It’s a classic catch-22. As the population has swollen around the world, we’ve had to produce increasingly more food to support ourselves, relying on plant domestication to feed our growing numbers. As a result, crops have lost their natural defense mechanisms, leading to agrochemical abuse and pest resistance. While plant domestication has improved characteristics like yield and growth, it has sacrificed certain natural defense mechanisms. Crops are no longer as resilient as they once were, resulting in a global crisis making farmers lose billions and threatening the world’s food supply. 

Officially launched in 2023 (on the heels of seventeen years of academic research), Semion has developed a novel pest control technology that activates crop defense mechanisms that have been weeded out through industrial domestication. They achieve this using phytostimulants—compounds that manipulate plants’ defense pathways. Modern industrial agriculture methods rely on agrochemicals that create pest resistance, ineffective repellents, or genetically modified seeds and plants. Instead, Semion manipulates the metabolic pathways of crops to activate the natural plant defense mechanisms lost during domestication. 

_{^{Lucia Ferrari and Victoria Coll at Semion doing lab work.}}

Semion’s first two developments focus on controlling two major threats to global agriculture: Dalbulus maidis, the vector of corn stunt disease, and Diaphorina citri, the vector of citrus greening disease. Semion has focused on these pests as they are prime examples of massive crop destruction. Diaphorina citri has devastated 80% of Florida’s citrus industry since 2005, while Dalbulus maidis is destroying corn crops across South America, causing over $2 billion in losses in Argentina last year alone, and rapidly spreading toward the US. For corn stunt disease, Semion protects the crops by making the plant more resistant to both the insect’s damage and the effects of the disease it transmits. In field trials they obtained, among other promising results, a 30% average yield increase compared to infected controls. To combat citrus greening disease, Semion has developed a push-pull approach that makes citrus plants emit specific odors to repel the insect while simultaneously attracting it to traps for elimination. After 12 months of field trials with the University of Florida, they say they’re achieving 100% disease control. 

_{^{From left to right: Gabriela Valladares, Jorge Hill, Emilce Viruel, Facundo Herrera, Victoria Coll, Alejandro Forlin, Paula Paez}}

Semion’s ingenious technology has many positive benefits for our food planet. The initiative’s solution can lead to increased food security for vulnerable communities. By protecting farmers’ crops, they achieve higher yields and better-quality produce, which translates into increased earnings. This boost in income not only supports individual farmers but also stimulates the local economy. Reducing the need for agrochemicals drastically lowers the exposure of farm workers to dangerous substances, thereby improving their health and safety. This reduction in chemical use also prevents water contamination—which in turn, keeps communities healthier and safer.  

Its technology has the potential to be applied to any crop in any geography, with six solutions already in the pipeline. Its first product for controlling Dalbulus maidis is ready and set for commercial launch this year, and the company is in discussions with major agrochemical companies about manufacturing and distribution across four countries. By focusing on the commercialization of the Dalbulbus maidis control product, Semion aims to address the immediate needs of farmers facing this challenge, demonstrating the effectiveness of its technology and laying a solid foundation for future expansion. 

Read more about Semion.

Written by Sarah Souli
Photos provided by the initiative

A think tank which ​connects​ more than ​4​00 policymakers in 59 city councils in Brazil is aiming to transform the country’s food system. The Comida do Amanhã Institute claims to pioneer a systemic approach to tackling the country’s urban food system challenges. 

Renowned for its innovative methodologies grounded in U-theory, the institute aims to guide policymakers in identifying and addressing the fundamental causes of food-related problems by understanding the mental barriers and structures that hold back systemic change in Brazil. 

Its most notable success is Laboratório Urbano de Políticas Públicas Alimentares, or the LUPPA initiative, which it claims is currently the biggest food policy lab in the world. LUPPA is a hub where local government officials from various departments can meet civil society members and local food policy councils. Based on the principles of democratic involvement, political dedication, and the need for policy coherence, the lab encourages policymakers to learn collaboratively and to spearhead essential changes in their cities towards more inclusive, sustainable, and health-focused food systems.  

LUPPA’s impact in the Global South has been recognised by IPES-Food (the International Panel of Experts on Food Systems) and by the UN, which called it “a significant tool for transforming food systems”—particularly in its local-to-global approach. 

​​​Due to LUPPA’s success, Comida do Amanhã partnered with the Brazilian Ministry for Social Development to implement the Brazilian national strategy on the urban food agenda across 60 major cities (22 of them already in LUPPA network).​​ 

​​​Through conducting such work at the local level, Comida do Amanhã became an expert in food policy implementation in Brazil, especially in food policy planning and multi-level governance. One of Comida do Amanhã’s main focus areas in its work with cities and local governments is the implementation of PNAE, the Brazilian national program for school feeding—an important entry point for food systems transformation in cities. Another of the institute’s focus areas is on policies to shape equitable and resilient access to healthy food at the​​ local level.​​ 

​​​Based on this expertise, Comida do Amanhã has been playing a key role in advocacy strategies in domestic and international forums, like the G20 Civil Society Engagement Group, the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, the School Meals Coalition, and the global community of Urban Food Systems. ​​​​​​ 

​​As well as disseminating content, information, and policy recommendations,​ and collaborating with domestic and international researchers, studies, and reports,​ Comida do Amanhã facilitates platforms for reflection, dialogue, debate, and collaborative proposals on the role of food systems in socio-environmental resilience, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and social justice. ​     ​​ 

​​Besides LUPPA, the institute runs three other programs on food policy qualification, along with its intelligence, advocacy, and communications activities. ​It also collaborates with grassroots movements, watchdogs, national bodies, researchers and academic institutions to encourage dialogue and cooperation around food and climate issues among diverse groups. 

By educating individuals, organizations, and decision-makers about the impact broken food systems can have on humans and the planet, it aims to improve food policies that incorporate the right to food for all of Brazil’s citizens. Comida do Amanhã says that it envisions a future where urban food systems enhance the well-being of both people and the planet, and places Brazil as a world leader in sustainable and equitable urban food systems within the Global Agenda for Sustainable Development.  

Read more about Comida do Amanhã Institute.

Written by Gilly Smith
Photos provided by the initiative

BioFiltro is an innovative climate tech company providing wastewater treatment solutions. BioFiltro sees the earthworm as the answer to several of the most pressing environmental challenges in sanitation, agriculture and food production, from water pollution and scarcity, to soil health and climate change. 

At the heart of BioFiltro’s technology is the BIDA System, a patented vermifiltration system which harnesses the natural abilities of earthworms and microbes to clean organic liquid waste.  

This ingenious approach features a biological reactor with a filter medium—usually wood chips—providing a home for earthworms and microorganisms that have numerous beneficial outcomes. Wastewater is intermittently sprayed onto the biomass, where it undergoes a remarkably efficient, low-energy purification process through natural filtration. 

BioFiltro claims the BIDA System could eliminate 70% to 99% of total nitrogen, phosphorus, ammonia, and volatile solids, the organic matter found in wastewater, in just four hours. Its eco-friendly approach involves no chemical input.  

The treated water can also be upcycled for agricultural reuse, including irrigation in certain applications. This is a crucial solution to global water scarcity and the increasing pressure on water resources due to climate change. 

Vermifiltration dramatically cuts greenhouse gas emissions by over 90% compared to traditional wastewater management, according to BioFiltro. Strategically installed upstream, the BIDA System removes volatile solids and diverts methane production from anaerobic lagoons before it can be created. 

For livestock farms, this innovative system could also reduce their greenhouse gas footprint by as much as a third. With vermifiltration, less land is needed for manure management, reliance on synthetic fertilizers is reduced, and soil health, water quality, and crop yields are increased.  

The capacity to create new revenue streams from the work of the humble worm could be life-changing for the poorest farming communities; worm castings are a valuable coproduct as a soil amendment which can be sold or used to improve crop yields. BIDA’s ability to generate high-quality verified carbon credits also provides an additional income source.  

According to BioFiltro, the controlled environment of the BIDA System guarantees consistent performance regardless of external weather conditions in tropical, temperate, and cold weather regions. As a result, its innovations already span the globe, boasting over 200 installations in nine different countries, tackling environments as varied as the icy expanse of Antarctica and the arid Atacama Desert in Chile. 

Read more about BioFiltro.

Written by Gilly Smith
Photos provided by the initiative

A think tank is on a mission to change the role of meat in the Australian and New Zealand food culture. 

Food Frontier’s vision is to promote a diverse and sustainable alternative protein supply that supports human and planetary health, reducing the country’s reliance on intensive animal agriculture and exploitation of land for animal feed production.  

It aims to explore and promote the wide variety of alternative proteins which could address many of the issues we have seen in a meat-centric food industry: disease transmission from animal to human for example, as well as antibiotic resistance, food insecurity, and diet-related disease. According to the initiative, a more exciting variety of alternative proteins could stimulate demand and provide sufficient food for a healthy planet and a healthy population. 

A mission-driven specialist organization, Food Frontier’s team is made up of research specialists and thought-leaders providing useful data, insights, strategies, recommendations, and commentary on the alternative protein industries. As Australia and New Zealand’s only think tank in this sector, Food Frontier claims to be a key influencer, already persuading major decision-makers to grow markets for alternative proteins. 

The initiative is driven by communications, stimulating discussion and offering advice and insights about this emerging industry of plant-based proteins, cellular agriculture, and fermentation methodologies to government, media, and the food industry. Food Frontier claims that by creating the conversation, they can accelerate the market development of alternative proteins, unlocking economic, environmental, and health benefits.  

Food Frontier’s contributions to the field of alternative proteins include comprehensive industry reports, government white papers, and a plethora of webinars, stakeholder roundtables, and events such as their AltProteins Annual Conference. They also keep audiences engaged with newsletters, press releases, media kits, op-eds, and foster ecosystem growth and support. 

Food Frontier believes that it can achieve the most effective positive environmental impact through four strategic aims: firstly, by increasing the production and diversity of plant proteins to stimulate a market that is already showing an increasing interest in what is on the shelves. Secondly, influencing government and food standards regulators for the approval of cultivated meat products for consumption would give the green light for increasing fermentation production, which Food Frontier claims is a key factor in expanding the variety of alt-protein products. Thirdly, putting alternative proteins onto the agenda in the discussions around governmental climate and nature policy would be a huge boon for Food Frontier’s environmental campaign. Finally, encouraging food service providers to use alternative proteins in hospitals, schools, defence establishments, prisons, aged-care facilities, and university campuses, would change its perception in Antipodean food culture. 

Food Frontier takes advantage of Australia and New Zealand’s position as a gateway into Asia. As a leader in research and development in this emerging market, the initiative believes it has the skills and infrastructure to make a major impact on global food culture. 

Learn more about Food Frontier.

Written by Gilly Smith
Photos provided by Food Frontier.

Australian farmers from more than thirty communities across the country are being empowered to engage confidently with leaders across Parliament, the media, and industry by Farmers for Climate Action’s (FCA) Climate Smart Farming program.       

Farmers for Climate Action’s 8,400 farmer members have skills including advocacy, media, teaching, and of course, climate-smart farming. These skills can empower farmers across the country to grow their industry and protect the planet. 

Farmers for Climate Action is the second-largest farmer representative group in Australia as measured by farmer membership, and, according to the initiative, the only to focus on the impact of climate change on agriculture. FCA’s Climate Smart Farming program has robust connections across the political spectrum and deep into the Canberra Press Gallery. In the past year, the Climate Smart Farming program has had significant policy wins in Australia on the global methane pledge and Australia’s electric vehicle policy. The initiative has had cut-through media moments on the topics of clean energy projects and the impact of climate change on food supply. With excellent media and strategic contacts, deep political experience, and a huge farmer base, FCA believes the Climate Smart Farming program is the initiative most likely to change Australia’s policy landscape.       

FCA boasts some of the most proactive participants in any agricultural or regional organization, and a toolkit of webinars and workshops which empowers these farmers to showcase climate solutions on and off the farm. They can rally support for comprehensive, economy-wide climate policies that benefit both farmers and regional communities.  

The Climate Smart Farming program includes webinars during which participants can talk to experts, share insights, and gather practical knowledge about future-proofing their farms. The workshops upskill farmers on relations with media and government, covering best practice techniques for framing, language, press briefings, social media, and interviews. FCA aims to create what the initiative calls a cohort of “trusted messengers” to spread change effectively and quickly.

The program’s extensive web of existing partnerships means it is data-driven, community-led, and nationally delivered. The program has already produced training materials on topics such as renewable energy, electrification, regenerative farming practices, and biodiversity.  

And farmers are reporting significant productivity boosts while curbing their dependency on heavy fertilizers and reducing emissions. The initiative believes that the measures they are implementing through the Climate Smart Farming program could cumulatively lead to a significant transformation in agriculture.  

The Climate Smart Farming Initiative has already delivered so much with so little. With more, the sky is the limit. 

Learn more about the Climate Smart Farming Program

Written by Gilly Smith
Photos provided by Climate Smart Farming Program

A pioneering Scottish marine-science enterprise is transforming shrimp shells, which are usually thrown over the side of fishing boats, into valuable products that clean water, serve a role in the medical field, and help plants grow.   

CuanTec Ltd shows that Chitosan, one of the most underused byproducts of the Scottish fishing industry, can be transformed into a natural biopolymer by removing the minerals, residual protein, and some of the chemical polymers from the raw shells. 

This transformation into such a multi-functional product could be a boon for the environment, according to CuanTec, by diverting shells from being discarded at sea, or sent to landfill and incineration, into being upcycled into useful products we need in daily life. 

Firstly, as an effective flocculant, it enables chemical impurities in the water to be removed, avoiding the need for fossil-fuel-based chemicals and additional processing steps down the line. 

Secondly, CuanTec now aims to expand the use of the polymer by selling it as a biostimulant, protecting and nourishing plant root systems as they grow, and so reducing spoilage and agricultural waste and reducing demand for fossil-fuel based chemicals in agriculture. 

Thirdly, working in collaboration with biomedical partners, the initiative also claims that the polymer could provide a vital service in medicine as a haemostatic product, which stops bleeding, while also being anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and fully biodegradable. The company says that Chitosan-impregnated bandages, for example, could help ageing populations suffering from complex needs to live independent lives, and alleviate pressure on national health systems struggling to cope with demand.  

In an era where transparency about food and water sources is paramount, CuanTec wants to champion full traceability. Collaborating closely with the Scottish fishing companies, the company promises a comprehensive understanding of the shrimp’s journey from the boat to their production facility, right down to identifying the specific vessels responsible for the catch. 

According to the initiative, CuanTec is already firmly embedded in Scotland’s societal fabric. It states that it creates good jobs across the production line and puts money back into Scotland’s traditional shellfish industry, which in turn, helps its fishing community to thrive. 

Learn more about CuanTec.

Written by Gilly Smith
Photos provided by CuanTec

It took the passing of his mother in Southern Nigeria’s rural farming community for award-winning environmentalist Tunde Adeyemi to create a social enterprise, D-Olivette, dedicated to tackling energy-poverty, agricultural, and climate challenges.  

At D-Olivette’s core lies the 1,000,000 Closed-Loop Farms Project, an initiative that transforms over 100 types of organic waste into livestock feed, fertilizer and clean energy, and was inspired by what Adeyemi discovered in the farming community where he grew up.  

Adeyemi had turned his back on the gritty reality of farming life in Nigeria for Lagos University and better prospects. But it was when he returned home for his mother’s funeral that his research into her premature death unearthed some startling revelations.  

As he visited her farm, he realized that her issues reflected the daily experience of farming life in Southern Nigeria: the significant postharvest losses, piled high and polluting the farmland, the filth of the cassava processing area, and the use of firewood for processing were causing harmful emissions. He saw that this toxic cocktail of waste, firewood smoke, and even counterfeit fertilizer probably contributed to his mother’s premature death from respiratory failure. 

He visited thousands more farms in the area as part of his quest to understand the circumstances around her death, and found similar hotspots for greenhouse gas emissions. Methane-producing livestock were farmed with no sign of effective waste systems, and without access to clean energy or electricity, he found many communities trapped in a cycle of pollution, poverty and disease. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), African farms produce over 1 billion tons of agricultural waste of which less than 5% is utilized. Nigeria generates about 25% of this waste. Moreover, energy poverty affects over half of Africa’s population, with nearly 700 million relying on traditional fuels—causing over 500,000 deaths annually, primarily among women and children. 

These conditions are prevalent not only in Africa but in similar farming communities globally. Determined to use his professional experience to make real change in his own farming community, Adeyemi established D-Olivette, a clean-tech social enterprise that has the potential to empower millions of farming communities worldwide.  

D-Olivette states its innovative AI-powered biodigesters use cutting-edge, 100% natural enzymes to accelerate and enhance the digestion process, producing biogas from farm waste to serve as clean energy for farming communities, as well as organic livestock feed and fertilizer as byproducts. The initiative’s Kitchen Box transforms organic waste into clean cooking fuel and bio-fertilizer, while The Bio-Tank provides clean energy, livestock feed, and bio-fertilizer. Tackling the waste issues that Adeyemi’s mother would have faced, D-Olivette’s Bio-360 AI Chatbot now helps farmers across diverse linguistic and cultural landscapes optimize waste into clean energy and food. 

Each year, D-Olivette reports they provide clean energy and sustainable agricultural inputs to over 80,000 farms and homes and mitigate over 50,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The initiative believes they are on track to impact 1,000,000 beneficiaries by 2030, fostering resilience and sustainability in underserved regions. 

Learn more about D-Olivette.

Written by Gilly Smith
Photos provided by D-Olivette

A revolutionary refrigeration method, which uses a novel bio-nanotechnology able to freeze at higher temperatures, could slash the energy use and carbon footprint of the cooling industry by half.  

That’s the claim of NanoFreeze, which created its bio-nanotechnology as a university project in the bio-design field in 2018. Its first product application was a portable cooler to bring refrigerated items to remote areas, and went on to be the overall winner of the BioDesign Challenge 2019 in New York against universities such as Harvard and MIT. 

Now the company aims to put the challenges of food waste at the heart of the cooling industry of the future. It states that its technology is a brand new way to refrigerate naturally, and can preserve the cold chain twice as long as regular frozen water. 

^{A double-door refrigerator equipped with the innovative NanoFreeze Panels.}

Its coolant products like Ice Packs, Cool Coats, and Reusable Ice already adapt their cold chain technology to the needs of almost anything that requires refrigeration during transportation. An ice-like solid maintains food at a chilled 2ºC to 8ºC for up to 200 hours, and also acts as an insulator for a wide variety of cold chain products including Ice Packs, Coolers, Cold Coats, and Energy Savings Panels.  

Currently these products are designed to sustain the cold chain for extended periods. NanoFreeze claims that its technology enables the products to retain cold without any energy input, helping to prevent food spoilage from cold chain disruption. NanoFreeze says that their coolers are fully recyclable and feature a biodegradable coolant, promoting sustainable cold transport. 

The company says that it is collaborating with Colombian farmers exporting vegetables, herbs, and fruits, who report savings of over USD 320,000 in food waste within a year of employing Cold Coats during export.  According to NanoFreeze,  this has enabled agro-export clients to reduce food waste from an average of 30% down to a mere 5% or even zero. 

NanoFreeze states that its panels could halve the energy consumption of refrigerators, small cold rooms, and shipping containers, marking a new era of sustainable innovation in cold transport. 

Read more about NanoFreeze.

Written by Gilly Smith
Images provided by NanoFreeze

China eats a lot. With a population of 1.4 billion, the country is one of the world’s leading agricultural producers, one of the leading consumers—and, unfortunately, one of the major wasters, with 35 million tons of food in China thrown out every year. Over half of that is attributed to dumping excess food upon consumption. The Pride on Our Plates project seeks to strengthen China’s MSMEs (micro, small and medium-sized enterprises) through proven food waste solutions and behavioral insights.  

MSMEs, which make up 97% of China’s enterprises, often have limited access to awareness-raising campaigns, trainings, and tools on reducing food waste. Pride on Our Plates seeks to close that gap by empowering China’s MSMEs to respond to the food waste challenge. In particular, the project is focusing on MSMEs in China’s burgeoning hospitality sector.  

According to the project, they are the first anti-food waste project targeting the catering industry at such scale in China. The catering industry is still unregulated and represents an important space for growth. Pride on Our Plates works closely with the China Hospitality Association and various local industry associations. The project says they ensure the design of suitable guidelines and policies by connecting relevant local government bodies and stakeholders.  

^{During the training, the team designs a game of using different leftover materials to produce recipes.}  

Pride on Our Plates implements training programs and pilots in six major cities and has influenced more than 61 million consumers in the past three years. According to the project, as of 2024, 383 restaurants have participated in Pride on Our Plates trainings across China; 458 MSME staff have been trained on food waste prevention, reduction and diversion practices, and 50 pilot MSMEs in the hospitality and food services sector have reduced their food waste by 10%-50%. Pride on Our Plates has also published the first Food Waste Reduction Practical Guide for restaurants in China, which has served as a key reference on the group standard that China’s official Action Plan on Reducing Food Loss and Waste (announced at end of 2024) explicitly promotes. Innovative and diversified events have been organized, such as a Zero Waste Cooking Contest followed by summarizing a Zero Waste Cookbook. The project also launched Care for Food Coalition of Reducing Food Loss and Waste, which they say is the first Cross-Sector Initiative on Food Waste Reduction in China and now has nearly 100 members working together to fight food waste in the country.  

As the food system accounts for around 30% of all global greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), actions on food loss and waste (FLW) are important to reduce food system emissions and ensure alignment with a 1.5°C future. Reducing and better managing food waste is one of the easiest and most effective ways to mitigate the environmental impacts of our food system and sustainably feed our communities. And it has other benefits too: according to the project, food waste reduction will help restaurants reduce cost, improve staff competences, enhance lean management, and gain more customers. Keeping food on our plates and out of our bins is something everyone can be proud of.

Learn more about Pride on Our Plates.

Written by Sarah Souli
Images provided by Pride on Our Plates

Some of the most vulnerable women farmers in Zimbabwe could become pioneers in transforming the country’s food system.  

Widows, women living with HIV/AIDS, and underage brides in the Buhera region of Zimbabwe are among those targeted by the Renewable Energy for Gendered Agribusiness Program (REAP), a Zimbabwean joint initiative with the Community Water Alliance (CWA), smallholder women farmers, and women waste-pickers to learn how to future-proof their traditional agricultural skills. 

The impact of climate challenges is especially high for rural women and young girls in sub-Saharan Africa. Limited access to education, child marriage, and sexual exploitation have long been the reality of millions of women’s lives in this part of the world. But the threat of climate change and a complex set of issues means that they are now facing a higher risk which could lead to loss of livelihoods.  

For women, patriarchal traditional community leadership and male-dominated rural district councils often means limited access to farmland to grow food both for themselves and to take to market. With fewer technical skills in general than male farmers, women are more susceptible to rising poverty and health issues, leaving them with little control to find their own solutions. 

REAP offers a business model which aims to support the upskilling of small-scale women farmers with limited land. The initiative believes that giving them access to technology, knowledge transfer, mechanization, and improved farming techniques could reduce waste, promote responsible consumption, and add economic value to the farming sector. REAP says that modern agro-processing alongside the preservation of traditional food knowledge could transform food systems already challenged by the impacts of climate change. 

Working with rural councils, REAP’s program educates participating women in new technology including efficient solar-powered drip irrigation systems and greenhouses which could increase crop yield and prolong the harvest season, harnessing the power of the African sun. It encourages them to create biodiversity corridors boosting natural habitats, enhancing water catchment and increasing forestry canopy across the whole region. 

The initiative claims that its model of education, solar-powered technology will mitigate climate impact while creating essential employment, food security, water security, health and well-being for half the Zimbabwean population. 

Learn more about REAP.

Written by Gilly Smith
Images provided by REAP