(Presented by Amir Heiman, Hebrew University at Jerusalem – July 8, 2026)

Food waste remains a major barrier to achieving global sustainability goals and circular bioeconomy transitions. Food retailers are responsible for roughly 10% of total food waste and shape waste generation upstream and downstream across the supply chain. Despite its limitations, most retailers rely on one-step (“ramp”) discounting of near-expiry products to clear inventory. This practice is inefficient in reducing food waste and does not adequately support profitability. Dynamic pricing technologies—where discounts respond to real-time inventory levels, product value decay, and consumer preferences—offer a promising solution for aligning supply with demand and reducing waste at the retail level. Yet, adoption remains limited due to retailer and consumer resistance. Retailers cite two presumed risks: (1) consumer reluctance to purchase short shelf-life products, and (2) cannibalization, whereby consumers substitute regular-price purchases with discounted near-expiry items. Consumers, in turn, express concerns that dynamic pricing may enable surge or gouge pricing practices. Understanding the behavioral foundations behind these concerns is critical for enabling more sustainable retail practices. This study investigates consumers’ preferences for near-expiry perishable foods while accounting for heterogeneity in willingness to buy (WTB) and willingness to pay (WTP). Beyond estimating WTB, WTP, and their determinants, we examine consumers’ intention to cannibalize—that is, the extent to which purchasing near-expiry discounted items substitutes for purchases of full-priced products. An online survey was conducted in Israel in 2024 (N=389) to assess consumers’ WTB and WTP for food items with varying remaining shelf lives, and their willingness to delay purchases in order to benefit from close to expiry discount. Longer remaining shelf life significantly increases perceived taste and health attributes. Both WTB and WTP decline as expiration approaches; however, neither follows a single-step nor linear pattern. WTB exhibits a convex trajectory, falling sharply in the final days before expiration, whereas WTP follows a concave pattern. Strong cannibalization effects were detected in the bakery category, suggesting that current one-step discounting practices are inefficient. These results provide early empirical evidence that dynamic pricing—if designed to reflect heterogeneous consumer responses—can improve retail inventory management, reduce food waste, and support more sustainable and resilient food systems, aligning with bioeconomy objectives.

(Presented by José Maria Ferreira Jardim da Silveira, Instituto de Economia da Unicamp – July 9, 2026)

The transition toward a low-carbon economy requires strengthening circular-economy strategies and expanding advanced bioenergy sources such as biogas and biomethane. In Brazil—particularly in the state of São Paulo—there is significant potential for using agricultural and agro-industrial residues as feedstock. However, transforming residues into a reliable input involves substantial structural challenges, including heterogeneity among agents (location, scale, technology), uncertainty related to seasonality, variability in quality and prices, and the need for adequate institutional arrangements. These factors increase transaction costs and reinforce the importance of coordination mechanisms capable of enhancing efficiency, reducing risks, and ensuring supply security. Understanding the dynamics of residual biomass markets is therefore essential for enabling the expansion of biogas and biomethane and for accelerating the energy transition. This study aims to develop and apply a computational platform to simulate the dynamic functioning of the residual biomass market, evaluating how policy shocks and coordination instruments influence supply performance, risk exposure, and the stability of biogas and biomethane supply chains in the state of São Paulo. An Agent-Based Model (ABM) is used to capture heterogeneity, bounded rationality, uncertainty, and decentralized interactions between producers and biogas plants. The platform integrates risk-analysis tools—such as Real Options Analysis, Value at Risk (VaR), and Expected Shortfall (ES)—to represent decision-making flexibility under uncertainty. Scenario experiments, combined with Monte Carlo replications, allow the assessment of how alternative policies, institutional configurations, and production structures affect overall market performance. Preliminary results indicate that coordination in residual biomass markets is strongly shaped by structural uncertainty, price volatility, and information asymmetries. Coordination-oriented policies—such as price guarantees, supply contracts, and incentives for improving biomass quality—can reduce transaction costs, increase predictability, and enhance supply stability. The ABM platform reveals productive and logistical bottlenecks and identifies heterogeneous policy effects across producers and biogas plants. These findings contribute to designing more effective policies for the biogas and biomethane sectors, demonstrating how coordination instruments and risk-management policies can improve supply-chain efficiency and accelerate progress toward climate-mitigation targets. The proposed platform offers an innovative tool to support policymakers, investors, and sectoral stakeholders in analyzing and simulating emerging bioenergy markets.

(Presented by Carl Pray and Yanhong Jin, Rutgers University – July 9, 2026)

(Presented by Felicia Wu, Michigan State University – July 9, 2026)

Since 1996, adoption of agricultural biotechnology has improved public health, although these effects were not known till later. 1996 saw the introduction of transgenic Bt maize in various nations worldwide, and Bt crops now make a substantial portion of global production of maize, cotton, rice, and eggplant. More recently, Bt maize was found to reduce mycotoxins – fungal toxins that can cause cancer and other diseases in humans and animals – by reducing insect pest damage; not only through direct consumption, but by controlling pests in nearby crops that facilitate mycotoxin damage. Since then, other biotechnologies have indirectly improved public health through improving production economics. We describe two case studies of agricultural biotechnologies improving food safety and public health through indirect methods: 1) Bt maize reducing mycotoxins, particularly aflatoxin, even in the context of climate change. 2) Bt crops reducing aflatoxin in peanuts grown nearby, although no biotech peanuts have ever been grown, through reducing insect damage in a “halo effect.” For our work on Bt crops reducing mycotoxins both directly and indirectly in other crops, we developed econometric models of aflatoxin-related insurance claims as a function of historical data on max/main daily temperatures throughout crop planting seasons, precipitation, relative humidity, grower practices, and state/year dummy variables by county in the United States. Using this model, we projected aflatoxin risk in maize-growing US states from 2031-2040 using averaged daily temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity data from 16 international climate models. We found aflatoxin risk reduction afforded by Bt maize and other Bt crop planting as a function of climate variables that proved significant. In the next decade, aflatoxin risk will spread from US southern states northward, to southern Corn Belt states; affecting Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois most strongly. Bt maize reduces aflatoxin risk, resulting in savings of 120-167M USD to just 16 states annually; aside from yield improvements and pesticide reductions. Bt maize and cotton planting reduced both aflatoxin and drought risks in peanuts grown in the same counties. Biotech crops reduce disease-causing toxins in food both directly in the food, as well as in food crops grown nearby, through area-wide suppression of pests. This has important implications globally in the face of near-term climate change and food safety and security risks. We also discuss newer agricultural biotechnologies such as atmospheric nitrogen-fixing bacteria that indirectly reduce algal toxins in seafood, through reduced fertilizer runoff.

(Presented by Noam Mozes, Spirit & Matter Consultancy – July 9, 2026)

Macroalgae are emerging as one of the most versatile and sustainable bioresources for addressing globally pressing challenges in food security, environmental sustainability, and climate resilience. This panel explores the circular use of macroalgae—from cultivation to nutrient recovery and bioproduct development to the potential of carbon sequestration and waste control. By examining applications that convert environmental liabilities into economic opportunities, the panel demonstrates how macroalgae can contribute to a more resource-efficient and climate-smart bioeconomy. The panel brings together experts working across the fields of science, economics, and the implementation of macroalgae systems. The session will highlight pioneering work using macroalgae to remediate nitrogen-rich desalination brines while generating biomass suitable for agricultural production; showcase global and emerging markets for macroalgal products; examine large-scale macroalgae development in Indonesia as a case study of commercial potential; and evaluate macroalgae’s role in carbon sequestration and the growing biostimulant market. The objective of this panel is to integrate scientific insights with economic perspectives to inform policy, investment, and innovation strategies. Participants will gain an understanding of the environmental co-benefits, market potential, and constraints shaping the future of macroalgae within the circular bioeconomy. By presenting interdisciplinary research and international examples, the panel aims to advance practical frameworks that support scaling macroalgae-based solutions for climate mitigation, sustainable agriculture, and resource-efficient production. The information provided is timely and relevant for researchers, policymakers, and industry stakeholders seeking to expand sustainable biomass systems and leverage natural solutions for global environmental challenges.

(Presented by Mercedes Campi, OECD – July 9, 2026)

Agriculture faces growing pressures to increase productivity while simultaneously reducing environmental impacts. Innovations that support sustainable productivity growth (SPG) are therefore critical to achieving global food security and environmental objectives. However, innovation systems often remain misaligned with sustainability goals. Likewise, measuring progress towards these goals is essential, but current measurement approaches insufficiently capture innovation directionality or its alignment with SPG outcomes. This work conceptualises, analyses existing measures, and proposes a policy and measurement framework for directing agricultural innovation systems towards SPG. The work has three main objectives: 1. To develop a conceptual framework for understanding how agricultural innovation systems can be directed toward SPG. 2. To discuss different types of innovation measures and the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to identify innovation patterns aligned with SPG. 3. To propose ways of improving the measurement of innovation inputs, outputs, and directionality towards SPG. The research combines qualitative and quantitative methods. First, it synthesises evidence on policies, governance structures, and incentive mechanisms that shape the agricultural knowledge and innovation system (AKIS). Second, it develops and classifies indicators into four categories -standard, qualitative, novel AI-based, and multidimensional- to assess their benefits, gaps, and limitations for measuring innovation and its alignment with SPG. Third, it provides empirical examples of the application of machine learning models on policies, firms’ websites, and patents to detect innovation directed toward SPG. Finally, it proposes a refined policy and measurement framework for directing agricultural innovation systems towards SPG. The conceptual framework highlights the structural and policy misalignments that limit SPG-oriented innovation, including fragmented governance, weak incentives, and limited measurement tools. The indicator assessment reveals significant gaps in capturing innovation directionality and systemic interactions. Preliminary machine learning results suggest a high potential in these methods for addressing measurement gaps. However, they are not expected to substitute other measures but rather combine with other indicators to identify, measure, and monitor SPG-related innovation activities. The findings underscore the need for governments to adopt coherent and strategic policy mixes, strengthen governance of innovation systems, and support tools that can better detect and direct innovation towards SPG. The integration of advanced text analytics and new indicator frameworks can provide policymakers with actionable tools to monitor innovation efforts and design more effective interventions. The paper offers a framework for evaluating and guiding innovation efforts, enabling them to contribute to more sustainable, productive, and resilient agricultural systems worldwide.

(Presented by Kutay Cingiz, Wageningen University – July 8, 2026)

Bioeconomy innovations increasingly depend on regulatory environments that can adapt to scientific advances and evolving risk assessments. Yet many regulatory frameworks, especially those governing environmental and health risks, still rely on static safety thresholds that ignore arrival of new information and the irreversible costs. This creates regulatory uncertainty, slows innovation, and reduces the efficiency of the innovation pipeline, key concerns highlighted by the conference themes. This paper aims to: (i) extend the classical Lichtenberg–Zilberman safety-fixed model by incorporating irreversible damages into regulatory decision-making; and (ii) demonstrate how a real-options approach can support regulatory reforms that reduce uncertainty and facilitate more efficient agricultural and bioeconomy innovation. We develop an integrated decision framework for analysing the approval time of risk-generating technologies when society face both risks and potentially irreversible impacts. The approach combines (i) a risk-generation model in which risk arises from a multiplicative chain of mechanisms, introduction, dissemination/exposure, and susceptibility, supporting safety-fixed regulation via a probabilistic margin-of-safety constraint, with (ii) a real-options analysis that accounts for flexibility, irreversibility and uncertainty through an option value of waiting. An approval at time $T$ under safeguard policy $x$ is defined as admissible if and only if $x$ satisfies the safety-fixed constraint and the implied incremental irreversible costs are below the maximum socially tolerable level. Our contribution is to integrate two blocks into a single admissibility structure for approval. An approval at time T is permissible only if there exists a safeguard policy vector x that (i) satisfies the safety-fixed probabilistic margin-of-safety requirement on risk and (ii) satisfies the MISTIC tolerability condition on incremental irreversible costs. This integration is conceptually useful because it keeps the units and purposes of the two criteria distinct. The safety-fixed condition controls tail exceedances of a risk metric relative to a nominal standard. The MISTIC condition controls the tolerability of irreversible burdens in welfare terms, once the option value of waiting is recognized. Neither criterion is reduced to the other; admissibility requires satisfying both. A regulatory framework that considers irreversibility and risk can reduce regulatory uncertainty, improve investment incentives, and support smoother innovation pipelines, aligning with the conference themes. By embedding uncertainty, flexibility, and irreversibility into safety-based regulation, the model offers actionable guidance for designing smarter policies that both protect the environment and enable responsible technological advancement.

(Presented by Fabio Bartolini, University of Ferrara – July 8, 2026)

The study employs a bilevel optimisation model to analyse the interactions among supply chain actors (i.e. farmers, manufacturers, consumers, and the government) and evaluate the effectiveness of three innovation types: technological, organisational, and social. A key novelty is the comparison assessment of policy effectiveness across different stakeholders, accounting for agency challenges within the supply chain. The model incorporates various policy instruments, including direct subsidies to farmers and processors, taxes on emissions, fines for exceeding emission limits, and government investment in R&D. The results highlight the complex interplay between various policy levers and the behaviours of supply chain actors. Findings suggest that while price mechanisms can affect emission reduction, their effectiveness has limits, particularly at higher intervention levels. Government investment in R&D shows low effects, highlighting the need for further investigation on how such fundings are allocated and how effectively they are used. The study emphasises the need for comprehensive policies that consider the entire supply chain and its diverse actors to effectively mitigate GHG emissions within the dairy sector. Moreover, it underscores the need to integrate economic, organisational and social dimensions into climate strategies, showing that a multi-actor perspective is crucial for achieving the overall and the long-term sustainability in the Italian dairy sector. The conclusions provide valuable insights for policymakers aiming to promote sustainable dairy practices and support the transition toward low-emission agri-food systems.

(Presented by James MacDonald, University of Maryland – July 9, 2026)

Private sector research and innovation have become more important to US agriculture. Expanded intellectual property protection and emerging scientific developments in information technology, biology, and chemistry have spurred increased private research expenditures, while reduced public research support leaves the sector increasingly reliant on private initiatives. Private research and innovation efforts do respond to public policy levers, including tax policy and intellectual property protection. But they are also influenced by antitrust policy, the focus of this paper. Antitrust policy has realized growing salience across innovative industries in the US and EU, including research-oriented agribusiness sectors, in the 21st century. Antitrust is also likely to become more important, in view of some emerging features of private sector agricultural innovation. Enforcement can influence private R&D investment and the pace of diffusion of new innovations. Two elements of antitrust–exclusionary practices and merger policy—will be of growing importance for these issues. I aim to show how enforcement regarding exclusionary practices and mergers can affect private innovation. Several current antitrust cases aim at unilateral exclusionary practices in agribusiness. Specifically, small, and new rivals are introducing innovations that require dealer networks for sales and service to farmers and that threaten the market position of large incumbent firms with market power. The cases allege that individual incumbent firms (hence. “unilateral’) have taken steps that primarily serve to raise costs for new innovative entrants trying to access dealer networks, thus preserving and extending the incumbents’ market power. Second, merger policy in the United States and the European Union has been adjusting to deal with the likely impacts of mergers on competition in innovation, as opposed to more traditional concerns with the effects of mergers on competition in pricing. These issues were apparent in the three large seed/agrichemical mergers in 2016-18, and will remain relevant in the future. The paper details a set of recent and current antitrust cases relevant to innovation and competition in agribusiness; identifies emerging innovations in agricultural input industries likely to lead to future antitrust litigation; and ties the issues in the cases to the goals of policy and to relevant economic analyses. Finally, I discuss a dilemma at the heart of policy: the economics of research, innovation, and competition tends to be quite complex, while antitrust policy seeks simple and transparent rules.

(Presented by Margherita Simonetti, Wageningen University – July 8, 2026)

This paper addresses the need for coherent, evidence-based frameworks to guide the enforcement of food law in an increasingly complex regulatory landscape. Current calls for research emphasize the integration of legal analysis with quantitative decision-support tools , the study contributes to this agenda by examining how enforcement authorities and food business operators (FBOs) navigate uncertainty in public enforcement in the GMO sector, with an emphasis on New Genomic Techniques. We propose a combination of legal analysis and real options–based model for assessing liability under ex-post enforcement scenarios. The relevance of this topic is underscored by the outdated framework of GMO detection and identification in the EU authorization procedures , and the inconsistencies with the methods used in the enforcement activities . The former is focused on laboratory-based, event-specific assessments, the latter on a broader range of non-analytical evidence. First, the paper aims to clarify the legal architecture governing public and ex-post enforcement in the GMO sector in the EU, including definitions, scope, and the obligations imposed on authorities and FBOs – what enforcement actors are permitted or required to do when responding to non-compliance, and how such practices align or diverge from the authorization framework. Second, the paper seeks to operationalize legal considerations through a real options approach, using quantitative modelling to evaluate liability under conditions of uncertainty and to capture the dynamic choices available to market participants facing potential enforcement action. The methodology integrates formal dogmatic and doctrinal legal analysis, with economic modelling. The legal component systematically examines the legal provisions that shape the use of different evidentiary methods. The economic component develops a real options framework, allowing the value of compliance and non-compliance strategies to be assessed over time as new information becomes available. This model is specifically applied to the domain of public versus ex-post enforcement, providing a structured way to evaluate the probabilistic and temporal features of enforcement risk. The implications of this research are significant for regulators, enforcement authorities, and FBOs, and law makers, especially in the context of the ongoing legislative procedure for the NGT regulation. , By combining legal analysis with real options modelling, the study offers a more realistic understanding of enforcement dynamics and provides a tool for evaluating liability in a way that aligns with both legal practice and economic behavior. The findings aim to support more consistent enforcement strategies, enhance regulatory transparency, and inform risk-based policy design.

(Presented by Daniele Asioli, University of Padua – July 9, 2026)

Emerging agri-food technologies are essential in shaping more resilient and resource-efficient food systems. However, their successful diffusion is largely influenced by consumer acceptance, including perceptions of risk and benefit, sensory expectations, trust, and underlying beliefs about innovation. This session brings together five empirical studies that examine these mechanisms across three major domains of technological and behavioral innovation: vertical farming, gene editing, and upcycled foods. Together, the papers provide a comprehensive understanding of the factors that shape willingness to pay (WTP), adoption intentions, and public acceptance of emerging products along the bioeconomy innovation pipeline. The session begins with a multi-country investigation of consumer valuation of vertically farmed lettuce, a flagship example of controlled-environment agriculture. Using a discrete choice experiment conducted in the UK, Spain, and Germany, the study uncovers substantial heterogeneity in preferences for vertical farming, environmental labels, and nutritional information, and identifies psychological drivers that influence acceptance. These insights underscore the importance of tailored communication strategies for promoting vertical farming.

(Presented by Ruslana Palatnik, Yezreel Valley College – July 10, 2026)

This study utilizes a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model, specifically the GTAP-AW model, to analyze the economic implications of alternative water sectors in mitigating natural water scarcity, with a focus on the Mediterranean region. Acknowledging the escalating water scarcity exacerbated by climate change, the research integrates alternative water sources – desalination and treated wastewater – into the economic framework, establishing a direct link with natural water as a primary factor of production. The study provides a comprehensive assessment of how changes in the availability and management of water resources, both natural and alternative, can impact critical sectors and the overall economy, especially under climate-induced water scarcity. The research hypothesizes that, despite the higher financial and energy costs, the adoption of alternative water sources in water-stressed regions yields substantial social benefits by ensuring food security, sustaining economic growth, and mitigating the impacts of natural water shortages. It emphasizes the need for advanced water treatment, desalination technologies, and effective water management strategies as crucial adaptation mechanisms to climate change. The findings highlight the economic value of alternative water sources and advocate for the inclusion of detailed technical substitution and innovation capabilities in CGE models to accurately assess the economy-wide potential to substitute capital and other inputs for water. This study contributes to the literature by providing a nuanced understanding of the role of alternative water sources in climate adaptation and economic resilience, particularly in regions vulnerable to water scarcity.

(Presented by Justus Wesseler, Wageningen University – July 7, 2026)

Countries increasingly seek to operationalize their bioeconomy ambitions (Dietz et al., 2024). Still, there remains a significant lack of structured and transparent tools to help them identify which bio-based technologies best respond to their needs and priorities (FAO, 2025). Existing Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) methodologies – primarily designed for climate mitigation and adaptation – do not fully address the broader bioeconomy context, including value-chain and circularity considerations, the integrated environmental, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability, and enabling conditions such as governance, market development, and technology readiness. An adapted TNA that explicitly addresses the bioeconomy has the potential to more efficiently explore the opportunities it offers for sustainable development while also addressing the challenges posed by climate change. This will support the identification, assessment, and prioritization of bioeconomy technologies in line with national development and sustainability objectives. The bioeconomy-adapted TNA methodology presented here follows a territorial approach, using sector-level performance indicators. The advantage of such an approach is its close alignment with the UN accounting system, which allows building on an established system for collecting data at the national level and, through the harmonized approach, not only identifying developments over time at the country level but also comparing across countries. Recent technological developments in the bioeconomy will be listed and linked with the UN accounting system. This will highlight where major developments are taking place. The value-added of the bioeconomy across countries will be demonstrated by introducing a methodology based on the relative share of the bioeconomy that avoids the problem of double-counting, a common issue. The climate change impacts will be assessed using a modified MISTICS approach, explicitly accounting for irreversibilities and uncertainties as part of a multi-criteria analysis.

(Presented by Pasquale Lucio Scandizzo, University of Rome Tor Vergata – July 9, 2026)

(Presented by Şafak Esra Aslan, Giresun University – July 10, 2026)

Agricultural by-products are increasingly recognized as valuable bioresources rather than waste, and their valorisation is a key pathway for reducing waste, improving resource efficiency, and advancing circular bioeconomy models in sustainable food system. These residues, including peels, seeds, bagasse, husks, whey, spent grains, and other processing side streams, retain substantial amounts of bioactive compounds, fibers, proteins, lipids, pigments, and minerals that can be recovered for food, feed, agricultural, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and biomaterial applications. Biotechnological approaches such as fermentation, enzymatic processing, microbial bioconversion, membrane separation, and integrated biorefinery systems enable the transformation of these residues into high-value products including functional ingredients, nutraceuticals, enzymes, biofuels, bioplastics, organic fertilizers, and bio-based chemicals. Emerging recovery technologies, including ultrasound-, microwave-, enzyme-, and supercritical fluid-assisted extraction, as well as deep eutectic solvents and encapsulation strategies, further improve the efficient recovery, stability, and application of valuable compounds from agri-food waste streams. Beyond environmental gains, valorisation can create new revenue streams, support rural development, reduce reliance on fossil-based and synthetic inputs, and contribute to climate and waste-reduction goals; however, translation to practice remains constrained by scale-up limitations, substrate heterogeneity, cost, regulation, safety assessment, and consumer acceptance. Future progress depends on stronger policy support, techno-economic validation, pilot-scale implementation, cross-sector collaboration, and standardized frameworks that connect scientific innovation with commercially viable circular food systems.

(Presented by Rob Vos, International Food Policy Research Institute – July 10, 2026)

The global food system is a key driver in the recent violation of six out of nine planetary boundaries. It accounts for one-third of global emissions, two-thirds of deforestation, and two-thirds of freshwater withdrawals. While widespread use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides has historically increased agricultural productivity, it has also led to the degradation of a quarter of the world’s soils and has contributed to water pollution. In addition, improper disposal of animal manure and the burning of crop residues intensify air pollution and lead to the loss of valuable nutrients, energy, and organic matter. Collectively, the negative externalities stemming from the current linear food system—including human health, environmental, and social impacts—are estimated to result in $12.7 trillion in hidden costs each year. Making the global food system operate under “circularity” principles is likely a key pathway to address those challenges. It would imply a transition towards a circular “reduce-reuse-recycle-remove” food system that would sustainably restore natural resources, close nutrient and material cycles to cut down on external inputs and eradicate waste and pollution. By upcycling and recycling food, the food system’s land, water, and carbon footprints can be minimized. The objective of this study is to explore policy and technological approaches to circular and input-saving agrifood systems. The study will combine three research elements: (a) a conceptual framework that aligns circular economy, bioeconomy and sustainable agrifood systems; (b) a taxonomy and inventory of sustainable food system innovations and the hurdles to development and adoption; and (c) global model-based scenario analyses to assess their impacts and the policies needed to achieve “absolute decoupling” between output and resource use throughout agrifood systems. We anticipate that the analysis will identify key pathways to a circular economy that allows “absolute decoupling” in agrifood systems. It will identify high-potential innovations that need to be implemented as bundles that achieve complementarities, as well as policy support measures needed to encourage adoption and scaling and address trade-offs. We expect the results will encourage policy makers to consider combinations of policy interventions that realign market incentives for adoption and diffusion of circular-economy innovations.

(Presented by Carl Pray, Rutgers University – July 9, 2026)

Global food systems have transformed dramatically over the past half a century and are continuing to evolve. The demand for public good research and its provision will also continue to evolve. This panel will present a vision on the future of public good international agricultural research. Pingali and Traxler will provide a characterization of NARS crop improvement capacity and hence their differential reliance on international genetic improvement research. The proposition that the “super NARS” can substitute for the international crop improvement system will be addressed. Carl Pray will comment on the growing role of multinational life sciences companies and implications for the organization of international agricultural R&D.

(Presented by Thomas Reardon, Michigan State University – July 10, 2026)

The agri-food sector is on the brink of a “seismic shift” as powerful, long-term drivers rapidly escalate both the demand and supply for quantified environmental impact information. From increasing consumer awareness and investor demands to new mandatory government regulations, such as Scope 3 reporting and the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), firms are increasingly compelled to disclose detailed environmental impacts, particularly carbon footprints and embedded emissions, for market access and to meet sustainability targets. This “fast and furious” trend, however, is also characterized by a confusing landscape of diverse methodologies and reporting requirements. Such fragmentation risks creating high transaction costs, administrative burden, greenwashing, potentially disproportionately affecting smaller producers and those in low- and middle-income countries. Our session will provide a critical introduction to the essential building blocks for high-performance regime for emissions accounting along agri-food supply chains. It then takes a deeper dive into one major building-block – farm-level tools – and considers prospects for international alignment. Finally, the discussion zooms out to situate these developments within the wider landscape of product-level emissions accounting, emphasizing the trade and policy implications of fragmented global regimes. Together, the session traces a clear journey from principles to practice to policy, offering insights vital for advancing sustainability in food systems.

(Presented by Katherine Dentzman, Iowa State University – July 10, 2026)

Pest management has resonances with the biggest challenges facing our agrifood system today; climate change is drastically altering pest life cycles and geographies, pesticide resistance is threatening yields and conservation gains, and rapidly evolving federal and local legislation are alternatingly promoting and constraining effective innovation. The relevance of these major society-wide issues to pest management makes it an ideal microcosm in which to experiment with transdisciplinary coordination, community governance approaches, and trust building to transform agrifood systems towards environmental, social, and economic sustainability and resilience. Our panel of diverse experts have been researching policy, governance, and regulatory issues in pest management for decades, representing expertise in agricultural economics, human geography, and rural sociology. We convene this panel to share insights and generate discussion, collaboration, and innovation on the topic of how private and public regulation and governance encourage or discourage effective and sustainable pest management. Assistant Professor of Rural Sociology at Iowa State University, Dr. Dentzman will share her research on community-led governance of pesticide resistance issues in Iowa, discussing the barriers that arise from policies related to rural development. She will also speak on diverse national and regional level neonicotinoid regulatory schemes, including farmer and consumer preferences and the increasing—and sometimes suspect—role of private retailer regulation.

(Presented by Huan Chen, University of Alberta – July 8, 2026)

Grasslands cover about 40% of the earth’s land surface and provide essential ecosystem services, including food production, carbon sequestration, water regulation, erosion control, climate mitigation, and cultural services. In North American cow-calf operations, cattle graze on grasslands as their main feed source, and grazing management directly affects the ecosystem services grasslands provide. Public preferences toward grazing practices play an important role in guiding the future of sustainable beef production and informing policy and actions across the supply chain. This study examines public preferences for the respective roles of consumers, producers, and other supply chain stakeholders in supporting grassland ecosystem services and sustainable beef production. We also assess how information about well-managed grazing and overgrazing influences these preferences. In addition, we study how shared views from peers within one’s social network may reinforce or shift beliefs about the importance of grazing practices in maintaining grassland ecosystem services. We are conducting a nationally representative Canadian survey that includes a Best-Worst Scaling (BWS) experiment combined with an information treatment design. The BWS experiment asks respondents to choose the most and least preferred options among strategies such as purchasing beef raised with well-managed grazing practices at a higher price, shifting to alternative proteins, and increasing the involvement of government, processors, and retailers in supporting sustainable grazing. For the information treatments, respondents are randomly assigned to a control group or one of three treatment groups that receive information on: (1) negative effects of overgrazing, (2) positive effects of well-managed grazing, or (3) both. A random parameters logit model is used to estimate preference heterogeneity and the effects of information treatments. We expect that preferences for reducing beef consumption will vary across demographic groups, with younger respondents more willing to shift to alternative proteins. The public is also expected to place greater responsibility on supply chain stakeholders to support grassland ecosystem services. Both positive and balanced information treatments are expected to improve understanding of the role of grazing in maintaining grassland ecosystem services. We anticipate finding statistically significant peer effects. Data collection is expected to be completed by December 2025, after which we will assess the robustness of these expected results. The findings provide insight into how the public views options for enhancing grassland ecosystem services through grazing management. This understanding can help producers, retailers, and policymakers make decisions that better align with societal values.

(Presented by Claudia Bazzani, University of Verona – July 9, 2026)

Emerging agri-food technologies are essential in shaping more resilient and resource-efficient food systems. However, their successful diffusion is largely influenced by consumer acceptance, including perceptions of risk and benefit, sensory expectations, trust, and underlying beliefs about innovation. This session brings together five empirical studies that examine these mechanisms across three major domains of technological and behavioral innovation: vertical farming, gene editing, and upcycled foods. Together, the papers provide a comprehensive understanding of the factors that shape willingness to pay (WTP), adoption intentions, and public acceptance of emerging products along the bioeconomy innovation pipeline. The session then turns to three studies on upcycled foods, a central component of the circular bioeconomy. The first examines how beliefs regarding environmental benefits, circularity, and safety shape preferences for upcycled ingredients. Using a stated choice experiment on olive-leaf extracts incorporated into supplements, cheese (via animal feed), and body lotion, the study demonstrates that beliefs significantly shift the distribution of WTP, especially for products involving direct ingestion like supplements. These results highlight the role of cognitive evaluations and the importance of aligning upcycled product messaging with consumer belief structures.

(Presented by Graham Brookes, PG Economics Ltd – July 8, 2026)

This session will explore the role of GM crops in contributing to a more sustainable global agriculture since they were first planted globally on a large scale nearly 30 years ago. It will examine this from both economic and environmental sustainability perspectives through quantification of the impact of the technology on crop yields, production, farm income, pesticide use change and greenhouse gas emission changes. This is an analysis of the global impact of conservation tillage practices to reducing carbon emissions and the role of GM technology, especially herbicide tolerant (HT) technology based on glyphosate, in facilitating these emission reductions. He will also provide details of the latest update analysis of the global farm economic impact (on yield, production and farm income) and environmental impact, in terms of pesticide use change and carbon emission changes associated with GM crop usage covering the period 1996-2024.

(Presented by Puneet Dwivedi, Clemson University – July 10, 2026)

A circular bioeconomy that reduces pollution, recycles and reuses agricultural waste and waste-water can impact water quality, water availability and carbon emissions in ways that can be synergistic or conflicting and have positive or negative impacts on food security. This session will include four papers that show the benefits and unintended consequences of emerging technologies, crop production practices and strategies for re-use of waste and the role for performance-based incentives to mitigate trade-offs. The first presentation addresses the pressing challenge of reducing nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from crop production, a significant contributor to climate change and ozone depletion. It discusses the technological options and the design of effective first and second best policy instruments to address N20 emissions and need to consider co-benefits for both climate and water quality to avoid undesirable spillovers. The second presentation shows that shifting nitrogen fertilizer applications from high-leaching cropland to low-leaching regions could reduce pollution without lowering food production. Using a global gridded economic model linked with a biophysical crop model the paper develops a location-specific nitrogen tax formula designed to mimic what countries could realistically implement and reveals conditions under which it can reduce nitrogen losses while maintaining or even increasing global food production and lowering prices. The gains arise from the interaction between nonlinear crop yield responses, spatial heterogeneity in fertilizer efficiency, fertilizer industry responses, and market-mediated spillovers. By identifying where and when food production might decline, the paper demonstrate how targeted economic incentives can achieve planetary boundary goals without risk to food security. The third presentation examines the role for cover cropping and bioenergy markets in reducing nitrogen loss from cropland. While bioenergy crops provide greater per-acre reductions they require biomass markets to incentivize production and divert land from food/feed production. Biomass markets also incentivize harvesting of corn stover which can have deleterious effects on water quality. The paper develops a spatially explicit integrated economic, biophysical, and hydrological model to assess the cost-effective mix of cover cropping and energy crops and the economic cost of achieving the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy target in the Raccoon River Basin, Iowa. Counter-intuitively the paper finds that high biomass prices incentivize energy crops but raise the cost of meeting the target because they need to be accompanied with larger reduction in corn acreage and corn stover harvesting and cover crop adoption. The fourth presentation utilizes a global general equilibrium model to analyze the economic implications of alternative water sectors in mitigating natural water scarcity in the Mediterranean region. The research integrates alternative water sources – desalination and treated wastewater and shows how changes in the availability and management of water resources, both natural and alternative, can impact critical sectors and the overall economy, especially under climate-induced water scarcity. Despite the higher financial and energy costs, the adoption of alternative water sources in water-stressed regions yields substantial social benefits by ensuring food security, sustaining economic growth, and mitigating the impacts of natural water shortages.

(Presented by Margherita Simonetti, João Godinho, & Zuzana Smeets Kristkova, Wageningen University – July 9, 2026)