Food Tank

On Wednesday, Sept. 23, Food Tank will host “The Roots of Organic: From Soil to Shelf” at Climate Week NYC 2026, in partnership with Organic Trade Association, Organic Valley, Once Upon a Farm, Handsome Brook Farms, Stonyfield, and Amy’s Kitchen, and in collaboration with Organic Voices, Lundberg Family Farms, Tradin Organic, and Rodale Institute.

The all-day, invitation-only summit will celebrate the organic movement’s journey while charting its path forward. 

“This event is a timely opportunity to shine a light on the important connection and benefits of organic for positive climate impact,” said Matthew Dillon, Co-CEO of the Organic Trade Association. ”We expect attendees to gain inspiration and insight from the expertise of the farmers, scientists, and industry leaders who will be taking the stage—this will be a day to come together for knowledge sharing, problem-solving, and collective action to continue to drive the US$76 billion organic sector forward.” 

Panel discussions will explore science and innovation in organic practices, organic’s current successes and challenges, and how to move collectively with commitment, innovation, and inspiration into the future. 

Much of the conversation will focus on the farm, including farmers’ voices on stage to share their journey and what’s working. 

“’The Roots of Organic: from Soil to Shelf’ summit is an important event that gives people the opportunity to hear directly from farmers and brands of agricultural products just how climate changes are impacting their operations. But the good news is they will also hear how farming organically has shown to help combat climate change and what steps farmers and brands are taking now to be more resilient,” says Tracy Favre, Senior Vice President of Sustainability and Organic Strategies at Handsome Brook Farms. 

“The audience will leave with an understanding that while the sense of urgency is real, we do have the tools and knowledge to make agriculture a force for good in the fight against climate change.”

That farm-level work is also part of a broader effort to build resilience across the organic food system, from individual farms to the supply chain.

“Organic Valley is proving that climate solutions start on organic farms. Together with Food Tank at Climate Week NYC, we’re bringing leaders together to highlight innovative working models, like carbon insetting, that demonstrate climate action on farms and within the supply chain,” says Jessica Luhning, Senior Sustainability Manager at Organic Valley. “As the nation’s largest organic farmer-owned cooperative, we’re proving organic agriculture is a powerful solution for a more resilient food system.”

Throughout the day, speakers will explore how the original principles of organic can continue to evolve alongside a changing climate—and how community plays a role.

“While organic food and agriculture has an institutionalized framework that’s been around for several decades, it also has a movement surrounding it that transcends this framework,” says Jane Kuhn, Senior Director of Strategic Sourcing & Sustainability at Once Upon a Farm. “This summit is an important opportunity to convene around both the movement and the framework, reflecting together to celebrate accomplished impact, while also surfacing gaps and possibilities to inform where it goes next.”

For many, looking ahead also means returning to those principles that have defined the movement from the beginning and considering how they can shape a more resilient food system.

“Organic farming has always been about looking at the whole system, from soil health to financial sustainability for farmers,” says Britt Lundgren, Senior Director of Sustainability and Government Affairs at Stonyfield. “At Stonyfield, we’ve always believed that organic farming can help us overcome the challenges of climate change—both by reducing agriculture’s contribution to GHG emissions and by storing more carbon in the soil. This event is an opportunity to bring that whole conversation together, from what happens in the soil to what ultimately reaches consumers, and to look at what organic has taught us about building a more resilient food system for the future.” 

Where the movement goes next—a central theme of the summit—will consider that balance between honoring organic’s roots and growing its reach.

“At Amy’s, we’ve spent nearly four decades proving that organic food can grow and reach millions of families without losing sight of the values it was built on,” says Paul Schiefer, CEO of Amy’s Kitchen. “But for organic to have the impact we know it can, the entire movement has to keep pushing forward. I hope this summit challenges all of us to think bigger about how we make organic more accessible and impactful, while protecting the standards and principles that have made it meaningful in the first place.”

The event will kick off at WNYC-NPR Studios’ The Greene Space in New York City at 9am with breakfast and live musical performances. An afternoon session will kick off with lunch at 1:30pm, and the evening programming will run from 6:30pm to 9:30pm, including networking opportunities. 

Speakers include Benjamin Bartley, Director of Responsible Procurement, UNFI; Alexis Bramley, Director of Strategic Projects, Organic Trade Association; Will Brinkerhoff, Soil Scientist, Chef, and Science Communicator; Marcia Brown, Food and Agriculture Reporter, POLITICO; Amy Bruch, Sixth-Generation Organic Farmer and President, Cyclone Farms; Taylor Clayton, Director of Global Impact and Responsible Sourcing, Adams Group; Beatriz Daim, Sustainability Specialist, Tradin Organic; Kathleen Davis, Producer, WNYC Studios’ Science Friday; Matthew Dillon, Co-CEO, Organic Trade Association; Abianne Falla, Founder, CatSpring Yaupon; Tracy Favre, Vice President of Sustainability, Live Operations, Handsome Brook Farms; Christopher Gergen, CEO, Regenerative Organic Alliance; David Gonthier, Associate Professor, Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky; Alison Grantham, President, Grow Well Consulting; Stephanie Grotta, Vice President of Responsible Sourcing & Sustainable Capabilities, Target; Chef Johanna Hellrigl, Chef-Owner, Ama Restaurant, Washington DC; Steven Jennings, Health Partnerships & Stakeholder Engagement Lead, Ahold Delhaize USA; Jane Kuhn, Senior Director of Strategic Sourcing & Sustainability, Once Upon a Farm; Annie Leeson, Co-Founder, AgriCarbon; Brandon Lombardi, Chief Legal Officer & Chief Sustainability Officer, Sprouts Farmers Market; Jessica Luhning, Senior Manager of Sustainability, Organic Valley; Britt Lundgren, Senior Director of Sustainability and Government Affairs, Stonyfield; Chef Joshua McFadden, James Beard Award-Winning Chef and Author; Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank; Kousha Navidar, Host, WNYC and Co-host, Climate One; Shawna Nelson, CEO, Organic Valley; Chef Priyanka Naik, Chef, Author, TV Personality & Food Network Champion; Leah Penniman, Farmer, Author, and Food Justice Activist, Soul Fire Farms; Sandy Pfaff, Vice President of Media Relations, Organic Trade Association; Gwyneth Rampton, Vice President of Sustainability, Compass Group USA; Maria Rodale, Board Co-Chair, Rodale Institute; Paul Schiefer, CEO, Amy’s Kitchen; Amber Sciligo, Senior Director, The Organic Center; Suzanne Sengelmann, Chief Executive Officer, Lundberg Family Farms; Erin Silva, Professor of Organic and Sustainable Cropping Systems, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Katrina Staves, Executive Director, Organic Voices; Sarela Herrada, Co-Founder, SIMPLi; Annie Watson, Organic Dairy Farmer, Sheepscot Valley Farm and Stonyfield Producer; Jake Wedeberg, Organic Dairy Farmer, Compost Expert, and Participant in Carbon Insetting; Stefanie Wilbur, Farmer and Owner, Lazy Dog Farm; Nijia Zhou, Climate, Nature, and Supply Chain Standards Lead, Amazon Worldwide Grocery; and Duron Chavis, Urban Farmer and Food Justice Advocate, Founder and Director, Happily Natural Day and Founder, Sankofa Community Orchard.

“The Roots of Organic: From Soil to Shelf” will feature a special musical performances by Celia Hottenstein, Glinda in Wicked on Broadway, who will be joined by Ryan Fielding Garrett, a New York City-based composer, music director, orchestrator, and musician whose Broadway credits include Kinky Boots, Wicked, Back to the Future, The Notebook, and Mean Girls; Travis Taber, Fiyero in Wicked on Broadway, who will also be joined by Garrett; Jayke Workman, Broadway actor, singer, and dancer currently starring as Mary Sunshine in Chicago on Broadway, who will be joined by Cullen Curth, New York City-based pianist, music director, and conductor who recently made his Broadway conducting debut with Just in Time; Singer-Songwriter Amber Rubarth; and Singer-Songwriter Taylor Hurd.

This summit will be streamed live on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel, here. Join the Food Tank newsletter list for reminders, and click here for Food Tank’s full lineup of events at Climate Week NYC 2026.

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.

The post Organic Agriculture Charts Its Future at Climate Week NYC appeared first on Food Tank.

On Monday evening, Sept. 21, Food Tank will host a food and agriculture film festival during Climate Week NYC 2026, in partnership with Kat Taylor, President of TomKat Foundation; Halter; The Henry Ford; The Rockefeller Foundation; and Groundswell.

The invitation-only festival will feature a screening of Food Tank’s first original documentary film, “Irish Farmers: A Love Story,” which follows three Irish farmers across three generations.

“Farmers are storytellers. There is a love story in every practice of agriculture, and as we face an increasingly mechanized world, stories coming from the heart is the path towards a more sustainable, prosperous, and empathetic future,” says Director Haven Worley.

“It is an honor to be part of a story bigger than ourselves and to come together in a festival that highlights farmers, advocates, artists, ranchers, and community members as the storytellers of a resilient climate future.” 

Through film and conversation with filmmakers, farmers, and food system leaders, the event will explore the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of agriculture while celebrating storytelling as a catalyst for education, connection, and action.

“We believe there is real opportunity for innovation in our food system, and we’re seeing it happen in communities across the country,” says Spence Medford, Senior Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer at The Henry Ford, a national cultural and educational institution that uses the stories of American innovation and ingenuity to inspire people to imagine a better future. 

The evening will kick off with a clip from “Farm to School Lunch Across America,” The Henry Ford’s film capturing a national school-supported agriculture initiative, which uses school food dollars to buy fresh, nutritious food from local and regional farmers and producers. “It means better food and better fuel for the next generation, while supporting farmers who are taking care of the land and creating a dependable market for what they grow,” says Medford. 

“Through our Farm to School Lunch Across America initiative and new documentary, we’re bringing people together and sharing the stories of the school meal leaders, farmers and chefs who are already showing us what’s possible.” 

This will be followed by a fireside chat with clips from “Language of the Land,” a film showing how Oklahoma ranchers Zach and Kacie Scherler-Abney embraced technology to achieve environmental and economic sustainability.

“For Zach and Kacie, what started as a personal health journey quickly became a soil health journey; a testament to their commitment to producing healthy and nutritious beef in harmony with the landscape they ranch on,” says Mikaele Ymker, Sustainability Lead at Halter. “Learning and mentorship are at the heart of Zach and Kacie’s ranching philosophy … We hope the audience will come away with an understanding of how ranchers are developing solutions that balance economics and ecology, without compromising their quality of life.”

Another discussion will feature clips from “Groundswell,” an award-winning environmental documentary following farmers, scientists, and Indigenous leaders who are rebuilding topsoil, restoring ecosystems, drawing down carbon, and fighting desertification across five continents.

“The films at this festival bring overdue visibility to the farmers and ranchers who feed us, regeneratively steward the soil, and are often the bedrock of local communities. We are bringing those stories to the fore and helping people see that agriculture writ large could be so much more than what currently ends up on grocery store shelves,” says Kat Taylor, President of TomKat Foundation.

“Regenerative agriculture, to us, is the largest delta solution to climate change, quelling up to 30-40% of global greenhouse gases, while re-sequestering 200 gigatons of carbon every decade in American acreage alone. I hope audiences leave as inspired as I have been by the glimpse these films give us into the way farmers and ranchers are already showing us what a new-old economy rooted in community, resilience, and care for the land and each other can look like.”

The evening’s final discussion will include clips from “Food 2050,” a documentary film narrated and executive produced by Academy Award winner Viola Davis that explores how to sustainably feed a projected global population of 10 billion people by the year 2050.

“The vast majority of films and books set in the future offer a dystopian nightmare – a world no one hopes becomes real. By giving such little creative effort to imagining the future we actually want, the hope we need to write a better tomorrow feels like it’s dwindling,” says Sara Farley, Regenerative School Meals Co-Lead and Vice President for the Food Team at The Rockefeller Foundation. 

“Food 2050 proves that when invited and empowered, communities are ready to put forward inspirational, transformational and totally feasible blueprints for the year 2050 that show we can live connected to food systems that are nourishing, regenerative and equitable.”

The event will begin at 6:30pm at WNYC-NPR Studios’ The Greene Space in New York City, with food, drinks, and live musical performances. A reception will follow, with programming concluding at 9:45pm.

Speakers include Xiye Bastida, Climate Justice Activist, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Re-Earth Initiative; Sweta Chakraborty, CEO of North America, We Don’t Have Time; Mary Culler, President, Ford Philanthropy; Sara Farley, Regenerative School Meals Co-Lead and Vice President for the Food Initiative, The Rockefeller Foundation; Spence Medford, Senior Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer, The Henry Ford; Helen Moore, VP of Commercial Strategy, Halter; Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank; Kacie Scherler-Abney, Fifth-Generation Rancher, Scherler-Abney Land & Cattle; Zach Scherler-Abney, Rancher, Scherler-Abney Land & Cattle; Jennifer Sherman, Program Director, Alice Waters Institute; Kat Taylor, Founder, TomKat Ranch and TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation; Rebecca Harrell Tickell, Director and Producer, Groundswell; and Haven Worley, Director, Irish Farmers: A Love Story.

The Food and Agriculture Film Festival will also feature a special musical performance by Brandon Burks, a Broadway actor, singer, and dancer currently in the new show Midnight. He will be joined by Elijah Caldwell, an OBIE Award-winning actor, singer, pianist, and music director whose credits include A Strange Loop Off-Broadway and the national tour of Shucked.

This summit will be streamed live on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel, here. Join the Food Tank newsletter list for reminders, and click here for Food Tank’s full lineup of events at Climate Week NYC 2026.

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.

The post Film Festival Highlights the Future of Agriculture appeared first on Food Tank.

You know those memories of childhood that catch you decades later when you are doing something entirely different, thinking about something entirely different? For me, one that frequently finds me is waking to the call of the vegetable pushcart walla while visiting my grandmother’s flat in Karachi.

Aloo-ooo, Py-azzzz, Tamatarrrr, Baiṅgan. Sabzi! Sabzi! Sabzi!

(Potato, onion, tomato, eggplant. Vegetables! Vegetables! Vegetables!)

Warm summer morning air filling the room, the fan turning overhead. Waking next to my sister, the two of us insisting on sleeping in my grandmother’s beautiful salwars that were probably not ready to be turned into pajamas. The sounds of traffic humming from the dusty streets below.

I could not see him, but he was ever present as his voice crisscrossed the neighborhood announcing fresh vegetables. And he always called out the price. His call made clear that price was part of the enticement. A good deal was passing by.

That unseen vegetable pushcart was a pocket of possibility.

Each day, Dadu, my grandmother, would sit with Sherbano, who worked in her home, and methodically go over what would be cooked. Dish by dish, they discussed who would be eating, what ingredients were still needed, the cost of the meal in relation to the week’s budget, and what else had been cooked that week. Sometimes Sherbano would double-check what remained from Juma Bazar (the Friday farmers market) or from the supermarket, where shelf-stable foreign goods like canned cheese were available.

Sherbano and my grandmother discussed what to look for when purchasing each vegetable: its appearance, size, texture, freshness, and aroma. Let’s not buy it if it’s not fragrant. The potatoes should be this size. Always the freshest. We’ll only know how many curry leaves and chilli peppers we need once the cooking starts. The aroma should pop.

Planning the day’s meals was a priority. Dadu and Sherbano held these discussions with seriousness, and occasionally argument, as each brought her own knowledge and skill to food procurement and meal preparation. These conversations brought out the most serious side of my grandmother. At most other times, there was always an excuse for a little fun, let’s paint the town red!

Sherbano returned with the day’s purchases to my grandmother’s tiny kitchen. There were a few pots. She sat on a low woven stool and cut vegetables on a cutting board on the ground. With her knowledge, skill, and labor, she transformed whole food ingredients into meals that brought joy. Meals that were festive and nourishing. Meals I long for.

That kitchen in my grandmother’s home was another pocket of possibility.

The vegetable pushcart walla was one of many who started around 3:00 a.m., purchasing vegetables from the Sabzi Mandi before dispersing across neighborhoods. Without a storefront, they helped keep fresh vegetables within reach. Across generations and geographies, mobile vendors have carried fruits, vegetables, grains, and more toward people in baskets, bundles, and pushcarts.

Most of us do not experience the food system in its entirety; we experience it through food environments. Food environments are the living confluences where climate, biodiversity, agriculture, markets, policy, culture, economics, nutrition, and health come together in our daily lives. Collectively, these relationships shape food availability, affordability, convenience, promotion, quality, and sustainability.

The Sabzi Mandi, Juma Bazar, supermarket, and vegetable pushcarts were all part of the built food environment my grandmother accessed. Built food environments extend from traditional markets and mobile vendors to supermarkets, restaurants, schools, hospitals, workplaces, and digital marketplaces. People also obtain food directly from wild and cultivated food environments, from forests, rivers, and coastlines to farms, fields, and home gardens.

I have delighted in co-creating frameworks, tools, metrics, and surveys to understand diverse food environments. What we define and characterize determines what we see and measure, and what we measure determines what we can manage. If we only measure food available in markets, we miss extraordinary pockets of food diversity in wild and cultivated food environments and the knowledge and relationships that make them accessible.

Food can be available but unaffordable. It can be affordable but poor quality, culturally irrelevant, or undesirable. Diverse foods can persist in a landscape while the knowledge to recognize, harvest, prepare, and value them disappears.

Food environments are dynamic. We are living through a profound global food-environment transition, with growing availability of ultra-processed and ready-to-eat foods and more food consumed away from home. These shifts bring convenience while distancing us from food knowledge and agency once practiced in our kitchens.

A pocket of possibility can shrink. It can also be expanded.

My grandmother’s kitchen reminds me that access to fresh and affordable ingredients was only part of what made those nourishing meals possible. Dadu had support. She and Sherbano brought knowledge, skill, labor, and time to making those meals, discerning quality, working within a budget, minimizing waste, and adjusting ingredients until the aroma popped. Nourishment requires an enabling environment inside the home, too. Today, many of our kitchens have vacancies in time, labor, knowledge, skills, and support.

But we are not going back to our grandmothers’ kitchens, nor the labor arrangements that helped make them possible. The opportunity is to carry the best of that knowledge and intention forward while finding new ways to fill some of the vacancies.

Policies can support mobile vendors in bringing fresh, affordable food closer to home. They can also help community gardens flourish, while hunting, fishing, and foraging can enhance food access. Food education can help navigate increasingly complex food and information landscapes. Where Dadu and Sherbano brought knowledge and collaboration to the meal, better food-quality data and emerging AI tools for meals can offer new forms of support. One possibility we are exploring is Swap It Smart, powered by data from The Periodic Table of Food Initiative (PTFI).

The meal itself becomes another pocket of possibility.

Meals can heal. Evidence is growing that interventions centered on meals can improve diet and health. Providing convenient access to minimally processed meals improved dietary quality and mental health symptoms in a randomized controlled trial. Medically Tailored Meals can improve health outcomes and reduce hospitalizations and healthcare costs. Culinary medicine and cooking interventions can build knowledge and skills to prepare healthier foods. Universal school meals can improve children’s health at population scale, while school meals from regenerative agriculture extend those benefits to planetary health.

Across interventions and scales, the same fundamental possibility emerges: creating the enabling conditions and support for good food to become a nourishing meal.

As leaders and advocates gather in New York around the U.N. General Assembly and Climate Week, conversations about climate and health unfold at planetary scale. We do not have to invent every solution anew. Food environments are powerful levers because so much of the food system converges there. Some of these solutions have been moving through our streets for generations. Others are growing in home gardens. Some emerge from tiny kitchens, where what is available meets knowledge, skill, care, and imagination.

Bring good food within reach.

As we pursue planetary-scale solutions, some of the largest pockets of possibility may already be within reach.

From the dusty streets rises the familiar call.

Sabzi! Sabzi! Sabzi! (Vegetables! Vegetables! Vegetables!)

This essay is part of Food Tank’s Flourish Series: Food and Health from Molecules to Systems, authored by Selena Ahmed, exploring how food connects us to the living world while asking what it means to flourish. For more in the series, click here.

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On Monday morning, Sept. 21, Food Tank will host “Solving Food Waste is a Key Solution to the Climate Crisis” at Climate Week NYC 2026, in partnership with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Food Planet Prize, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Restaurant Technologies, CookUnity, and Mill. 

Food waste is one of the world’s most overlooked climate challenges, and one of its greatest opportunities. The summit will explore how reducing food loss and waste can cut greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen food security, and build more resilient food systems at the city, state, and global levels. 

“Reducing food loss and waste is a powerful example of how a simple action can deliver multiple benefits: feeding more people, cutting greenhouse gas emissions, protecting nature and strengthening economies,” says Martin Krause, Director of the Climate Change Division at UNEP. “By changing how we value, consume, and manage food, we can drive a future where every resource matters, every meal is valued, and no food goes to waste.”

Tackling food waste, speakers say, will require action at multiple levels, from individual eaters’ choices to broader policy changes.

“The world needs an array of interventions from different parts of the food system, and food waste is an important piece of the puzzle,” says Emily Norford, Nominations Manager at Food Planet Prize. “We hope the event will yield a renewed motivation to take action, whether it’s changing individual behavior, supporting policy solutions, or joining forces with others.”

Across the United States, advocacy and research organizations are already working to put those solutions into practice: “This event will highlight a range of impactful food waste solutions already taking place across the country and inspire us in our push towards the goal of reducing food waste by 50 percent by 2030,” says Rebecca Riley, Managing Director of Food & Agriculture at NRDC.

Some of those efforts are focused on one of the most consequential destinations for discarded food: landfills.

“Keeping food waste out of landfills is one of the most immediate opportunities we have to make our food system more sustainable,” says Diana Geseking, Chief Legal Officer at Restaurant Technologies. “We help commercial kitchens reduce their waste and turn what remains into something valuable. We are excited to bring that perspective to this conversation and learn from others working across the food system.”

But speakers say reducing food waste is about more than what happens after food is discarded; it can also mean getting surplus food to people who need it.

“Food Tank’s event at Climate Week perfectly illustrates how deeply food is connected to many of the challenges the climate crisis has forced us to confront,” says María Bengochea, Director of Sustainability, Nutrition, and Standards at CookUnity. “For our team at CookUnity, contributing to the fight against food insecurity—by rescuing surplus food, working with our donation partners to support local communities, and preventing good food from becoming waste—is central to both our day-to-day operations and our mission to empower chefs to feed and nourish more people.”

Discussions on chef partnerships to reduce food waste, city and state food waste action, advancing a national policy agenda on food waste, and food waste action in food service and retail will explore how food waste is a problem that can be addressed at a global scale.

“For decades, we have treated food waste like it was inevitable, but it’s actually one of the most solvable climate problems that exist today,” says Matt Rogers, CEO of Mill. “If people walk away from this summit understanding that we can move the needle on this massive-scale, high-impact problem, that’s a win for the economy and for the planet.”

The event will be at WNYC-NPR Studios’ The Greene Space in New York City at 9am with breakfast and live musical performances, followed by a reception until 12pm.

Speakers include María Bengochea, Director of Sustainability & Standards, CookUnity; Veleké Brown, CEO, E-RoadMap and Velloris, and Executive Director, E-RoadMap Corporation; U.S. Representative Nikki Budzinski; U.S. Representative Maxine Dexter; Adalberto Maluf Filho, National Secretary for Urban Environment, Water Resources and Environmental Quality, Brazil’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change; Julie Gehrki, President, Walmart Foundation and Senior Vice President, Philanthropy, Walmart Inc.; Diana Geseking, Chief Legal Officer, Restaurant Technologies; Robert Jones, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, Industry Leadership, and Impact, The Culinary Institute of America; Matthew Jozwiak, Founder and CEO, Rethink Food; Madeline Keating, Senior Advocate, Nature, NRDC; Martin Krause, Director, Climate Change Division, UN Environment Programme (UNEP); Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank; Emily Norford, Nominations Manager, Food Planet Prize; Emily Peck, plant-based chef and holistic nutritionist; Lou Pieh, Head of Federal Affairs, Mill; Gwyneth Rampton, Vice President of Sustainability, Compass Group USA; U.S. Representative Andrea Salinas (D-OR); Tia Schwab, Senior Manager, U.S. Food Systems, C40 Cities; Jackie Suggitt, Senior Director of Waste & Circularity, Walmart; Sydney Thayer, Pollution Prevention Specialist, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality; and Jacob Wallace, Senior Reporter, Waste Dive.

“Solving Food Waste is a Key Solution to the Climate Crisis” will feature a special musical performance by Nathan Lucrezio, a Broadway actor, singer, dancer, and recording artist whose credits include Schmigadoon!, Pirates! The Penzance Musical, The Who’s Tommy, Diana, Aladdin, and Cinderella. He will be joined by Cullen Curth, New York City-based pianist, music director, and conductor who recently made his Broadway conducting debut with Just in Time.

This summit will be streamed live on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel, here. Join the Food Tank newsletter list for reminders, and click here for Food Tank’s full lineup of events at Climate Week NYC 2026.

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.

The post Turning Food Waste Into Climate Action appeared first on Food Tank.

On Tuesday evening, Sept. 22, Food Tank will host “People-Focused. Climate-Friendly. Food-Forward New York City” at Climate Week NYC 2026, in partnership with the New York City Mayor’s Office, Strong Roots, and Support + Feed. The summit will explore how New York City’s food future can best promote the health of people and planet. 

“We all rely on a complex food system in order to eat, counting on the network of those who harvest crops, ship food into our city, sell groceries, deliver takeout, and cook meals,” says Siddhartha Sanchez, Executive Director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy. “When climate change disrupts our food system, strengthening those relationships creates resilience and helps communities stay fed.”

Food systems are not all created equal—or equitably—and the solution is more inclusion on and off the menu. The summit will investigate how equity and inclusivity are foundational to a food system that promotes the health of people and the planet, featuring city agencies pioneering innovative, nutritious, delicious meal programs that support their unique populations’ well-being and reflect their cultures. 

“This Climate Week, we’re elevating the voices of people across City agencies who are championing better ways to serve New Yorkers. Understanding the power of food to nourish our bodies, connect us to our communities, and contribute to climate solutions, together we’re realizing our shared vision for a healthy and sustainable food system—designed by and for New Yorkers,” says Sanchez.

The evening will include culinary student spotlights, fireside chats with food policy leaders, conversations about food and climate justice, and a food stories art exhibition. 

Discussions will also explore the power of plants in a more nutritious and equitable food system.

“For a week that puts climate at the center of the conversation, we believe the role food, and particularly the role vegetables can play in building a more climate-friendly food system needs to be firmly on the table too,” says Emma Curtis, Managing Director at Strong Roots, a plant-based frozen foods company. “At Strong Roots, we believe food can be better. We are in the business of making vegetables exciting and constantly innovating to inspire people to eat more of them, more often. We are frozen and veg-based not because we think it’s cool but because we believe it’s the right thing to do.”

Strong Roots and Support + Feed, a non-profit organization that addresses food insecurity and the climate crisis by promoting plant-based diets, are together donating 6,200 meals and pantry items to the local community in New York City during Climate Week.

“We’re excited to be joined by our long-term community partners and friends at Support + Feed, who are doing incredible work across local communities—providing plant-based meals, pantry items, education, and redistributing rescued produce to those who need it most, while highlighting the important connection between our plate and personal and planetary health,” says Curtis. 

The event will kick off at WNYC-NPR Studios’ The Greene Space in New York City at 6:30pm with light food and live musical performances, followed by a reception until 9:30pm.

Confirmed speakers include Maggie Baird, Founder and President, Support + Feed; Emma Curtis, Managing Director, Strong Roots; Shyria Donawa, Program Specialist, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; Ora Kemp, Senior Policy Advisor, New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy; Kevin Nakagawa, Community Organizer and Food Stories Lead, Open Doors; Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank; Norman Priester, Executive Director, Nutrition Service Division, NYC Department of Correction; and Siddhartha Sanchez, Executive Director, New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy.

“People-Focused. Climate-Friendly. Food-Forward New York City” will feature a special musical performance by Kaitlyn Davidson, a Broadway actor and singer currently appearing as Helen Pritt in Schmigadoon!, with previous Broadway credits including Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella and Nice Work If You Can Get It. She will be joined by Maria Caputo, a New York-based composer, pianist, vocalist, music director, and Broadway music copyist whose work spans musical theatre, jazz, classical, and contemporary music.

This summit will be streamed live on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel, here. Join the Food Tank newsletter list for reminders, and click here for Food Tank’s full lineup of events at Climate Week NYC 2026.

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.

The post Climate Week Puts New York City’s Food Future on the Menu appeared first on Food Tank.

A recent report from Healthy Eating Research (HER) recommends a new definition for ultra-processed foods (UPFs) to create effective food policy. They also highlight policy opportunities to limit their consumption. The panel hoped the report can aid federal agencies as they work toward an official UPF definition.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently submitted the first federal definition of UPFs for final review after considering input from “thousands of stakeholders, including industry, consumer organizations, researchers, and members of the public,” according to a press release from HHS. It did not provide the proposed definition.

The HER report considers UPFs as products with at least one cosmetic additive to increase palatability or ingredient of non-culinary use not found in a home kitchen, like high fructose corn syrup. 

The panel’s definition is based on the Nova food classification system, developed by researchers at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil. While the Nova system provides a comprehensive framework for studying UPFs in a research setting, it is difficult to employ operationally for policymaking, explains Jim Krieger, the panel co-chair and Executive Director of Healthy Food America.

By creating a policy-oriented definition, government agencies can easily and consistently identify UPFs by referencing a comprehensive list of UPF ingredient markers. The report suggests that a federal agency should monitor the constantly changing food supply and update the list with additional ingredients regularly. Used alongside existing food evaluation measures, these approaches account for a product’s level of processing, nutrient content, and ingredients.

UPFs are typically processed foods with several ingredients, such as sodas, candy, flavored chips, and breakfast cereals, designed to be shelf-stable, sensorily appealing, marketable, and convenient. More than half of the calories that Americans consume come from UPFs– one of the highest levels of consumption in the world, according to the report.

“Americans face an unprecedented burden of diet-related disease, and the dominance of ultra-processed foods is a major contributor,” Dariush Mozaffarian, HER panel member and Director of the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University, tells Food Tank.

Studies including those published in The BMJ and the British Journal of Nutrition, link UPF consumption with an increased risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and mental health disorders. These findings have raised concerns among policymakers and government agencies, including the current administration, according to the report.

Using their definition, the panel recommends five policies that it believes are likely to be implemented by the federal government and effective in reducing UPF consumption in America. “The goal is not to eliminate all processed foods, but to shift the food system toward healthier formulations and defaults that make it easier, not harder, for people to eat well,” says Mozaffarian.

Their first recommendation is to tax select UPFs to increase their retail price and reduce their sales and consumption. Products would be chosen based on studies linking them to negative health outcomes, including sugar-sweetened beverages and processed meats. 

The panelists do not recommend taxing all UPFs, as it would disproportionately affect low-income consumers. They suggest that UPF tax revenues be invested into programming that benefits those disproportionately affected by them, such as healthy eating programs.

“If we raise prices on these products without simultaneously improving access to affordable, minimally processed foods, we risk worsening food insecurity,” Emily Broad Leib, panel member and Director of the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic, tells Food Tank.

The report also calls on the government to restrict the procurement of UPFs in institutional settings, including schools, early childhood education centers, hospitals, and jails. 

Another policy recommendation aims to decrease demand for UPFs through funding counter marketing campaigns. Companies that produce UPFs heavily market their products, especially towards children. The panelists argue counter marketing campaigns can educate the public about the health risks of UPFs and point to the Truth Initiative anti-tobacco campaign as a model.

The report also proposes the inclusion of a limit on UPF intake within the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). While the 2025-2030 DGA suggests limiting highly processed foods, future guidelines should outline a specific upper limit.

UPF labels on the front of food packages can also be useful, the panel says. By indicating a product is ultra-processed, it may deter eaters from buying it. They acknowledge, however, that these might amplify health disparities among non-English speakers who have more trouble understanding the label. Dr. Krieger suggests that bilingual labeling may mitigate this issue.

The panel believes that the government’s attempt to regulate UPF consumption will positively impact public health. But they expect pushback from manufacturers. “Industry has a lot of influence on this administration… and they are totally geared up and lobbying hard against anything to regulate UPFs,” Dr. Krieger tells Food Tank.

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Photo courtesy of Osarugue Igbinoba, Unsplash

The post Defining Ultra-Processed Foods: From Evidence to Action appeared first on Food Tank.

On Tuesday morning, Sept. 22, Food Tank and the American Farmland Trust will host “Thriving Farms and Ranches” at Climate Week NYC 2026. The summit will celebrate farmers, policymakers, and innovators who are working to build a stronger future for farms and ranches.

“Farmers and ranchers are leading the way toward a more resilient future,” says Joy O’Shaughnessy, Vice President of Communications at American Farmland Trust. “This summit will showcase the solutions, partnerships, and opportunities helping farms and ranches thrive. We hope attendees leave inspired by the people and solutions shaping the future of agriculture.”

From strengthening agricultural resilience and supporting producers to protecting working lands and expanding economic opportunity, discussions will explore solutions that empower farmers and ranchers while building a more sustainable and secure food system for future generations.

Topics include the International Year of the Woman Farmer, farmland access for a new generation, state policies accelerating conservation practices, how farm-to-school programs support farmers, regenerative grazing and reshaping the beef supply chain, and teaching the next generation of eaters.

The event will kick off at WNYC-NPR Studios’ The Greene Space in New York City at 9am with breakfast and live musical performances, followed by a reception until 12:30pm.

Confirmed speakers include Hillary Barile, Owner, Rabbit Hill Farms; Amanda Beal, Commissioner, Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry; John Chester, FarmLore Films; Oliver English, Co-Founder and CEO, Common Table Creative; Simon English, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Common Table Creative; Heidi Exline, New York & New Jersey Deputy Director, American Farmland Trust; Tim Fink, Vice President of Policy, American Farmland Trust; Olivia Fuller, Fourth-Generation Farmer, Fuller Acres; Dominick Grant, Partner and Managing Director, Dirt Capital Partners; Will Harris, Owner, White Oak Pastures; Brooks Lamb, Director of Food Systems and Agriculture Policy, Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator; Caitlin Leibert, Global Head of Sustainability, Amazon Worldwide Grocery; Bianca Moebius-Clune, PhD, Climate and Soil Health Director, American Farmland Trust; Jenny Lester Moffitt, Vice President of Farmland Protection and Strategic Priorities, American Farmland Trust; Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank; Heather Oppel, Senior Climate Manager, General Mills; John Piotti, President and CEO, American Farmland Trust; Karen Ross, Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture; Deydra Steans, Manager, S3 Legacy Ranch; Kat Taylor, President, TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation; and Jeff Tkach, CEO, Rodale Institute.

“Nourishing the Future” will feature a special musical performance by Madison Claire Parks, a Broadway actor and singer who recently completed nearly two years as the Glinda understudy on the Wicked National Tour. She will be joined by Broadway Music Director Noah Turner.

This summit will be streamed live on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel, here. Join the Food Tank newsletter list for reminders, and click here for Food Tank’s full lineup of events at Climate Week NYC 2026.

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.

The post At Climate Week NYC, Farmers Look Toward a Stronger Future appeared first on Food Tank.

For Paula Swaner Sargetakis, co-owner of Frog Bench Farms in Salt Lake City, Utah, farming began with curiosity. She grew up on her family’s ranch, spending countless hours exploring the natural world. The first time she saw tree frogs, she recalls falling in love with the animals and collecting them in a bucket with leaves, rocks, and water to take home.

“There were no frogs left in the pot by the time we got home, because there was no lid on the pot,” says Sargetakis, joking that “we did have to get rid of that car.” Experiences like this, and generations of family gardeners before her, planted the seeds for what would become a career in farming.

Today, Sargetakis and her husband co-own Frog Bench Farms—a name inspired in part by her lifelong love of frogs. Using regenerative practices adapted to an urban setting, the small, 1.5-acre farm grows produce for local markets, community programs, and 22 restaurants in the Salt Lake City area.

When Sargetakis and her husband searched for land to build a farm, they looked near schools, knowing they wanted their farm to also serve as a classroom to teach students where their food comes from.

“They’re always surprised that there’s a farm right next door,” says Sargetakis. “But there’s joy in it, and they will ask questions, and they learn.”

When children visit, they are sometimes very nervous to taste unfamiliar vegetables like microgreens, she adds. But like in her own childhood, curiosity usually wins, “and most of them like it.”

Alongside education, reducing waste is central to Sargetakis’s work at Frog Bench Farms: “Everything we grow on site, we don’t waste anything.”

The farm donates surplus produce to the University of Utah’s student pantry and the Utah Food Bank. Crops that aren’t sold fresh are made into teas and other value-added products, while visitors learn how to preserve food using affordable tools available at local hardware stores.

That philosophy reflects Sargetakis’ broader understanding of sustainability—not simply protecting natural resources but strengthening local food systems and sharing knowledge. At the farm, she collects water, sources ingredients locally for value-added products whenever possible, and continually looks for ways to keep resources circulating within the community.

Running a small farm, however, comes with difficult financial realities. Frog Bench Farms is committed to paying employees a living wage, even though doing so adds another layer of economic pressure to an already challenging business.

“You don’t make money farming, you make it in other sides of the product,” says Sargetakis.

Sargetakis says diversification, education, and community partnerships make it possible to continue farming while staying true to the farm’s values. Ultimately, though, she hopes more people come to understand what farming truly requires, and why it matters.

“I’m hoping one day… [that] people understand and appreciate the hard work that goes into farming and how much fun we have doing it,” says Sargetakis.

On a small urban farm surrounded by classrooms and city streets, Sargetakis aims to show that agriculture doesn’t need large acreage to make a lasting impact. For her, all it takes is an acre and a half, a handful of curious students, and someone willing to keep getting their hands in the dirt.

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.

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 Paula Swaner Sargetakis

The post Growing Food, Community, and Curiosity in Salt Lake City appeared first on Food Tank.

In his latest book Abiding Hunger: An American Paradox, author and journalist Roger Thurow asks why hunger persists in the world’s wealthiest country.

“Throughout our history, we’ve abided hunger,” Thurow tells Food Tank. “It’s essentially become part of our national fabric, our national character. We’ve accepted it. We tolerate it. We’ve grown comfortable with it. It’s a stain on our collective conscience.”

The book had been on Thurow’s mind for years. As a foreign correspondent, he spent decades reporting on hunger and famine around the world. But he knew he wanted to report on what was happening at home, in a country that instinctively sweeps the crisis aside.

The United States “deploys the most efficient commercial agriculture system and the most productive farms and farmers the world has ever known,” Thurow writes. Yet the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that nearly 48 million people live in food insecure households. And many of the counties facing the highest levels of hunger lie in regions with the richest soils.

Abiding Hunger explores how this came to be, going back to the starvation endured in colonial Jamestown. From there it looks at how hunger was allowed to persist, from the weaponization of food during the genocide of Indigenous communities to the effects of systemic discrimination Black farmers have faced from the USDA.

The second half of the book brings readers closer to the present, exploring the repercussions of COVID-19.  Thurow then turns to the impacts of the Trump-Vance Administration’s policies and funding cuts, which have deepened the country’s hunger crisis. 

“You can draw a line through all this history through [Hurricane] Katrina, through COVID, through today and see how our history of injustice, inequality, inequity bears today and manifests in this abiding hunger that we have in America,” Thurow tells Food Tank.

Today, lines at food pantries are already longer than ever as millions of families grapple with the recent loss of nutrition assistance benefits. And Thurow worries this is just the beginning.

He argues that this reality should inspire horror, but it should also spur action. And as the midterm elections approach, he sees an opportunity. “It should be that every person who cares about this—and hopefully that’s all of us—doesn’t allow any encounter with a candidate to end without somebody asking: What are you doing about this hunger issue in this country?”

Listen to the full conversation with Roger Thurow on “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg” to hear about the smallholder farmers that bear the brunt of this crisis, the politicization of these issues, and the small family farmers giving him hope.

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 Roger Starnes Sr, Unsplash

The post ‘Abiding Hunger’ Examines the Paradox of Hunger in America appeared first on Food Tank.

This article is part of Food Tank’s primer series, “Food Tank Explains.” Each installment unpacks the ideas, innovations, and challenges shaping today’s food and agriculture systems, offering clear insights into complex topics. To explore more articles in the series, click here.

Antimicrobials are medicines used to treat infectious diseases caused by microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when disease-causing microorganisms develop resistance to the medicines designed to treat them. As a result, infections become difficult or impossible to treat, increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness, and death.

Public health agencies and researchers worldwide agree that AMR poses an urgent threat to global health. The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks AMR among the top 10 global public health threats, while the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and researchers writing in The Lancet, Healthcare, Science, and JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance have each warned of its consequences for global health.

An estimated 5 million deaths were associated with drug-resistant infections in 2019, including 1.27 million deaths directly attributable to AMR, according to a Lancet study. The CDC estimates that more than 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur in the U.S. each year, resulting in more than 35,000 deaths.

AMR also poses a significant threat to global economic stability, according to the Center for Global Development. AMR drives health-care costs largely through longer hospital stays and increased need for intensive care. It can require additional diagnostic testing and reliance on second-line antibiotics. AMR was associated with almost US$700 billion in hospital costs globally in 2019, according to research published in BMJ Global Health.

Researchers warn that the burden of AMR could increase substantially in the coming decades. By 2050, drug-resistant infections could claim 10 million lives each year, while imposing trillions of dollars in economic costs.

AMR can develop through a range of interconnected factors. It can develop naturally as microorganisms adapt to their environments. But according to FAO and research published in JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare, the primary driver of AMR is antimicrobial use. When exposed to these medicines, susceptible microorganisms may be killed while resistant ones survive and multiply.

Evidence has linked the development and spread of resistance with the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in human health, animal health, and food production. Meanwhile, global human antibiotic consumption increased by 65 percent between 2000 and 2015. And a Science study found that the proportion of animals carrying resistant bacteria in low- and middle-income countries nearly tripled between 2000 and 2018.

Antimicrobials have played an essential role in agriculture for decades, helping treat diseases in livestock, crops, and aquaculture. But the scale and manner of their use have raised concerns about agriculture’s contribution to AMR.

More than 70 percent of antibiotics worldwide are used in animals raised for food, and resistance in food animals has risen sharply. Part of the concern centers on antimicrobials used for purposes other than treating disease.

Several reports indicate that antimicrobials are used imprudently in agriculture, often being given to healthy animals for growth promotion and prophylactic purposes.

Experts suggest limiting antimicrobial use in food-producing animals when it is not needed to treat disease. WHO has called for restrictions on medically important antibiotics used for growth promotion and routine disease prevention in healthy animals.

FAO recommends reducing the conditions that create demand for these drugs. For example, by improving hygiene, biosecurity, and ventilation animal welfare, reducing crowding and stress, and farming breeds better adapted to local conditions.

Increasingly, experts approach these measures through a One Health approach, which treats human, animal, and environmental health as interconnected. A resistant bacterium that develops in livestock, for example, may spread through manure into soil and water, creating pathways for resistance to move between agricultural systems, animals, and people. Addressing AMR therefore requires coordination across sectors rather than focusing exclusively on antimicrobial use in human medicine or agriculture.

“One-Health is pivotal to combating AMR,” Haileyesus Getahun, Director of Global Coordination for the Joint Secretariat on AMR, tells Food Tank. “No sector or country acting alone can tackle AMR.” The Joint Secretariat—comprising FAO, WHO, the U.N. Environment Programme, and the World Organisation for Animal Health—coordinates international efforts to address AMR across human, animal, and environmental health.

Consumers can also influence antimicrobial demand in agriculture through their food choices. One study co-authored by Ramanan Laxminarayan found that limiting meat consumption to 40 grams per person per day could reduce antimicrobial use in livestock by 66 percent.

His advice to consumers is straightforward: “Don’t purchase meat raised on antibiotics. Reduce consumption of meat. Ask questions about where your food comes from,” Laxminarayan tells Food Tank.

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The post Food Tank Explains: Antimicrobial Resistance appeared first on Food Tank.

Sugar Coated, a new book by Marion Nestle and Lisa Sunderland, reveals the influence American cereal companies have on food policy and public health.

Nestle, a nutritionist and Professor Emerita at New York University, has been collecting cereal boxes for years, drawn to the “ridiculous health claims” they once displayed.

Consumer advocacy and government interventions have forced companies to alter their marketing over the years. But Nestle and Sunderland—the former Vice President of Nutrition at Kellogg Company—still see so much reflected in their design.

“The boxes are so big, they’re like billboards,” Nestle tells Food Tank. And because they change so frequently, “they can respond to every health claim in the world.”

Sugar Coated explores these health claims along with the ingredients and marketing strategies that Big Cereal companies have embraced to sell products and cover up their negative health effects. Throughout the book are full-color images of boxes over the years.

Nestle and Sunderland trace the history of cereal back to what they call its “bizarre start” in the 1860s, when early breakfast cereals emerged from health reform movements that promoted bland, grain-based foods as a path to better physical—and even moral—health. From there, they follow cereal’s evolution into a highly marketed staple and the public health debates that continue today. A section on color additives likely wouldn’t have existed if U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. hadn’t taken up the issue, Nestle explains.

Companies have worked hard to entice eaters from an early age—an important tactic for the sector and one they’re particularly good at, Sugar Coated shows. “The Big Four cereal companies were among the first to target marketing directly to young children,” the authors write.

When did it become okay to feed kids vitamin-supplemented cookies for breakfast, “which is basically what kids’ cereals are?” Nestle asks.

Cartoon characters, toys, and prizes have been used to draw children to sugary breakfast foods. For a time, toys disappeared in response to concern from eaters, but now they’re back,  Nestle says. “It’s time for [advocates] to get busy again.”

But these efforts must go beyond plastic prizes, Nestle says, arguing that nothing substantive will change until corporations hold less influence over government. “Get money out of politics.”

Sugar Coated: Unboxing the Hidden Forces Shaping America’s Favorite Breakfast Food is now available from the University of California Press.

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 Phil Aicken, Unsplash

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Glyphosate is the most common weed killer in the United States. Known as the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, it’s used so heavily on crops that residues show up in many foods and beverages, including beer. In February, Green America tested five of the most popular beers in the U.S. for glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), a breakdown product of glyphosate. Contamination was detected in every sample, and the highest level measured was 3.33 ng/g (Heineken).

While this concentration is below the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) acceptable levels, even low-level residues matter because pesticide exposure can build up in our bodies over time. Studies have shown that lower-dose, repeated exposures are likely more harmful than acute exposures. Other research has tied glyphosate exposure directly to cancer.

Glyphosate residues in beer alone are concerning because it’s such a popular beverage. However, beer isn’t the only food product that can expose people to glyphosate—it may also be in many other foods and drinks we consume.

Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018, removed glyphosate from its home and garden products after facing tens of thousands of lawsuits filed by farmers and others exposed to glyphosate, claiming that the company didn’t warn them of the potential risk of cancer. One case brought by a farmer who used Roundup for decades and developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is currently being heard by the Supreme Court.

Despite these clear risks, glyphosate is still used in Monsanto’s agricultural or professional products.

And just last year, the major 2000 study that supposedly demonstrated the safety of glyphosate was retracted for being ghost-written by Monsanto scientists. In the “scathing retraction notice,” Martin van den Berg, toxicologist and co–editor-in-chief of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, wrote:

The article’s conclusions regarding the carcinogenicity of glyphosate are solely based on unpublished studies from Monsanto, which have failed to demonstrate tumorigenic potential. The handling (co) Editor-in-Chief also became aware that by the time of writing of this article in the journal, the authors did not include multiple other long-term chronic toxicity and carcinogenicity studies, that were already done at the time of writing their review in 1999.

Naomi Oreskes, a historian of science at Harvard University and best-selling author of Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Climate Change, said: “My worry is that people will keep citing it.” She and fellow researcher Alexander Kaurov published a report last year finding that over 800 scientific papers cited the retracted Monsanto study since it was published.

In 2019, the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) tested 20 beers and wines, 19 of which contained glyphosate. At the time, critics relied on the U.S. EPA’s approved pesticide levels to argue that the contamination was unlikely to affect human health, and that the costs were outweighed by the benefits of “higher yields, economic gains for farmers and a decrease in other more toxic herbicides.” Quoting an industry spokesperson, one article claimed that “an adult would have to drink more than 140 glasses of wine a day” to ingest a dangerous level of glyphosate.

But the EPA does not fully account for cumulative, long-term exposure, nor the potential effects of chemical mixtures over time. The EPA’s position that glyphosate does not pose harmful risks to human health when used according to label instructions has been the subject of sustained criticism, including documented concerns about regulatory capture and industry influence (e.g. Merchants of Poison).

On average, Americans drink 26.5 gallons of beer per year. That high consumption rate and broad reach mean many people are exposed to a substantial cumulative concentration of pesticides in beer. Furthermore, the U.S. is the number 1 exporter of hops (unless you count the EU as a whole) and the U.S. is the number 7 exporter of barley. Given beer’s popularity, this could potentially harm millions of Americans and beer-drinkers worldwide, and pesticides used on beer crops could expose growers, farmworkers, beer producers, local communities, and the environment to toxic pesticides as well.

Many cities, states, and countries have banned glyphosate or are in the process of banning or restricting it, and most health advocates argue that all exposure to pesticides should be minimized. Previous studies have also found that there are many other pesticides besides glyphosate found in beer. Beyond Pesticides found 58 pesticides on barley alone, 22 of which are acutely toxic; 53 are linked to chronic health problems, including cancer; 18 contaminate streams or groundwater; and 49 are poisonous to wildlife.

Companies should set supplier standards, test routinely, and move sourcing away from glyphosate-dependent practices as part of an overall plan to reduce and eliminate toxic pesticides in their supply chains. That means setting up clear deadlines to phase out harmful pesticides from supply chains, starting with high-impact ingredients like barley and hops.

Brewers can also partner with growers to adopt integrated pest management (IPM) and expand organic farming practices, set ingredient standards, ensure complete supply chain transparency and support farmers and farmworkers to move away from glyphosate.

Consumers also hold power, and it starts with building awareness. We can all save beer by contacting brands and local breweries to ask where they source barley and wheat from. Do they restrict pre-harvest glyphosate? Do they test for glyphosate and AMPA?

Consumers can also choose for organic beers, which tend to have the lowest levels of glyphosate and are already working to end pesticide use and improve agricultural practices in the supply chain. Unless they are organic, craft beers can have higher levels of glyphosate and other pesticides because they are unfiltered and unpasteurized, so pesticide components aren’t broken down as much.

Believe it or not, we can all force progress by choosing beer that’s produced with more care for our environment and our health. Start by supporting better agriculture and buying from producers using verified organic and regenerative practices that restrict pesticide reliance. Get to know your local craft brewers and let them know how important their ingredient sourcing is to you. Even large-scale brewers tend to offer a line of organic beers, so buying those products can send a message that more organic beer can lead to greater company profits.

Beer lovers who want to make a difference can also get involved by signing on to Green America’s action to halt the use of toxic pesticides in beer production and supporting policy proposals that lower pesticide residue tolerances and require more robust, independent testing.

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 Amie Johnson, Unsplash

The post Op-Ed | Beer Can Be Saved from Pesticide Contamination. Here’s What Companies and Consumers Need to Do. appeared first on Food Tank.

A Food is Medicine initiative called the Delta GREENS (Growing a Resilient, Enriching, Equitable, Nourishing food System) Project is connecting local agriculture with clinical healthcare to transform community wellness in the Mississippi Delta.

Administered by Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, the initiative aims to tackle high rates of diet-related chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease in one of the nation’s most under-resourced regions. Through produce prescription programs and other community-led interventions, this goal is not only attainable, but necessary.

Approximately 17 percent of Mississippi households faced food insecurity between 2022 and 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“People can’t afford healthy food. A lot of people are impoverished… living check to check,” Charity Bruce Sweet, Director of the Economic Justice Campaign at the Mississippi Center for Justice, tells Food Tank. “A lot of people would rather make sure that they have lights or that they have water, and sometimes that means that they are sacrificing their health and wellness.”

The lack of public transportation infrastructure leaves rural residents geographically isolated, explains Sweet. Generations of systemic segregation and discrimination further restrict access to livable incomes, healthcare, and fresh food.

“Realistically, it’s so hard when it’s based in systems that are not built to help people,” Sweet says.

Rebuilding local food access requires reshaping a regional supply chain dominated by industrial commodity farming. “Most of the land is tied up in cotton and soy and other commodity products that are grown to a large degree in that area,” Christina Economos, Dean of the Friedman School, tells Food Tank.

To overcome this structural hurdle, the Delta GREENS Project targets both ends of the food system simultaneously. On the supply side, the project provides small-scale farmers with the capital needed to cultivate fruits and vegetables locally. It connects study participants to the produce through a year-long produce prescription program that delivers weekly produce boxes alongside nutrition education.

Researchers are also examining if the 12-month intervention creates lasting dietary habits once the program ends. Economos asks, “Once the program is over, do people default back? Or do they figure out how to redistribute their income to stay the course with healthy eating?” She notes that time stress and employment demands make preparing fresh food a daily challenge for working people.

Medicaid Section 1115 demonstration waivers let states pay for services outside conventional medical care, including produce prescriptions and other food-is-medicine programs. Currently, only 13 states have federal approval to do so, according to Tufts University’s Food is Medicine Toolkit. Mississippi is not among them, with no demonstration pending.

States can also cover some nutrition supports through home- and community-based services authorities, but that coverage targets people at risk of institutional care and may be capped at no more than two meals a day. Still, state-level health insurance frameworks remain an important part of food-is-medicine programs not only in Mississippi, but nationwide.

“If you… allow people to have access to healthcare while also working to build infrastructure and give them healthy foods, we can really cut down so many of these diseases,” remarks Sweet.

In the absence of state Medicaid coverage, local non-governmental organizations step in to fill the gaps. Still, providing fresh produce alone does not solve the immediate realities of working families, including time poverty, lack of cooking essentials, or local dietary preferences.

“We’ve got to zoom in and take out all the big picture and think, ‘how do I help Joe and Susie?’” Martha Allen Price, Executive Director of Extra Table, tells Food Tank. “We know half the battle is getting those kids to eat around the dinner table for a mom or dad who’s worked two jobs.”

Extra Table purchases food directly from manufacturers to deliver to pantries across Mississippi, prioritizing shelf-stable, familiar items over perishable produce that requires extensive prep work or goes unused.

“It takes time and effort and spices and knowledge and cooking essentials. And so, our food—it’s always shelf-stable,” Price says, explaining that unfamiliar items like brown rice or black beans are frequently left behind by pantry visitors because they do not fit regional food traditions.

To provide immediate, culturally resonant nutrition, Extra Table developed Extra Full, a shelf-stable red beans and rice meal kit fortified with a custom vitamin mix tailored to Mississippi health statistics.

“In the South, we meet around the table, we meet on the front porches… Food is a hug,” Price says. “And we wanted to create a product, for us, that was a mobile volunteer opportunity [and] got more families around the dinner table.”

Ultimately, building an equitable food system in Mississippi requires both top-down policy research and immediate, ground-level relief—combining legal advocacy for Medicaid-funded food-is-medicine initiatives with practical, culturally tailored community support.

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 Hannah W., Unsplash

The post Revitalizing Mississippi Food Systems for Health and Equity appeared first on Food Tank.

Each week, Food Tank is rounding up a few news stories that inspire excitement, infuriation, or curiosity.

Support Relief Efforts in Nepal

More than 1,000 people have died and more than 4,000 are still missing following the devastating flash flood triggered by the collapse of a glacier near the border of Nepal and Tibet. You can help by supporting organizations as they continue their relief efforts. World Central Kitchen is on the ground in Nepal to provide fresh meals to communities. United Nations organizations, including UNICEF, the World Food Programme, and World Health Organization, are mobilizing teams to support the country’s emergency response, distribute food and essential aid, and maintain health services. CARE International preparing emergency supplies including shelter, clean water, and basic hygiene products. And the Nepal Red Cross Society is delivering first aid kits, tents, and mattresses. They have also set up a phone charging station to help people stay connected to loved ones. 

Pacific Island Nations Seek Finance for New Regional Climate Fund

Leaders from the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) are looking for support for a new regional fund in the leadup to the 31st U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP31), which will take place in Turkiye this November. The new fund, called the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF), was launched in May of this year to “serve communities at a community level.”

It is designed to deliver quick, direct disbursements to countries that often struggle to access climate finance, supporting climate adaptation and community capacity building. The fund currently has US$172 million in capital, with just over a third coming from Australia. By the end of the year, they hope to have US$500 million. 

Federal Judge Strikes Down Wage Cut for U.S. Farm Workers

A federal judge ruled last week that wage cuts to seasonal farm workers are unlawful and directed the Department of Labor (DOL) to design a new wage formula. 

Farm worker advocates celebrated the decision, which comes nearly a year after the DOL issued a rule that reduced farm workers wages by US$3-7 per hour. The UFW Foundation criticized the Trump-Vance Administration for creating conditions that are a “recipe for exploitation” that benefited large agricultural corporations.

The DOL must now develop new wage rates consistent with the court’s decision. They must also notify employers that they may be responsible for backpay—something that will be determined once the new rates are set.

EU Announces €15 Million Investment for Afghanistan’s Food Systems

The European Union announced an additional €15 million (US$17.3 million) in funding to support the World Food Programme (WFP) as they work to strengthen food security and climate resilience in Afghanistan.

The funds will advance solutions that improve school feeding programs, boost climate-resilient livelihoods, and help communities sustainably manage natural resources. 

According to WFP, “Afghanistan remains one of the world’s most severe hunger crises” and is experiencing the sharpest surge in malnutrition ever recorded. The United Nations agency welcomes the support, stating it will help create more opportunities for women and young people in this challenging landscape. 

Tanzania Reduces Reliance on Foreign Seed Markets

Tanzania’s Ministry of Agriculture recently announced that up to 81 percent of seeds are now produced domestically. That’s a significant change from 2010, when the majority of commercially available seeds were imported, according to a report published in Gates Open Research. 

The increase in domestic production is helping the country reduce their reliance on foreign markets. Smallholder farmers play a significant role in Tanzania’s seed systems, with more than two-thirds of locally used seeds estimated to come from them—largely through informal systems. 

Groups including the Tanzania Alliance for Biodiversity and PELUM Tanzania are also continuing to promote smallholders’ access to indigenous seed varieties, which advocates say offer greater resilience to pests and climate extremes. 

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 Tim Mossholder, Unsplash

The post Food Tank’s Weekly News Roundup: Relief Efforts in Nepal, a New Regional Climate Fund, Wage Cuts Struck Down appeared first on Food Tank.

There’s no question that, when it comes to the future of food and agriculture, “business as usual” doesn’t work.

At major global events like Climate Week NYC, which coincides with the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, we need to keep the pressure on leaders to act—but we can’t keep having the same conference-room conversations over and over again. We need to show the world that food and ag are key solutions to the climate crisis—but we need to move toward urgent, lifesaving action.

I’m so excited to share the six days of food and agriculture programming that Food Tank and our partners are bringing to New York City during Climate Week NYC, all hosted at WNYC–NPR’s The Greene Space and livestreaming around the world, from September 20–25.

To break out of our routines and break down walls, you’re invited to our “All Things Food and Agriculture” Film Festival. You’re invited to our friend and renowned food expert Marion Nestle’s 90th birthday party. You’re invited to events that place a strong focus on the future, highlighting the next generation of farmers and grappling with educating the next generation of eaters. You’re invited to help us bridge the food movement with the arts, as we invite acclaimed Broadway performers and musicians to raise the emotional stakes.

In short: You’re invited to a series of Food Tank Summits that bring together more than 225 luminary speakers and performers—countless diverse visionaries, creative thinkers, and problem-solvers.

And if you’re unable to join us in person, nearly every event will be livestreamed, with videos immediately posted after the event concludes. You can find livestream links—and a way to set up notifications—via our YouTube page HERE. I’ll also send out reminder emails that include livestream links, so you won’t miss a moment.

Check out our full schedule by scrolling down or CLICKING HERE. 

Our Climate Week events are selling out quickly! If you want to bypass the waitlist on a sold-out event, Food Tank members get access to special promo codes. You can join at FoodTank.com/Join.

There’s no way we could do this alone, so a big thank-you to all our 2026 event co-hosts: American Farmland Trust; Amy’s Kitchen; Arrell Food Institute; Bel US; Bonterra; CARE; CookUnity; Diestel Family Ranch; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Food Planet Prize; Future Food Institute; Global Traceability Framework for Beef and Leather; Groundswell; Halter; Handsome Brook Farms; The Henry Ford; James Beard Foundation; Mill; New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy; New York University; Northstar Recycling; NRDC; Once Upon a Farm; Organic Center; Organic Valley; Organic Voices; Pilot Light; RAAPID; Restaurant Technologies; Rockefeller Foundation; Rodale Institute; Stonyfield; Strong Roots; Support + Feed; Kat Taylor, President of TomKat Foundation; United Nations Environment Programme; and Whole Foods Market.

Here’s the lineup, with links to secure your spot:

Sunday, Sept. 20

EVENING: “Putting Farmers First: How Young Farmers are Shaping the Future of Food,” with Whole Foods Market. 6:30PM reception; 7–8:30PM program. Register HERE.

The evening will explore how the next generation of farmers is shaping the future of food, the barriers they continue to face, and the investments, partnerships, and policies needed to ensure they can thrive. Confirmed speakers and performers include: Jason Buechel, Whole Foods Market; Tristen Buettel, Broadway Actor, Singer, and Dancer; Amalia Colón-Nava, Dirtbaby Farm; Cullen Curth, Pianist, Music Director, and Conductor; Emily Grant, Rise and Shine Acres; Michelle Hughes, National Young Farmers Coalition; Sarah Jones, Jones Farms Organic; DeVonne Jackson Perez, Brooklyn-based Urban Farmer and Sustainability Educator; Caitlin Leibert, Whole Foods Market; Brita Lundberg, Lundberg Family Farms; Becca Millstein, Fishwife; Sonya Gafsi Oblisk, Whole Foods Market; Anna Turrell, Mars Snacking; and many more to be announced soon!

Monday, Sept. 21

MORNING: “Solving Food Waste is a Key Solution to the Climate Crisis,” with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Food Planet Prize, NRDC, Restaurant Technologies, CookUnity, and Mill. 9AM breakfast and musical guest; 9:30AM program; 11AM lunch. Register HERE.

The morning will bring together leaders from across the food value chain to explore innovative solutions, successful partnerships, and scalable strategies that are preventing waste before it happens, recovering surplus food, and creating a more circular food system. Confirmed speakers and performers include: María Bengochea, CookUnity; Veleké Brown, E-RoadMap Corporation (Operation No Food Gap); Cullen Curth, New York City-based Pianist; Julie Gehrki, Walmart Foundation; Diana Geseking, Restaurant Technologies; Robert Jones, Culinary Institute of America; Matthew Jozwiak, Rethink; Madeline Keating, NRDC; Martin Krause, UN Environment Programme; Nathan Lucrezio, Broadway Actor; Adalberto Maluf Filho, Brazil’s National Secretary for Urban Environment, Water Resources and Environmental Quality; Emily Norford, Food Planet Prize; Lou Pieh, Mill; Gwyneth Rampton, Compass Group USA; U.S. Representative Andrea Salinas, Oregon’s 6th Congressional District; Tia Schwab, C40 Cities; Jackie Suggitt, Walmart; and many more to be announced soon!

AFTERNOON: “Mission Driven Brands Sustainability Summit.” 1:30PM lunch and musical guest; 2PM program; 3:30PM reception. If you work in this space, register HERE.

This annual event convenes leaders from across the food, retail, and hospitality sectors to explore how businesses can drive meaningful environmental and social impact. Confirmed speakers and performers include: Jordan Catalana, Tapestry Foundation; Stephen Cronk, Maison Mirabeau and The Regenerative Viticulture Foundation; Dana Cowin, Progressive Hedonist; Ryan Fielding Garrett, New York City-based Composer, Music Director, Orchestrator, and Musician; Ann Marie Hourigan, Whole Foods Market; Mark Kaplan, Wholechain; Shawna Laczko, Northstar Recycling; Elaina Leibee, Erewhon Natural Food Market; Peter McGuinness, Bel US; Sarah McMullin, Target Owned Brands; Daniel Quadrino, Broadway Actor; Rob Samuels, 8th-Generation Whisky Maker, Maker’s Mark; Beatrix Scolari, Bonterra Organic Estates; Jason Weller, JBS; and many more to be announced soon.

EVENING: “All Things Food and Agriculture” Film Festival, with TomKat Foundation; Halter; The Rockefeller Foundation; The Henry Ford; and Groundswell. 6:30PM doors and musical guest; 7PM program; 8:30PM reception. Register HERE.

This special event will showcase powerful short films and documentaries highlighting the people, innovations, and ideas transforming our food system. Confirmed speakers and performers include: Xiye Bastida, Re-Earth Initiative; Brandon Burks, Broadway Actor, Singer, and Dancer; Elijah Caldwell, OBIE Award-winning Actor, Singer, Pianist, and Music Director; Sara Farley, The Rockefeller Foundation; Andrew Fraser, Halter; Spence Medford, The Henry Ford; Kacie Scherler-Abney, Fifth-Generation Rancher; Zach Scherler-Abney, Scherler-Abney Land & Cattle; Jennifer Sherman, Alice Waters Institute; Kat Taylor, TomKat Ranch and TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation; Rebecca Harrell Tickell, Director and Producer, Groundswell; and Haven Worley, Director, Irish Farmers: A Love Story.

Tuesday, Sept. 22

MORNING: “Thriving Farms and Ranches,” with American Farmland Trust. Register HERE.

We’ll explore solutions that empower farmers and ranchers while building a more sustainable and secure food system for future generations. Confirmed speakers and performers include: Hillary Barile, Rabbit Hill Farms; Amanda Beal, Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry; John Chester, Farm Lore Films; Oliver English, Common Table Creative; Simon English, Common Table Creative; Heidi Exline, American Farmland Trust; Tim Fink, American Farmland Trust; Olivia Fuller, Fuller Farm; Dominick Grant, Dirt Capital Partners; Will Harris, White Oak Pastures; Brooks Lamb, Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator; Caitlin Leibert, Amazon Worldwide Grocery; Bianca Moebius-Clune, PhD, American Farmland Trust; Jenny Lester Moffitt, American Farmland Trust; Heather Oppel, General Mills; Madison Claire Parks, Broadway Actress; John Piotti, American Farmland Trust; Karen Ross, California Secretary of Food and Agriculture; Deydra Steans, S3 Legacy Ranch; Kat Taylor, TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation; Jeff Tkach, Rodale Institute; Noah Turner, Broadway Music Director; and many more to be announced soon.

AFTERNOON: “Nourishing the Future: How Farming Practices Shape the Food We Eat, the Health We Build, and the Longevity We Seek,” with Diestel Family Ranch. Begins 1:30PM. Register HERE.

Through farmer stories and more, we’ll examine why the next frontier in food systems may be measuring value not just by cost, yield, or convenience, but by nourishment. Confirmed speakers and performers include: Elder Raymond Bryant, San Antonio Million Gardens Project; Melissa Clark, The New York Times and NYT Cooking; Heidi Diestel, Fourth-Generation Farmer, Diestel Family Ranch; Mercedes Diane Griffin Forbes, Forbes Food & Ag; Clair Rachel Howell, Broadway Performer; Anne Marie Hourigan, Whole Foods Market; Noah Turner, Broadway Music Director; Chef Andrew Zimmern; and many more to be announced soon!

EVENING: “People-Focused. Climate-Friendly. Food-Forward New York City,” with Support + Feed, Strong Roots, and the NYC Mayor’s Office. Begins 6:30PM. Registration page HERE.

What does people-focused, climate-friendly, and plant-forward urban food policy look like? Confirmed speakers and performers include: Maggie Baird, Support + Feed; Maria Caputo, New York-based Composer; Emma Curtis, Strong Roots; Kaitlyn Davidson, Broadway Actor; Shyria Donawa, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygeine; Ora Kemp, New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy; Kevin Nakagawa, Open Doors; Norman Priester, NYC Department of Corrections; Siddhartha Sanchez, New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy; and many more to be announced soon!

Wednesday, Sept. 23

ALL DAY: “The Roots of Organic: From Soil to Shelf,” with Organic Valley, Once Upon a Farm, Handsome Brook Farms, Stonyfield, Amy’s Kitchen, and in collaboration with Organic Voices, the Organic Center, and the Rodale Institute. More info and registration for this all-day event is HERE.

Confirmed speakers and performers include: Benjamin Bartley, UNFI; Alexis Bramley, Organic Trade Association; William Brinkerhoff, Soil Scientist, Chef, and Science Communicator; Marcia Brown, POLITICO; Amy Bruch, Cyclone Farms; Duron Chavis, Happily Natural Day and Sankofa Community Orchard; Taylor Clayton, Adams Group; Cullen Curth, Pianist, Music Director, and Conductor; Beatriz Daim, Tradin Organic; Kathleen Davis, Science Friday; Matthew Dillon, Organic Trade Association; Abianne Falla, CatSpring Yaupon; Tracy Favre, Handsome Brook Farms; Ryan Fielding Garrett, Broadway Music Director; Christopher Gergen, Regenerative Organic Alliance; David Gonthier, University of Kentucky; Alison Grantham, Grow Well Consulting; Stephanie Grotta, Target; Taylor Hurd, Singer-Songwriter; Chef Johanna Hellrigl, AMA and 2026 James Beard Award Semifinalist; Celia Hottenstein, Wicked on Broadway; Steven Jennings, Ahold Delhaize USA; Jane Kuhn, Once Upon a Farm; Annie Leeson, AgriCarbon; Brandon Lombardi, Sprouts Farmers Market; Jessica Luhning, Organic Valley; Britt Lundgren, Stonyfield; Chef Joshua McFadden, Farmer and James Beard Award-Winning Author of Six Seasons; Kousha Navidar, Climate One; Shawna Nelson, Organic Valley; Chef Priyanka Naik, Food Network Champion, TV Host, and Author of The Modern Tiffin; Leah Penniman, Farmer, Author, and Food Justice Activist, Soul Fire Farm; Sandy Pfaff, Organic Trade Association; Gwyneth Rampton, Compass Group USA; Maria Rodale, Rodale, Inc.; Amber Rubarth, Singer-Songwriter; Paul Schiefer, Amy’s Kitchen; Amber Sciligo, The Organic Center; Suzanne Sengelmann, Lundberg Family Farms; Erin Silva, UW-Madison; Sarela Herrada, SIMPLi; Travis Taber, Wicked on Broadway; Annie Watson, Organic Dairy Farmer, Sheepscot Valley Farm and Stonyfield Producer; Jake Wedeberg, Organic Dairy Farmer; Stefanie Wilbur, Lazy Dog Farm; Jayke Workman, Chicago on Broadway; Nijia Zhou, Amazon Worldwide Grocery and more to be announced soon!

Also all day via livestream at FoodTank.com, we’ll have additional exclusive online content including interviews with Selena Ahmed, Periodic Table of Food Initiative and American Heart Association; Shannon Cappellazzi, Oregon State University; John Foraker, Once Upon a Farm; Seth Goldman, Eat the Change and JUST Ice Tea; Brad Heins, University of Minnesota; Stephanie Jerger, Organic Trade Association; Keefe Keeley, Savanna Institute; Vernon Martin, Crystal Spring Farm and Handsome Brook Farms; Kathleen Merrigan, Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University; Chellie Pingree, U.S. House of Representatives; David Rosmann, Rosmann Family Farms; Rachel Stroer, The Land Institute; and Brise Tencer, Organic Farming Research Foundation.

Thursday, Sept. 24

MORNING: “Chefs Save the World,” with The James Beard Foundation and CARE. Begins 9AM; register HERE.

This annual event highlights how culinary leaders are using their platforms to drive meaningful impact in their communities and beyond. Confirmed speakers and performers include: Chef Fariyal Abdullahi, Hav & Mar, Chef Bleu Adams, IndigeHub; Elijah Caldwell, Actor, Singer; Nick T. Daly, Broadway Actor, Singer; Erica Helms, James Beard Foundation; Emily Janoch, CARE; Ellie Krieger, Dietitian and Nutritionist; Anne E. McBride, PhD, James Beard Foundation; Taylor Montgomery, Montgomery Sky Farm; Liz Murray, The Marlow Collective; Chris Noble, CARE; Chef Grace Ramirez, La Latina Cocina, Chef Sean Sherman, NĀTIFS; Chef Andrew Zimmern, and many more to be announced soon!

AFTERNOON: “Acting at the Speed of Crisis: Challenges & Opportunities for Food Security and Rapid Response,” with RAAPID and Arrell Food Institute. Begins 1:30PM; registration page HERE.

This timely program will explore how organizations can rapidly mobilize resources, leverage innovation, and build more resilient systems to meet urgent food security needs. Confirmed speakers and performers include; Inbal Becker-Reshef, RAAPID; Ertharin Cousin, Food Systems for the Future; Evan Fraser, Arrell Food Institute; Ruth Hill, CGIAR; Melissa Mahtani, International Affairs Journalist Oluchi Nwaokorie, Broadway Actor and Singer; Ambassador Philip Thigo, Office of the President of Kenya; Máximo Torero Cullen, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Noah Turner, Broadway Music Director; Michael Werz, Council on Foreign Relations; Simon Winter, Rockefeller Foundation Catalytic Capital; Andrew Zolli, Planet; and many more to be announced soon!

EVENING: Marion Nestle’s 90th Birthday Party, with New York University and Rodale Institute. RSVP HERE.

As Marion celebrates her 90th birthday, we will honor her extraordinary legacy of advancing evidence-based nutrition, championing transparency in the food system, and empowering people to ask critical questions about the food we eat. Confirmed speakers and performers include: Jennifer Berg, NYU Food Studies; Mark Bittman, Author and Food Journalist; Maria Caputo, New York-based Composer; Nancy Easton, Wellness in the Schools; Kathleen Finlay, Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming; Cathy Kaufman, Culinary Historians; Frances Moore Lappé, Small Planet Institute; Marion Nestle, New York University; Kristie Patten, NYU Steinhardt; Jake Pedersen, Broadway and Television Actor; Ruth Reichl, Author and Food Journalist; Maria Rodale, Rodale Inc.; Amber Rubarth, Singer-Songwriter; Kim Severson, The New York Times; Max Sinsheimer, Sinsheimer Literary, LLC; Lisa Sutherland, Jacksonville University; and more to be announced soon!

Friday, Sept. 25

MORNING: “Planet Aqua, Planet Peace: The Paideia Vision For Integral Ecology, Food Systems, Public Health, and Global Justice,” with the Future Food Institute and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Event page HERE.

Water connects every aspect of our food systems, public health, ecosystems, and communities. Confirmed speakers and performers include: Blu Allen, Broadway Actor, Singer; Elijah Caldwell, Actor, Singer, Jenn Kemmerly, Monterey Bay Aquarium; David Laborde, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Kaveh Madani, United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health; Kathleen McDavitt, Aquaculture Stewardship Council; Laura McDearis, Marine Stewardship Council; Wendy Norden, Monterey Bay Aquarium; Sara Roversi, Future Food Institute; Brendan Shane, Trust for Public Lands; Simone Venturini, Mayor of Venice; and many more to be announced soon!

AFTERNOON: “The Future of Food Education,” with Pilot Light and with support from Nielsen Massey. Sign up HERE.

To close out Climate Week, the afternoon will bring together educators, school leaders, policymakers, chefs, nonprofit organizations, and advocates to explore how meaningful food education in schools can empower young people to make healthier choices, strengthen connections to food and agriculture, and inspire the next generation of climate leaders. Confirmed speakers and performers include: Jenna Bainbridge, Broadway Actor and Disability Rights Advocate; Linda Carmen Bryant, San Antonio Million Gardens Project; Maria Caputo, New York-based Composer; Alexandra DeSorbo-Quinn, Pilot Light; Nancy Easton, Wellness in the Schools; Gerardo Martinez, Wild Kid Acres; Taylor Meredith, Pilot Light; Shanon Morris, Harlem Grown; Liz Neumark, Great Performances, The Sylvia Center; Kim Severson, The New York Times; Amanda Torres; Public School Educator; Jeremy Walter, New York City Department of Education; Karen Washington, Food Justice Advocate, Farmer, and Author, Lyndsey Waugh, Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation; and many more to be announced soon!

Our Climate Week programming is 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 Unsplash

The post Lineup Just Dropped: Are You Joining Food Tank at Climate Week? appeared first on Food Tank.

“The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.” — African proverb

Africa stands at a demographic crossroads.

The African Development Bank projects that Africa will be home to 830 million African youth by 2050. But while roughly 12 million young Africans reach working age each year, the continent’s private sector creates only a few million formal jobs annually. This week’s Africa Food Systems Summit in Kigali is confronting that gap head-on: the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize is putting more than US$160,000 behind young African agrifood innovators, and one of the summit’s five thematic tracks is built entirely around young people building agritech ventures and startup ecosystems that are changing how the continent grows and sells food. It follows the Africa Prosperity Network‘s own gathering earlier this year—the Africa Prosperity Dialogues in Accra, which was themed Empowering SMEs, Women & Youth in Africa’s Single Market. The Dialogues focused on how young entrepreneurs can take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which is creating a single market connecting 1.3 billion people and a US$3.4 trillion economy. Participants explored ways to expand regional trade and close the skills gaps that prevent many young people from participating. Organizers also launched a youth-led campaign seeking more than 10 million signatures in support of a more borderless continent.

A single market means little to a young farmer, though, if she cannot get her harvest across a border without it rotting in customs. The question is no longer whether Africa can feed itself. It is whether we will finance its young people to do it.

For too long, farming has been cast as a fallback, not a future—a poverty trap pushing rural youth toward overcrowded cities or dangerous migration routes. This narrative is dangerous: unemployed youth fuel instability, while a mobilized, tech-enabled agricultural workforce builds continental power.

The African Union’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) 2026–2035 offers a continental framework to fund agritech hubs, modernize university curricula, and build youth-focused agricultural extension services across all 55 member states. Nigeria is already showing what implementation looks like: its 42 youth agribusiness innovation centers, converted this year from underused youth development facilities, are training a new generation in climate-smart farming and enterprise-building. Several organizations attending this year’s summit in Kigali already run youth-focused agriculture programs of their own.

That power is also an economic necessity. Farming remains the single largest source of work on the continent—most estimates put it at somewhere between two-thirds and three-quarters of all African livelihoods. And smallholders alone grow roughly four-fifths of the food Africans eat, even though output per worker still lags far behind global norms. Closing that gap is not charity—it is GDP growth. Consider the scale of what targeted investment can do: the African Development Bank’s ENABLE Youth Programme, launched to put young people to work in agribusiness, has so far reached close to 100,000 young beneficiaries and generated well over 200,000 jobs across 18 countries, on its way to a goal of 300,000 new enterprises. Every youth-led farm, cooperative, or agritech venture funded today compounds into tomorrow’s tax base, export revenue, and reduced import bill.

Fertilizer use across Africa fell by roughly a quarter in 2022 in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization has estimated that disruption pushed 8 to 13 million more people worldwide into hunger, with sub-Saharan Africa among the regions hit hardest. In East Africa alone, the World Food Programme has tracked a 23 percent rise in the cost of its local food basket in a single year, with Sudan’s costs climbing 92 percent. Now a separate war centered on Iran has choked off shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, stalling an estimated third of the world’s fertilizer trade—several million tonnes a month—and analysts expect African grain importers to absorb the impact first. Africa cannot out-produce geopolitics it does not control. It can build youth-led, homegrown food systems resilient enough to absorb the next shock.

This is why global platforms matter. The U.N. General Assembly’s SDG Moment on September 18 this year will convene youth voices alongside world leaders to assess progress on the Sustainable Development Goals—including SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), both of which hinge on whether Africa’s youth are employed in food systems or left out of them. Climate Week NYC, running alongside the Assembly and drawing more than 1,000 events to New York, has folded youth leadership into nearly every one of its themes this year. African youth agripreneurs deserve a seat at both tables, not a passing mention.

The innovation is already here. In Rwanda, AYuTe Africa Challenge finalist AgriResearch Unguka is helping smallholders with seed selection and profitability forecasting. In Kenya, DroFarmer uses data to help farmers cut crop losses and access insurance.

We challenge the African Union, the African Development Bank, multilateral institutions, private investors, and philanthropy: fund Africa’s youth through a genuine do-no-harm approach—investment that strengthens local food sovereignty rather than deepening dependency, drawing on the lesson that global food-policy experts have long urged for crisis response. More importantly, we encourage individual governments to do more.

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 Daniel Kawed, Unsplash

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A new cookbook by Peloton’s Head Instructor Robin Arzón is helping readers fuel their bodies with high-protein, plant-based recipes.

Eat to Hustle includes 75 recipes from breakfast foods like the Shakshuka-Style Tofu Scramble and Sweet Bean-Stuffed French Toast to snacks and sandwiches like Seasoned Kale Chips and Lentil Sloppy Joes. 

Many of the dishes, like the Tofu Chicharrones, incorporate flavors from Arzón’s childhood. Raised in a Cuban and Puerto Rican household, pork was often on the menu when she was young. But transitioning to a plant-based diet didn’t mean abandoning those culinary traditions. She realized she could still nod to the foods she grew up eating.

“I am very proud that I was able to remix these dishes because I want my kids to know where their family came from, but I also really want to maintain the integrity of a plant-based home,” Arzón tells Food Tank. “I didn’t feel like it had to be either-or.”

Throughout Eat to Hustle registered dietitian Dalina Soto offers additional nutrition tips and guidance. “She’s a fellow Latina and she comes from a point of view that you don’t need to relinquish culture in order to have a wellness conversation,” Arzón explains. 

Mythbusting is an important part of the book, which responds to questions about a plant-based lifestyle that Arzón has fielded throughout her career as an instructor. “The number one question [I get] as a vegan athlete is: How do you get your protein, and have you really built muscle eating plants and plant-based foods? The answer is absolutely.”

Eating well and feeling good are important to Arzón, but she also believes that this doesn’t have to come at the expense of joy. Recipes like the Silky Caramel Flan, Strawberry Protein Pops, and Gooey Cinnamon Rolls offer an opportunity to be more indulgent. “Food should be fun,” Arzón tells Food Tank. “It’s not exclusively functional.”

Listen to the full conversation with Robin Arzón on “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg” to hear more about prioritizing consistency and intention over isolated perfection, health and fitness in the era of GLP-1 drugs, and developing meals that work for every body, age, and lifestyle. 

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 Amie Johnson, Unsplash

The post ‘Eat to Hustle’ Makes Plant-Based Eating Practical, Joyful, and Accessible appeared first on Food Tank.

On Friday afternoon, Sept. 25, Food Tank and Pilot Light will host “The Future of Food Education” during Climate Week NYC 2026. The invitation-only gathering will explore how meaningful food education can help young people make healthier choices, understand where their food comes from, and become leaders in building a better food and agriculture system.

Educators, school leaders, policymakers, chefs, nonprofit leaders, and advocates will come together to highlight what’s already working—and what it will take to make food education a meaningful part of every student’s learning experience.

“Incredible work is already happening in food education, but the question now is how we build on it so every student has the opportunity to learn about food,” says Alex DeSorbo-Quinn, Executive Director of Pilot Light.

“This summit brings together educators, policymakers, industry leaders, chefs, and advocates to share what’s working and think about what comes next. I hope participants leave seeing not only what’s possible, but also a path toward making food education part of every child’s education.”

Sessions will look at the barriers preventing schools from implementing food education, the models and resources that can help programs scale, and the role of local partnerships in extending learning beyond the classroom.

Farmer Linda Carmen Bryant, Co-Founder of the San Antonio Million Gardens Project and Pastor of Grant Community AME Church in Texas, will also take the stage to share her story of helping families grow their own food—and using gardening as a tool to build knowledge, connection, and community.

The event will begin at 1:30 PM at WNYC-NPR Studios’ The Greene Space in New York City, with food, drinks, and live musical performances. A reception will follow, with programming concluding at 4:30 PM.

Confirmed speakers include Alexandra DeSorbo-Quinn, Executive Director, Pilot Light; Nancy Easton, Executive Director and Founder, Wellness in the Schools; Gerardo Martinez, Marine Corps Veteran and Founder, Wild Kid Acres; Taylor Meredith, Education Policy Advisor, Pilot Light; Shanon Morris, Chief Program Officer, Harlem Grown; Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank; Kim Severson, Journalist, The New York Times; Jeremy Walter, Deputy Executive Director, Office of School Wellness Programs, New York City Department of Education; and Karen Washington, Food Justice Advocate, Farmer, and Author.

“The Future of Food Education” will also feature a special musical performance by Jenna Bainbridge, a Broadway actor, singer, and disability rights advocate currently starring as Nessarose in Wicked. Bainbridge previously made history in Suffs as the first wheelchair user to originate a role in a new Broadway musical.

She will be joined by Maria Caputo, a New York-based composer, pianist, vocalist, music director, and Broadway music copyist whose work spans musical theater, jazz, classical, and contemporary music.

This summit will be streamed live on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel, here. Join the Food Tank newsletter list for reminders, and click here for Food Tank’s full lineup of events at Climate Week NYC 2026.

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 the U.S. Department of Agriculture

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“On the Ground with Dani Nierenberg” is an ongoing series documenting Food Tank President Danielle Nierenberg’s ground-truthing work. Read more by clicking here. 

I talk about the Green Revolution a lot in my work, but I had never been to the place where so much of it began until early this August. I visited Texcoco, Mexico, where the Rockefeller Foundation-funded Mexican Agricultural Program eventually led to CIMMYT, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center.

CIMMYT is dedicated to building food security, resilient agriculture, and scientific collaboration across the Global South. And its history is complex and complicated.

It was here that Norman Borlaug and his colleagues researched and promoted high-yielding cereal varieties and the use of artificial fertilizers to increase food production. The Green Revolution helped avert famine in Mexico, India, and elsewhere. But we also know that these practices often displaced traditional, biodiverse, locally rooted systems of cultivation and increased farmers’ dependence on expensive inputs.

What struck me during my time with CIMMYT is how much the organization is trying to learn from that history.

Today, CIMMYT talks about a green evolution, instead of a revolution—one that is less about delivering a package of technologies to farmers and more about co-creating and sharing knowledge with them.

There is “no universal recipe” for sustainable and resilient food systems, says Jelle Van Loon. What works for a farmer in one community may not work for a farmer somewhere else. The science has to meet farmers where they are, Van Loon adds.

In addition to investing in breeding programs for new varieties of wheat, maize, and other crops, CIMMYT is also recognizing that farmers are safeguarding biodiversity on their farms every day. And they are holding the future of food on their shoulders.

I’ll give you an example. In Oaxaca, I got to see the milpa system in action.

Milpa is often described as the three sisters—maize, beans, and squash grown together so they strengthen one another and the soil. Farmers growing food this way can have as many as 27 different crops on just a few hectares, without pesticides and with very little or no artificial fertilizer. Sunflowers attract beneficial insects and give farmers extra income. Cowpeas and other legumes help farmers cope with drought.

This isn’t diversity for diversity’s sake. It’s resilience.

Oaxaca’s farmers are dealing with increasingly difficult drought conditions. One farmer-technician told me that when those challenges become overwhelming, “families start losing hope.”

But diversified farming systems like milpa give farmers more ways to survive a bad season. If one crop fails, another may succeed. They can provide food, animal feed, healthier soils, protection from pests, and income—all while allowing farmers to maintain cultural traditions and identities that have existed for generations.

And farmers using milpa are usually growing native maize varieties. Mexico is the birthplace of maize and home to extraordinary genetic diversity. CIMMYT’s gene bank houses the world’s largest collection of maize germplasm—and that seed bank is very cool, no pun intended. It’s kept at -15°C (5°F) and holds hundreds and hundreds of varieties of wheat and maize. The corn seeds are like small jewels—purple, blue, red, black, yellow, white. That seed bank, like thousands of others around the world, is protecting the future of humanity.

While not as fancy, the small seed banks I saw in farmers’ houses in Oaxaca are just as—if not more—important. Because preserving a seed is not only about putting it in a vault. It is about planting it. Eating it. Sharing it. Selecting it. Passing it to your children and your neighbors.

When communities lose their seeds, they risk losing part of their identity along with them.

In Oaxaca, I met farmers like Francisca Canton and her husband, Jacoba Benitez, who are still farming in their late 60s. They described seed saving as “un trabajo duro”—hard work. And it is a year-long process, from planting to harvest to measuring and storage.

They use oil or soda bottles to store roughly 50 varieties of maize, legumes, and squash. They are using traditional seed-saving methods, they explained, while also learning from CIMMYT technicians about seed selection and more efficient ways to dry seeds.

CIMMYT staff talked repeatedly about consistency and presence—about showing up, listening, learning from farmer networks, and building trust over years. Their recommendations, they say, increasingly depend on context: What works best, where, for whom, and under what conditions?

That is a very different philosophy from assuming there is one technological package—or silver bullet—that can transform agriculture everywhere.

And perhaps that’s one of the lessons we can take from the Green Revolution itself. Science matters enormously. Innovation matters. Technology matters.

But so do culture, biodiversity, economics, relationships, and the knowledge farmers have accumulated over generations.

Farmers are the stewards of biodiversity that is—literally—the future of humanity. Every time farmers share knowledge that strengthens their resilience, a community becomes stronger.

During my time in Oaxaca, I met Víctor López Leyva, the state’s agriculture minister. His message has stayed with me:

“Creer en el campo, creer en las campesinas y los campesinos.”

Believe in the countryside. Believe in farmers.

I could not agree more.

It’s why I am always so excited—and not surprised—to see agricultural innovation being led by farmers, for farmers.

And I also know that a better food system depends on collaboration among farmers, researchers, scientists, policymakers, advocates, cultural experts, and so many others. But collaboration also requires us to recognize who knows the land best.

The Green Revolution taught the world that agricultural science can accomplish extraordinary things. Maybe the green evolution can teach us something equally important—innovation doesn’t begin with a technology or a scientist. It begins by listening to farmers.

Learn more about Food Tank’s ground-truthing work and recent visit with CIMMYT in this video by filmmaker Haven Worley:

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 Haven Worley

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This article is part of Food Tank’s primer series, “Food Tank Explains.” Each installment unpacks the ideas, innovations, and challenges shaping today’s food and agriculture systems, offering clear insights into complex topics. To explore more articles in the series, click here.

Dryland farming is a practice used to cultivate crops in regions where water supply is limited, seasonal, or unpredictable. Dryland systems use no irrigation and depend entirely on rain. They work by capturing and storing as much rainfall as possible and ensuring that crop water demand does not exceed what’s available.

According to the Dry Farming Institute, success depends less on total rainfall and more on how much is captured in the soil. To prevent loss to runoff, dryland farmers apply techniques including contour farming, where crops are planted across slopes in terraces, and land shaping, which involves changing the topography of the land.

Captured rainfall can evaporate from the soil surface before it reaches crop roots, particularly in hot, dry, and windy regions. To keep water in the root zone, dryland systems prioritize practices that reduce evaporation and increase soil water-holding capacity.

Often, part of dryland farms will lie fallow in alternate seasons or years, to accumulate water for subsequent crop cycles. Increasing soil organic matter can also improve water retention. Practices such as crop rotation, cover cropping, and mulching build and maintain organic matter while reducing erosion and evaporation.

To ensure crop water demand does not exceed supply, dryland farmers align planting and harvesting dates with local rainfall patterns, rather than a fixed calendar date. And they select crops based on seasonal conditions and characteristics such as drought tolerance, adaptability, and the timing of a crop’s water needs.

Common dryland crops include pigeonpea, which both tolerates drought and improves soil fertility, and tepary beans, which are protein-rich and can withstand varying levels of water stress.

Sorghum—which the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) calls an underutilized crop that has significant potential for nutrition, climate resilience, and economic stability—can conserve water during dry periods by temporarily suspending growth.

“Wild desert plants have a remarkable number of adaptations to cope with heat, drought, unpredictable rainfall, and poor soils,” Erin Riordan of the University of Arizona tells Food Tank.

Drylands are a vital but overlooked resource with untapped economic potential and environmental value, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

They make up 46 percent of the planet’s land area and support 44 percent of global food systems, including half of the world’s livestock. They are home to more than 2 billion people and support the livelihood of 1 billion people in 100 countries.

Drylands are “strategic landscapes rich with the potential to drive resilience, economic vitality, and sustainable prosperity for millions,” Éliane Ubalijoro, CEO of the Landscape Alliance and Director General of World Agroforestry (ICRAF), tells Food Tank.

But these regions, which already face some of the world’s harshest conditions, are under threat. Increasing water scarcity, land-use change, and extreme weather events are transforming drylands into barren landscapes, according to Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Managing Director of CGIAR. Research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution estimates that up to 20 percent of drylands are already degraded or at risk.

And, according to the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification and research published in Communications Earth & Environment, these pressures will intensify in the coming decades.

Heat, drought, and unpredictable rainfall are all stressful growing conditions likely to become more common, Riordan tells Food Tank. The U.N. Environment Programme estimates that land degradation in drylands could cut global food production by 12 percent over the next 25 years.

Impacts fall disproportionately on the 2 billion people who live in drylands, which include some of the world’s poorest and most climate-vulnerable communities, according to CGIAR.

ML Jat, the Director of Resilient Farm and Food Systems at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), tells Food Tank these communities are often “the first to face hunger, thirst, and the devastating effects” of declining soil and environmental conditions.

Despite these pressures, researchers and organizations highlight the potential of restoration. Investments in drylands can return as much as US$30 for every dollar spent, Ubalijoro tells Food Tank, describing drylands as “places of deep opportunity.”

But drylands need greater recognition in policy. FAO Assistant Director-General Abdulhakim Elwaer calls for integrating dryland agriculture into national development plans, climate action strategies, and food security policies. Researchers in Nature Ecology & Evolution call for stronger safeguards, finding that only 12 percent of drylands are protected.

Other recommendations focus on how solutions are developed and scaled. CGIAR’s Global Strategy for Resilient Drylands emphasizes partnerships among researchers, governments, businesses, and local communities to adapt agricultural innovations to dryland conditions. FAO recommends combining traditional knowledge with modern technologies.

Ubalijoro argues that these efforts can help redefine what drylands represent. “This is an opportunity for all of us,” she says, “to make these thrivelands not only a source of prosperity but also a source of peace.”

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 Brett Meliti

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