Food

The European Union has adopted a regulation allowing streamlined approvals for gene-edited plants — a development that seed and biotech companies are lauding as a breakthrough on a continent known for its strict oversight of agricultural production.

JBS announces closures of its Souderton beef plant and Memphis value‑added facility.

Danone US is suing Chobani over an alleged “deceptive naming, labeling, and advertising campaign” involving protein yogurts.

Price indicators for key farm inputs tumbled on Monday following news of the U.S.-Iran preliminary peace deal. The latest U.S. soybean crush data signals robust oilseed processing for the June-August quarter, says Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist for StoneX Group.

The costs states face in co-funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are comparable to the roughly $15 billion spent on transportation in fiscal 2025, the National Association of State Budget Officers tells Senate and House Agriculture committee leaders. USDA Undersecretary for Food Safety Mindy Brashears says 7,000 inspectors with the Food Safety Inspection Service are “leading the animal health charge” in the fight against New World screwworm, and the parasitic pest does not pose a threat to the food supply.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says the $1.3 billion fight against a potentially deadly livestock pest includes federal funds reallocated from a local food buying program. Rollins said USDA is “stretched” on using the Commodity Credit Corporation because the $30 billion annual cap has not been increased since 1987. 

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins used her time with the International Fresh Produce Association to highlight the administration’s deregulation push, as well as efforts to reshape federal nutrition policy, expand export markets, lower labor costs and support specialty crop producers.

Beef prices fell but energy prices rose, helping lead to a 0.5% rise in inflation in May and a 4.2% 12-month increase that is the largest jump in three years.

USDA and blue states aren’t giving an inch in their continuing battle over SNAP data, as Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins continues to blast the program as rife with fraud, waste and abuse. The fight over SNAP was highlighted at a recent House Agriculture Committee hearing where Ranking Member Angie Craig, D-Minn., harshly criticized Rollins over SNAP.

Speaking to attendees at the International Fresh Produce Association’s Washington Conference, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the UPF definition is currently under review at the Office of Management and Budget with a goal of unveiling a final publication in “the next couple of months.”