October 4, 2025

Spotlight Stories

Spotlight 1 – CGIAR reviews how agricultural pollution impacts biodiversity and lays out a game plan to fix the problem. Ready the story, here.

Spotlight 2 – Watch a video from the Organic Produce Network discussing the opportunities and uncertainties in the organic food space right now. Check it out, here.

Spotlight 3 – A new paper in Elsevier says that an increase in the spice level of food appears to reduce eating rates and overall food intake. Take a read, here.

Industry Updates

Taos, NM is one of two locations around the United States selected for a citizen science project focused on regenerative agriculture. The Ecdysis Foundation, an agricultural research foundation founded by U.S. Department of Agriculture alum John Lundgren, chose the town and a community in northeastern Ohio as the pilot locations for “Project Avalanche,” a citizen science project for farmers and ranchers. The program, which costs Ecdysis $7,500 per farm, is free for farmers and monitors soil health, wildlife diversity, and crop quality and yields on farms transitioning to regenerative agriculture to inform research that is shared with other farmers around the country. [link]

Swiss coffee brand Nespresso will be the first company to source coffees that have met the Rainforest Alliance’s new Regenerative Agriculture Standard, which recognizes farms that achieve a comprehensive set of sustainable requirements. The international NGO announced its new Standard earlier this month. The certification aims to help coffee farmers and companies build resilient business structures by helping to restore ecosystems in tropical environments and landscapes. The certification seal will start appearing on Nespresso coffees in 2026, with one of the first certified coffees coming from Yamileth Chacón’s farm in Costa Rica. Other farms in Costa Rica and Mexico will soon follow suit. [link]

The United Nations held its second Global Conference on Sustainable Livestock Transformation this past week. Held at FAO’s headquarters in Rome, the conference convened FAO Members, policymakers, farmers, private companies, industry associations, civil society representatives, NGOs, researchers, and development agencies to share experiences and showcase actionable solutions for the sustainable transformation of the livestock sector. Among other key initiatives, FAO will launch two new Global Hubs: the One Health Knowledge and Intelligence Hub, and the Sustainable Livestock Transformation Innovation Hub. FAO will also introduce the Global Challenge Program for Transboundary Animal Diseases – a bold new business model to protect animal health, support livestock production, and safeguard livelihoods worldwide. A network of FAO Reference Centers for Animal Feed will be established to unlock the full potential of the animal feed sector, particularly in developing countries. And in 2026, FAO will host the first-ever Global Conference on One Health in Agrifood Systems to showcase how One Health connects animal, human, plant, soil, environmental health, food safety, and nutrition. [link]

The West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Provincial Administration in Indonesia is rolling out an ambitious project to plant 200,000 trees on the bare slopes of Doro O’o Hill in Langgudu Subdistrict, Bima Regency. The project is being implemented to stabilize the land and establish a long-term source of revenue for residents through valuable crop planting. West Nusa Tenggara Governor Lalu Muhammad Iqbal underscored the necessity of this dual approach, stating that simply repairing ongoing flooding damage is no longer sustainable. The chosen tree species, such as candlenut and avocado, are favored for their strong root systems, which are essential for improving soil structure and enhancing water absorption capacity. Meanwhile, the short-term planting of porang is intended to encourage active public participation and provide a quick economic return. The NTB Provincial Administration will fund and provide the seedlings and technical support, while the local communities and village administration will handle the planting and long-term maintenance. [link]

FoodChain ID and Agmatix have announced a strategic collaboration to accelerate regenerative agriculture within the private sector by offering a measurable return-on-investment. The partnership responds to the growing demand for trusted, transparent, and outcome-focused approaches to regenerative agriculture by providing companies with certification credibility and data-driven actionable insights. Through the partnership, FoodChain ID’s certification customers will have access to RegenIQ, Agmatix’s proprietary AI-powered model designed to accelerate regenerative agriculture adoption. RegenIQ enables companies to evaluate, prioritize and monitor regenerative practices across their operations, empowering companies to prioritize actions that deliver measurable environmental and economic results. [link]

A new leadership program at Cornell University aims to equip professionals with the tools to scale sustainable agriculture and strengthen food system resilience. The six-month Resilient Futures Leadership Program: Financing Sustainable Agriculture is now accepting applications through December 5, 2025. Hosted by Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture and the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, the program will commence in early 2026 and bring together up to 30 early- to mid-career professionals to gain a practical understanding of regenerative practices, the agricultural value chain, sustainability indicators, policy signals, and innovative finance mechanisms, while engaging directly with leading voices from finance, agriculture, technology, and academia. Graduates will complete a final project tied to their organization and join a cross-sector alumni network dedicated to financing resilient ecosystems and enhancing farmer livelihoods. [link]

Walmart said that it is working to remove synthetic dyes from all its store-brand foods, including Great Value, Marketside, Freshness Guaranteed and Bettergoods. Walmart also plans to eliminate 30 other ingredients, ranging from certain artificial sweeteners to preservatives. Walmart’s heft makes its plans likely to trigger further changes throughout the nation’s food-supply chain, from ingredient suppliers to other food makers and retailers. [link]

Innovation in agriculture is falling behind increasing demands being placed on farmers and agri-food systems, straining future supplies of critical products such as eggs, cotton, and corn- and soy-based biofuels, according to the newly released Global Agricultural Productivity (GAP) Report from Virginia Tech. At the heart of the report is total factor productivity (TFP), an efficiency measure that tracks how effectively agricultural inputs such as land, labor, and capital are converted into outputs. Global TFP growth has dropped to just 0.76 percent annually during the past decade, barely a third of the 2 percent target needed to sustainably meet demand by mid-century. To confront these challenges, the 2025 GAP Report introduces the Total Factor Productivity Growth Frontier, a first-of-its-kind model diagnosing the pain points in agricultural productivity growth and mapping pathways to overcome them. Priorities include reigniting public R&D investment spend, closing the adoption chasm, strengthening the regulatory environment, and fostering public-private collaboration. [link]

Braga Fresh announced that a portion of its regenerative farming acreage has earned official certification for its regenerative farming program from A Greener World, a respected nonprofit certifier of sustainable agricultural practices. The certification marks a major milestone in Braga Fresh’s fifth year of Carbon Capture Farming and now up to 100 organic acres of regenerative farming on the Braga Home Ranch in the Salinas Valley. The AGW certification applies to a 60.5-acre block on the Braga home ranch, currently growing organic romaine hearts and sweet baby broccoli in the Josies Organic brand. [link]

A groundbreaking study, published in PLOS One, employs sophisticated data modeling to analyze British farmland spanning 72,000 square kilometers from 2010 to 2021, revealing promising trends in the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and pollution from agricultural activities. The research highlights an 18% median decrease in both short- and long-term global warming potential, alongside a 21% reduction in acidification potential. Moreover, eutrophication potential, referring to nutrient runoff that contaminates aquatic ecosystems, has declined by 13%, illustrating an encouraging shift towards more eco-conscious farming. The changes encapsulated by this analysis correspond to a fundamental restructuring within England’s agricultural landscape, including a shift in land use priorities and marked declines in livestock populations. Such substantial reductions in livestock have played a pivotal role in curbing embedded emissions, especially methane, which is a potent contributor to global warming. [link]

Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA) and Edacious announced a strategic collaboration aimed at accelerating the adoption of regenerative agriculture through advanced data-driven insights and food quality measurement. Through this partnership, AEA growers will receive a discount on Edacious’s services, making high-level food quality analysis more accessible. This empowers farmers to directly connect their regenerative farming practices to measurable outcomes in nutrient density, traceability, and shelf stability—areas of growing importance for both consumers and supply chains. The partnership reinforces the importance of data in regenerative systems. Measurable improvements in nutrient density, environmental impact, and food shelf life are essential to advancing credibility and accountability within the regenerative agriculture movement. [link]

A new report from the EAT-Lancet Commission on Healthy, Sustainable, and Just Food Systems maps the global food sector’s impact on all nine planetary boundaries and finds that it drives five of the seven already transgressed. The report also finds that just 30% of the population is responsible for more than 70% of the food sector’s environmental impact. However, the commission notes that an improved planetary health diet could halve the food industry’s greenhouse gas emissions and prevent up to 15 million deaths annually. The planetary health diet recommended by the commission means that people around the world should eat more whole grains, legumes, fruit, vegetables, and nuts, while reducing animal products, especially red meat. [link]

In Case You Missed It…

In mid-August, Oscar Mayer, a subsidiary of Kraft Heinz, launched the EveryBun Pack, combining its meat and vegan hot dogs in the same packaging without cross-contamination. See more, here.