Converting half of cropland to organic, as many in the MAHA movement wish to see, would require over 30 million more acres—nearly Iowa’s size. New analysis shows how MAHA's vision for farming would raise costs, environmental impacts, and even health risks. t.co/sMrcoT2B82

The leaked MAHA report nods at how precision farming can cut pesticide use. But it ignores one of the biggest opportunities: biotechnology. With research + regulatory reform, biotech crops (like Bt corn) could need far fewer pesticides. agfundernews.com/leaked-maha-...

New MAHA report says to back research on technologies to help farmers reduce pesticide use, NYTimes reports. It's a great idea. Advances in precision ag, biopesticides & GMOs can cut pesticide use. But Trump & Congress need to stand behind agriculture R&D to make that happen, not cut its funding.

Record ag trade deficits. Slowing productivity. A new Breakthrough Institute roadmap outlines how to reverse the slide, as AgFunder News reports. agfundernews.com/breakthrough...

High corn & soy yields have been making headlines. But what isn't reported is that U.S. agricultural productivity is actually *slowing*. Our new roadmap outlines how to get back on course. 🧵

The U.S. is falling behind in agricultural innovation, spending half as much as China on R&D. The result: slowing productivity growth and a record farm trade deficit. Our new roadmap shows how America can innovate to lead in agriculture again. 🔗 buff.ly/1FOtkRl

“Climate change will take away our breakfast” might make headlines. But the fine print in the paper says otherwise: global crop yields and output are still expected to rise to record highs, just less than they would without climate change. www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/will-clima...

The Farm Bill title with the biggest ROI? Research. One of the most shortchanged? Also research. We need more farmers & politicians to support R&D funding. But for that to happen, research must also do more to support farmers. New essay + report: thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-...

I've been hoping someone would write an article on this: can we actually grow more coffee in the US? When I lived in Corvallis, OR, a cafe was growing some...as in a single plant. But the prospects in Florida are much better

Mexican Coke, made with cane sugar, loses blind taste tests to American Coke, made with corn syrup. If people *know* it's cane-sugar Coke, they say it tastes better. www.seriouseats.com/coke-vs-mexi...

Still shocked that a senior official would endorse biodynamic farming. I don’t know a single serious ag or environmental expert who supports it. Some back organic or regenerative—I disagree with them, but at least there’s debate. But biodynamic? It's based on mysticism, not science. t.co/4ZNJ5gv4rq

RFK Jr. today: “We need to give off-ramps to farmers so that they can transition to biodynamic agriculture..." To be biodynamic you must stuff cow horns with manure and crystal dust, bury them, dig up & stir with water for 1 hour in alternating vortexes, all to align the farm with "cosmic forces."

From celiac-friendly wheat to disease-resistant pigs and drought-tolerant rice, biotech keeps delivering big advances, but only if we don’t block it with budget cuts and regulatory red tape. itif.org/publications...

A key Senate spending committee has joined its House of Representatives counterpart in rejecting deep cuts that President Donald Trump’s administration proposed for research at the USDA for the 2026 fiscal year that begins on 1 October. scim.ag/3InyWcQ

How can we fix our food system and stop "eating the earth"? RSVP for this deep dive webinar July 30, hosted by @thebti.bsky.social with @mikegrunwald.bsky.social, @farmfuture.bsky.social and @jennysplitter.bsky.social: t.co/CobCxQF8l4

Cover crops do important things, including building soil organic matter. But the potential contribution to carbon sequestration is negligible.

So many misleading headlines. The new Nature paper doesn't predict that crop yields will *fall*. It finds that climate change will slow growth in yields, but that thanks to innovation and other factors, yields will "probably" continue rising above today's levels. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Many think that eating local helps the climate. But exporting more U.S. beef, especially to China, could cut global emissions by millions of tons. Why? American beef has a far lower carbon footprint than beef from Brazil and other major exporters. www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/how-trump-...

An inconvenient climate truth: we need to eat less beef, but the beef we do eat needs to be more efficient and therefore less damaging. People won't like this @thebti.bsky.social riff but as long as we eat burgers and steaks, US-made beef is better. www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/how-trump-...

Gas in California is about $1.50 more expensive than in the rest of the US. Ending the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, while not a panacea, would help and also reduce support for environmentally dubious biofuels like soy-based renewable diesel. www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/how-califo...

The U.S. reverted to biotech rules written in the 1980s. That’s a huge setback. To enable more climate-smart ag & stay globally competitive, USDA must create modern, risk-based regulations, explains Emma Kovack: www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/trump-has-...

White House budget is out. Here's USDA's. Among the proposed cuts are many to agricultural research incl. ending Hatch funding for universities, cutting $145 million at Agricultural Research Service for "climate science research and climate hubs", and cutting competitive AFRI grants by $40 million

China is increasingly exporting its agricultural biotech expertise to Africa, further cementing its influence while the EU remains skeptical about GMOs and the U.S. cuts international development initiatives. geneticliteracyproject.org/2025/05/28/s...

This is an amazing new resource. I much prefer datascrolling to doomscrolling (though there's plenty of doom and gloom in the data too).

💸💰 The House's proposed reconciliation text expands the IRA tax credit for biofuels by 4 years. It also excludes indirect land use change when calculating eligibility & the credit value. Back of envelope calcs suggest that will increase the cost by over $1 billion per year.

It would also expand use of biofuels by excluding indirect land use change when calculating their carbon footprint...and hence how much of a tax credit biofuel producers should get.

Excluding a big source of emissions (from indirect land use change) when deciding how big a tax credit to give biofuel companies has no scientific or accounting justification. It would be good for biofuel producers; bad for taxpayers & the climate. thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-...

Anyone who supports using farmland for bioenergy should support using it to produce even more energy through solar, wind, nuclear, etc when its profitable. But exporting corn and soy for food & animal feed would also be more climate-beneficial. thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-...

Turning wastewater into feed and fertilizer? This duckweed tech seems like a win-win if it can scale. Like so many food & agriculture innovations, this has its roots (though tiny & floating) in research that NSF and USDA have long funded.

Wheat's carbon footprint has shrunk by 1/3 since the late 70s according to a new study, commissioned by industry groups. In fact, the footprint of U.S. agriculture in general has fallen as innovations enabled farmers to grow more w/ less land, fertilizer, and other inputs.

🌽 ⛽ Billions of dollars in biofuel subsidies should be cut. They raise food prices, drive farmland expansion, and inefficiently support farmers. The government should still help farmers weather China's new tariffs. But through direct one-time aid, innovation policy, and trade deals.

Ceres' new report on food industry climate efforts shows Danone and Nestlé are singling out methane. It's far past time for other companies to follow suit by reporting methane separately from CO2 and investing in methane reduction.

Trump's budget would cut agricultural research funding by $761 million, ending efforts related to climate change. Funds could be better allocated, but cutting overall R&D is bad for U.S. farmers. R&D increases productivity and international competitiveness www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/stifling-a...

Yesterday, FDA approved gene-edited pigs resistant to the PRRS virus that infects tens of millions per year. This could cut antibiotic use, farm losses, and GHG emissions by raising productivity. www.porkbusiness.com/news/hog-pro...

Blocking federal funding for R&D projects mentioning ‘climate change' and related terms would undermine US farmers’ productivity, competitiveness, and long-term output. Great to see coverage of our new analysis from AgFunder & AgriPulse agfundernews.com/censoring-cl...

A leaked memo suggests the Department of Agriculture wants to halt research mentioning "climate" and related terms. Our new analysis estimates that doing so could affect over $400 million of funding across agencies. www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/stifling-a...

"Should Kennedy succeed in implementing his agenda, he risks making America's food supply less healthy and more expensive—undermining the MAHA Commission’s own objectives." www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/mythbustin...

Cutting funding for agricultural R&D stunts yields, reduces farmers resilience, and contributes to higher food prices. Surely some money can be better allocated, but net reductions in funding are a net negative. apnews.com/article/farm...

Bird flu is seasonal. This fall in prices was predictable. There were big declines in early 2023 and 2024. Prices likely would have fallen regardless of federal policy, as we previously noted. Still, I'm glad to see more efforts & funding to control bird flu. buff.ly/KbISMVN

New study published today reaffirms that grass-fed beef in the US is not more climate-friendly than conventional beef. As I'm quoted, accounting for grass-fed beef's larger land footprint actually makes it significantly *less* climate-friendly. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

Excited to be speaking on this upcoming webinar hosted by @rstreet.bsky.social on the future of the clean fuels tax credit. Join me as we explore how biofuel policy can go amiss and how policy can better drive low-carbon innovation.

Over 300 groups, including The Breakthrough Institute, call for science, not misinformation, to guide the new MAHA Commission's efforts. Biotech & modern ag practices are important for sustainability. Banning safe, proven tech hurts farmers, consumers, and the environment.

Plant-based nuggets preferred over chicken ones? These realistic taste tests are helping improve plant-based meats. We need more 3rd party test-bed efforts like this across food & ag to assess and improve innovations. It’s a tried and true approach in other industries. @whitneybauck.bsky.social

Farmers called their work climate-smart to get federal $. Now it may cost them. I'm quoted making the point that climate-smart ag often has many co-benefits (eg, productivity, cost savings, air and water quality, soil health). Some of the practices purely have climate benefits. Now all are at risk.

Exciting milestone for cultivated meat: Mission Barns just secured FDA ‘no questions’ approval for its cultivated pork fat. This brings it and the U.S. a step closer to real meat without the large land footprint, though cultivated meat isn't inherently low-carbon agfundernews.com/breaking-mis...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture must temporarily reinstate more than 5,000 probationary employees fired since Feb. 13, according to a ruling by the Merit Systems Protection Board.

Finally some good news www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/s...

Firings at the Department of Agriculture are affecting agricultural research—much of it in rural areas—that helps farmers be more efficient, sustainable, and resilient, explains my @thebti.bsky.social colleague Emily Bass.

More fallout from the USAID shutdown: Bill Gates is slashing his grants to climate organizations to focus on public health. Great scoop from @kbrigham.bsky.social heatmap.news/climate-tech...