical to national security and agricultural productivity.

Polsky believes the executive order “nonsensically tries to tie glyphosate to national defense needs” and acts as another attempt to protect industry from the financial consequences of litigation.

“No matter where it’s produced, glyphosate is extremely dangerous for our health and environment,” Jones says. “Trump’s executive order is a slap in the face to the thousands of people who die from cancer every year.”

Bayer maintains that glyphosate is safe and not carcinogenic when used as directed, calling the herbicides “critical tools that farmers rely on to produce affordable food and feed the world.” And the EPA’s assessment finds glyphosate is “unlikely to be a human carcinogen.”

But the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans” and a meta-analysis in PubMed suggests a “compelling” link between glyphosate-based herbicides and increased risk for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. And pesticide manufacturers continue to face extensive litigation over alleged links to cancer and other health effects.

Bayer recently proposed a US$7.25 billion class settlement to resolve non-Hodgkin lymphoma claims related to the use of its herbicide Roundup, which contains glyphosate as the primary active ingredient.

“Against this backdrop, the agrochemical industry and Administration are engaging in complementary (and one suspects, highly coordinated) actions to thwart compensation to the chemically injured,” Polsky tells Food Tank.

Bayer is also backing efforts that would limit similar claims in the future. In Monsanto Co. v. Durnell, Bayer is arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court that state law cannot require warnings beyond those approved by the EPA. The company has also supported bills in states, including North Dakota and Georgia, that would limit lawsuits against pesticide manufacturers whose labels comply with EPA requirements.

In a recent statement, Bill Anderson, CEO of Bayer, states that the litigation and class settlement agreement demonstrate the need for guidance from the Supreme Court on clear regulation in American agriculture.

But Jones tells Food Tank that these efforts are part of a broader shift intended to shield pesticide manufacturers from liability. “The pesticide industry is trying any tactic they can, asking everyone from Congress and state legislatures, to EPA, Trump, and the Courts to help manufacturers skirt accountability, protect profits, and silence the sick.”

Polsky believes that a win for industry—whether it’s through Congress or the Supreme Court—would mean that EPA approval could become the ceiling for warning labels. And this could make it difficult to sue manufacturers under state law for failure to warn about dangers.

“Trump should be working to protect rural communities from glyphosate,” Jones says, “not protect Bayer from rural communities harmed by its product.”

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Regenerative agriculture is a holistic approach to farming and ranching that prioritizes soil restoration, equity within food systems, and the long-term health of land, water, and climate. Rather than maintaining conditions and resources, regenerative agriculture seeks to improve ecosystem health and strengthen the resilience of agricultural landscapes.

Healthy soils are the foundation of productive food systems, shaping outcomes from farm yields to community well-being and ecological stability. But intensive farming practices that rely on heavy machinery, synthetic fertilizers, and pesticides have contributed to soil degradation across a majority of the world’s agricultural land.

Regenerative agriculture prioritizes restoring soil health and function, supporting crop growth, nutrient cycling, and biodiversity through a range of practices. To rebuild soil health, regenerative farmers reduce or forgo tillage, avoiding the erosion caused by conventional plowing. This approach keeps soil intact, preserving soil structure, protecting fungi, and keeping carbon in the ground.

Planted in soil that would otherwise be bare before or after harvest, cover crops shield soil from wind and water and restore nutrients to the soil. They also keep living roots in the soil, providing natural tillage and mitigating fertilizer runoff.

Growing just one or two crops year after year on the same land can deplete soil nutrients and degrade soil health over time. Diversifying crops improves water and nutrient retention and supports pollinators and wildlife. Crop diversification can also reduce pests and weeds—and reduce the need for artificial fertilizer.

“It turns out it really helps to have some diversity,” Sieg Snapp, Associate Dean for Research for Washington State University’s College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences, tells Food Tank. According to Snapp, diverse crops above ground feed a wider range of soil microbes below ground.

To restore soil nutrients and reduce fertilizer use, some regenerative farmers integrate livestock into cropping systems. Rooted in Indigenous land management traditions, rotational grazing involves moving livestock between pastures, mimicking the way animals historically moved in herds across grasslands. This method allows vegetation to recover while improving soil fertility through manure and organic matter inputs.

Regenerative practices often extend beyond soil health to include broader ecological and social considerations, emphasizing animal welfare and worker well-being. Many regenerative farmers prioritize fair treatment of workers, including freedom of association, safe working conditions, living wages, and participation in farm decision-making.

Some also seek to address the legacy of discriminatory policies that have limited land access and support for Black, Indigenous, and farmers of color, recognizing that regenerative agriculture must confront longstanding inequities within U.S. agriculture.

We need agriculture that “does not deplete our people,” says Leonard Diggs, Director of Farmer & Rancher Opportunities at Pie Ranch, an incubator farm supporting early-stage regenerative farmers and ranchers, focusing on communities who have historically been denied access to land.

Regenerative agriculture can improve profitability and strengthen farm performance while reducing environmental impact. By reducing dependence on fertilizers and pesticides, regenerative farms often lower costs, and research indicates regenerative systems can deliver long-term yield gains and profits up to 120 percent higher than conventional operations.

Soil-focused practices also improve water management during droughts and heavy rains, cut greenhouse gas emissions from machinery and nitrogen inputs, and increase carbon sequestration. Project Drawdown estimates that restored agricultural lands could remove 2.6 to 13.6 gigatons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually.

Scaling regenerative agriculture requires reducing the financial risk farmers face during the transition by providing technical support, upfront capital, and reliable markets that offset short-term costs, according to industry experts.

Global organizations like the World Economic Forum and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development contend that actors across the value chain must align on common metrics to measure and reward environmental and socio-economic outcomes, enabling coordinated incentives, investment, and regulatory compliance.

Momentum behind regenerative agriculture is building and spans global coalitions and community-based initiatives. Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) builds on the USDA Organic standard by adding requirements for soil health, animal welfare, and social fairness within a tiered certification framework, bringing the three pillars of regenerative organic agriculture into a single certification framework.

The Rockefeller Foundation has committed more than US$220 million to its “big bet” for food systems transformation to benefit farmers, feed more children, and improve nutrition and soil. This includes their US$100 million commitment to advance universal locally grown and regenerative school meals in the United States and globally, US$100 million to scale Food is Medicine solutions in the U.S., and over US$20 million for the Periodic Table of Food Initiative, which is providing standardized tools, data, and training to map food quality of the world’s edible biodiversity.

RegenAG has worked with thousands of Australian farmers since 2010 through training and consultancy programs focused on soil carbon, profitability, and lower input costs, while Kiss the Ground advances regenerative agriculture in California through education and demonstration projects, and La Delia Verde applies soil-centered practices in Argentina to restore biodiversity, store carbon, and strengthen regional food systems.

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Photo courtesy of Siwawut Phoophinyo

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We have pushed countries—especially those most responsible for the climate crisis—to accelerate efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They tend to focus on numerical targets, such as achieving net zero to limit temperature rise to no more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. This kind of advocacy work is both necessary and insufficient.

We won’t be able to mitigate emissions or adapt to a changing world if we do not plan for a just transition. But we need to start with a broader definition of what just actually means.

The just transition was originally defined around creating green jobs, providing retraining, and ensuring social protection for workers in fossil fuel-dependent industries and countries. Yet that is only part of the picture.

Half the world’s habitable land is used for agriculture, which is the second-biggest contributor to the climate crisis, responsible for approximately one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions. The sector is also the world’s biggest source of livelihoods.

That’s why effective climate action needs to be driven by the world’s smallholder farmers, fishers, and pastoralists—people who are experiencing climate impacts most directly and already stewarding nature and sustainable food systems. Without connecting global climate and biodiversity policies and funding to the daily realities of billions of people who work the land, we risk creating solutions that exist only on paper.

Worse, some climate action has been pursued at the direct expense of small-scale food producers and Indigenous Peoples’ rights—and not always by accident. The scramble for critical minerals needed for solar panels and batteries is driving the opening of new mines, sometimes on Indigenous land or land that could otherwise be farmed.  Solar and wind installations have sometimes been deployed on land used by food-producing communities, often financializing it in ways that make it impossible for young people to enter farming. Offshore wind developments in parts of Africa have blocked small-scale fishers from waters their communities have relied on for generations. Pastoralists and Indigenous Peoples in Central Asia and Africa have found their traditional routes severed because land has been sold for carbon credits—without their Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. These are symptoms of climate policies being designed without the people most affected at the table.

For scalable, lasting change, the climate movement needs to come together with the land rights movement.

And last month, Colombia hosted the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development—the first such gathering in twenty years. The convening was necessary on the international agenda, as land rights have been conspicuously absent from climate policy discussions, even as pressure on land has been intensifying from every direction: carbon markets, new mining concessions, and the rollout of renewable energy infrastructure.

The conference brought together governments, civil society, and social movements to address urgent rural challenges—land governance, agrarian reform, climate-resilient development, and food sovereignty. Its outcome declaration, signed by 28 countries, reaffirmed the human right to land, providing multilateral backing that can now be leveraged across other major international processes.

Land rights and agrarian reform

In many parts of the world, smallholder farmers do not own or formally control the land they cultivate. They rely on informal, sometimes collective, arrangements rooted in tradition rather than secure rights, meaning they can lose access to their land with little notice and no legal recourse—despite producing the majority of the world’s food. The problem is most acute in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia and Latin America, where Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and women are disproportionately affected.

And insecure tenure is a direct barrier to climate action. When farmers, fishers, and pastoralists have the guarantee of legally recognized land rights and control over resources, they are far more likely to invest in ecologically sound practices, such as planting trees, investing in agroecology, and improving soil health over the long term—all of which absorb emissions and build resilience. Above all, social movements are asking for holistic agrarian reforms that recognize their ties to the land, a place of life, identity and culture, rather than a mere productive resource, with land redistribution as part of climate action.

Human rights must sit at the heart of climate and biodiversity policies; participatory processes must prioritize grassroots voices over top-down mandates; and funding must flow toward the communities doing the most to sustain the land.

By uniting the land rights and climate movements, we can build the just, sustainable food systems we so urgently need. The pieces are in place. Now we have to connect them.

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Photo courtesy of Sabbir Hasan, Unsplash

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