Bill Gates in Africa, More Kids Now Obese than Underweight, Columbia's Seed Guardians
October 3, 2025

Kenya’s Gazette Supplement 181 of 2024 ... carrying the name of Kenya’s minister of foreign affairs, announced that the Kenyan government had granted full diplomatic immunity to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. An organization must affirmatively ask Kenya’s highest leadership for such privileges, which they can only grant through a vote of the full cabinet and with the support of the country’s president. The immunity announcement ... did not say who at the foundation was being immunized or why. The Gates Foundation has assets in excess of $75 billion and has given out $91 billion in grants this century, making it the richest and most generous American charity in history. Since 2003, Gates has given 502 grants to organizations in Kenya, totaling over $1.9 billion. Gates has donated $870 million to AGRA, a Nairobi-based group attempting to introduce genetically modified seeds, chemical fertilizers, and large-scale agriculture throughout Africa. In Kenya it is possible to see the results of his now-accelerating project, which comprises three distinct efforts: the introduction of a new vaccine against malaria, a far-reaching agricultural reform program, and a divisive campaign to vaccinate cattle. Gates has no democratic accountability to anyone in the U.S., Kenya, or any other country. The Gates Foundation ... exists outside of nations and constitutions and laws, and its money is so widely distributed and so embedded in so many different private and public entities that it practically disappears into the larger architecture of the global system. One thing that unites NPR, the Guardian, and the Chinese government is that they are, in some form or another, Gates-funded institutions.

More children around the world are obese than underweight for the first time, according to a UN report that warns ultra-processed junk food is overwhelming childhood diets. There are 188 million teenagers and school-age children with obesity – one in 10 – Unicef said, affecting health and development and bringing a risk of life-threatening diseases. Catherine Russell, executive director of the UN agency for children, said: “When we talk about malnutrition, we are no longer just talking about underweight children. “Obesity is a growing concern. Ultra-processed food [UPF] is increasingly replacing fruits, vegetables and protein at a time when nutrition plays a critical role in children’s growth, cognitive development and mental health.” While 9.2% of five to 19-year-olds worldwide are underweight, 9.4% are considered obese, the report found. In 2000, nearly 13% were underweight and just 3% were obese. Obesity has overtaken being underweight as the more prevalent form of malnutrition in all regions of the world except sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, and is a problem even in countries with high numbers of children suffering from wasting or stunting due to a lack of food. One in five of those aged between five and 19 are overweight, with a growing proportion of those 291 million individuals falling into the obese category: 42% in 2022, up from 30% in 2000. Childhood obesity has been linked to higher risks of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers in later life.

Pesticides banned years ago in the European Union are drifting through the skies and turning up in clouds above France, raising concerns about how long these toxins persist and how far they can travel, with potentially harmful global health impacts, according to a pathbreaking new study. The research ... is the first to detect dozens of agricultural chemicals—including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and other substances—suspended in cloud water droplets. That means pesticides not only linger in the environment but also move through the atmosphere and fall back to Earth in rain or snow, sometimes at levels exceeding European safe drinking water limits. The study found that clouds can carry current-use pesticides, long-banned compounds, and “emerging contaminants“—industrial chemicals that either build up in the environment or form when older pesticides break down. Some even transform into new compounds in the atmosphere itself, beyond what regulators have known to consider. Researchers estimate that French skies alone may contain anywhere from a few tons to more than 100 tons of pesticides at any given time—most carried in from distant sources. Out of 446 possible chemicals screened—including pesticides, biocides (compounds that kill harmful organisms), additives, and transformation products (breakdown products of pesticides)—researchers found 32 different compounds in cloud water.

Despite the increasing rate of allergic diseases, both in industrialized and in developing countries, the Amish remain exceptionally — and bafflingly — resistant. Only 7 percent of Amish children had a positive response to one or more common allergens in a skin prick test, compared with more than half of the general U.S. population. Even children from other traditional farming families, who still have lower rates of allergic disease than nonfarm children, are more allergic than the Amish. “Certain kinds of farming practices, particularly the very traditional ones, have this extraordinary protective effect in the sense that, in these communities, asthma and allergies are virtually unknown,” said Donata Vercelli, a professor of cellular and molecular medicine. “The studies that have been done in these farming populations are critical because they tell us that protection is an attainable goal.” During the first year or two of life, a baby’s immune system is rapidly developing and highly malleable by environmental stimuli, such as bacteria. Some experts believe that exposing young children to certain types of beneficial bacteria can engage and shape the growing immune system in a way that reduces the risk of allergic diseases later in life. Farm dust contains a hodgepodge of bacteria shed from livestock and animal feed that isn’t harmful enough to cause illness, but does effectively train the immune system to become less responsive to allergens later in life.

Professor Michael Antoniou, head of the Gene Expression and Therapy Group at King’s College London, has studied for more than 35 years how genes function and how they are disrupted. His decades of rigorous independent research into the risks of GM foods and glyphosate-based herbicides have raised serious concerns about the safety of these technologies. In a report he prepared for the Mexican government, as the country attempted to restrict GMO corn imports for health reasons, Professor Antoniou cited “a large body of evidence from well-controlled laboratory animal toxicity studies that show evidence of harm to multiple physiological systems” from toxic agents found in GM corn. The health risks of GM corn and its associated pesticides arise from three main sources: Bt insecticidal proteins engineered into the plants, DNA damage caused by the genetic modification process itself, and pesticides used on the crops. The GM transformation process – the process by which a GMO is generated in the laboratory – is highly mutagenic. You create unintended damage to the DNA of the crop. And by changing the pattern of gene function in the organism, you will change its biochemistry and its composition, including the unexpected production of new toxins and allergens. Regardless of the GMO crop we’re talking about, they’re all grown with one or more different kinds of pesticides ... such as glyphosate. They invariably come with pesticide residues

When it comes to pesticides, the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, Commission has a serious problem: The Commission’s newly released strategy for addressing childhood chronic disease is better for the pesticide industry than for people. The US currently uses over a billion pounds of pesticides annually on our crops, about one-third of which is chemicals that have been banned in other countries. Many have been linked to serious health problems from cancer to infertility to birth defects. Those pesticides contaminate our air, our water, and our bodies. One cancer-linked pesticide, glyphosate, is now found in 80% of adults and 87% of children. [The Commission] barely mentions organic farming, despite the fact that organic is the clearest pathway to transforming our food system into one that is healthy and nontoxic. The US Department of Agriculture organic seal prohibits more than 900 synthetic pesticides allowed in conventional agriculture. Just one week on an organic diet can reduce pesticide levels in our bodies up to 95%. Synthetic food dyes—a key issue for the MAHA movement—are all prohibited by the organic seal, along with hundreds of other food additives and drugs. The Commission’s strategy ignores organic. Instead, it leans into promoting industry-friendly “precision agriculture”—the use of AI, machine learning, and digital tools on farms to optimize inputs—which primarily benefits corporate giants like Bayer.

Pesticides once appeared to be a clear target for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s desire to “make America healthy again.” Before becoming the health secretary, he described Monsanto, the maker of the glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup, as “enemy of every admirable American value,” and vowed to “ban the worst agricultural chemicals already banned in other countries.” Since he came to power, many of Kennedy’s fans have waited eagerly for him to do just that. Kennedy has yet to satisfy them: In the latest MAHA action plan on children’s health, released last week, pesticides appear only briefly on a laundry list of vague ideas. The plan says that the government should fund research on how farmers could use less of them, and that the government "will work to ensure that the public has awareness and confidence” in the EPA’s existing pesticide-review process, which it called “robust.” Several studies have found neurological impacts associated with pesticides. UC Davis’s MIND Institute put out a study in 2014 that found autism risk was much higher among children whose mothers had lived near agricultural-pesticide areas while pregnant. A 2017 paper found that zip codes that conducted aerial spraying for mosquitoes—a pesticide—had comparatively higher rates of autism than zip codes that didn’t. Others have linked pesticides to a range of behavioral and cognitive impairment in children.

Top regulatory officials met with agricultural and chemical industry representatives dozens of times in the first few months after President Donald Trump took office. [The meetings] were followed by a series of regulatory rollbacks and a downplaying of pesticide concerns by the administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) Commission. From February to mid-May, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) leaders accepted meetings with representatives from at least 50 industry associations and companies, including agricultural and chemical giants such as Bayer, Corteva, BASF, Dow and the agrichemical lobbying group CropLife America, as well as the American Soybean Association, the National Cotton Council and others. Critics of the agrichemical industry said corporate influence in regulatory matters was underscored earlier this month when the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) Commission released its long-anticipated report on how to address chronic disease and clean up the food supply. The final version was significantly more friendly to the agricultural industry than a May MAHA report that cited the health risks posed by the widely used farm chemicals glyphosate and atrazine. The September report took aim at synthetic dyes and junk food, among other things, but deleted references to glyphosate and atrazine and made no mention of pesticide exposure routes or risks.

Two lawsuits aim to stop US federal regulators and industry from “illegally” hiding basic information about toxic chemicals used in consumer products. Companies often claim that toxic chemicals’ health and safety data, and even their names, are “confidential business information” (CBI) because making the data public could damage their bottom line. The US Environmental Protection Agency frequently allows industry to use the tactic, which makes it virtually impossible for public health researchers to quickly learn about dangerous chemicals. It also bars most EPA staff and state regulators from accessing the information and criminal charges could be brought against those who do. That leaves regulators attempting to protect the public without essential information for some chemicals and in effect creates a “shadow regulatory government” in the EPA, said Tim Whitehouse, a former EPA attorney who is now director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (Peer), a plaintiff in one of the suits. The ... suit alleges the EPA has narrowed Congress’s definitions of what should be made public. The EPA is also withholding chemical safety test results that show health risks to the public or environment. Separately, Peer is suing the EPA for hiding health and safety data for chemicals made by Inhance Technologies, which produces plastic containers found to leach dangerous levels of PFOA, a highly toxic compound, into the containers’ contents.

Environmental and Indigenous activists declared Thursday that “geoengineering fails again,” welcoming the shutdown of a project that aimed to use “a reflective material to protect and restore Arctic sea ice.” “While our climate impact simulations have shown promising results ... recent ecotoxicological tests have revealed potential risks to the Arctic food chain,” the [Arctic Ice Project] team said. Panganga Pungowiyi, climate geoengineering organizer at Indigenous Environmental Network, called the decision “long overdue.” “We are concerned for the community members in Utqiaġvik who were made to spread football fields of this material onto their frozen lake,” Pungowiyi explained. “Our concerns about the reckless use of harmful materials were dismissed. We continually showed up in defense of free prior and informed consent, and made our presence known.” “We continue to state firmly that nature is not a laboratory; it is a living entity we are in relationship with,” the organizer added. “Geoengineering approaches do nothing to address the root causes of the climate crisis and instead delay real solutions, offering a free pass to polluters,” [said Mary Church at the Center for International Environmental Law]. “Following the recent reaffirmation of the global moratorium on geoengineering at the U.N. biodiversity summit in Colombia, governments need to act to prevent harmful outdoor experiments.”

Farmers Alberto Gómez, José Castillo and Javier Castillo arrive with their selected seeds, stored in shigras – hand-woven shoulder bags – as has been done for generations. In San Lorenzo, they call themselves “seed guardians” for their role in protecting this living heritage and passing it down the generations. [They] are among the farmers supporting draft legislation, under review by the lower house of the Colombian parliament, that would ban genetically modified (GM) seeds, which they claim threaten their traditions, livelihoods and food sovereignty. The initiative has the backing of Indigenous, peasant and environmental organisations, but faces opposition from agribusiness and sectors that support GM. In San Lorenzo, the rejection of GM seeds evolved into organised political opposition after people detected the use of such seeds in nearby crops in 2012. They then feared that GM seeds might cross-pollinate with their native varieties, altering their traits and threatening their ability to preserve them. The alarm prompted them to act. They travelled from village to village, hosted workshops, collected 1,300 signatures and drafted a citizen-led proposal. The initiative was backed by the Seed Guardians of Life Network, a national platform comprising farming and environmental groups, as well as local collectives and the municipal government. It was formally submitted to the town council. In 2018, San Lorenzo declared itself a GMO-free territory.

California has long led the way on school meals. In 2022, it became the first state in the country to make school meals free for all students, regardless of income. Many districts have implemented farm-to-school programs to bring local foods into the cafeteria. And last year, months before the “Make America healthy again” movement would make its way to the White House, it became the first state in the nation to ban six synthetic food dyes from school meals. This week, it passed legislation that will put it in the lead on school meals in yet another way – banning ultra-processed foods. On Friday, California lawmakers passed a bill that will define, and then ban, ultra-processed foods from school meals. Ultra-processed foods, or UPFs, are industrially formulated products that are often high in fats, starches, sugars and additives, and make up 73% of the US food supply today. The text of California’s new law defines a UPF as any food or beverage that contains stabilizers, thickeners, propellants, colors, emulsifiers, flavoring agents, flavor enhancers, nonnutritive sweeteners or surface-active agents – and has high amounts of saturated fat, sodium or added sugar, or nonnutritive sweeteners. “We actually had food service directors come in and testify,” [state assembly member Jesse Gabriel] said. “Not only had it not cost them more, but in many districts they had actually saved money by switching to healthier alternatives.”

The latest figures and the statistical yearbook "The World of Organic Agriculture" was presented on 11 February 2025 at BIOFACH, the world's leading trade fair for organic food in Nuremberg. The global organic farming area increased by 2.5 million hectares in 2023, reaching almost 99 million hectares. The sales of organic food reached nearly 136 billion euros in 2023. The 26th edition of the yearbook "The World of Organic Agriculture", jointly published by FiBL and IFOAM – Organics International, shows that the growth in area and number of farms in 2023 exceeded that of previous years, particularly due to increases in Latin America. Data were provided by 188 countries. By the end of 2023, 98.9 million hectares were managed organically, marking a 2.6 percent increase (+2.5 million hectares) from 2022. Latin America experienced the largest increase, adding 1 million hectares (10.8 percent growth), while Africa recorded the highest relative growth, expanding by 24 percent to reach 3.4 million hectares. Oceania remains the leading region for organic farming, with 53.2 million hectares, accounting for more than half of the global organic area. It is followed by Europe, which has 19.5 million hectares, and Latin America, with 10.3 million hectares. By country, Australia leads with 53 million hectares, followed by India (4.5 million hectares) and Argentina (4 million hectares). There are notable increases observed in Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Burkina Faso.

Small was what the couple wanted. Ms. Boyle is from Vermont, and while studying at Emerson College in Boston, she worked an office job connected to the local food movement. But she quickly realized she wanted to be outside with her hands in the earth. Mr. Wolcik graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he studied sustainable agriculture and community food systems. He, too, realized he wanted a life close to the soil. They met while working at a nonprofit farm outside Boston and soon discovered they shared a dream about buying their own acreage to grow food and flowers. They weren’t interested in a massive operation. Instead, their vision included no-till growing methods, hand tools, and a desire to build a “human scale” production system. They also wanted to make their living entirely from their farm – something increasingly difficult to do in New England. Over the past 60 years, the region has lost 80% of its farmland. They joined a community actively building a new storyline around farming, food, and resilience in New England. Here, in this part of little Vermont, statewide population 648,000, a coalition of farmers, nonprofits, and residents is eschewing mainstream beliefs about what makes agriculture successful and what it means to create a prosperous economy. Instead, they are building a system in which farmers are able to make a living and residents can eat healthy food grown nearby.

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