Image Credit: Fast Company

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.

In a groundbreaking move, the UK government has unveiled a landmark £2 billion plan to support the advancement of its biotech ecosystem, with a particular focus on the cultivated meat and fermentation industry. Meanwhile, the New York Times sheds light on the challenging circumstances faced by America’s aging farmworkers, predominantly immigrants, who find themselves on the brink of retirement without the safety net of Medicare or Social Security, despite decades of dedicated service to the country’s agricultural sector.

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. Chobani Buys La Colombe for $900M – Fast Company

How Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya orchestrated the deal, how Dr Pepper was involved and what’s next.

2. French Parliamentarians Propose Law to Ban Cultivated Meat, Calling It “Junk Food” – Vegconomist

The Republicans party of France has introduced a bill in the National Assembly to prohibit the production and marketing of cultivated meat in the country.

3. The Climate Summit Starts to Crack a Tough Nut: Emissions From Food – New York Times

A road map to trim the climate footprint of food shows how hard it is to feed the world on a hotter planet.

4. Germany: This Vertical Farming Company Raised $500M, and Then It All But Disappeared – Sifted

Once a hot Berlin-based startup, Infarm struggled to turn a profit, causing it to declare insolvency in its major European markets in 2023.

5. UK to Ban Imports of Essential Products Linked to Illegal Deforestation, But Concerns Over Scale & Producers Remain – Green Queen

At COP28, the UK announced its intention to ban imports of everyday essentials linked to illegal deforestation, which will affect large companies with high turnovers.

6. Ozempic for Everyone? Inside Novo Nordisk’s Big Plans for Its Weight-Loss Drugs – Fast Company

Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide success turned it into a diabetes and weight-loss behemoth. Now it wants to cure your heart condition. And it’s just getting started.

7. Chipotle Is Investing in Companies That Make Robots and Fertilizer from Artificial Lightning – Fast Company

Chipotle Mexican Grill will invest in Greenfield Robotics, which designs lightweight, autonomous agricultural robots, via its Cultivate Next venture fund.

8. How Grocery Stores Are Becoming Data Brokers – CNBC

Email addresses, phone numbers, shopping habits, birthdays and more are all being rolled into a monetizable data profile the companies and data brokers are using to better understand the needs and wants of consumers.

9. Protests Are an American Tradition. But Why at Restaurants? – New York Times

A recent demonstration outside a Philadelphia falafel spot was just the latest in a history of boycotts and conflicts.