Across the ocean, discerning Japanese customers take to Silky Pork

As the COVID-19 pandemic hit and grocery store shelves became bare, many consumers sought to purchase meat directly from farmers. The Shop Kansas Farms group on Facebook has more than 148,000 members with about 800 producers who are selling their goods. While there needs to be more education for farmers on how to sell their livestock and for consumers on the intricacies of buying from processors, people in other states are creating their own groups to better connect consumers to vendors.

Nigerian Dwarf goats can be a viable livestock option for people who want to engage in urban farming. Cities across the United States — like Phoenix, Austin, Pittsburgh, and San Diego — are making it easier to keep goats, which can provide financial boons for urban farmers through cheesemaking and even enhance the farm’s ecosystem by using its manure as fertilizer.

A small agricultural co-op in the mountains of Veracruz, Mexico, has effectively implemented its own approach to climate change. The community adapts the main sector of its economy and livelihood-- farming-- to sustainable practices. "Las Cañadas" has increased the food security and health of the local community while simultaneously decreasing deforestation, soil degradation and carbon emissions.

The Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership develops enterprises that foster sustainable economic development, focusing especially on empowering farmers and women.

A pilot program built a breeding center to increase the cross-breeding of sheep in Bangladesh to produce more meat and increase locals’ incomes.

Venture capitalists are increasingly interested in investing in indoor vertical farms as a way to combat supply chain disruptions and grow crop yields in a changing climate. A number of these farms are opening in the coming years throughout the United States and the industry is expected to grow to $9.7 billion worldwide by 2026. However, running an indoor vertical farm does have some technological limits and can result in high energy costs.

The “one cow per poor family” initiative in Rwanda seeks to increase household income and fight malnutrition by giving families a cow to raise. Once the cow gives birth, the calf is given to another family to raise, keeping the process going. Since the program started in 2006, a total of 341,065 cows have been distributed and residents say it has improved their livelihoods.

After a drought left cattle farmers in Mexico without grass to feed its animals, a unique partnership with corn farmers allowed them to use their leftover stalks and leaves. Usually, the farmers burn these materials, known as stover, which contributes to air pollution. This partnership was facilitated by the government and allowed the corn farmers to sell their leftovers to the cattle farmers. As a result, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide emissions dropped significantly, and a new market for these materials is emerging.

To weather the uncertainties of the pandemic and geopolitical trade disputes, many small, locally-operated fisheries in the United States have upended the way they do business by selling their catches directly to consumers. For example, OC Wild Seafood in California started to sell its spiny lobsters locally. Though the logistics and regulations can make fish-to-dish initiatives challenging, many community-supported fisheries saw an increase in sales and customers in 2020.

The Quapaw tribe runs the Downstream Casino Resort in Oklahoma where they combine Indigenous food and farming knowledge with modern hotel operations. They have seven greenhouses and two gardens with 20 varieties of vegetables and herbs that cultivate about 6,000 pounds of food per year for the hotel and casino. They also have their own meat packing and processing plant, coffee roasting program, brewery, and farmers market. By creating a system of locally sourced and sustainably raised food, the Quapaw are reclaiming their land and food sovereignty.