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After losing federal funding for the Soybean Innovation Lab at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, its Director, Peter Goldsmith, is finding new ways to keep his research going. 

In 2025, nearly all of the Feed the Future Innovation Labs, including Goldsmith’s, saw their funding terminated following the Trump-Vance administration’s cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development. “It was overnight,” says Goldsmith, who also serves as a Professor in the university’s Department of Agricultural & Consumer Economics.

The Soybean Innovation Lab was focused on building “the foundation for soybean in sub-Saharan Africa,” Goldsmith tells Food Tank. Research addressed challenges from access to high-quality seed to developing the right technologies for farmers. The work helped improve producers’ harvests while offering soil-health benefits thanks to the crop’s deep root systems and ability to fix nitrogen.

When public funding disappeared, he knew this work couldn’t stop, and he sought a new path to sustain it. Goldsmith reports that they were able to raise roughly US$3 million for the lab, allowing them to operate until November 2027. Promising new leads for additional funding may allow them to extend this deadline even further.

Goldsmith and his colleagues are also exploring a for-profit model to support the development and sustainability of soybean markets. They hope their new company will be able to raise the capital that USAID planned to invest in the Innovation Lab. Its mission is to transform the seed system.

“Seed quality was a real struggle, and it is a struggle in the tropics,” Goldsmith tells Food Tank. “It’s a much more acute challenge to maintain a seed from harvest all the way to next year when you plant it…[it] was a real choke point.” 

To address this problem, researchers are working to match farmers with seeds that are well-suited to their growing environments. “We make sure you have the right seed for the right company, the right location, delivered on time, and it’s of quality,” Goldsmith explains. 

The team believes it has an opportunity to accomplish something that government-funded institutions have struggled to achieve. “Our argument is that only by us being successful will actual technology move and be in the hands of farmers and in their fields,” Goldsmith explains. “The public sector does great work, but they don’t have the resources to control the whole chain and deliver it to farmers. It just hasn’t worked.” 

But he also acknowledges that these entrepreneurial pursuits are meant to be complementary, not a replacement for public research. “What predates [this work] is all the research that the Soybean Innovation Lab was engaged in to get to this point, and that…took focus.” It also created room for mistakes, a necessary ingredient for success, he adds. 

Without support from institutions like USAID, “you don’t get that slow progress that built the American enterprise, the research enterprise,” Goldsmith says. “So we’ve got to somehow figure out where research and patient work play in our society.” 

Listen to the full conversation with Peter Goldsmith on “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg” to hear more about the obstacles to soybean development, the impact of funding losses on talent retention, and protecting the future of agricultural research.

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 Finding New Ways to Sustain Agricultural Research appeared first on Food Tank.

 When I got to the Kentucky Food Truck Championship this September, I didn’t realize how much an event like this would contribute to tourism and local economic activity. 

When you live in Eastern Kentucky, many of us call small towns and rural communities home. Because of both geography and cultural habits, we often stay close to our communities. It is common for people to drive long distances for medical care, shopping, concerts, or other cultural experiences. During the summer and fall, however, festivals become gathering places where people can experience a variety of food, arts, crafts, and music all in one location. 

The Kentucky Food Truck Championship, for example, takes place in Rockcastle County. This year the event was held at the county industrial park, but for its first five years it was hosted at Renfro Valley Music Hall. The fact that the event has continued to grow and attract loyal visitors is a testament to its success and community support. 

Visitors could sample food from dozens of vendors, browse handmade crafts, and enjoy bluegrass, gospel, and country music throughout the day. Local organizations offered activities for children, while students, volunteers, and first responders helped manage parking and logistics. 

The Spatzle Factory is one of our food truck clients based in Irvine, Kentucky.

Anyone who has attended a festival, concert, or community celebration in Eastern Kentucky knows that some of the best conversations happen while standing in line for food. Food trucks have become part of that experience. They give local entrepreneurs a chance to share their passion, introduce new flavors to the community, and create places where people naturally gather. 

A food truck can expose someone to a new cuisine for the first time, inspire a future business owner, or become a memorable part of a family outing. For communities that may have limited dining options, food trucks bring variety, creativity, and a sense of excitement while still celebrating the local character that makes each town unique. In that way, food trucks do more than serve food. They help create memories, connections, and experiences that make a community feel alive. 

I spent some time having conversations with attendees, waiting for my food, sitting under the music pavilion, and visiting the craft vendors. Some were first-time visitors, while others had attended from the very beginning. I met people who had traveled from Indiana and had been returning for four consecutive years. Many proudly wore event T-shirts and talked about organizing groups of friends for an annual weekend of food tasting. I also spoke with food truck owners who told me they look forward to this event every year and have participated since the beginning. 

Roadhouse BBQ is another food truck client based in Hazard, KY.

Events like this bring new visitors to our communities, and when people travel long distances, they often need lodging, fuel, shopping opportunities, and additional activities. Some may spend a weekend exploring nearby attractions. Others may return again in future years. Every visitor creates opportunities for local businesses. 

The economic impact of this type of tourism in Kentucky continues to grow. According to the Kentucky Department of Tourism, in 2024, visitors spent $10.1 billion during their trips, including $2.7 billion on food and beverages alone, supporting more than 97,000 jobs statewide. Approximately 80 million travelers visited Kentucky in 2025. 

These numbers highlight a growing opportunity for entrepreneurs, particularly in Eastern Kentucky. As outdoor recreation, festivals, agritourism, and cultural tourism continue to attract visitors to our region, the demand for local food experiences grows as well. 

For many entrepreneurs, a food truck can be an affordable and flexible entry point into the food industry. Some businesses remain successful in mobile operations, while others use food trucks as a stepping stone toward opening restaurants, catering companies, or packaged food businesses. Products that begin at a festival booth may eventually find their way into farmers’ markets, local retailers, gift shops, or regional grocery stores. 

A food truck can be a testing ground for recipes, a way to build a loyal customer base, and the first step toward a larger business dream. 

If food is your passion but you’re not sure where to start, we can help. Whether your vision involves baking bread, creating specialty products, serving barbecue, or developing a full restaurant concept, there may be an opportunity to turn that idea into a successful business.

Talk to us about start-up financing or business support today.

The post Rolling Into Entrepreneurship at the Kentucky Food Truck Championship appeared first on Mountain Association.

Travelers can now stop at the Somerset-Pulaski County Visitor Center for access to a free electric vehicle charging station, helping welcome a growing number of EV drivers to the Lake Cumberland region, one of south-central Kentucky’s busiest tourism corridors. 

The new Level 2 charger was installed with support from a $7,000 grant from the Mountain Association via General Motors, and the energy use will be offset by recent upgrades at the visitor center. 

The project began after staff at Lake Cumberland Tourism noticed a recurring question from travelers.  

A QR code on the charger’s sign connects drivers with information about things to see and do in the area, along with an option to donate to the nonprofit Master Musicians Festival.   

“Over the years, we’ve had calls from travelers asking where they could charge, so when I learned about this funding, it felt worth exploring,” said Katie Colwell, assistant marketing director for Lake Cumberland Tourism. “We had a parking spot on the side of our lot that was almost never used. Turning it into a charging station was the perfect way to put that space to work for our visitors.” 

After connecting with the Mountain Association in late 2025, Lake Cumberland Tourism worked with the Mountain Association’s Energy Team to evaluate potential charging options, identify funding opportunities, and find energy savings to offset the additional power use. 

Mountain Association staff conducted a free energy assessment of the visitor center and found opportunities for efficiency upgrades, thanks to support from the Kentucky Office of Energy Policy. Through our partnership with Kentucky Utilities Small Business Direct Install Program, we were able to install more efficient lighting and smart thermostats for free. We also found ways to improve the facility’s building envelope and outdoor lighting as well as combining meters, which would eliminate meter fees. 

“Our goal is to help communities find solutions that make economic sense,” said Hope Broecker, Mountain Association Energy Specialist. “Energy efficiency is often one of the easiest ways to lower expenses, and those savings can create opportunities for new investments like EV chargers that benefit residents and visitors alike.” 

Level 2 chargers can provide meaningful vehicle range, but also give travelers time to grab a meal, shop at local businesses, or explore community attractions while their vehicle charges. The charger was installed by Solar Energy Living of Corbin. 

The need for rural charging infrastructure continues to grow. EV registrations in Kentucky increased from approximately 11,000 in 2024 to 24,000 in 2025, with more than 5 million on the road throughout the US. 

As more Kentuckians and visitors choose electric vehicles, accessible charging stations in small towns and rural destinations become increasingly important.

Learn more about EV chargers in Eastern Kentucky here.

The post Partnership Brings Free EV Charging and Energy Savings to Somerset Visitor Center appeared first on Mountain Association.

The electrical equipment multinational says it’s poised to capitalize on the trend by investing in solid-state transformers. But the “timing of that transition is not under our control,” said CEO Paulo Ruiz.

Before the new, Democratically-controlled Congress arrives in January, Senate negotiators, led by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), are pushing forward permitting reform legislation that poses one of the most significant threats to America’s public lands, cultural heritage, Tribal sovereignty, and environmental protections in decades. The deceptively-named Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA) would weaken bedrock environmental laws, limit public participation, fast-track development projects, and make it far more difficult to challenge harmful decisions affecting public lands.

Please contact your senators and urge them to oppose BAAJA today! A vote could happen as soon as Monday, Nov. 9.

This legislation goes far beyond streamlining federal permit processes. It includes a wish list of priorities for anti-public lands politicians like Senator Lee while undermining safeguards that protect some of America’s most treasured landscapes and cultural resources.

Here are just a few ways the bill would impact Southern Utah’s wildest public lands:

• It will lock in harmful development projects on public lands, preventing future administrations from taking any action on these permitted projects even if the projects were approved illegally. This includes permits for data centers, oil and gas drilling approvals, and hard rock mining authorizations.
  
  
• In Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, this bill could preclude future administrations from taking corrective action on the more than 110 mining claims filed on lands within the original boundaries of the monuments that President Trump unlawfully cut by nearly 90%.
  
  
• It will undermine Tribal sovereignty while threatening sacred and irreplaceable cultural sites. Southern Utah holds tens of thousands of cultural sites reflecting thousands of years of human history. The bill effectively rewrites provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act to restrict what is considered an important cultural site, make consultation with Tribes and communities optional, and require fewer environmental impacts to be taken into consideration.
  
  
• It will fast-track the already rapid acceleration of data center proposals on public lands. In Utah and across the country, communities are demanding greater transparency and input as data centers are rapidly built. Proposals like Project Beehive in Carbon County have many unanswered questions about their legality and potential impacts but would be expedited if the bill passed.

Please take a few minutes to tell your senators to oppose this legislation and to work towards better protections for public lands and wild places.

Click here to urge your senators to oppose BAAJA!

The post Tell Your Senators to Oppose the Permitting Reform Bill! appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

Sea-level rise and severe storms threaten coastal communities and shorelines around the world. Protecting wetlands and maintaining healthy beaches can help mitigate these threats. That’s why...

A new interactive map from the Center for Western Priorities and Earthworks shows the national public lands where the Senate’s permitting bill, the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA), would lock in the Trump administration’s drilling, mining, and development decisions.

The map highlights places at risk in seven states and Washington, D.C. In New Mexico, BAAJA would lock in new oil and gas leases around Chaco Canyon, where the administration is moving to revoke a 336,000-acre buffer protecting culturally significant land. In Utah, any new mining plans approved around Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments would be nearly impossible to revoke, even if the monuments are restored. And in Arizona, permits for Resolution Copper’s mine at Oak Flat, a sacred Apache site that models show would collapse into a crater roughly two miles wide, would become nearly untouchable.

The map isn’t exhaustive. Almost all public land outside national parks and other permanently protected areas could be at risk under Section 1401 of the bill, which bars federal agencies from revoking, suspending, or changing any permit in effect on or after September 16, 2026, unless they prove one of five narrow exceptions by “clear and convincing evidence.”

“This bill represents a false choice between protecting public lands and fighting climate change,” said Center for Western Priorities Communications Director Kate Groetzinger. “If the Senate moves forward with this bill as written, it will be a slap in the face to voters across the country who just demanded a new direction in Washington.”

Quick hits Trump’s midterm collapse is good news for public lands

Public Domain

Utah Sen. Mike Lee wasn’t on the ballot but he’s losing an influential seat

Salt Lake Tribune

What does the blue wave mean for permitting reform?

Heatmap

From trail access to hunting rights, here’s how America voted on public lands

Outside

Trump touted his Reflecting Pool success. But new problems are visible

Washington Post | The Independent

Democrats eye inquiries into Trump actions on energy, public land

New York Times

Column: A very expensive night for Big Oil

HEATED

Editorial: Senators should say no to permitting deal with the devil

Durango Herald

Quote of the day

Once again, voters are demonstrating that protecting the places we love is a priority that transcends partisanship.”

—Will Abberger, vice president and director of conservation finance at Trust for Public Land

Picture This @usfws

Did you know there are two species of desert tortoises in the United States?

The Mojave Desert tortoise lives north and west of the Colorado River, including California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah, while the Sonoran Desert tortoise is found south and east of the river in Arizona.

Sonoran tortoises are typically more active during summer monsoons and often shelter among rocky hillsides, while Mojave Desert tortoises are more commonly found in desert valleys and washes.

Both play an important role in keeping desert ecosystems healthy. #deserttortoiseweek

Photo of a juvenile Sonoran Desert tortoise by USFWS

 

(Featured image: Chetro Ketl great kiva, Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Photo: National Park Service)

The post These places are at risk under the Senate permitting bill appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

The share of solar projects co-located with storage is projected to pass 30% over the next two years, based on planned additions, according to a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Dirty Dozen™ food chemicals: Potassium bromate Iris Myers November 5, 2026 EWG’s recommendation

Avoid or limit foods containing potassium bromate.

Potassium bromate has been classified as a possible carcinogen by the World Health Organization’s cancer research agency, based on evidence of kidney and thyroid tumors in animals. Potassium bromate is intended to convert to potassium bromide during baking, but some residual potassium bromate may remain in finished products. 

What is potassium bromate?

Potassium bromate is used as a dough strengthener, flour treating agent and oxidizing agent. It strengthens gluten, improves dough elasticity and helps bread rise more consistently, producing a higher-volume loaf.

Which foods contain potassium bromate?

Potassium bromate is added to some flour and dough used to make bread products, including hamburger buns, sandwich bread, rolls, tortillas, pastries and crackers.

Look for potassium bromate in product ingredient lists, usually below or next to the Nutrition Facts panel, on the back of the package. It may also appear as “bromated flour” on ingredient labels.

How is potassium bromate regulated?

The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for overseeing food additives and other ingredients. Potassium bromate entered the U.S. food supply before the 1958 Food Additives Amendment established the modern additive approval process, so it was never required to undergo full premarket safety review. 

It remains permitted in bread, rolls and buns at up to 75 parts per million of flour weight. In 2024, the FDA identified potassium bromate as a priority additive for safety reassessment.

The WHO cancer research agency has classified potassium bromate as possibly carcinogenic to humans. It has been banned from food in the EU, U.K., Canada, Brazil, China, South Korea and many other countries. 

Since 1990, potassium bromate has been on California’s Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to cause cancer. The state will prohibit potassium bromate in food starting in 2027. Arkansas enacted a ban in 2025, which will go into effect in 2028. New York has passed legislation, which awaits the governor’s signature, and numerous other states have introduced similar bills.

Potassium bromate is prohibited in certified organic foods under Agriculture Department  organic standards, which bar synthetic substances.

What does the science say about potassium bromate?

When bread bakes, heat is supposed to convert potassium bromate into potassium bromide, a less-harmful compound. But if baking times are too short, temperatures too low, or dough too thick, that conversion is incomplete – leaving residual potassium bromate in the finished product. 

The kidney is the primary vulnerable organ: Long-term animal studies found significant increases in kidney tumors in rats, along with other tumors in the lining of the abdomen and, in some studies, the thyroid gland.

Laboratory and animal studies show that potassium bromate can cause oxidative stress – a buildup of reactive molecules that can damage cells – as well as DNA breaks and chromosomal damage.

Research has also found that potassium bromate can damage DNA through a distinct mechanism, generating reactive intermediates that cause specific DNA lesions. Those lesions can contribute to mutations. 

Direct evidence of harm in humans is limited, and research about exactly how potassium bromate causes cancer is ongoing.

Find out more

Learn more about recommendations relating to potassium bromate – and the full EWG Dirty Dozen™ list of food chemicals – on EWG’s research page.

EWG’s Food Scores provides ratings for more than 150,000 foods and drinks based on nutrition, ingredients and processing concerns, and flags unhealthy ultra-processed foods to help you identify alternatives. 

EWG’s Skin Deep® cosmetic database helps to identify harmful chemicals in personal care and beauty products. EWG Verified® products meet the strictest criteria for transparency and health. 

And the Healthy Living™ app lets you take these tools with you on the go.

Areas of Focus Food & Water Food Ultra-Processed Foods Toxic Chemicals Food Chemicals Authors Sarah Reinhardt, MPH, RDN November 5, 2026

WEAVING ALTERNATIVES #21: A periodical of the Global Tapestry of Alternatives Weaving Economies for Life Solidarity Economy, Commons, Care and Pluriversal Futures November 2026 Editorial Note Last month, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) held their Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, bringing together governments, financial institutions and policymakers to deliberate on the future of the global economy. More than eighty years after their establishment, these institu…

AGUAFIESTAS: APO-CALI-DOS-COPIO. PERIÓDICO PAL POPO DEL DOG Por Elba Mercedes Palacios Córdoba DE TEATRALIDAD EN LA BIOREGIÓN EN TORNO AL AGUA Río Teatro Desde Cali, Colombia —en el Sur Global—, observo nuestra ineludible interdependencia cotidiana como organismos vivos. Frente a un modelo que normaliza prácticas y discursos de explotación, desigualdad y destierro, surge el imperativo de «sentipensar» —un proceso que implica sentir y pensar simultáneamente— por las vivencias en zonas racial…

AGUAFIESTAS: APO-CALI-DOS-COPIO. PERIÓDICO PAL POPO DEL DOG By Elba Mercedes Palacios Córdoba Río Teatro: Theatricality in the Bioregion Around Water From Cali, Colombia—in the Global South—I observe our inescapable, everyday interdependence as living organisms. Faced with a model that normalizes practices and discourses of exploitation, inequality, and displacement, there arises an imperative to tapestryalternatives

The New Orleans-based company separately inked firm pipeline contracts for enough natural gas to support 10 new combined-cycle power plants in Louisiana, CEO Drew Marsh said Monday.

Nota editorial – Tejiendo economías para la vida Por Melanie E L Bush, Halwest Karim y Madhuresh Kumar Introducción El mes pasado, el Banco Mundial y el Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI) celebraron sus Reuniones Anuales en Bangkok, Tailandia, reuniendo a gobiernos, instituciones financieras y responsables de la formulación de políticas para deliberar sobre el futuro de la economía mundial. Más de ochenta años después de su creación, estas instituciones continúan ejerciendo una enorme infl…

Editorial Note – Weaving Economies for Life By Melanie E L Bush, Halwest Karim and Madhuresh Kumar Introduction Last month, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) held their Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, bringing together governments, financial institutions and policymakers to deliberate on the future of the global economy. More than eighty years after their establishment, these institutions continue to exercise enormous influence over the economic policies and dev…

Events Upcoming events Kurdish Experiment in Radical Democracy and Autonomy: Struggles and Risks - November 13th As part of the webinar series for building a Global Alliance for Radical Democracy and Autonomy (GARDA), the Global of () invites you to a conversation on the Kurdish experience of radical democracy and autonomy, focusing on its struggles and risks.GTAGTATapestryAlternativesGTAalternativesTapestryAlternativesAlternativesalternativesTapestryAlternativesGTAGTATapestryAlternatives…

El experimento kurdo de democracia radical y autonomía: luchas y riesgos Fecha y lugar * Fecha: viernes, 13 de noviembre de 2026 * Hora: 1:00 p. m. – 2:30 p. m. GMT * Formato: Seminario web en línea * Idioma: Inglés, con interpretación simultánea al españolGTA

Kurdish Experiment in Radical Democracy and Autonomy: Struggles and Risks Date and venue * Date: Friday, November 13th, 2026 * Time: 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm GMT * Format: Online webinar * Language: English, with simultaneous Spanish interpretation TapestryAlternativesGTAGTAGTATapestryAlternativesGTA