Special Report

Sustainable Food and Agriculture

Consumers’ interest in where their food comes from has intensified during the coronavirus pandemic. Here we look at what that means for investors — from agritech start-up opportunities to innovative ways of financing the world’s poorest farmers


Supported by Rabobank

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Investors show healthy appetite for food sector

Concerns over food security and climate change are fuelling interest in agritech

Audio feature: smart finance for a sustainable food system

How can impact investors maximise their returns — both financially and environmentally?

Venture capital floods into food-tech

Growing consumer interest in sustainable food has not escaped early-stage investors

Food businesses bank on sustainability-linked loans

New form of lending surges but barriers deter wider take-up

Blended finance eases burden for farmers in poor countries

Development agencies are tapping private capital to boost rural prosperity

High-tech tools shine a light on sustainable farming

Satellite imaging and blockchain-based impact data enable closer green investor scrutiny

More from this Special Report

Food proves hard for ESG investors to digest

The sector’s social and governance impacts resist easy measurement

Food groups under pressure on value chain emissions

Unilever and Danone are among the multinationals pushing suppliers to embrace sustainability

Audio feature: coronavirus and food’s carbon footprint

Emissions are likely to rise in the short term — but there is also a chance to build a more resilient food system

Methane from manure offers green revenue for US farmers

Biogas could help meet renewable energy targets but comes at a cost

Can the EU’s carbon border tax work for farming?

The theory may be sound but applying it to agriculture will be hard

Thai rice farmers step up to tackle carbon footprint

Different methods target global greenhouse gas emissions equal to aviation

Dutch farmers face pressure over intensive practices

Does the Netherlands’ role as an agricultural export powerhouse come at too high an environmental price?

Soil offers key to curbing climate change

Efforts to boost carbon capture could offset increases in greenhouse gas emissions

Hazelnut sourcing spreads discontent for Nutella

Ferrero faces political dilemma over domestic and foreign procurement of key ingredient

Vertical farming finally grows up in Japan

Redundant factories offer fertile ground for soil-free, indoor agriculture

Audio feature: on the frontline of deforestation in the Amazon

Lessons from Brazil could have wider implications for global food production

Planting crops with trees drives ‘magical’ reforestation

Turnaround success demonstrates key plank of sustainable farming

Conflict over fertile lands threatens Nigeria’s food security

A deadly ethnic battle sparked by cattle-herders is driving farmers from their land

Why the future of gene-edited foods is in the balance

Regulators will decide the impact of the biggest advance in bioscience since genetic modification

Chile’s sugary food fight echoes around the world

Government’s tough action on unhealthy foods begins to bite — and inspire campaigners abroad

On the ground with farming’s robot revolution

The latest crop of farming robots will seed, feed and weed individual plants

Food start-ups eye algae as a green protein source

The organism could help feed a growing population — if it can be grown economically

Can DNA testing show us what food to eat?

The consumer market in DNA testing kits focused initially on tracing ancestry but in…

How does your part of the world like to eat?

From street food to home cooking — eating habits around the globe

Why we need to talk about a healthier way of feeding the world

The ways we produce and consume food are no longer fit for purpose

Investors find a taste for radical thinking on food

From alternative ‘meats’ to turning CO2 into protein, interest is growing

Accelerators speed development of promising food start-ups

A growing number of specialist programmes are taking young businesses to the next level

Apps step up to the plate with diet and DNA-tailored advice

New online services nudge users towards smarter shopping and eating choices

Organic farming’s growth only part of answer to food sustainability

The approach has an impact far beyond its scale but questions remain over yields

Seafood suppliers must tackle slavery risk, say campaigners

Companies look to new tools and technologies to help reduce potential for industrial abuse

UK’s organic food growers aim for a bigger slice of pie

Suppliers must overcome mainstream reluctance to pay more for sustainable produce

Fair trade food schemes battle to promote better standards

Growing demand for ethical products has encouraged more companies to certify output

Police target vast mafia profits from food fraud and mislabelling

Combating criminal creativity requires ‘traceability, standardisation and co-operation’

Europe’s farmers face a generational crisis as young desert the land

Economic pressures and farming’s tough lifestyle form a threat to EU food security

Fish farms bring former luxuries within reach of many — at a price

Now everyone can eat salmon, but the environmental cost is high

Household food spending divides the world

The dividend of expanding world production is not being evenly shared

Supermarkets urged to nibble at margins

Chains pressed to join start-ups in helping farmers step up a level

Podcast: are food allergies becoming more common?

Medical experts and a sufferer discuss why concern is rising about reactions to foods

The global growth in meat production

Who eats the most and where is the greatest increase?

The robot revolution down on the farm

Investment is booming in autonomous machines to spray, weed and harvest

Winemakers look to the past in drive for a greener future

Specialist vineyards are rediscovering traditional methods

Hotter world threatens the breadbasket of the US

Climate change predicted to hold back growth in crop yields

Businesses find appetite to cut food waste

Tech start-ups are helping to change the throwaway culture

‘Smart’ insurance helps poor farmers to cut risk

Blockchain will enable cheaper and simpler cover

Veganomics: could cutting meat save the planet and make you money?

FT reporters on the environmental case for going vegan and why investors are starting to pay attention

How edible seaweed could combat plastic in the seas

Pods hold promise of greener food and drink packaging

Crops take root in city spaces

Urban farming could produce 180m tonnes of food globally, according to researchers

How to farm in a hotter, drier climate

Drought-hardened Australia is trying techniques that can help the rest of the world

Brazil’s soya farms spread under scrutiny

International attention has turned to deforestation in the country’s rich savannah

Farmers clamp down on gassy cows

Incentives or global standards would help deploy seaweed additives and genomics

Technology hope for African farmers

Precision farming techniques are being scaled down to be usable and affordable

How much does weather affect annual crop yields?

About a third of the variation in annual production of maize, wheat, rice and soyabeans is because of changes in rainfall and temperature

Women flex farming muscle

Women owe growing role to conflict or technology but rights still missing for some