November 1, 2025
Spotlight Stories
Spotlight 1 – The Yale Center for Environmental Communication writes about an ecologist serving up climate science on a plate. Ready the story, here.
Spotlight 2 – Devdiscourse covers the radical shift taking place across the global farming landscape as AI and regenerative practices converge. Check it out, here.
Spotlight 3 – UNSW Sydney reviews the hidden cost of food production in Australia. Take a read, here.
Industry Updates
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said that food benefits under one of the country’s biggest social assistance programs will not be issued next month amid the ongoing federal government shutdown. More than 41 million depend on the monthly payments, according to the USDA. In some states, like New Mexico, dependence on the program is as high as 21% of residents, it said. The agency’s announcement came after more than 200 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives called on USDA to draw on its emergency reserves to fund November food benefits. [link]
The European Union-ASEAN Business Council (EU-ABC) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) said they have identified animal health, dairy development, agricultural mechanization, organic and regenerative agriculture, and climate-resilient farming practices as possible areas of collaboration. In a statement, EU-ABC Executive Director Chris Humphrey also highlighted his organization’s ongoing engagement in ASEAN through the Health Summit in Kuala Lumpur and the annual Sustainability Summit hosted by its Philippine Chapter. He reaffirmed the Council’s commitment to forging partnerships with rural communities, promoting inclusive and sustainable agriculture, and supporting the conclusion of the EU–Philippines Free Trade Agreement. The Philippines is set to assume the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2026. [link]
The European Parliament has approved the EU Soil Monitoring Law, which aims to restore European soils by 2050. Member states will now be required to monitor and assess soil health across their territories. The law introduces no new legal obligations for landowners or land managers; however, it requires EU Member States to support farmers in improving soil health and resilience. The law will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the EU Official Journal (likely late November 2025), with transposition into national law within 24–36 months. [link]
The European Union (EU) has launched a three-year program in Ghana aimed at making cocoa production more sustainable, traceable, and compliant with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). In a statement posted on its website, the EU mission in Ghana indicated the new partnership is being implemented by a consortium of four civil society organizations focused on forest governance: Solidaridad West Africa, Tropenbos Ghana, Taylor Crabbe Initiative, and Rights & Advocacy Initiatives Network (RAIN). The program, named the “Deforestation-Free Cocoa Project,” is funded by a 2 million euro ($2.3 million) budget, 99% of which is contributed by the EU. It aims to directly support approximately 5,000 cocoa farmers and involves rehabilitating over 1,000 hectares of old plantations by integrating agroforestry systems between 2025 and 2028. [link]
PepsiCo has significantly expanded its Climate Resilience Platform (CRP), an open-access, open-source tool helping farmers to plan for the impacts of climate change. CRP, which originally launched in 2023, translates climate research into actionable insights for those in the agricultural space, enabling them to anticipate yield risks and implement targeted interventions. PepsiCo has worked with partners including the Alliance of Biodiversity International and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research to expand the tool to additional geographies and crops – namely cotton and rice. Efforts have also been made to enhance the platform’s accessibility and improve data accuracy and relevance. [link]
Americans will now be able to walk into a grocery store and buy cultivated meat off the shelf for the first time. Californian startup Mission Barns will hold the US’s first retail sale of cultivated meat on November 1, selling pork meatballs at Berkeley Bowl West. The retail debut comes nearly two months after Mission Barns introduced its cultivated meatballs and bacon to diners at Fiorella restaurant in San Francisco’s Sunset District. [link]
France’s Parima, formed this month after Gourmey’s acquisition of Vital Meat, has received regulatory approval to sell cultivated chicken in Singapore. Parima has become the first European startup to be cleared to sell cultivated meat for human food anywhere in the world, following approval from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA). The approval marks Singapore’s second authorization for cultivated meat this year, with Friends & Family Pet Food Co getting the nod for its Kampung bird products, and the first for human applications since Vow‘s cultured quail in 2024. [link]
Kraft Heinz reported lower third-quarter sales and trimmed its full-year outlook amid industry concerns about higher inflation and a pullback in consumer spending. The company now expects organic net sales for the year to be down 3% to 3.5%. It had previously expected organic net sales to be down 1.5% to 3.5%. Earlier this year, Kraft Heinz said it would split into two companies, one with brands including Heinz, Philadelphia and Kraft Mac & Cheese and the other company’s portfolio featuring Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. [link]
As consumers prepare to enjoy Thanksgiving meals, a new study reveals that regeneratively farmed turkeys are significantly more nutrient-dense than conventional birds. Research on US-based Diestel Family Ranch found that its turkeys contain up to 79% more omega-3s and three times more antioxidants — underscoring regenerative agriculture’s benefits for food nutrition and environmental health. The nutrient boost is linked to regenerative farming methods that improve soil health, feed quality, and fatty acid ratios. Maintaining a healthy omega-6:3 ratio is essential for health, with a recent study finding that an elevated omega-6:3 ratio in consumer diets can lead to various autoimmune, inflammatory, and allergic diseases. [link]
McDonald’s has expanded its partnership with Arla Foods to launch a new nature-led sustainability drive across British dairy farms. The fast-food chain has joined Arla’s FarmAhead Customer Partnership program, expanding a relationship that began in 1987. The latest phase focuses on ReNature, a biodiversity project designed to assess and improve soil health, wildlife habitats and overall biodiversity on around 60 organic dairy farms supplying Arla. The cooperative will share the findings across its milk pool to create measurable benchmarks for sustainable farming. [link]
After more than 15 years of research and development, Dole has successfully introduced a new, non-GMO pineapple variety that embodies the taste and aroma of a pina colada. The new variety contains all the tanginess and sweetness you’d typically find in a common pineapple, except it’s juicier, lighter in color, and slightly more delicate, with subtle notes of creamy coconut and vanilla. It also has a smaller core, which means more of the fruit is edible, thereby minimizing food waste. [link]
A new law has taken effect in Norway that aims to ban advertising of unhealthy products directed at children. The new law is meant to protect minors from, for example, promotion of sugary soft drinks or energy drinks. It doesn’t regulate sales of unhealthy food or drink, however, and it will still allow producers like beverage giant Coca-Cola to sponsor such events as the youth football tournament Norway Cup. [link]
Verra’s methodology for improved agricultural land management has been approved by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) as meeting the Core Carbon Principles (CCPs). This will enable the generation of tens of millions of high-integrity carbon credits from farming projects worldwide. The methodology, VM0042 Improved Agricultural Land Management, v2.2, quantifies greenhouse gas emission reductions and soil organic carbon-based removals resulting from regenerative agriculture, including activities such as reduced tillage, improved fertilizer use, residue and water management, diversified cropping, and effective grazing systems. [link]
The Maryland Department of Agriculture is excited to announce that the 2025-2026 enrollment period for its popular Conservation Buffer Initiative will run from November 1st, 2025 through April 30, 2026. To help Maryland meet its ambitious tree planting goals, qualifying farmers who plant forest buffers through this program will receive a one-time $1,000/acre signing bonus for trees along with the program’s standard incentive payment. Payment rates range from $500 per acre for existing grass buffers to a maximum of $4,500 per acre to install a riparian forest buffer with pasture fencing. Mowing and hay harvesting are allowed for on-farm use; nutrient applications are not. Farmers receive 75% of the project cost upfront and the remaining 25% after verification of planting for new or improved buffers and 100% of the eligible payment for existing buffers that have been field-verified. [link]
Danone has launched a program that enhances the skills of dairy farmers worldwide and strengthens the resilience of the dairy farming industry. The program, dubbed the Milk Academy, targets training in farm management, sustainability, and regenerative agriculture, teaching farmers techniques to improve herd productivity and soil health, and investigating ways to reduce methane emissions. According to the French multinational food products corporation, the Milk Academy is the first of its kind within the dairy industry, geared toward developing the supply chain and enhancing the skills of its network of farmers. [link]
Israel’s Believer Meats has received official clearance from the USDA to produce and sell its cultivated chicken in the country, becoming the first non-US startup to reach the milestone. The firm has received the USDA’s green light for its product label and factory in North Carolina, which was completed earlier this year and is the world’s largest cultivated meat facility. In a post on LinkedIn, CEO Gustavo Burger called it “a major milestone that authorizes us to begin commercial production and sales of our cultivated chicken products in the US and export to international markets”. [link]
In Case You Missed It…
In late August, Exomad Green announced that its latest biochar field study revealed the transformative impact of biochar on soil health and agricultural sustainability. See more, here.