Mission From Mars: Candy Giant Pledges $40M To UC Davis For Food Research

DAVIS, Calif. (AP) - Candy giant Mars, Inc. is pledging at least $40 million for food-related research at the University of California, Davis.

UC Davis announced the funding on Wednesday. The money will go toward establishing a new institute dedicated to making discoveries in sustainable food, agriculture and health. The institute will be housed at the school's World Food Center.

The university says Mars is making a minimum commitment of $40 million over 10 years. The university plans to kick in $20 million over that period.

Mars and the university have collaborated before, including in sequencing the cacao genome in 2010.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.