Week 12.2025
Food and climate highlights on my radar!
[one topic] GRAS
I went down a rabbit hole this past week on GRAS—Generally Recognized As Safe—and want to ground us in the what and why. It’s one of those quiet regulatory frameworks that shapes everything we eat, yet rarely gets the spotlight (until last week!).
My Take
This administration is hyper-focused on power—how it’s used, and who controls it. From its military posturing to nationalist rhetoric, it’s about consolidating authority. In that context, slowing down innovation in food system resiliency inside U.S. borders seems to me unlikely. I expect some boundaries will be drawn, but I doubt this White House will cripple domestic innovation. If anything, they’ll want control, not delay.
More context
GRAS was born in 1958 under the Food Additives Amendment to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). The premise? Safety. Any substance added to food must be approved by the FDA—unless it is GRAS, meaning generally recognized by qualified experts as safe under its intended use. This exemption was meant for basic ingredients with long, safe histories: salt, vinegar, flour.
Originally, companies petitioned the FDA to classify something as GRAS. But in 1997, under pressure from industry and facing resource constraints, the FDA proposed a voluntary notification system. Companies could now self-determine GRAS status and choose whether to notify the FDA.
Nineteen years later, in 2016, the FDA finalized the GRAS Rule—and notification remained voluntary. Today, companies can introduce novel food ingredients without the FDA ever knowing, as long as their own experts declare them GRAS.
Critics argue this system invites conflicts of interest. Companies have a financial incentive to approve their own ingredients quickly, often with no independent verification. Panels making GRAS calls have included industry insiders, raising red flags around objectivity.
Meanwhile, the FDA’s authority to audit or reverse these decisions is extremely limited, unless post-market harmis detected. That’s a reactive, not proactive, system.
RFK Jr. isn’t necessarily opposing GRAS as a concept—his legal challenge targets the lack of mandatory FDA notification. His position highlights a critical tension: how do we balance speed and innovation with safety and transparency?
[one raise] GrubMarket
Food distribution isn’t sexy, but many people need it (everyone?!). GrubMarket just closed a $50M Series G at a $3.5B valuation, doubling down on its AI-driven software platform for food supply chain management. The company is profitable, acquisitive (35 deals and counting), and positioning itself as a backbone player in the U.S. food system—a $1T market still running on pen, paper, and spreadsheets.
This is an incredibly high valuation for this industry.
[one product] Savor Butter (!!)
Thank you so much to everyone who wrote amazing articles about our butter last week! As I often say, our company focuses on recreating the taste and texture of the fats this industry depends so much on. And, when we had to decide what to show off first, the question was: “who doesn’t love butter?!”. 80%+ fat content, and every chef’s best friend.
Check out the full stories here: