Yesterday, the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE), a professional trade group for business-to-business journalists, awarded a regional gold award for the Upper Midwest region in the video category to Senior Editor Elizabeth Crawford and Digital Content Specialist Carly Rude for the comprehensive video and corresponding news story, ’ADM on the Farm: Building regenerative agriculture builds business opportunities.’
Crawford, Deputy Editor Deniz Ataman and Senior Correspondent Ryan Daily also won a regional bronze award for the Upper Midwest region in the online single topic coverage category for their extensive reporting of efforts to ban select additives and dyes from the US food system.
Seizing the full potential of regenerative agriculture
Regenerative agriculture is emerging as a powerful tool to fight climate change and reduce stubborn Scope 3 emissions related to the production of food and as a marketing concept to help brands and retailers earn consumer loyalty, drive sales and command higher price points. But the tenets of regenerative agriculture are not formally defined or well understood – nor are the environmental benefits and business opportunities.
To help CPG manufacturers, ingredient suppliers and farmers understand and seize the full potential of regenerative agriculture, Crawford and Rude flew to Iowa to learn more about the practices, what it takes to implement them and their potential business impact from farm to fork.
They visited a family farm to see firsthand what regenerative agriculture is and how it impacts the land and livelihood of farmers. They secured interviews with a farmer piloting regenerative agriculture practices, the director of Climate Smart Ag Origination at ADM, an ingredient company helping to formalize and advance regenerative agriculture, and the Iowa program manager for ADM’s re:generations program. Insights provided in these three interviews offer a working definition for regenerative agriculture, the business benefits it offers at each level of the supply chain and specific ways in which farmers, suppliers and manufacturers can work together to reap the rewards of regenerative agriculture.
The video and story end with a call to action – including specific next steps readers and viewers can take to realize the full environmental and business benefits of regenerative agriculture. Together, the video and accompanying article include news, analysis and action items.
Navigating evolving clean label expectations and ingredient bans
In FoodNavigator-USA’s collection of breaking news and analysis, Seeing Red: The ongoing debate about the safety of food dyes and the fallout for CPG manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, the team examined how efforts by states to ban select additives and pressure by public health advocates placed on FDA for federal action are creating an uncertain regulatory environment for food and beverage manufacturers and ingredient companies, which must chart a path forward without fully understanding the terrain. This includes ingredient innovation and product reformulation to meet legislator and consumer demand for clean-label products.
In the first article, author Daily explored California’s food dye ban in schools.
In the second article, author Ataman explores the ripple effect of the proposed legislation in other states and examines the extent of the impact on the state bills if they should pass, including comments from several trade groups and industry leaders.
In the third article, Crawford’s breaking news story of California Gov. Gavin Newsom signing the bill into law places the state legislation in context with federal efforts to reinforce the post-market review process of food chemicals – including dyes. It explores perspectives from multiple stakeholders about how best to ensure the safety of the US food supply, including views from advocates for state action and those who support a federally led effort to ensure regulations are science-based and data-driven. In the absence of a clear action, the article includes initial steps industry stakeholders are and can take to meet evolving consumer demands, regardless of regulatory changes at the state or federal level.
The fourth article, by Crawford, follows the debate at the legislative level with a breaking news story covering a Senate hearing at which FDA officials were asked to justify their safety evaluation of red dyes 40 and 3. From the wide-ranging hearing, Crawford pulled out the most pivotal comments from legislators and regulators and provided necessary context for readers to understand the subtext of the debate and identify next steps.
The fifth article, by Daily, explored how food and beverage companies prepare for the ingredient bans before they go into effect.
Together these articles examine an ongoing debate with the potential for tremendous impact on what products can be sold in the US and how the safety of US food supply should best be ensured. Each includes a balance of contradicting views and concrete action items for readers.
Industry insiders share strategies to reassure consumers about food and ingredient safety
Consumers increasingly are scrutinizing ingredient labels to avoid products with synthetic dyes and flavors, and many seek reassurance amid mounting concerns about contaminants, including heavy metals in baby food, chocolate and other food – prompting some brands to pursue purity certifications and make claims of “no bad stuff” for their products. But what certifications and claims best resonate with consumers? And how should evolving legislation and regulation banning food additives influence companies’ product development and marketing strategies?
Find out by joining FoodNavigator-USA and a panel of experts April 16 at 12 ET / 9 PT or a free, one-hour online webinar – ‘Clean label 2.0: Soothing safety concerns and navigating state bans.’
Get all the details and register here .
