Hampton Creek CEO Takes On Donald Trump, Restaurants Drive Sales With Pokémon Go + More

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in agriculture, CPG, retail, restaurants, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Last week’s top headlines include Hampton Creek CEO Josh Tetrick calling the Trump campaign “un-American” in a full-page New York Times ad and an inside look at how restaurants are capitalizing on Pokémon Go mania to drive sales.

In funding news, food distribution giant Cisco partnered with Italian Innovation Hub to launch the H-FARM food tech accelerator, and The Yield Lab launched an agtech accelerator in Ireland. Other headlines include the contentious passing of the national GMO labeling bill, the USDA recruiting food e-commerce platforms to test the possibility of accepting food stamps and more. Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

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1. Dining On The Future Of Protein

A full recap of the Future of Protein dinner which happened June 28 in Brooklyn, NY. This dinner was the first in a new Future of Food dinner series, produced by the Future Market, that showcases the biggest ideas impacting our food system in an immersive, delicious dining experience.

2. A Vegan Mayo CEO Has Embarked On A One-Man, $200,000 Ad Campaign Against Donald Trump – Quartz

Hampton Creek CEO Josh Tetrick took out a full page add in the New York Times to write a letter to Donald Trump, in which he calls the Trump campaign un-American. Tetrick says he hopes the ad will encourage other business leaders to stand up and say something.

3. Congress Just Passed A GMO Labeling Bill. Nobody’s Super Happy About It – NPR

Public policy groups are asking Obama to veto the bill because it allows food companies to use QR codes rather than transparent on-package labeling. Food companies and farm groups are convinced that pro-labeling groups are trying to use labels to drive consumers away from GMOs.

4. 5 Brilliant Ways Restaurants Are Using Pokémon Go To Level Up Sales – Forbes

How restaurants are capitalizing on the Pokémon Go craze, from hosting Pokémon meetups, to offering free meals for diners who promote the game, to future in-game sponsorship opportunities.

5. Cisco Partners With Italian Innovation Hub To Launch A European Food Tech Accelerator – AgFunderNews

H-FARM will give early stage food and ag startups $22k in seed money, room and board, working facilities and mentorship sessions. The four month program begins in October, and applications close July 31.

6. A Simple Change That Could Help Solve One of the Biggest Problems Facing Poor People – Washington Post

People in food desserts are more likely to have internet access than access to a car, so the USDA is recruiting online grocery delivery services to test the possibility of accepting SNAP.

7. What Would Happen If the Secretary of Agriculture Became Vice President? – Food52

Edible Manhattan’s Brian Halweil, Food Tank’s Danielle Nierenberg, FERN’s Sam Fromartz and more weigh in on the Tom Vilsack’s possible candidacy as Hillary Clinton’s running mate.

8. The Resurgence Of Black Farmers – Civil Eats

After a long decline, the number of Black farmers in the United States is on the rise again.

9. Health Startup Lifesum Raises $10M Round Led by Nokia Growth Partners – TechCrunch

Draper Esprit, Bauer Media Group and SparkLabs Global Ventures also participated. The Swedish startup tracks what you eat and your exercise and says it now has 15M users.

10. The Yield Lab Launches Irish Agtech Accelerator – AgFunderNews

The Yield Lab Galway accelerator and fund will invest €100k into 8 to 12 startups over the next two years, providing them with one-on-one mentorship, free workspace and networking opportunities over a year-long program.