Image Credit: New York Times

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

A landmark study reveals how adopting a vegan lifestyle could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, shedding light on the statistic that meat-eaters produce four times more green house gases than their vegan counterparts. Meanwhile, in a high-stakes gamble, WeightWatchers’ daring bet on obesity drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy to secure its future, while navigating the risk of potential repercussions.

In other news, we’ve wrapped the first season of our podcast in partnership with AgFunder: New Food Order, a nuanced investigation into the business of tackling our climate and social crises through food and agriculture. Read all about why we launched the podcast, and be sure to subscribe and share!

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1. Save the Planet, Put Down that Hamburger – New York Times

Researchers examined the diets of 55.5k people and found that vegans are responsible for 75% less in greenhouse gases than meat-eaters.

2. WeightWatchers Is Gambling Everything on Obesity Drugs – Bloomberg

Ozempic and Wegovy might save the 60-year-old company—if they don’t kill it first.

3. Heat, War and Export Bans: Global Food Threats Are on the Rise – Bloomberg

As scorching temperatures ravage farms from the US to China, crop harvests, fruit production and dairy output are all coming under pressure. That extreme weather is just one of threats to food supplies that are once again mounting around the world.

4. Israel: Former Mondelēz, Nielsen Execs Join Hands to Tackle Food Sustainability with the Launch of $80M FLORA Ventures – Forbes

The firm will mainly focus on pre-seed, seed, and series A companies across Israel and Europe by writing an average check size of $1-4 million depends on the stage of each company.

5. General Mills Backed Supply Change Capital Debuts with $40M to Invest in the Future of Food – Forbes

Latina-led venture capital firm, Supply Change Capital, has officially closed its $40m inaugural fund from limited partners, including General Mills’ 301 INC.

6. Amazon’s Palm-Scanning Payment System Is Coming to All Whole Foods Stores by the End of the Year – Fast Company

Amazon has announced that its palm-scanning payment tech, called Amazon One, will roll out to all 500-plus Whole Foods locations by the end of 2023.

7. Where Heat Waves Lead, Food Inflation Will Follow – WSJ

Record temperatures in the US and Europe offer a preview of the harsh conditions farmers in food-producing regions will likely face as the climate changes.

8. The Next Pandemic Could Spring From the US Meat Supply, New Report Finds – USA Today

A report from Harvard and NYU found that a virus or other contagious bug could easily jump from animals to people in the US, sparking a deadly outbreak.

9. The 21st-Century Shakedown of Restaurants – New York Times

How influencers are shaking down restaurants — a reflection of the power an unregulated industry has handed web-savvy people.