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China’s Mystery Seeds Are an Ongoing Attack on America’s Food Supply
In January, the Texas Department of Agriculture reported that last year it had collected, from 109 locations, 1,101 packs of seeds that had been sent unsolicited to people in the Lone Star State. The first instance was in Clute, a city south of Houston, where a person received from China a package containing “unidentified seeds and an unknown liquid.”
Last year, unsolicited seeds were sent to Texas parties by China’s online retailer Temu. There were similar instances in 2025 reported by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the New Mexico Department of Agriculture and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. The unsolicited mailings follow those at the beginning of the decade. In 2020, residents of all 50 states received packages of seeds, sent unsolicited from China. Many of the packages, mailed through the Chinese state-run postal system, were mislabeled as “jewelry” for U.S. Customs purposes.
“Treat them like they are radioactive, like they are Kryptonite,” said Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller in 2020. His most recent warning was equally urgent. “At a glance, this might seem like a small problem, but this is serious business,” Miller said in January. “The possible introduction of an invasive species to the state via these seeds poses real risks to Texas families and the agriculture industry.”
Sweetened Drinks Linked to Higher Anxiety in Teens
U.S. News & World Report reported:
While parents have long worried that too much sugar leads to cavities and weight gain, new research suggests that sugar rush might be followed by a worry crash. A study from Bournemouth University in the U.K. has identified a troubling link between high-sugar drinks and increased anxiety symptoms in young people.
Researchers reviewed studies published over the last 25 years, looking for patterns in how a teenager’s diet affects their mind. The beverages analyzed included soda, energy drinks, sweetened juices, flavored milks and even sugary teas and coffees.
The nine studies, mostly from China and Canada, included more than 73,000 participants.
The results, published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, were consistent: The more sugary drinks a teenager consumed, the more likely they were to report symptoms of anxiety. In fact, a meta-analysis of the data linked high sugar intake to 34% higher odds of having an anxiety disorder. Anxiety is among the most reported mental health conditions for children and young people.
Lab-Grown Beef Poses Different Allergy Hazards Than Conventional Beef
As cultured meat moves toward commercialization, people want to understand how it impacts health compared to conventional animal meat. So, researchers publishing in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry conducted an initial food safety study to identify potential allergens in cultured beef cells. They report mixed hazard results: Cultured cells contained relatively fewer traditional protein allergens than regular steak but provoked stronger immune reactions in blood samples from people with an acquired meat allergy.
“This study demonstrates that meat grown from cells can change in ways that matter for food allergies,” says Renwick Dobson, a corresponding author of the research. “Our results show why food safety assessments for cultivated meat need to look carefully at allergy-related proteins, rather than assuming they behave the same as those in conventional meat.”
Cultivated meat, sometimes called lab-grown meat, is made by growing animal muscle cells in controlled conditions. As cultivated muscle cells grow, they produce different amounts of various proteins compared to muscle that develops in live animals.
Avian Flu Continues Spread in Pennsylvania Egg, Turkey Facilities
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed more H5N1 avian flu outbreaks in Pennsylvania poultry facilities this week, including six detections in Lancaster County, which has seen a dramatic uptick in H5N1 activity in the past several weeks.
The largest outbreaks are in commercial egg-layer sites, with 2.6 million birds affected in one Lancaster County location, and 1.4 million birds affected in another. Almost 30,000 commercial turkey birds in two Lancaster County facilities were also affected, as were 179,000 commercial broiler birds.
In the past 30 days, 51 US flocks have been confirmed to have avian flu, including 23 commercial flocks and 28 backyard flocks. A total of 8.97 million birds nationwide have been affected. Pennsylvania is the epicenter of activity, with 11 affected commercial flocks, six affected backyard flocks, and 7,165,500 birds affected in this outbreak.
FDA Issues New Guidance on Antibiotic Use in Food-Producing Animals
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released new guidance for veterinary drug makers to define how long medically important antibiotics should be used in livestock. The document, published February 12 by the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), provides recommendations to animal drug sponsors on how to add duration limits to medically important antibiotics used in food-producing animals for indications (ie, approved treatment uses) that currently have no set limits.
Nearly 30% of all medically important antibiotics used in cows, pigs, and poultry on US farms have at least one indication without a defined duration of use, meaning farmers can use those antibiotics in animal feed for extended periods of time.
“This guidance provides specific recommendations on how sponsors may facilitate changes to the approved conditions of use of affected products in support of ongoing efforts to mitigate the development of antimicrobial resistance,” the FDA said.
Big Food Pours Millions Into Rebrands as Obesity Drugs Reshape US Demand
Global food and beverage companies from PepsiCo to Coca-Cola are focusing on shorter ingredient lists and smaller pack sizes in 2026 as more people take appetite-suppressing GLP-1 drugs for weight loss. Companies that previously took a wait-and-see attitude now see GLP-1s as here to stay.
So far this year, nearly three dozen companies outside the healthcare industry have mentioned GLP-1 drugs or weight loss on their earnings conference calls, up from 14 for the same period a year ago, and just five two years earlier, according to LSEG data. Diet changes linked to GLP-1 drug use could mean up to $12 billion in snack sales lost over the next decade, according to EY-Parthenon estimates.
Adoption of GLP-1 drugs, which suppress appetite and are mainly prescribed for diabetes and weight loss, more than doubled in the 12 months to December, with about 20% of U.S. households now including at least one user, according to a PwC analysis. Peter ter Kulve, CEO of Magnum Ice Cream, said GLP-1 users continue to eat treats, but they exhibit “a stark reduction of mindless munching and binge eating.”
