From his Florida office, Jason Herring, founder and CEO of hydrogen technology company VIVIFY Technology, is closely watching the escalating crisis in the Middle East and assessing its implications for global energy markets and food systems.
“The latest shock to food prices didn’t start on a farm or a grocery store,” he says pointedly. “It started in energy markets.”
As tensions in the Middle East have raised concerns about oil and fuel supplies, the resulting cost pressures have begun working their way through the global food system.
In May 2026, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index was 2.9% higher than a year earlier, with the FAO citing rising energy costs linked to the conflict as a contributing factor. The index has climbed steadily between February and ril, reaching its highest level in more than three years.
The economic impact is significant. Americans devoted 9.7% of their disposable income to food in 2025, while total U.S. food spending reached $2.51 trillion. With food prices projected to increase by another 3.4% in 2026, even relatively modest increases can add billions of dollars to the nation’s food bill.
The time has come to start seriously thinking about how to increase the absorption cacity of countries, how to increase their resilience to this choke, so that we start to minimize the potential impacts, said Maximo Torero, chief economist of the FAO.
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For Herring, the current crisis highlights a fundamental problem. Modern food systems rely on energy at every stage, from fertilizer production and irrigation to processing, refrigeration, and transportation. When fuel prices spike or power supplies are disrupted, food prices often follow.
If food systems are becoming more vulnerable to energy shocks, they need to become less dependent on centralized energy systems, he says.
Herring believes the answer lies in on-demand hydrogen generation, a technology that could allow food businesses to produce energy where and when it is needed, reducing their exposure to volatile fuel markets and grid disruptions.
Reducing Grid Dependency With Hydrogen
Concern over the risks of grid dependence has become the driving force behind VIVIFY Technology, a solution that Herring says he has spent the past 14 years developing.
As energy markets become increasingly volatile and power systems face growing pressure from geopolitical tensions, extreme weather and aging infrastructure, energy-intensive businesses need greater control over how energy is generated and delivered, he says.
The company’s hydrogen-powered energy systems generate electricity where it is consumed, helping food and other energy-intensive businesses to reduce their exposure to volatile energy markets and grid failures while lowering emissions.
Researchers are increasingly exploring whether hydrogen can play a larger role in food production and processing. A recent study published in Food Control found that hydrogen could help food processors improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions, and support critical operations.
Because hydrogen contains a high amount of energy relative to its weight, researchers suggest it could play an important role in decarbonizing food production while improving operational resilience.
VIVIFY’s proach differs from many hydrogen projects already underway across agriculture and food systems. Much of the industry’s focus has been on replacing diesel in farm equipment, producing lower-carbon fertilizer, or turning agricultural waste into hydrogen fuel. Another major area of investment has been green hydrogen produced using renewable electricity.
VIVIFY, however, is less focused on hydrogen as a replacement fuel. The company is developing hydrogen-based systems designed to generate electricity on-site, positioning hydrogen as part of localized energy infrastructure intended to reduce reliance on centralized grids and conventional backup power systems.
At the center of the company’s strategy is its Hydrogen Oxygen Generator, or HOG, a closed-loop energy platform that uses water as its primary input. According to the company, the system is designed to provide scalable, on-site power for facilities seeking to reduce exposure to grid instability, fuel price volatility, and energy supply disruptions. VIVIFY describes the system as 99% pollutant-free, self-supporting, and scalable.
Interest in hydrogen-powered energy systems is also growing as businesses seek reliable power during grid disruptions, extended outages, and in remote locations. Increasingly viewed as a lower-emission alternative to diesel backup generation, the global market for hydrogen-powered generators was valued at roughly $1 billion in 2025 and is expected to double over the next decade.
VIVIFY hopes to citalize on that trend with the Flying Pig, its containerized 1-watt power system. According to the company, each unit features a 500-gallon water tank, eight Pulsar units, two primary transformers, and quick-connect assembly cabilities, with projected five-year savings of $9.8 million compared with diesel priced at $4 per gallon.
The company says the system is designed for remote operations, industrial facilities, cold-storage sites, disaster-response missions, military plications, data centers, and other energy-intensive users seeking greater control over their power supply.
The underlying idea is simple: rather than waiting years for new transmission lines, substations, and grid upgrades, generate electricity where it is needed most, Herring says.
A Bigger Question Than Hydrogen
Hydrogen has emerged as one of the most closely watched technologies in the energy transition, though whether it ultimately proves to be the answer remains to be seen.
Advocates see it as a pathway to decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors, while critics question whether the technology can overcome persistent challenges related to cost, efficiency, and infrastructure.
Like many emerging energy technologies, VIVIFY’s success will ultimately depend on whether it can translate promising engineering into commercially proven infrastructure through large-scale deployments, independent validation, and real-world operating data.
Yet regardless of the outcome, the problem Herring is attempting to address has already arrived.
Modern food systems depend on energy at every stage, from fertilizer production and irrigation to processing, refrigeration, and transportation. The U.S. food system accounts for roughly 12% of national energy consumption, while the industrial food system consumes an estimated 15% of the world’s fossil fuels. That dependence leaves food prices highly vulnerable to energy shocks.
For decades, food security has been discussed in terms of land, water, weather, and trade, but the events of 2026 suggest energy deserves equal attention,” Herring says.
This is why VIVIFY’s story is about more than just hydrogen.
For us, hydrogen is simply the enabling technology, Herring says. “The bigger question is whether energy can be made local enough, reliable enough, and affordable enough to stop becoming a luxury ingredient inside of the food we eat.

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) — Santa Ana police have arrested a woman seen on video throwing her food at a Chipotle worker.
Police shared the shocking surveillance video on social media last week. The woman peared to be arguing with the worker before throwing her food in the worker’s face.
It hpened on May 12 at the Chipotle restaurant on West 17th Street, according to police.
Santa Ana police identified the woman as 18-year-old Samantha Salomon.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Woman throws food at Chipotle worker during confrontation in Santa Ana
She was arrested earlier this week after the department’s correctional officers and several community members helped identify her.
Police didn’t say what charges Salomon may face.

A federal judge on Friday, June 5, blocked the Trump administration from enforcing new conditions on billions of dollars in federal nutrition funding, siding with a coalition of Democratic-led states that argued the requirements threatened programs serving low-income families.
U.S. District Judge Myong Joun granted a preliminary injunction sought by 20 states and the District of Columbia, temporarily halting the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s effort to tie funding to compliance with a range of federal policy priorities, according to reports from News, Newsweek and .
The challenged requirements plied to USDA grants and programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SN, which helps roughly 39 million Americans buy groceries. States argued the new conditions jeopardized funding already proved by Congress and could disrupt critical food assistance programs while the lawsuit moves forward.
Joun, who sits on the federal bench in Boston, said he would issue a written memorandum explaining his decision at a later date.
States say USDA exceeded its authority
The lawsuit, filed in March by a coalition of Democratic attorneys general, challenged USDA directives that required states to certify compliance with various federal “policies” to continue receiving funding.
According to court filings, the disputed conditions included provisions related to immigration, “gender ideology” and “fair athletic opportunities” for women and girls. The states argued the requirements were vague, unrelated to nutrition and agriculture programs, and imposed without proper legal procedures.
In the complaint, the states said USDA had placed “unconstitutional and unlawful roadblocks” between federally authorized programs and the states that administer them, threatening nutrition assistance, agricultural research and food supply systems.
The plaintiffs include Massachusetts, California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and several other Democratic-led states, along with Washington, DC.
Administration defends oversight measures
Government attorneys opposed the injunction, arguing the conditions were intended to strengthen federal oversight of taxpayer-funded programs.
In court filings, administration lawyers said the requirements would promote responsible stewardship of federal funds, improve USDA oversight and ensure recipients comply with federal laws, regulations and policies.
The Trump administration has also argued that if states must comply with federal anti-discrimination laws to receive federal funding, other federal policies should be treated similarly.
Funding fight has broad implications
The case extends beyond SN. According to the lawsuit, the conditions could also affect school meal programs and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC.
The states collectively receive more than $74 billion annually through USDA programs, according to court filings.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell praised the ruling on social media, calling USDA grants “a lifeline” for families. New York Attorney General Letitia James also welcomed the decision, saying her office would continue fighting to protect federal funding while the lawsuit proceeds.

Every Republican candidate’s campaign highlights how each of them is going to cut waste and fraud from our existing government assistance programs.
Let’s look at the facts: Maine is a poor state with a low per-cita income. Our citizens work very hard to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads, and current data shows nearly 13% of Maine households were food insecure from 2022-2024, with nearly 40% of those households having little or no resources to cover expensive healthcare services.
The affluent candidates are just beating the Republican drum chant of fraud and they have no real connection to the men and women on the street who pay the taxes.

Pub 52’s Justin Truhe serves up a plate of of Cajun alfredo pasta during the Food Bank of Siouxland Food Festival in South Sioux City.
Organizers for the Food Bank of Siouxland’s Fourth Annual Food Festival estimated that the event was set to bring in about 400 people to the S…
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Jared McNett
Online editor/Politics reporter/Podcaster
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