Cultivated meat is gaining momentum—and pathways for regulatory approval

Check out this Good Food Institute for an in-depth look at which countries are progressing the fastest with regard to regulatory approval of cultured meat. Singapore, Japan and the U.S. have all made recent and significant strides in this area, but the European Union, Australia, Canada and New Zealand are catching up through the use of existing novel food regulations or the development of new ones to assess these emerging products.

How pesticides are harming soil ecosystems

A new peer-reviewed study found that pesticides harm beneficial soil invertebrates in 70.5% of cases reviewed; as you might imagine, this doesn't bode well for the over-a-billion pounds of pesticides poured onto fields and farms nationwide each year. “What this study really drives home is that pesticide use is incompatible with healthy ecosystems, across organisms, pesticide classes and a whole set of different health outcomes, including death,” said Kendra Klein, senior scientist at Friends of the Earth and co-author of the study. “We have to be talking about pesticide reduction in conversations about regenerative agriculture.” Civil Eats has full story.

Key ingredient in pet food's brave new world: cell-cultured meat

While regulatory approval for humans remains murky, cell-cultured meat could hit U.S. pet food aisles sooner than many thought possible; Bond Pet Foods and Because Animals are both developing pet foods made with cell-cultured meat products and plan to start selling them within the next two years. Both use different processes in terms of creating their lab-grown meat: Bond Pet Foods  uses biotechnology to make cultured fungal and animal proteins through fermentation and harvests the proteins while Because Animals starts with harvested animal cells and grows them in a bioreactor filled with proteins, minerals, vitamins and nutrients. The Food Institute reports.

A new approach to protecting bees from toxic pesticides

A group of researchers at Cornell University have developed a novel approach to saving the bees. They found that bees that were fed microparticles filled with enzymes that encapsulate organophosphate, a widely used insecticide, along with an organophosphate pesticide had a 100% survival rate. The bees that didn’t receive the therapy died within a few days. This discovery has led to a new company, Beemunity, which will sell pesticide-shield products that use the new technology. Learn more at Modern Farmer.

Will a Native-led initiative spur an agricultural revolution in rural Alaska?

A new initiative to promote local food production and combat food insecurity in Alaska Native communities aims to build partnerships with tribes to teach local tribal members, particularly youth, about agriculture and traditional knowledge. These communities face numerous challenges to achieving food security through access to grocery stores and climate change has made it difficult to depend on traditional food sources such as salmon and moose. This intiative will also form a statewide network of Indigenous farmers, the first program to do so. The Counter interviews into the people behind the movement.