United We Eat
FOOD | HEALTH | DEMOCRACY
United We Eat
FOOD | HEALTH | DEMOCRACY
Food Systems News
Reporting, research, policy and accountability across American and global food systems.
Legal
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Nutrition
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Investigative Journalism
Reuters
September 9, 2026
India’s food-processors association asked the Supreme Court to review proposed red warning labels triggered when packaged foods exceed limits in at least two of three categories: added sugar, salt or saturated fat. It says the thresholds are too strict and should be measured per serving.
Investigation
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Investigative Journalism
Associated Press
September 8, 2026
AP found FDA inspections of foreign food facilities have fallen nearly 35% since 2019, including at a Mexican farm linked by U.S. officials to a nationwide Cyclospora outbreak. Inspectors arrived a month after the lettuce recall and had not visited the farm since 2019.
Investigation
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Market Concentration
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Investigative Journalism
Vox
September 9, 2026
Vox found that $66 million in mandatory pork checkoff funds moved from the National Pork Board to the National Pork Producers Council since 2004 through trademark and real-estate deals. Critics say the arrangements subsidize lobbying that can work against smaller and higher-welfare hog farmers.
Policy
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Government Rulemaking
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
August 28, 2026
EPA exempted a sucrose-fatty-acid surfactant from a numerical residue tolerance when used at no more than 12% of preharvest pesticide formulations. EPA said available data showed no toxicological endpoint of concern, including for infants and children.
Policy
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Market Concentration
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News Reporting
Reuters
August 28, 2026
President Trump said legal documents are being drafted to let farmers and ranchers process more of their own meat. USDA also promised changes allowing more interstate sales, added support for small processors and withdrawal of outdated guidance, but no order or policy text had been released.
Scientific Review
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Soil Health
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Peer-Reviewed Study
Sustainability (MDPI)
March 9, 2023
On Polish post-coal mine spoil heaps, researchers found soil properties explained 23% of variation in microbial biomass, compared with 12% for plant diversity. Substrate pH was the strongest measured driver, and plots further along in early succession had the greatest microbial biomass.