Source: Eat Just

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.

The senate has passed a first-ever climate mitigation bill for agriculture that will create new incentives and revenue sources for farmers in the carbon market. Long-time farmers are being forced to make better sense of their business as the western drought transforms the land, with broad consequences for the food supply.

Last but not least, Eat Just is mulling a $3 billion IPO later this year or early next year. Meanwhile, a jump in meat prices is forcing families all over the world to buy less as a broader move to plant-based eating is gaining traction.

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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. Senate Passes First-Ever Climate Mitigation Bill for Agriculture – The Fern

Under the bill, the USDA would help farmers enter the carbon market, touted as the private enterprise way to earn money while combating climate change.

2. Eat Just Mulls $3B IPO to Eventually Make Cruelty-Free Food Mainstream – Forbes

The $3b in valuation for its IPO will likely happen in Q4 2021 or early next year, an increase from the $2b valuation Bloomberg reported last October.

3. Meat Demand Is Under Threat Like `Never Before’ as Prices Surge – Bloomberg

A jump in meat prices is forcing families from Brazil to the Philippines to buy less just as a broader move to plant-based eating is gaining traction.

4. It’s Some of America’s Richest Farmland. But What Is It Without Water? – New York Times

A California farmer decides it makes better business sense to sell his water than to grow rice. An almond farmer considers uprooting his trees to put up solar panels. Drought is transforming the state, with broad consequences for the food supply.

5. The Food System’s Carbon Footprint Has Been Vastly Underestimated – Civil Eats

A new analysis pins one-third of global greenhouse gases on the food system by including long-overlooked factors such as transportation, packaging and waste.

6. Danone Buys Majority Stake in Coconut Products Maker Harmless Harvest – Food Dive

The new investment will provide Harmless Harvest with additional resources and operational capabilities to help it grow and expand its sustainability initiatives. The deal will accelerate the growth of Danone’s plant-based business.

7. Dating App Bumble Will Open Its First Café in New York in July – Bloomberg

Bumble Brew’s bricks-and-mortar debut has changed it from a date-friendly food destination to a “safe space.”

8. A Funding Frenzy and SPAC Listings Are Fueling the Indoor Growing Industry. But Does It Make Financial Sense? – Forbes

The indoor growing industry is hot among investors. More than $715m in funding has been secured by startups so far this year, amid the anticipation of two more public listings. But are expectations out of whack?

9. ‘This Is a Food Bank Now’: Workers Seized a McDonald’s in France – Washington Post

As the coronavirus overwhelmed Europe, the occupied building became the unlikely hub of an impromptu aid-distribution effort.

10. Google Debuts a New Website and Set of Resources for Americans Experiencing Food Insecurity – TechCrunch

The new website connects people to food support resources, including hotlines, SNAP information, and a Google Maps locator tool that points people to their local food banks, food pantries and school meal program pickup locations.

11. UAE: SoftBank Leads Funding to Vault Kitopi Past $1B Value – Bloomberg

The deal marks one of the largest funding rounds for a Middle East technology company. The cloud kitchen startup plans to expand in Saudi Arabia and start operations in new countries.

12. Czech Republic: Rohlik Raises $119M at a $1.2B Valuation to Grow Its 2-Hour Grocery Delivery Service in Europe – TechCrunch

The startup has built an online grocery ordering and delivery business selling grocery fare of both large and local small businesses. Funding will drive its expansion into Europe.

13. 2021 Restaurant Tech EcoSystem: Serving Up a Digital Lifeline – The Spoon

The pandemic’s economic toll on the industry has been grave, though notably, the toll was not evenly distributed. A higher level of digital maturity was a clear success indicator for most restaurants that survived the crisis.

14. The Restaurant Revitalization Fund Was Supposed to Help Businesses Recover from the Pandemic. It’s Plunging Them into Financial Uncertainty. – The Counter

In late May, the Small Business Administration stopped processing relief applications from women, veterans and people of color. Then the agency started rescinding their approvals.

15. AgTech VC Omnivore Raises $150M to Help Indian Farmers Boost Yields and Profitability – Green Queen

Fundraising is set to begin later this year and will support entrepreneurs and startups working on everything from predictive crop insights to AI-powered precision farming.

16. Biden Just Put a Beer Magnate in Charge of Solving the Global Hunger Crisis – Mother Jones

Born rich, Cindy McCain has little experience with hunger, agriculture or climate policy.

17. Local Kitchens Raises $25M for Its Virtual Food Hall Network – The Spoon

One notable feature of Local Kitchens is its ability to offer customers mix-and-match functionality when ordering digitally.

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