​To Make a Difference, Family Philanthropy Must Take More Risks
Katherine Lorenz, The National Center for Family Philanthropy
 
CFFP seeks to create both systems change and support enterprise success. As our Market Research suggests, food systems change is the more involved and risky of the two endeavors. And, as this article suggests, philanthropy alone has small resources to address large and complex issues, making food systems change all the more daunting. However, while CFFP may not single handedly create food systems change, the risks we take will set a precedent for others to get involved. Our innovations and learnings can provide a way for governments, other nonprofits, and individuals to join in tackling the complex issue of food systems improvement.
 
“Philanthropy is trying to address the world’s most entrenched social issues. If it were easy to solve these problems, they would be solved already.” Clearly, the problems remain unsolved. The author suggests a pivot in philanthropic strategy is required: complex problems require innovative solutions, and innovative solutions require risk. The words “philanthropy” and “risk” are seldom paired together. At the same time, family philanthropies are uniquely positioned to test out solutions that can be adapted, scaled, and implemented by larger bodies with more resources. 

​“4 Things Every Investor Should Know About Vertical Farming: Lessons Learned From AVF Summit”
Chris Powers, AgFunder News
 
Hydroponic micro-greens emerged from our Ecotrust research as a way to get leafy greens into urban areas, and also emerged from the Bowman Analysis as a winning category for investment. So—what do we do next as investors? In this article, writer and entrepreneur Chris Powers outlines four key takeaways from the Association for Vertical Farming’s summit in Amsterdam last month to educate investors on the state of affairs in vertical farming and tips for involvement.
 
A state of the industry landscape scan indicates that most vertical farming operations provide micro-greens and lettuces to select restaurants and CSA’s. While the technology exists for sophisticated vertical farming, we need entrepreneurs with a mastery of techniques and breadth of knowledge to build the industry. The biggest hang-up for these entrepreneurs are a slew of startup costs that, if unaccounted for, can easily thwart an otherwise solid business plan. The author closes with ways that investors and entrepreneurs alike can go above and beyond to make vertical farming as sustainable as possible, for instance by growing in point-of-sale locations and eliminating food miles.

​“Buying Organic Honey? Here’s What You Should Know.”
Elizabeth Grossman, Civil Eats
 
The dilemma presented in this article is a prime example of the challenges that make us ask, “what is ‘good enough’?” in food systems work. While increased farm acreage at first appears to be a good thing, we must ask questions like “what kind of acreage?” “where is this acreage?” and “at what cost?”
 
Domestic organic honey may soon become a thing of the past for the United States. As industrial farming expands and encroaches on remaining prairies and woodlands, pesticide and herbicide-free land that is safe for bees diminishes. Even in remote parts of North Dakota, the “last best place in the country to grow organic honey,” beekeepers see a direct (and adverse) relationship between increased farm acreage and pounds of honey produced per hive.

​“Paying Farmers to Go Organic, Even Before the Crops Come In”
Stephanie Strom, New York Times
 
CFFP and Ecotrust’s market research focused on ways investors can interface with the food value chain in order to build a more sustainable regional food system. While the research is completed, a continued awareness of other efforts in our food system will give CFFP an even sharper focus of where to most effectively intervene. Industrial food companies may facilitate the conversion to organic in many states, but infrastructural challenges of aggregation, processing, and distribution still remain for mid-size farmers in our region. This provides further evidence that infrastructural support may be a great niche for investment.
 
In order to be certified organic in the United States, farmers must undergo an expensive process to convert their land. During the required three-year transition period to organic, farmers forgo synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and GMO seeds that may reduce production costs while receiving no organic premiums for their products. In order to keep up with consumer demand for organic and non-GMO products, food hegemons including Kellogg and General Mills have been helping farmers convert to organic. They provide financial support during the rough transition period and provide a guaranteed market for crops once they are finished.

 “Origins of the obesity pandemic can be analysed”
Steven Parry Donald, Nature

The connection between food culture and obesity makes an argument for food systems investment that supports First Foods, traditional farming, and other cultural resilience efforts taking place in our communities.

Article Summary: Strong culinary identity and strong food culture may foster resilience against the obesity epidemic. While measurable causes of caloric intake and physical activity have long been cornerstones of obesity analyses, University of Toronto Public Health professor John Frank argues that these factors are secondary to history and culture.
By looking at obesity trends over time between countries, Frank identified countries in which the obesity epidemic began later, grew slower, and ultimately plateaued at lower levels than leading countries such as the United States and Australia. These countries include Italy, France, and South Korea among others. Their apparent resilience to the obesity epidemic, Frank argues, is a strong sense of traditional cuisines. Having developed over centuries to sustain societies, traditional cuisines are arguably healthier than modern ones. Societies such as the United States which had a rather shallow sense of culinary identity are more likely to transition to industrialized, processed foods that are so closely associated with increased obesity.

 “Grain Traders Rejecting New Monsanto Soybeans”
Dow Jones Business News

GMO concerns have transcended environmental and health concerns and breached into the realm of product viability. As CFFP seeks to identify strategic investments within the differentiated production spectrum, for instance from no-till to organic no-till, this is something to consider.

Article Summary: Monsanto recently launched a new genetically modified soybean that has not yet been approved by EU regulations. Firms representing companies as influential as Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland have rejected the product, mainly on the basis that there are not mechanisms in place to ensure the unapproved GMO will not contaminate countries with GMO laws. In the wake of China’s rejection of US corn shipments due to contamination with Syngenta GMO material, compliance with GMO laws