A 25-year-old computer science graduate student has won NASA’s top prize of $300,000 for developing an innovative food system designed to help… The post ‘I Completely Poured Myself into This Project’: 25-Year-Old Computer Science Grad Wins NASA’s $300,000 Prize for Innovative Mars Food System appeared first on Shine My Crown.

Farmers around the world are struggling with the impact of climate change, financial pressures and depleted soil – and industry experts say bringing consumers closer to the people who produce their food could provide a solution. A group of farmers, scientists and development specialists are pushing for "conscious food systems", arguing that many of the problems in today's food production are the result of people being "alienated" from nature and each other. Current food production systems are "not really fit for purpose," said Andrew Bovarnick, head of food systems at the United Nations Development Programme. "It's causing huge environmental problems... we have more food in the world, but there are more than ever people who are malnourished and starving," he said. Bovarnick spent years looking at technical solutions to food production challenges, but believes technology alone cannot solve the problem. Instead, he and other members of the Global Conscious Food Systems Alliance, meeting in Bhutan this week, want more "mindful" food production focused on protecting the environment, farmers and consumers, rather than maximising profit or output. The problems in food production are well-documented. Intensive agriculture, the application of chemicals and extreme weather linked to climate change have degraded up to...

Food systems already account for a substantial share of carbon market activity. Yet the credits are concentrated in a small set of project types, leaving several major sources of food system emissions with little representation. A new CIFOR-ICRAF analysis by Christopher Martius and Nathanaël Pingault brings together 9,254 projects that had issued credits through UNFCCC mechanisms or major independent standards. Together, those projects represent 4.9 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in issued credits. The authors recast these projects through a food systems lens, looking beyond agriculture and land use to include energy, refrigeration, waste, and other activities that run through food value chains. The analysis shows an uneven distribution of carbon market activity across food systems. While some activities attract substantial investment and generate large volumes of credits, several major sources of food system emissions remain underrepresented. Refrigeration and REDD+ dominate food system carbon credits Food system projects account for 23.3% of projects registered under the Clean Development Mechanism and 35.9% of the credits it has issued. Among the independent mechanisms covered by the Berkeley Carbon Trading Project database, their presence is larger still: 61.3% of projects and 58.6% of issued credits. But a lot of this volume comes...

Reducing food loss and waste has transformative potential for agrifood systems, as saving food from being lost or wasted also saves nutrients, natural resources and money, while helping ease pressure on forests, the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, said today during a joint FAO-UN Environment Programme event held in observance of the seventh International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste . 13.4 percent of food produced globally is lost after harvest and before reaching retail , while 19 percent of food available to consumers is wasted at retail, in food service and in households. Beyond the food itself, these losses represent a considerable waste of the resources used to produce it. When lost or wasted food decomposes, particularly under anaerobic conditions in landfills, it also generates methane (CH₄), a potent short lived greenhouse gas, further increasing the climate footprint of food loss and waste. FAO has estimated that approximately 1.4 billion hectares of land are used to produce food that is ultimately never consumed . With agricultural expansion remaining the leading driver of deforestation globally, reducing food loss and waste could help make better use of existing agricultural land...

A record El Niño climate phase will unleash unprecedented heat and extreme weather, and the UK food system is vulnerable, climate minister Katie White told New Scientist. At the same time, she pushed back against “panic and fear” after environment minister Angela Eagle told Britons they should “store a bit of food that can keep you going for a while” in case of El Niño storms and flooding. “Look, am I going out and buying loads of extra beans? I’ve always got a few cans of beans, but that’s mainly so I’m ready for when I’ve not had a chance to go to the shop,” said White. “So I’m not going out and doing that.” The UK Met Office, the national weather service, has warned that the UK is likely to face an unusually warm, wet and stormy autumn and winter due to El Niño, which occurs every two to seven years. While late winter in the UK has often been cold and dry during El Niño, the current event is so strong that it could remain warm and rainy into spring. If fields become too muddy, tractors may not be able to sow crops like winter wheat, as happened...

Most of the world is moving too slowly to meet food system transformation goals, with the measure for agrifood greenhouse gas emissions exhibiting one of the largest gaps, according to a new report. The vast majority of countries will not meet internationally agreed food systems goals for 2030, warns a new interdisciplinary report backed by the UN. Using the latest data points available for all countries in the analysis and considering the global direction, the researchers found that reducing greenhouse gas emissions from food systems is one of two indicators where the global mean is over 75% away from the agreed target. Only one goal has been fully met: mobile phone subscriptions, which is a proxy for connectedness and resilience. The study, published in Nature Food, was carried out by the Food Systems Countdown Initiative (FSCI), a global interdisciplinary collaboration co-led by Johns Hopkins University, Cornell University, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition. “What makes this countdown paper different is that it doesn’t just tell countries whether they’re moving in the right direction – it tells them how far they still have to go, and against a benchmark that’s actually within reach,”...

FAISALABAD - Nestlé Pakistan and the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration in sustainable agriculture, food science, nutrition, applied research, and workforce development. The collaboration supports Nestlé’s efforts to advance regenerative agriculture across its value chain as part of its global ambition to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The MoU was signed during a visit by Jason Avanceña, CEO and Managing Director, Nestlé Pakistan, and the company’s senior leadership to UAF. The occasion also formalised the establishment of the Nestlé Learning Resource Centre (NLRC) at the National Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFSAT), UAF. Speaking on the occasion, Jason Avanceña, CEO and MD, Nestlé Pakistan, said, “Through the Nestlé Learning Resource Center and our continued partnership with UAF, we aim to create opportunities for knowledge sharing, research collaboration, and leadership development. It further strengthens our work in regenerative agriculture, and food science, and enables creating shared value by bringing together knowledge, industry expertise and young talent.” Prof Dr Zulfiqar Ali, Vice Chancellor, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, said, “Strong industry-academia linkages are essential to translating research into solutions that address real-world challenges. Our partnership with Nestlé Pakistan will provide...

NASA announced the winners of the Deep Space Food Challenge: Mars to Table Thursday, with the top $300,000 prize being awarded to Chinyere Ukeje of Philadelphia, Pa. for the Adaptive Nourishment Infrastructure (ANI) food system concept. This competition challenged solvers to explore innovative solutions for integrated space food systems that would provide safe, nutritious meals to astronauts living and working in space. Mars to Table launched in January 2026 as a follow on to the Deep Space Food Challenge, which NASA ran from 2021-2014 in collaboration with CSA (Canadian Space Agency). The original challenge focused on prototyped novel food production methods, while the 2026 competition asked teams to conceptualize space meals not as individual technology components, but as a complete food-production system that would offer a variety of food with limited crew time and work needed to maintain the food system. After judging 113 submissions by teams hailing from 33 countries and 28 U.S. states, the agency selected five winning teams for the 2026 challenge, awarding a combined $650,000. “We’re thrilled to keep advancing the future of space food systems with this challenge,” said Jennifer Edmunson, program manager for Centennial Challenges at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama...

Chefs are more than culinary innovators. They connect farmers and consumers, shape food culture, and use their purchasing power to influence how food is grown, produced, and served. “Chefs are in a very unique position on planet Earth to be changemakers,” says Andrew Zimmern, Emmy- and James Beard Award-winning chef, television host, author, and food advocate. They operate at the intersection of immigration, gender and pay gaps, hunger and food insecurity, food waste, and a range of other global issues. At “Chefs Save the World,” held in partnership with the James Beard Foundation and CARE at Climate Week NYC 2026, culinary leaders, farmers, and advocates came together to explore how chefs can use their platforms to build a more equitable, resilient, and sustainable food future. Watch the full event replay here. Throughout the morning, speakers emphasized the importance of diversity throughout the food system—not only in crops and ingredients but among humans. “If we demand more diversity in our food system, that is what is going to build resilience,” says Chef Bleu Adams, Executive Chef at Black Lamb Group and Director of IndigeHub. And diversity in kitchens builds human resilience, too, she adds. “Better food begins with embracing diversity. Whether...

Buddhist temples nestle themselves high into the Bhutanese hills that crescent their way down into fields of maize and rice, barley and buckwheat. The Himalayan country, lying at India’s northeastern tip, has become known for promoting national happiness with a dedicated index and a commitment to becoming 100% organic by 2035. The sweeping valleys visible from almost every vantage point are almost untouched by synthetic pesticides and the animals are farmed on a small scale rather than primarily on industrial operations, like the vast majority of farm animals elsewhere. Bhutan’s climate accomplishments have also made news. Bhutan is the world’s first carbon negative country and about 95% of farmland is considered organic by default because of the lack of synthetic chemicals and fertilizer used. Only a few alternatives, including natural pesticides, are permitted, in line with Bhutan’s organic standard, which also stipulates that livestock’s physiological and behavioral needs should be given prime importance. In practice, that means most farmers only keep a few cattle, goats and chickens, says Sonam Tashi, associate professor in the College of Natural Resources at the Royal University of Bhutan. This is strikingly different from the United States, where on some farms, hundreds of thousands of...

This week governments, experts and practitioners gather in Rome for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Global Conference for Actions on One Health in Agrifood Systems . It is a welcome moment for an approach that should guide food-system transformation more broadly: the recognition that the health of people, animals and ecosystems is inseparable. Aquatic foods have so far been largely absent from that conversation, a gap worth closing given how much aquaculture is set to grow. The FAO has called for a 75% increase in sustainable aquaculture production by 2040, measured against 2020 levels, but the success of this call hinges on what counts as sustainable. Salmon farming drives eutrophication and ecotoxicity ; shrimp farming discharges effluent , has been linked to mangrove loss , and relies on antimicrobials where regulation is thin. Both also draw heavily on wild-caught fish for feed: A recent report by the Changing Markets Foundation suggests that continued growth in high-value, feed-intensive species like these could push the volume of wild fish ground into feed to the equivalent of nearly half of the world’s 2020 wild fish catch by 2040. In West Africa, fishmeal production, foreign trawler competition and pollution are all squeezing...

Most of us don’t eat food the way our grandparents did. We eat products. They are engineered to travel long distances, sit on shelves for months, survive heat and cold, and still trigger pleasure…

Climate change is already affecting what farmers can grow, when they can plant, and how much they can harvest. Across the globe, they are navigating drought, unpredictable rainfall, and extreme heat. Meanwhile, public investment in agricultural research is uncertain, global conflicts are contributing to hunger and displacement, and food is becoming more expensive. “I can’t overstate how intense climate impacts are for young farmers across the country right now,” says Michelle Hughes, Executive Director of the National Young Farmers Coalition, at “Putting Farmers First: How Young Farmers are Shaping the Future of Food,” which Food Tank hosted at Climate Week NYC 2026 in partnership with Whole Foods Market. “Farming is starting to feel not only hard but borderline impossible for some folks,” says Hughes. And the pressures facing farmers extend beyond climate change. Sarah Jones of Jones Farms Organics, a fourth-generation, family-owned farm in Colorado’s San Luis Valley and the region’s first Regenerative Organic Certified grower, described the many roles farmers must take on to keep their businesses operating. “We’re biologists, environmentalists, mechanics, engineers. We do marketing, sales, social media, we’re distributors, brand designers, customer service…it doesn’t end,” says Jones. Farmers also face significant financial risks and difficult working conditions...

A version of this piece was featured in Food Tank’s newsletter, released weekly on Thursdays. To make sure it lands straight in your inbox and to be among the first to receive it, subscribe now by clicking here. Buckle up: We’re on the road to a better food system! This journey will take us to places including Türkiye later this year for COP31, the United Nations climate change conference, but first, we’re stopping in New York City for Climate Week. As always, I feel guided by the solutions Food Tank sees on the ground and the farmers we learn from every day. I firmly believe that our path toward food systems transformation is illuminated by stories of hope and success from communities around the globe—and that sharing these stories is one of the most powerful ways we can fuel greater change. As we gear up for Climate Week, we’re spending this week and next week breaking down solutions that should remain top-of-mind no matter where in the food system you find yourself: Not only the initiatives that capture the most headlines or have the most name-recognition, but the steps that will truly make change at the scale we desperately need...

For farmers, knowing exactly when to water a crop, how much it needs, and whether changing conditions put a harvest at risk can make all the difference. But as climate change brings more unpredictable rainfall, extreme heat, and other shocks to the world’s food systems, making those decisions can increasingly become a guessing game. Luckily, some are hard at work removing that guesswork altogether. Based in Nigeria, Stephanie Meltus is the founder of Stevora AgriSystems and co-founder of Green Eden Farms, an agribusiness leveraging ScareGrow technology to deliver real-time data and insights to farmers. Armed with intel to better understand what’s happening on their land, farmers can make better decisions, improve their yields, and build more resilient, climate-smart farming systems. On top of all that, Meltus is also the Country Director of Smartel Agritech, a startup that uses technologies such as hydroponics and soilless systems to help farmers protect their harvests in arid regions. But that’s not all. She’s also part of a growing movement of young people demanding a bigger role in shaping the future of food and farming. In 2023, Meltus was selected as one of the winners of the YouthADAPT Solutions Challenge, an initiative supported by the...

A version of this piece was featured in Food Tank’s newsletter, released weekly on Thursdays. To make sure it lands straight in your inbox and to be among the first to receive it, subscribe now by clicking here. At major events like Climate Week NYC, we do a lot of talking. Over the course of the week, hundreds of experts and inspiring changemakers cross our stage. I almost always have a water bottle with me when I’m moderating these discussions, because my voice gets tired! But we can’t just talk about addressing the climate crisis. We have to do something. There’s a reason phrases like “actions speak louder than words” and “leading by example” are repeated so often: They’re 100 percent true. The discussions we’re having—from Climate Week NYC next week to COP31 later this year and beyond—are most valuable when each of us takes what we’re hearing and learning and translates these into on-the-ground solutions. In this newsletter last week and this week, we’re highlighting 13 (a baker’s dozen!) of the many steps that are already being taken across the global food system. Find out more about our amazing lineup for Climate Week NYC—featuring more than 225 speakers and...

On 29 October, the ELSA Lab AI for Sustainable Food Systems (AI4SFS) will bring together researchers, policymakers, businesses, and societal stakeholders to celebrate five years of research on the Eth...

This post is by Neil Ward, professor of rural & regional development at the University of East Anglia and co-director of Root + Reason. Read more on how replacing some meat in our diets with UK grown pulses can benefit UK water security in Green Alliance’s ‘Tackling food security by futureproofing the UK’s diets’ briefing. The heatwaves and drought of summer 2026 have put the UK food system under an uncomfortable spotlight. Food, farming and drought have been front page news, and much of the discussion has focused on immediate impacts: crop losses, farm incomes and the prospect of higher food prices. But this summer should also prompt a bigger conversation about how resilient our food system really is, and whether it is prepared for the shocks that are likely to become more frequent in the decades ahead. Summer 2026 has been confirmed by the Met Office as the UK’s hottest summer on record. Average temperatures from 1 June to 10 August were almost 2°C above the 1991-2020 average, with temperatures reaching 38°C in June and 35°C in July. It was also exceptionally dry, particularly across England and Wales. Wisley in Surrey recorded 62 consecutive dry days and by mid-August...

Ten years of Farmerama, ten years of sharing the voices behind regenerative farming. And I feel more certain than ever about the importance of this work. My family started farming on 10 hectares in Chile after I went to university – it was a real baptism of fire. By the time I co-founded Farmerama, we had planted a few thousand olive trees and had many unanswered questions about how to farm ‘beyond organic’, as we called it at the time. I had attended a few farming events in the UK and realised there were many people already farming in this way who we could learn from – it just wasn’t easy to uncover their stories. This article first appeared in the latest issue of the Resurgence & Ecologist print magazine. Market Making a podcast felt like the perfect way to ask questions while simultaneously sharing the learning with others. From the beginning, we set out to champion farmers and landworkers already crafting a more ecological future. Every season brings new opportunities to find better ways of working with the ecosystems they tend, and we wanted to share those experiments and what they learned. These farmers, often small-scale and working closely...