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Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. Climate Change Threatens the World’s Food Supply, United Nations Warns – The New York Times

The report, prepared by more than 100 experts from 52 countries and released in summary form in Geneva on Thursday, finds that we must transform our food production and land management if we have a chance of staying under 2 degrees Celsius of global warming.

2. We’re Leaving So Much Food on Farms To Just Rot in The Fields – Fast Company

Most of the reports you hear about food waste don’t even include the amount that’s left behind on farms, but new research shows it’s around 33%.

3. Square Sells Food-Delivery Service Caviar to DoorDash for $410 Million – CNBC

According a securities filing, Square bought Caviar five years ago for $44.3 million.
Square CEO Jack Dorsey, said the move will allow Square to double down on investments and focus in its core payments businesses.

4. Sodexo Is Launching an Impossible Burger Menu at 1,500 U.S. Locations – The Spoon

Sodexo will offer plant-based version of a sausage muffin sandwich, sausage gravy and biscuits, steakhouse burger and creole burger.

5. Subway Partners With Beyond Meat as Part of Its Comeback Bid – CNBC

Subway is partnering with Beyond Meat, starting with a meatball marinara sub made with plant-based meatballs. The sandwich chain has been struggling in recent years after rapidly expanding across the U.S.

6. The Bowls at Chipotle and Sweetgreen Are Supposed to be Compostable. They Contain Cancer-Linked “Forever Chemicals.” – The New Food Economy

Testing by The New Food Economy reveals an industry secret: Virtually all plant fiber bowls contain PFAS, troubling chemicals that don’t break down naturally in the environment. It gets worse from there.

7. ICE Raids Seven Mississippi Chicken Plants, in The Largest Single-State Action in Agency History – The New Food Economy

Immigration officials have raided multiple chicken plants in Mississippi, detaining 680 workers in what officials are calling the largest single-state sting in American history.

8. Stonyfield to Launch Smart-Farm Tech Initiative to Retain More Soil Carbon – Union Leader

Stonyfield Organic, the USDA’s LandPKS project and Foundation for Food and Agriculture (FFAR) are launching a new $10 million tech initiative to create smart farms, using predictive data models, spectral analysis and customized cover cropping techniques to reduce agricultural carbon emissions and help farmers maximize their profits. The initiative will work to develop a new open-source platform called OpenTeam.

9. Tyson Foods’ Raised & Rooted Nuggets ‘Made With Plants’ Are Rolling Out to 4,000 Stores – FoodNavigator

The pea-protein fueled nuggets will roll out by the end of September, with blended burgers combining pea protein isolate and Angus beef to follow.

10. Arizona Tea Maker Enters The Cannabis Market – CNBC

The maker of Arizona Tea is entering the market for vape pens and cannabis-infused gummies and drinks through a licensing deal with Dixie Brands.

11. Company Secures Millions To Make Compostable Food Service Products From Grass – Forbes

Biomass solutions company Genera Energy has procured an investment of more than $118 million to produce compostable food service items from locally grown grasses.

12. Inari Raises $89m Series C to Make Seeds Diverse Again – AgFunder

Flagship Pioneering lead the round alongside Investment Corporation of Dubai, EDBI and Acre Venture Partners. The company will use the funds to develop genomic tools including gene editing to improve global seed diversity.

13. New Farm Policy Proposal – Elizabeth Warren

Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren shares her plan for addressing farm issues, such as consolidation, conservation and more.

14. Cory Booker Wants to Pay Many More Farmers to Practice Carbon Farming – Civil Eats

The Climate Stewardship Act, which Booker plans to propose in September, aims to ‘dramatically scale up’ voluntary conservation incentives for farmers and ranchers.

15. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

Over $1.45B was invested across 247 deals in 2018, according to the research in our second annual investment report produced in partnership with Ryan Willams.  Check out the report for a deep dive into the investor and investment trends. We also share a complete list of deals and acquisitions.

16. Women, Women of Color & Gender Non-Conforming Innovator Database

We created this open-source list to increase representation, support and investment in women, women of color & gender-nonconforming innovators in food. Join the list & help us spread the word using #womxninfood

Our newsletter is the absolute easiest way to stay on top of the emerging sector, so sign up for it today and never miss the latest food tech and innovation news and trends, Already signed up? Share the love with your friends and colleagues!

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