Each week, Food Tank is rounding up a few news stories that inspire excitement, infuriation, or curiosity.
United States Restores Some Health Aid
After the sudden elimination of humanitarian assistance last year, the United States is taking steps to restore some global health aid, the New York Times reports.
The latest funds—US$600 million—will go to Gavi an organization helping low-income countries secure essential childhood immunizations. In total, the U.S. government has made nearly US$2 billion in recent pledges to support international organizations tackling hunger and malnutrition, epidemic preparedness, disaster response, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and malaria. But the amount is still far below what the U.S. spent on foreign assistance in the past.
According to officials who have been a part of State Department conversations, public health threats including the recent Ebola outbreak, are one of the main drivers of this shift. And with the U.S. Agency for International Development gone, the infrastructure no longer exists for the U.S. to handle the humanitarian assistance itself. They must now partner with large international agencies to work at the scale needed.
The reality of past decisions may be “sinking in,” says Mark A. Green, President of the ONE Campaign. He adds, “The good news is that Secretary Rubio clearly realizes that global health is what we do, and we’re really good at it. That’s why you’re starting to see more money moving.”
Countries Adopt First Global Framework on Sustainable Livestock Management
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Members have approved the first globally negotiated framework to sustainably transform the livestock sector. It marks a “a major achievement for FAO and all livestock stakeholders,” says Thanawat Tiensin, FAO Assistant Director-General, Chief Veterinarian and Director of the Animal Production and Health Division.
The Global Plan of Action for Sustainable Livestock Transformation (GPA) recognizes livestock as a key source of protein and other nutrients as well as the sector’s ties to zoonotic diseases, biodiversity loss, and greenhouse gas emissions. Its 85 recommended actions are designed to help countries promote healthy diets, control animal diseases, encourage climate mitigation and adaptation practices, improve animal welfare, and boost farmers’ livelihoods.
Food Companies Slow Efforts to Improve Public Health
Food corporations are costing countries billions of dollars in healthcare and legal costs by hindering the adoption of public health measures, according to the World Health Organization’s Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) make up half the calories consumed by eaters in countries including the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia.
As governments try to implement programs and initiatives that help people adopt healthier diets, food corporations say they support these actions. But an investigation by The Guardian finds that these same corporations are quietly trying to overturn, weaken, or delay them.
Between 2010 and 2025, corporations brought 235 lawsuits forward in five countries in response to policies targeting UPFs. Even though the companies lost around three-quarters of these cases, they were still successful in slowing the rollout of legislation and discouraging other countries from pursuing similar policies.
Tedros recognizes that some food products are being reformulated to be made healthier, but stresses more must be done: “These efforts are welcome, but they are not sufficient on their own to meet the scale of this global health crisis. To contribute meaningfully to the solution, companies should also end litigation and other tactics that strain limited government resources and hinder efforts to protect public health.”
RFK Jr. Launches New Cooking Show
Last week, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced the launch of a new cooking show. Kennedy states that he will travel across the country, connecting with chefs to show families “how to cook delicious, nutritious meals with real ingredients all at affordable prices.”
In the first episode of “The Real Food Show,” available on YouTube, Kennedy and Chef Andrew Gruel prepare salmon cakes with an arugula and white bean salad.
Each recipe is designed to come out to US$5 or less per portion whenever possible but some experts question whether that’s possible. Registered dietitian Juliana Vocca says, “RFK Jr.’s cooking show may be promising in terms of educating the public on how to cook healthy.” But, she adds, “I’m not sure everyone can afford some of his recipes.”
Food prices in the U.S. are 33 percent higher than they were in 2019, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Tool Helps Women Farmers Unlock Water Security
A new tool known as the Agriculture Water InSecurity (AgWISE) module is tracking the realities of women facing water stress in coastal Bangladesh, helping decision makers develop gender-inclusive water governance and climate policies.
Women are increasingly impacted by water stress, from increased flooding to erratic rainfall. At the same time, they are taking on larger roles in agriculture. But they remain largely excluded from decisions impacting water management and infrastructure.
AgWISE aims to change this by collecting information to understand the physical and emotional toll of water insecurity. A pilot study with 800 respondents revealed how age, class, land ownership impact a household’s vulnerability.
By translating everyday experience into actionable evidence, the tool is supplying decision makers with the information they need to create policies. The insights from AgWISE are now being used to shape revisions to Bangladesh’s National Women Development Policy and guide discussions with the Ministry of Finance to integrate the tool into Gender Responsive Budgeting initiatives across climate hotspots.
CGIAR sees this as an adaptable tool that can be used to support smallholder farming communities around the world.
Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.
Photo courtesy of Wietse Jongsma, Unsplash
