AI agriculture startups take in record amount of VC funding

Investors have put a record $1.54 billion into AI agriculture software companies so far this year, according to data released last week by PitchBook Data Inc. That surpasses the $1.42 billion firms invested in the sector in 2020. In the prior two years, funding totaled $1.03 billion combined, according to the data and research firm. The Wall Street Journal has the details.

TikTok reveals the most popular food trends of 2021

This Daily Hive article rounds up the top food trends across the globe according to TikTok's end-of-year data. Dalgona, a sponge toffee featured on a popular Netflix show, makes an appearance, as does the ubiquitous feta pasta and a glob of deep-fried breadcrumb-coated cheese that users of the app apparently found delicious. 

Inflation is red hot, soaring to 6.8% in November, the highest in nearly four decades

Inflation in November was 6.8%—the highest since 1982, when Ronald Reagan was president. Food, fuel, rent and cars were among the major contributors to rising prices, writes NPR. Experts interviewed in the article say that knowing when and how to pass those costs on to customers is a mixture of science and art; even Dollar Tree gave up a 35-year-long commitment to pricing products at $1!

Welcome to invasivorism, the boldest solution to ethical eating yet

Popular Science, by way of Vermont conservation biologist Joe Roman, extolls the virtues of a new diet called "invasivorism." As you might have already guessed, it centers on consuming invasive plants and animals that are disrupting the natural ecosystem of a given region. While this diet could have unintended consequences if adopted by the majority of people, it's one way people are coming to terms with the fact that the food landscape is wildly shifting as a result of climate change.

FDA cracks down on Black Oxygen Organics

Per FDA.gov, consumers who purchased products from Black Oxygen Organics (a company that touted its products as a way to cure anything from hair loss to Alzheimer’s) have exposed themselves to super high levels of lead and arsenic. Essentially, users were duped into eating questionably sourced dirt.