radiofree.asia

Category: Future Foods

  • South Korea’s Cellular Agriculture Support Center Opens With a Bang: The World’s Largest Piece of Cultivated Meat

    TissenBioFarm shows off its cultivated meat
    4 Mins Read

    TissenBioFarm debuted a giant piece of cultivated meat at the opening of South Korea’s Cellular Agriculture Support Center in the North Gyeongsang Province.

    This story has been updated at 13.00 on 31 March 2023 with additional information about the company’s 10kg cultivated meat prototype.

    South Korea’s North Gyeongsang Province has announced the opening of the North Gyeongsang Cellular Agriculture Industry Support Center. This 2,309㎡ facility was built over six years with a total investment of KRW 9 billion (approx. USD$7 million), and it aims to develop biomaterials and support companies in the cultivated meat sector.

    South Korean startup TiessenBio Farm, which raised more than $1.6 million in a Pre-Series A funding round last September, unveiled a 10-kilogram piece of cultivated meat on the occasion.

    The North Gyeongsang Cellular Agriculture Industry Support Center

    The four-story building houses laboratories, analysis rooms, and quality control rooms. The second floor will host five companies and Yeungnam University Cell Culture Research Center, while the third floor will feature research and analysis rooms with 55 types of corporate equipment to be installed by 2024 with a budget of KRW 3 billion.

    The North Gyeongsang Cellular Agriculture Industry Support Center opening ceremony launch. | Courtesy

    “The Cellular Agriculture Industry Support Center opened in Uiseong, where a new airport will be built, is expected to play a pivotal role in advancing a high-tech industry,” Cheol-Woo Lee, Governor of North Gyeongsang Province, said at the launch. “We will continue our support and investment in promising new industries.”

    The opening ceremony was attended by about 200 people, including government officials, university representatives, research institutes, and private companies. The site tour showcased five companies, including TissenBioFarm, which unveiled a 10kg cultured meat prototype to the public for the first time. The company claims it is the world’s largest piece of cultivated meat to date.

    Green Queen contacted the company for further information to clarify the percentage of cultivated cells and tissue, scaffolds used and what other ingredients the piece contains. We also asked the company to specify what type of animal meat this is. So far, the company has not replied.

    Update: Tiessen’s Chief Strategy Officer La Yeonjoo told Green Queen the following via email: “This prototype is a hybrid cultivated meat, consisting of cells and bioink. We have developed original technologies that can make cultured meat of this size while keeping nearly all the cells alive.”

    The prototype’s ingredients are as follows: animal cells, bioink, food coloring, palm oil and food adhesive.

    La says the company has not yet publicly disclosed the % of cells of this prototype publicly because “it doesn’t appropriately represent the company’s capabilities”, adding that the event organizers at Cellular Agriculture Support Center asked them to make a prototype on very short notice. TiessenBio made it in their small lab in just a few weeks and La said they didn’t have enough time to grow the cells “as much as we wanted to and could have.”

    “By the end of this year, we will scale up our cell culture infrastructure, and will showcase 100% cultivated meat (that would translate into approx. 80% cells + 20% bioink and other biomaterials),” she added.

    North Gyeongsang Province has also announced its Cellular Agriculture Industry Promotion Strategy, which plans to link with the vaccine, drug, cosmetics, and green bio industries. Uiseong-gun is creating the Uiseong Bio Valley General Industrial Complex for the integration of the cellular agriculture industry.

    South Korea’s cultivated meat sector

    The opening of the North Gyeongsang Cellular Agriculture Industry Support Center marks a milestone in South Korea’s efforts to develop the cellular agriculture industry. With this center, the country hopes to become a leader in this emerging field.

    The center launch comes after 28 key industry stakeholders in South Korea signed a memo of understanding in February to advance the country’s cultivated meat industry.

    TissenBioFarm's giant piece of cultivated meat
    TissenBioFarm’s giant piece of cultivated meat | Courtesy

    The North Gyeongsang Province led the MOU. Other signatories include city governments (Pohang-si, Gyeongsan-si, Gumi-si, Uiseong-gun), universities (POSTECH, Yeungnam University), research and technology institutions (Korea Food Research Institute, Gyeongbuk Technopark, Pohang Technopark), and corporations including cultivated meat startup TissenBioFarm, health food manufacturer Ildong Foodis, and functional food ingredients developer Neo-Cremar. 

    “We are working on groundbreaking technologies to overcome key challenges in the cultivated meat field,” TissenBioFarm CEO Wonil Han said in a statement at the time. “Once it is done, South Korea will be a global game changer in the field.”

    The post South Korea’s Cellular Agriculture Support Center Opens With a Bang: The World’s Largest Piece of Cultivated Meat appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Australia’s Magic Valley Debuts Cultivated Pork Meat

    Magic Valley pork wontons

    5 Mins Read

    Cultivated pork meat is Magic Valley’s latest achievement, following the launch of its lamb meat last year.

    Melbourne-based Magic Valley says its cultivated pork meat comes from skin cells retrieved humanely from a living pig. The cells are then grown using the company’s breakthrough technology that replaces fetal bovine serum.

    ‘An ethical and sustainable solution’

    According to Magic Valley, its tech allows the cells to replicate infinitely, turning into both muscle and fat — all from a singular skin scraping. The startup says this makes it a more stable and faster tech than those achieved by other cultivated meat producers. It says its tech is scalable for all types of meat, not just pork and lamb.

    “The global need for alternative proteins to meet the demands of the growing population is imperative as we take that journey to achieve net-zero, steering clear of traditional ways of consuming meat for ethical and environmental reasons,” Magic Valley founder and CEO Paul Bevan said in a statement.

    Unlike other players, Magic Valley does not rely on fetal bovine serum (FBS) as a growth media for its products. “We don’t need a replacement for Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) in our process, as we have never used it! Instead, we have developed our own proprietary growth media that is completely animal-origin-free, setting us apart from many of our competitors,” Bevan told Green Queen over email.

    “By eliminating the need for FBS, we are able to align our production process more closely with our core mission of promoting a more sustainable and ethical food system, and maintaining a strong commitment to sustainability and animal welfare,” he added.

    Pork format, cost per kg and cultivated material percentage

    The company is starting with pork meat in a minced/ground format to address “the growing concerns about the ethical and humane treatment of pigs in traditional meat production”. Pork is a widely popular protein source enjoyed by millions of people globally. In many parts of Asia, including China, it is the most consumed animal meat per capita.

    Bevan told us that its initial minced pork products are designed to contain approximately 20% cultivated material. “This percentage has been carefully selected as it allows us to effectively replicate the taste, flavour, and aroma characteristics of a traditional minced meat product, ensuring a satisfying eating experience for consumers.”

    He says that by incorporating 20% cultivated material in their product, they can “balance the benefits of our innovative cell-cultured technology with the practical aspects of production and consumer preferences.”

    Currently, production costs for Magic Valley’s minced pork product stand at $33/kg. Bevan recognizes this may seem high compared to conventional pork prices but is careful to underline that the company is in its very earliest stages and has significant potential for improvement. He says he is targeting a cost of $3.30/kg in the future to ensure competitiveness in the market.

    “As we move forward with our plans to establish a pilot plant facility and scale up production, we anticipate benefiting from economies of scale.”

    Actively fundraising and working with Australian regulators

    The news amidst active fundraising efforts for the company. Bevan told us that the company is aiming to raise $3 million to “support the next phase of growth and development”. The goal is to use the funding to work on regulatory approval for Magic Valley’s lamb and pork products, scale up production capacity and develop its first pilot plant facility.

    Bevan told us that he and his team are “actively engaged” with Australian regulators, particularly Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), which he says is known for its proactive approach towards novel food technologies. The agency recognizes “the potential benefits it can bring in terms of sustainability, animal welfare, and food security” and has established a clear and comprehensive framework for companies like Magic Valley to follow.

    He described the process as “consultative” in nature and the communication flow as very “open and transparent”, with a great deal of collaboration with the regulators, with regulator meetings and discussion around Magic Valley’s technology and processes in order to address any concerns or questions raised.

    Magic Valley founder Paul Bevan
    Magic Valley founder Paul Bevan | Courtesy

    The global cultivated meat market is set to reach $630 billion by 2040 — representing what Bevan says is an enormous opportunity for Australia to benefit from and contribute to the industry that is aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

    “So, with both the need and desire for new forms of protein, and the global economic opportunity growing exponentially, our newest cultivated pork milestone puts Magic Valley in good stead to capture a sizable market share to feed future generations,” Bevan said. He says the company’s cultivated pork products provide the exact same flavor experience for consumers that enjoy conventional pork. “It is an ethical and sustainable solution and at scale, our products will be much cheaper than traditional alternatives,” he said.

    Next up, the company will dive into cultivated beef, angling toward a full range of meat options as regulatory approval is expected in 2024.

    Food tech in Australia

    The news follows a string of announcements out of Australia this month. Earlier this week the precision fermentation company Cauldron announced a AU$10.5 million raise to build Asia-Pacific’s largest network of precision fermentation facilities. And in the cultivated meat category, Vow says it has created a meatball using cells from the extinct wooly mammoth as part of a project to showcase the potential of cellular agriculture. 

    Vow Cultivated Meat Factory
    Vow’s Factory 1 was announced last year | Courtesy

    Bianca Lê, Honorary Fellow at The University of Melbourne; Technical Strategy and Growth Manager at Mission Barns; and Board Director, Cellular Agriculture Australia, recently called for Australia to develop standards for biotechnology, including cultivated meat, as the nation is particularly vulnerable to climate change and needs food solutions.

    “Australia has been one of the world’s top three beef exporters for more than 70 years. We’re also a biotech leader. Two decades ago, Australia’s biotech sector was tiny. Now it’s amongst the top five in the world,” she wrote.

    “As we face an increasingly uncertain future, it might be a smart move to secure our food supply while protecting ourselves against climate change – and reducing environmental damage.”

    The post Australia’s Magic Valley Debuts Cultivated Pork Meat appeared first on Green Queen.

  • Food Tech Investments In Europe are Down, But Not Out, Report Finds

    heura fish
    3 Mins Read

    Just how robust is funding for food tech startups in Europe? A new report takes a deep dive.

    A new report on the European food tech industry shows a decrease of 36 percent in investments between 2021 and 2022. But according to DigitalFoodLab, which authored the report with funding from Nestlé, investments in the future of food actually grew.

    Investments doubled

    The report found that nearly €6 billion was invested in European food tech startups in 2022 — almost double the amount invested in 2019 and 2020. Investments in AgTech startups grew by almost 50 percent, benefiting from the current energy and food supply chain crisis.

    Investments decreased overall by 36 percent but, according to Matthieu Vincent, co-founder and partner at DigitalFoodLab, “if we remove delivery startups, they actually grew by 21 percent, which is quite remarkable in the current context,” he told Green Queen via email.

    Vegan French cheese brand Nutropy recently raised money to scale | Courtesy

    Vincent says some categories stand out positively (packaging, for example) while others were almost wiped away like payment solutions for restaurants. “It is the same for countries,” he says. “The U.K. and France still grew quite significantly while Germany’s food tech investments went down by almost 90 percent.”

    The Nordic countries ranked third behind the U.K. and France. And a number of Eastern European countries ranked because of single startups; Estonia with Bolt and the Czech Republic with Rohlik. Germany and Spain were among the strong followers, while countries like Italy and Poland had limited money invested in food tech but possess strong potential.

    Hope for the future

    Despite quarterly investments in food tech still declining, there is hope for the future. There are likely to be more challenges raising capital, the report notes that some may still raise with a downturn at a lower valuation. However, those startups that raised with unrealistic profitability prospects may go bankrupt in the year to come.

    But realistic examples are visible in all directions. Spanish-based plant-based food brand Heura, says it increased its international sales by more than 260 percent in 2022. France, long a holdout in alternative protein, saw funding for a number of innovations in dairy and meat alternatives over the last year.

    milk
    France-based Bon Vivant recently raised €4M for its precision fermentation dairy. Photo Courtesy Pixabay via Pexels.

    But with increased retail and food service interest in emergent categories such as precision fermentation and cultivated meat, funding could see a renewed boost in the coming months. A report late last year found similar trends. As plant-based meat sales declined in the U.S., Dr. Catherine Tubb, Director of Research at Synthesis Capital, said it’s all part of the “S” curve growth. “History is littered with examples of technological products and services that were adopted with the famous ‘S‑curve,’” writes Tubb. “This adoption shape is ubiquitous, with products as diverse as refrigerators, cars, color TVs, and smartphones all showing that same familiar S-shaped curve.”

    The new report notes that despite current trends, the industry remains optimistic about the sector’s future. Technology-focused startups with long-term profitability prospects are still receiving funding and the shift to profitability may be a positive thing for some startups. The report says there has never been a better time to invest in food tech, whether as a future entrepreneur, a large agrifood or financial company, or an investor.

    The post Food Tech Investments In Europe are Down, But Not Out, Report Finds appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Because Animals Sells Off Discontinued Products To CULT Food Science To Accelerate Cultivated Pet Food Technology

    4 Mins Read

    Cultivated meat innovation company CULT Food Science has acquired consumer brand assets, two patents, non-scientific IP and product formulations from cultivated pet food startup Because Animals.

    CULT Food Science, a publicly traded Vancouver, Canada-based cultivated meat innovation company, announced yesterday in a press release titled posted to its website that it had signed a binding Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire the consumer brand assets, related patents, non-scientific intellectual property, and product formulations (referred to in the release as “the Assets”).

    The Assets include a yeast-based dog treat (noochies), a yeast-based dog food and two provisional patents for rehydrated-then-freeze-dried-yeast-probiotic-based pet supplements.

    According to the release, these assets will be combined with CULT’s existing pet food brands to form a new Pet Food Division that will work to develop and commercialize cultivated pet food products.

    Confusion around LOI news media coverage

    There was some initial confusion yesterday surrounding the LOI news, with social media posts and smaller media outlets suggesting that Because Animals had been entirely acquired and one platform that contacted us describing it as the “World’s First Cultured Meat Brand Acquisition”.

    In a statement sent to Green Queen via email regarding the original CULT press release, Shannon Falconer, co-founder and CEO of Because Animals reiterated that “Although it’s not clear from the press release, the consumer brand ‘Because Animals’ was not acquired.”

    Instead, Falconer told us that the company is focusing all its resources to accelerate the commercialization of its cultured meat technology. As a result, it discontinued the sale of its nutritional yeast-based products late last year and had recently agreed to sell all formulations and two provisional patents related to these discontinued products to Joshua Errett.

    Falconer added that “Because Animals retains all of its intellectual property relating to cultured meat – which is our core business – and we are committed to revolutionizing the pet food industry with this technology.”

    When asked to confirm the news mentioned in the release, Lejjy Gafour, CEO of CULT Food Sciences, told us via email that “as stated in the release formally on our website”, the news announcement referred only to the acquisition of “Because Animals Inc.’s consumer brand assets, related patents, non-scientific intellectual property, and product formulations” and directed us to “additional clarifying language included in the release which the other outlets or individuals may have overlooked”, which says that “Because Animals Inc will continue to innovate in the pet food industry.”

    Former Because Animals co-founder joins forces with CULT

    Errett is the former COO and co-founder of Because Animals. He departed in September 2022 according to Linkedin profile and on October 31, CULT announced that Errett had joined the company as Vice President.

    “The CULT platform is one of the most ambitious and comprehensive in the field of cellular agriculture. It has endless potential to impact the world’s food supply and so I’m thrilled to be a part of it,” added Mr. Errett.  

    Earlier this month, CULT, which according to its website is focused on “providing investors with unprecedented exposure to the most innovative start-up, private or early-stage cultivated meat, cell-based dairy, and other cultured food companies around the world”, revealed that Canadian biotech and cannabis entrepreneur Marc Lustig had acquired a 15% stake in the company, making him the largest single shareholder

    “I am very excited to have taken a significant ownership stake in CULT Food Science. I believe it is inevitable that cell-based foods will sustainably transform our food systems for the better, and that these products will be coming to market much sooner than most people think. As a first-mover in the cellular agriculture space, CULT has the opportunity to play a unique and valuable role in the industry’s exciting scientific innovation,” said Lustig of the investment news.

    Pet food is a growing focus area for cultivated meat startups

    Because Animals was founded in 2016 by Falconer and Errett, and backed by leading VC funds including Draper Associates and SOSV. It was one of the first companies globally to focus on developing pet food aimed at dogs and cats using cellular agriculture technology and in August 2021, debuted the world’s first commercially available cultivated cat food. In early 2022, Because Animals secured investment from European CPG company Group Orkla SA, bringing the company’s total funding to $6.7 million.

    Colorado-based Bond Pet Food created cultured chicken aimed at pets in 2020 and last November, vegan dog food company Wild Earth, which famously got Shark Tank judge Mark Cuban to invest $550,000 in 2019, said it had developed a cultivated chicken broth topper “aimed at making the category more sustainable”.

    The post Because Animals Sells Off Discontinued Products To CULT Food Science To Accelerate Cultivated Pet Food Technology appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Vow Debuts Cultivated Meat Made From Extinct Wooly Mammoth DNA

    4 Mins Read

    Australian cultivated meat company, Vow, has created a meatball using cells from the extinct wooly mammoth as part of a project to showcase the potential of cellular agriculture.

    Vow’s mammoth meatball is a token product showing not just how cells from unconventional species can create new kinds of meat, but also as a symbol of both biodiversity loss and climate change.

    Mammoths went extinct in large part due to human hunting as well as post-ice-age planetary warming. The novel meatball was unveiled on Tuesday at the Nemo science museum in the Netherlands.

    “We have a behaviour change problem when it comes to meat consumption,” Vow CEO George Peppou said in a statement.

    “The goal is to transition a few billion meat eaters away from eating [conventional] animal protein to eating things that can be produced in electrified systems.

    “And we believe the best way to do that is to invent meat. We look for cells that are easy to grow, really tasty and nutritious, and then mix and match those cells to create really tasty meat.”

    A copy of the invitation for Vow’s Wooly Mammoth Meatball tasting

    Cultivating curiosity

    While most cultivated meat producers are tackling conventional meat such as chicken, pork, beef, and fish, Vow is taking a different approach by investigating the potential of more than 50 less common species, including alpaca, buffalo, crocodile, kangaroo, peacocks, and various types of fish. Tapping into human curiosity to taste less conventional meat could help acclimate consumers toward the novel cell tech, the company says.

    Vow Cultivated Meat Factory
    Vow’s Factory 1 was announced last year | Courtesy

    The mammoth muscle protein was created by Vow along with Professor Ernst Wolvetang at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering at the University of Queensland. The team used DNA from mammoth myoglobin, a key muscle protein that gives meat its flavor, and filled in a few gaps using elephant DNA. This sequence was placed in myoblast stem cells from a sheep, which replicated to grow to the 20 billion cells subsequently used by the company to grow the mammoth meat.

    “It was ridiculously easy and fast,” said Wolvetang. “We did this in a couple of weeks.”

    Mammoth was the second choice. The initial idea came from Bas Korsten at the creative agency Wunderman Thompson. The team wanted to replicate dodo bird meat, but there is no DNA available for replicating.

    Mammoth worked just as well symbolically though. “Our aim is to start a conversation about how we eat, and what the future alternatives can look and taste like. Cultured meat is meat, but not as we know it,” Korsten said.

    Vow is not the first food tech company to explore mammoth protein. Last year the startup Paleo explored creating woolly mammoth “paleo protein” via its novel precision fermentation heme technology. And the biotech company Colossal is using CRISPR technology to potentially resurrent the species, which it says could play a crucial role in protecting ecosystems that trap and store carbon.

    Cultivating sustainable protein

    Like other cultivated meat offerings, Vow says cultivated meat uses much less land and water than livestock and produces no methane emissions. The energy Vow uses is all from renewable sources, and the company does not use the controversial growth medium, fetal bovine serum.

    No one has tasted the mammoth meat yet, though. “We haven’t seen this protein for thousands of years,” said Wolvetang. “So we have no idea how our immune system would react when we eat it. But if we did it again, we could certainly do it in a way that would make it more palatable to regulatory bodies.”

    Vow quail meat, Morsel | Courtesy

    Vow was moving toward approval last year for its cultivated quail meat, dubbed Morsel. It had anticipated an end-of-2022 launch into Singapore restaurants, but it has yet to be approved by Singapore Food Agency (SFA).

    The mammoth meatball debut comes as the U.S. FDA issued a “no questions” letter to California’s Eat Just for its cultivated Good Meat label chicken. Eat Just is currently the only cultivated meat producer in the world with regulatory approval, which was granted by the SFA in 2020.

    Eat Just and fellow Californian cultivated meat producer Upside Foods, which received FDA clearance last November, now must both pass USDA inspections before they can begin selling their meat in the U.S.

    The post Vow Debuts Cultivated Meat Made From Extinct Wooly Mammoth DNA appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Lypid Debuts Pork Belly Made With Patented PhytoFat

    3 Mins Read

    Taiwanese-U.S. food-tech company Lypid unveiled vegan pork belly made from its patented PhytoFat at the recent Future Food-Tech summit held in San Francisco earlier this month.

    The product ist the first release of Lypid’s upcoming line of plant-based products. According to Dr. Jen-Yu Huang, Lypid’s co-founder and CEO, there is a lack of solid, whole-cut alternative proteins on the market. “Our Pork Belly will revolutionize the food industry and provide environmentally conscious options for diners who crave the texture, taste, and mouthfeel of pork belly,” she said. Dr. Huang was recently included in the 2022 Forbes “30 Under 30” list.

    Vegan pork belly

    Lypid’s pork belly marks the company’s entry into the plant-based meat market. Dr. Michelle Lee, Lypid’s Co-founder and CTO, explained that the company combined its patented PhytoFat with a unique fibrous protein alternative to create an authentic pork belly experience. Several celebrated Bay Area chefs have begun testing the plant-based pork belly, with the goal of introducing the product to menus in the near future.

    The Pork Belly was served at the Future Food-Tech summit with Adobo Garlic Fried Rice prepared by San Francisco Marriott Marquis’ Executive Chef David Hollands and Executive Sous Chef Bernardita Gotis. “When it’s cooked, it behaves like pork belly – it becomes crispy and doesn’t solidify immediately,” Hollands said. “Not all vegan products perform like the real thing.”

    Sonalie Figueiras, Green Queen‘s founder and editor in chief tasted the pork belly at the summit and said: “As someone who grew up in Hong Kong, I’ve eaten my fair share of pork belly, I was amazed. the texture was uncanny and it was savoury like animal fat.”

    Photo courtesy Lypid

    PhytoFat recently took home the first-place prize for “Ingredient Innovation” at FoodBev Media’s World Food Innovation Awards in 2023. The company’s Pork Belly was also a finalist in the “Plant-based Product” and “Technology Innovation” categories.

    Last August, more than 500 Louisa Coffee shops across Taiwan introduced vegan burgers made with Lypid’s proprietary vegan PhytoFat. The company raised more than $4 million in Seed funding last spring to accelerate its product development and expansion plans.

    Pork successors loom large

    Pork is the most widely consumed meat in the world, specifically across Asia. It makes up 36 percent of total global meat consumption, according to the USDA. But as consumers seek to diversify their protein, sustainable options are taking priority. Hong Kong-based Omni Foods is seeing success with its plant-based pork in Asia and the U.S., among other markets.

    Last month, the U.K. saw the country’s first cultivated pork debut. BSF Enterprises said its subsidiary 3D Bio-Tissues had successfully created a steak made from pork cells.

    3D Bio-Tissues steak
    3D Bio-Tissues has created the world’s first cultivated pork steak | Courtesy Kenn Reay Photography

    Not all companies are thriving, however. Last week, cultivated pork producer New Age Eats announced it was ceasing operations.

    “Creating the experience of meat without slaughter is extremely difficult,” New Age founder and CEO Brian Spears said in a statement. “We start with biotech borrowed from human health applications designed for high-cost, low-volume products. We worked to flip to low-cost, high-volume products. That is expensive, takes time, and needs a lot of patient capital.”

    The post Lypid Debuts Pork Belly Made With Patented PhytoFat appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • The White House Issues Guidelines to ‘Harness the Full Potential and Power of Biotechnology’

    3 Mins Read

    The Biden-Harris Administration revealed new priorities detailed in a report last week that will trigger actions to advance American biotechnology and biomanufacturing.

    The move follows an Executive Order signed by President Biden last September aimed at advancing biotechnology and biomanufacturing innovation. The goals aim to enhance America’s bioeconomy, restore local supply chains, and support the country’s innovation ecosystem.

    U.S. biomanufacturing

    Biomanufacturing, the use of biological systems to produce goods and services at a commercial scale, the tech has the potential to unlock sustainable alternatives across industries such as plastics, fuels, and medicines, the White House said in a statement. These innovations hold potential for new solutions in health, climate change, energy, food security, agriculture, supply chain resilience, and national and economic security.

    The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) detailed its plan in a new report outlining a vision for what is possible with biotechnology and biomanufacturing and the research and development needed. The report includes sections authored by federal departments and agencies that are responsive to the President’s E.O. on biotechnology and biomanufacturing R&D to further societal goals such as climate change solutions, food and agricultural innovation, supply chain resilience, human health, and crosscutting advances. These goals serve as a guide for public and private sector efforts to harness the full potential and power of biotechnology and biomanufacturing to develop innovative solutions in different sectors.

    lab worker
    Photo by Julia Koblitz via Unsplash

    The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Biomanufacturing Strategy will guide investments in bioindustrial domestic manufacturing infrastructure to establish a domestic bioindustrial manufacturing base. The strategy includes three priorities: establishing customers that stand to benefit from early-stage innovations, advancing biomanufacturing capabilities through innovation, mapping and tracking the biomanufacturing ecosystem to support future efforts. DoD is issuing a formal request for information on biomanufactured products and process capabilities that could help address defense needs and whose development and commercialization could be addressed by DoD investment.

    The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis will assess the feasibility of economic contributions to the country’s bioeconomy, as called for in the President’s E.O. Other deliverables from the E.O. are also in development, including plans to expand training and education opportunities for the biotechnology and biomanufacturing workforce, a report on data needs for the bioeconomy, a national strategy for expanding domestic biomanufacturing capacity, actions to improve biotechnology regulation clarity and efficiency, and a plan for strengthening and innovating biosafety and biosecurity for the bioeconomy.

    ‘Accelerating the transition to a more sustainable and resilient food system’

    Magi Richani, CEO of Nobell Foods, a biotech company making animal-free cheese, applauded the move in a statement shared to LinkedIn. “I can’t overstate the importance of this step in accelerating the transition to a more sustainable and resilient food system,” she wrote.

    “Our global food system over the last few years has proven to be anything but resilient. And with the continued environmental degradation caused by industrial-scale animal agriculture, it’s not only refreshing, but critical to see the work we are doing prioritized as a key solution to building a more resilient food system, increasing consumer choice, and offsetting greenhouse gas emissions,” Richani said.

    Methane emissions
    Photo by Joachim Süß on Unsplash

    Richani pointed to animal agriculture, which contributes close to 31 percent of total U.S. methane emissions — a planet-heating gas more potent than CO2. But the reality is, she said, “no one will change their behavior fast enough to offset its impact. Most people are not going to eat less cheese or meat if it costs more or tastes less.”

    The U.S. investment into biotech could help change that. “The bold goals and R&D needs outlined in this report serve as a guide for public and private sector efforts to harness the full potential and power of biotechnology and biomanufacturing to develop innovative solutions in different sectors, create jobs at home, build stronger supply chains, lower costs for families, and achieve our climate goals,” the White House said.

    The post The White House Issues Guidelines to ‘Harness the Full Potential and Power of Biotechnology’ appeared first on Green Queen.

  • Exclusive: Former Outcast Foods CEO Darren Burke Named In Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Alleging Discrimination On The Basis Of Sex

    7 Mins Read

    Canadian foodtech entrepreneur Marissa Bronfman says that after being recruited as co-founder for a new biotech mycelium fermentation company, she was subjected to a sexist work environment and was terminated by former Outcast Foods CEO Darren Burke for requesting that he hire a female scientist.

    Earlier this week, Green Queen received a PDF copy of court filings detailing that on March 13, 2023, Marissa Bronfman filed a complaint case in the Ontario Superior Court Of Justice naming Darren Burke, of The Different Food Co Inc. as the sole defendant. 

    Ms. Bronfman’s complaint alleges that Mr. Burke misrepresented himself, his intentions and his company, terminated her in bad faith, defamed her, discriminated against her on the basis of sex and misled her. 

    The filings cite further complaints against Mr. Burke including Breach of Contract, Breach of the Duty of Honesty in Contractual Performance, Bad Faith Manner of Dismissal and Breach of the Human Rights Code, among others.  

    According to the case documents, Ms. Bronfman says that she entered into an employment contract with Mr. Burke as part of a new mycelium fermentation-related biotech company he was starting after he recruited her for many months. She says the agreement meant she was entitled to CA$150,000 in annual base salary and ‘generous benefits’, as well as equity in the company and co-founder status. Although Ms. Bronfman was originally going to consult with the company, she says Mr.Burke changed his mind and would only work with her if she didn’t work anywhere else.

    In November 2022, Ms. Bronfman publicly announced that she was joining the company and then leveraged her personal network and social media presence to promote the company. She says she introduced Mr. Burke to potential investors, represented the company at an industry event in Toronto and offered him “significant” professional advice that “led to Mr. Burke changing his business model”.

    She says that things started to go awry when she suggested to Mr. Burke that the company hire a female scientist towards the end of November. According to the court documents, “These comments upset Mr. Burke and he expressed his disagreement with them.”

    By early December, Ms. Bronfman was told she was being laid off as the company needed to raise more funds and that she would be reinstated once the company had done so. However, Ms. Bronfman was actually wrongfully terminated after Mr. Burke said he did not wish to work with her any longer, and that “her opinions had been too ‘strong’ (emphasis in original).

    In January of this year, Ms. Bronfman says Mr. Burke published a defamatory post about her on his personal Linkedin profile which has over 11,000 followers. The filings state that “This post was clearly designed to intimidate the Plaintiff, and harm her reputation within the foodtech industry.” 

    After her attorney sent Mr. Burke a cease and desist letter, he removed the post from his profile, though Ms. Bronfman says that by then it had caused “significant embarrassment and reputational damage”.

    Ms. Bronfman says that she has suffered reputational harm, a limiting of employment opportunities in Canada, and mental and physical distress as a result of Mr. Burke’s actions.

    Ms. Bronfman is asking for a range of damages in the amount of CA$1,000,000 as well as  CA$150,000 in lost earnings, CA$500,000 for breach of contract and moral damages for bad faith dismissal, CA$250,000 in punitive damages, CA$75,000 for injuries to dignity, feelings, and self-respect as well as any legal costs incurred. 

    Further, she is requesting the 25% of company equity she was promised (in the court filings the latest valuation is listed at CAD$3,000,000, which Green Queen confirmed from the company’s most recent investment deck) and asking for a declaration that he breached their contractual duty of good faith and that he discriminated against her. 

    Screenshot from St Mary’s University, Halifax, Canada Website

    According to the filings, The Different Food Co Inc is a food-tech company incorporated in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The company’s mission involved ‘Harnessing mycelium fermentation to reengineer almonds using 90% less water’ according to a presentation deck. While Ms. Bronfman lists herself as a co-founder of the company on her Linkedin profile, there is no mention of it on Mr. Burke’s Linkedin profile. Green Queen has seen proof that the company is still in operation and that Mr. Burke is listed as a Director. 

    On his profile, Mr Burke is described as a “celebrated science-based entrepreneur focused on plant-based and alternative protein nutrition and social impact ideas to save the planet” as well as a “Former tenured university professor who commercialized scientific research into a new category of sports nutrition products.”

    Couresy Outcast Foods

    Accordion to the page, Mr Burke spent 10 years as a professor at St. Francis Xavier University, in Halifax, Canada and then founded Rivalus, a nutritional supplements company that he says he grew to $20 million in revenue before a “successful exit.” He then, along with fellow entrepreneur and former professional NHL hockey player TJ Galiardi, co-founded Outcast Foods, a Canadian sustainable food waste company that transformed old and ugly produce into powdered nutrition supplements. The company raised CA$10 million led by District Ventures which counts well-known South African-Canadian investor Arlene Dickinson as a General Partner. In a 2021 article from this publication, Mr. Burke said that the company had experienced YoY online retail sales growth of close to 4,000%. He is currently an Entrepreneur in Residence at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, which Green Queen confirmed via phone. Mr Burke also features on the institution’s website as Dr Darren Burke.

    We have reached out to Mr. Burke for comment and we will update the story once we hear back. 

    In an exclusive interview and over multiple conversations by phone, Ms Bronfman told me that the past few months leading up to the filing of the suit have been taxing: “Things have been very difficult, and the public nature of it has been challenging, but I am fortunate to have lots of support. Many people in the industry, especially women, have reached out to me.” 

    In addition, she said that fighting back is not easy but she believes it is necessary: ”I feel emboldened and empowered by the support I’ve received from people in the industry, and by the laws we have in Canada to protect people. I am looking forward to my day in court and pursuing justice.”  

    She also told me she believes that this kind of behavior by male executives is more prevalent in the industry than people realize: “Unfortunately, this is a very common story in tech and foodtech, though we rarely hear about it. All too often women are threatened, shamed and silenced into not talking about or seeking legal justice for unethical and illegal treatment in the workplace, whether from co-founders, investors and/or colleagues.” 

    She said that one of the reasons she is speaking out is to “help end an entrenched culture of mistreating, intimidating, shaming and silencing women, and inspire positive change and greater equality” in foodtech, where female founders and co-founders are a small minority yet suffer the majority of predatory, unethical and illegal behavior in the workplace. 

    “I will not be intimidated, I am not afraid and I will always fight for women’s rights,” she added.

    She said that while she hopes the suit will result in “a fair and just resolution”,  she wants her story to help make a difference to other women in the food tech space. “I hope that my story will empower others. It’s inspired me to launch my website, to expand my work with purpose-driven founders and investors, women in particular, and I look forward to continuing to speak on women in business and the future of food.” 

    Ms. Bronfman is being represented by Esq. Kathryn Marshall, attorney and partner at Levitt Sheik LLP, a leading labour and employment law firm in Toronto.

    Asked why she chose to take up Ms. Bronfman’s case, Ms. Marshall told Green Queen: “I frequently act for women in the tech and start-up industry and have observed a disturbing trend of women being mistreated, silenced and taken advantage of. This is an important case that will hopefully result in changes in the industry and help to empower female founders. Marissa is strong and brave and has fought for women her entire career. I am honoured to be her advocate.”

    For her part, Ms. Bronfman said: “I am grateful to be represented by such a passionate lawyer who has fought for women her entire career. 

    This is a developing story.

    The post Exclusive: Former Outcast Foods CEO Darren Burke Named In Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Alleging Discrimination On The Basis Of Sex appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Cultivated Pork Startup New Age Eats Shuts Down After Five Years Amidst ‘Recent Market Turmoil’

    3 Mins Read

    The CEO of cultivated pork startup New Age Eats announced in a social media post that the company is shutting down after just under 5 years of operation.

    Founder and CEO Brian Spears broke the news on social media writing that “we made the painful decision to shut down New Age Eats” amidst a tumultuous funding environment and a lack of runway to continue.

    “As the CEO, I take ultimate responsibility for this shutdown. When we started ~5 years ago, we had no blueprint to develop and commercialize cultivated meat. I am grateful to everyone who supported our brilliant, talented team as we learned along the way,” he said.

    Earlier this year, Spears penned another social media post in which he shared that New Age Eats was letting go of the company’s pilot manufacturing facility in the Bay Area’s Alameda city food innovation hub, The Research Park at Marina Village and asked potential buyers to reach out. “Construction is 90% complete (put your final touches on it!) and 80% paid for (we’re walking away from significant investment because, well, we have to). You’d be move-in ready in 1-2 months…We will take the best offer in the next few weeks!”

    Spears confirmed today the company was unable to find a buyer for the plant and was not able to secure additional funding: “Unfortunately, with recent capital market turmoil, we have been unable to attract investment.” He told AgFunder News earlier today that things changed starting the second quarter of last year: “The shift in capital markets beginning around spring 2022 has made life challenging for startups across the board, he said.”

    New Age Eats was focused on bringing cultivated pork sausages to market and had raised over $32 million dollars since its founding in June 2018 and backers included seasoned food and tech VCs like IndieBio, TechU Ventures and Siddhi Capital. The company reeled in a $25 million Series A investment round back in October 2021 led by South Korean energy and real estate conglomerate Hanwha Solutions and at the time had been vocal about a launch plan that included both the US and Asia.

    Spears was hopeful about the state of the cultivated meat sector going forward, writing that “While our company will no longer survive, multiple companies will pick up the baton and use our technology to further our shared mission.”

    He was candid about the challenge of creating a cultivated meat company and alluded to how complicated it was to match investment timelines in a R&D context that requires long timelines: “Creating the experience of meat without slaughter is extremely difficult. We start with biotech borrowed from human health applications designed for high cost, low volume products. We worked to flip to low cost, high volume products. That is expensive, takes time, and needs a lot of patient capital.”

    Spears also expressed his gratitude for all the support the company has received to date. “Lastly, I want to express profound gratitude to everyone who supported me and the team along the way. I’m also grateful to those who worked against us. Without them, I wouldn’t have learned what I did, that everything is one – no crest without trough, buyer without seller, villain without victim. My gratitude is for everything in this beautiful existence that we share. Ideally, my future work leads to broadly sharing that increased appreciation.”

    Spears has been outspoken about the importance of focusing on founder mental health and in his latest post, he said he was encouraged that this topic was gaining more attention: “The toll on my mental heaIth to gain these perspectives over the years has been tremendous. I am encouraged that mental health – including of founders – is being more openly discussed.”

    The post Cultivated Pork Startup New Age Eats Shuts Down After Five Years Amidst ‘Recent Market Turmoil’ appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Cocoon Bioscience Raises €15 Million for Its Caterpillar Bioreactors

    cabbage looper caterpillar

    3 Mins Read

    Spain-based Cocoon Bioscience has closed a €15 million equity funding round to scale its looper moth-based tech, including the development of a new production facility in Spain.

    The new funding for the biotech startup spin-off of biotech company Algenex was led by Columbus Venture Partners and Cleon Capital with participation from Viscofan, and North South Ventures, among others.

    Caterpillar bioreactors

    Cocoon is focused on developing growth factors for cultivated meat and other alternative protein as well as mRNA synthesis and genetic sequencing. It uses looper moth caterpillars to develop its vaccines and growth mediums instead of steel bioreactors. It injects the moth cocoons with the Baculovirus and then encodes it with different information.

    Cocoon Bioscience CEO Josh Robinson
    Cocoon Bioscience CEO Josh Robinson | Courtesy

    “It’s kind of like leveraging cocoons as natural, low-cost bioreactors,” Cocoon Bioscience CEO Josh Robinson told AgFunder News. “When [humans] catch a virus like a flu, we make a bunch of mucus. Similarly, these moths catch this virus Baculovirus and make whatever protein or enzymes are sequenced into that virus,” he says.

    “We have a product, we’re selling it today, we just need to make more of it,” Robinson said. “We’re selling it at a price point that’s already lower than anyone else, and this platform develops new products extremely quickly.

    The new production facility will be located in Bilbao, Spain — about 250 miles north of Madrid — and is slated to be fully operational in 2024.

    “Our proof of concepts, from knowing what we want to make to having a sample ready to test is an 8- to 10-week process.”

    Reducing cultivated meat costs

    Robinson says that growth factors for cultivated meat costs hundreds of dollars for milligrams, but Cocoon’s tech takes away the bioreactor expense.

    GOOD Meat cultivated chicken
    GOOD Meat cultivated chicken | courtesy Eat Just

    But with companies moving away from animal-based growth mediums like fetal bovine serum, time will tell if there’s a market for moth-grown media. It’s not slowing things down for Cocoon, though.

    According to Robinson, 2023 is expected to be a big year for the company including building and completing the industrial-scale manufacturing facility “where we’ll be able to produce kilograms to tens of kilograms of these growth factors as well as these enzymes to meet scaling demand for our current partners and those that have expressed interest in working with us,” he said.

    “Cultivated meat companies need to manufacture whatever meat they’re producing in large-scale bioreactors,” says Robinson. “But the growth factors, those high-value, hero ingredients, have to program the bovine cells to perform the way they need to. Those growth factors are traditionally produced in bioreactors, and it becomes really expensive if you’re doing that in the traditional way.”

    The post Cocoon Bioscience Raises €15 Million for Its Caterpillar Bioreactors appeared first on Green Queen.

  • Oatly Snaps Up $425 Million In Fresh Funds and European McDonald’s Deal

    mccafe
    3 Mins Read

    Following a string of quarterly losses, Sweden-based Oatly has raised $425 million in new funds to continue its expansion, that now includes a deal with McDonald’s.

    In a statement last week, Oatly Group AB said the $425 million comes in a deal with hedge fund Silver Point Capital LP for $125 million in a guaranteed term loan B credit agreement along with the sale of $300 million in convertible notes.

    Advancing Oatly’s mission

    “We’re pleased with the confidence demonstrated by our anchor shareholders and new investors in advancing Oatly’s mission and fueling the tremendous global opportunity ahead for our organization,” Oatly Chief Executive Toni Petersson said in a statement last week.

    Courtesy

    “With our operations better stabilized and business plan now fully funded, we are well-positioned to capitalize on the strong underlying global demand for our products and create significant, long-term value for our shareholders,” he said.

    The news sent Oatly shares up 17 percent to $2.43, Marketwatch reported.

    Oatly x McCafé Austria

    Earlier this week, Oatly announced it had struck a deal with McDonald’s Austria to bring its Oatly Barista Edition to all 800-plus McDonald’s McCafés across the country.

    “We have noticed an increased demand for oat-based dairy alternatives among our guests and responded to that. With addition of Oatly Barista, we can now cater a delicious alternative to the growing number of our guests who prefer oat-based drinks at our McCafé, and at the same time we offer our guests a maximum taste experience,” Tanja Wallner, Marketing Professional McCafé & Breakfast at McDonald’s Austria, said in a statement.

    Courtesy McDonald’s

    The move marks the first oat drink in McCafés in Austria and builds on Oatly’s relationship with the fast-food giant. In 2021 it announced a partnership with McDonald’s in mainland China.

    “We’re excited to partner with McDonald’s Austria and commend their commitment to providing their guests with great-tasting drink options that are better for the planet,” says Roland Griesebner, Country Manager Austria at Oatly. “For Oatly, our partnership with McDonald’s Austria allows us to introduce our best-selling product to a wider audience.”

    McDonald’s Austria was one of the first countries to debut the plant-based McPlant burger. Last summer, McDonald’s rival Burger King made plant-based meat the default at its Austrian location.

    “Meat is one option, but it is not the only one,” Jan-Christoph Küster, marketing director of the TQSR Group, Austrian master franchisee of Burger King, said when the campaign launched last year. “We leave it open to our guests what is normal for them: everyone should have the same taste.”

    The post Oatly Snaps Up $425 Million In Fresh Funds and European McDonald’s Deal appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Miyoko Schinner Countersues Miyoko’s Alleging Sexism Led to Her Dismissal

    miyoko's cheese
    3 Mins Read

    Ousted vegan cheesemaker and founder of Miyoko’s Creamery, Miyoko Schinner files countersuit against her former employer.

    Following her dismissal last June and the official public announcement that went viral last month, Miyoko Schinner, founder of vegan dairy brand Miyoko’s Creamery, has filed a countersuit against her former company, alleging that she was forced out after filing multiple HR complaints about recently-hired male executives who “openly denigrated women.”

    Schinner was hit with a lawsuit last month following her departure from the company that she founded in 2014, with claims that the founder was in breach of contract, stole company documents and trade secrets, and misappropriated intellectual property.

    ‘A campaign of mistreating women’

    Schinner’s countersuit was filed last week by The Bloom Firm. The counterclaims follow weeks of the ousted founder sharing videos on social media to publicly deny the accusations made by her former employer and to condemn shifts to the work culture following key hires over the last several years. Her claims include gender discrimination, retaliation, and unlawful use of her likeness on the company website without her consent.

    Miyoko’s cheese | Courtesy

    Schinner claims that following the hire of René Weber as VP of operations at Miyoko’s in 2021, he “immediately began a campaign of mistreating women,” including excluding them from meetings and withholding critical information that Schinner’s countersuit says made it “impossible for her to continue to effectively do her job.” According to the lawsuit, Weber “openly denigrated women, their expertise, and their contributions at Miyoko’s, calling some ‘stupid’ and ‘terrible,’” — terms Schinner says Weber never used about men.

    Schinner claims Weber “mansplained” to her that she did not understand her own products or the company she founded. “In a markedly gendered tone, he described her ideas and ambition as unrealistic, driven by emotion and whim,” reads the countersuit.

    Schinner says she also filed complaints to HR about John Zabrodsky, an operations consultant she says was hired by Miyoko’s at the urging of one of the company’s investors, PowerPlant Partners. Miyoko’s then “swiftly retaliated against [Schinner] by demoting her and then terminating her.”

    The company raised nearly $60 million, including a $52 million Series C funding round in 2021.

    ‘Blindsided’

    The Miyoko’s Creamery board of directors says Schinner’s exit from the company came as she lacked the necessary skills to take the company to the next level as its CEO. Schinner maintains that she was “blindsided” by the lawsuit.

    Explaining the decision to reporters, board member James Joaquin from investor Obvious Ventures said the company was seeking a new CEO with “proven P&L experience who has scaled a larger business.”

    Miyoko Schinner, via Instagram

    According to the court filings, Miyoko’ssenior leadership team brought “multiple concerns” about Schinner to the board and “threatened to quit due to Schinner’s mismanagement.”

    Miyoko’s is being represented by the San Diego law firm Mintz. Company counsel Jennifer Rubin told AgFunder News that while the company cannot comment given the pending lawsuit, as the company’s former CEO, Miyoko Schinner was “responsible for managing all of the organization’s employees, functions, strategies, and operations and, more importantly, providing information necessary to allow the company’s board to fulfill its oversight obligations.”

    The post Miyoko Schinner Countersues Miyoko’s Alleging Sexism Led to Her Dismissal appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • BREAKING: Eat Just’s Cultivated Good Meat Is the Second to Receive FDA Clearance

    good meat

    4 Mins Read

    Good Meat, the cultivated meat division of Bay Area food technology company Eat Just, has received a “no questions” letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its cultivated chicken.

    The FDA has accepted Eat Just’s conclusion that its first poultry product, cultivated chicken, is safe to eat, clearing a crucial step in bringing GOOD Meat to restaurants and retail in the U.S.

    ‘No questions’

    The “no questions” letter comes as part of one of the agency’s first pre-market consultations for meat, poultry, and seafood made from cells instead of conventionally raised animals. It followed a similar clearance for fellow Bay Area producer Upside Foods that came from the FDA late last year.

    Good Meat’s cultivated chicken was the first in the world to earn regulatory approval, which was granted by the Singapore Food Agency in 2020. Good Meat won several regulatory approvals for its chicken in Singapore since 2020; it remains the only cultivated meat producer in the world with the ability to sell to consumers.

    José Andrés
    Chef José Andrés will be first in the U.S. to serve cultivated chicken | Courtesy

    “Today’s news is more than just another regulatory decision – it’s food system transformation in action,” Bruce Friedrich, president of The Good Food Institute, said in a statement. “Good Meat has become the second cultivated meat company to receive the go-ahead from FDA for its cultivated chicken, bringing cultivated meat closer to becoming a real choice for American consumers. Consumers and future generations deserve the foods they love made more sustainably and in ways that benefit the public good – ways that preserve our land and water, that protect our climate and global health, ways that allow for food security. Global demand for meat is projected to increase significantly by 2050. A few governments around the world are beginning to prioritize alternative proteins as a solution that accounts for this growing consumer demand while also achieving national climate and development goals, but far more need to follow suit.”

    Since its launch, Good Meat’s chicken has been featured on menus across Singapore including at fine dining establishments, hawker stalls, via the foodpanda delivery platform, and at Huber’s Butchery, one of Singapore’s premier producers and suppliers of high-quality meats.

    The company is now working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on necessary approvals before world-renowned chef and humanitarian José Andrés is slated to become the first in the country to offer Good Meat’s chicken to customers at his restaurant in Washington, D.C.

    “The future of our planet depends on how we feed ourselves…and we have a responsibility to look beyond the horizon for smarter, sustainable ways to eat. Good Meat is doing just that, pushing the boundary on innovative new solutions, and I’m excited for everyone to taste the result,” Andrés said in a statement.

    Imminent regulatory approval

    The recent green lights from the FDA for both Good Meat and Upside Foods signal that the cultivated meat industry could be up and running in the U.S. within the next year or two. The U.S. requires a two-pronged approval process for cultivated meat involving both the FDA and the USDA. Experts predict cultivated meat could become a $25 billion global industry by 2030.

    Good Meat claims that surveys conducted on its cultivated chicken show a wide approval rating in Singapore with 70 percent of respondents who tried it claiming it tastes as good as or better than conventional chicken. Nearly 90 percent said they would opt for the cultivated chicken instead of conventional, and nearly as many restaurants said they would be open to selling the meat.

    Good Meat's cultivated lab meat
    Good Meat’s cultivated lab meat | Courtesy

    The benefits of cultivated meat are significant, especially when produced with renewable energy, according to a recent LCA. It has the potential to address many of the challenges associated with traditional meat production, including environmental concerns, animal welfare, and public health.

    “While I will always support family farmers’ efforts to feed the world, forward-thinking companies like Good Meat are tackling food security, nutrition and environmental stewardship in new and exciting ways,” said Dan Glickman, Good Meat Advisory Board member; former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and member of the U.S. House of Representatives. “Receiving a ‘no questions’ letter from the FDA and a subsequent clearance from the USDA will allow Good Meat to scale up manufacturing and begin introducing its products to American consumers,” he said.

    “Just as the United States has been a global leader in modernizing conventional food and agriculture techniques, it too can lead in the emerging alternative protein space. Today’s announcement is one such example.” 

    The post BREAKING: Eat Just’s Cultivated Good Meat Is the Second to Receive FDA Clearance appeared first on Green Queen.

  • Jimi Biotech Debuts China’s First Cultivated Chicken

    jimi chicken
    3 Mins Read

    The innovation and AI-driven Jimi Biotech has presented the first fully developed cultivated meat in China.

    China-based Jimi Biotech has achieved a major milestone in cultivated meat by developing what it says is the country’s first 100 percent cell-based meat. The product is created entirely from animal cells without any plant scaffolding.

    Zhehou Cao, CEO of Jimi Biotech, says that cultivated meat containing plant scaffolding cannot replicate the taste and product perception of real meat products, making 100 percent cell-based meat a more viable option for consumers looking for a sustainable option without sacrificing taste or texture.

    Cultivated chicken

    The company is working to develop what it calls “new forms” of meat while reducing public health risks and addressing food safety, environmental pollution, and animal welfare problems related to conventional meat production.

    jimi biotech chicken
    Jimi Biotech’s cultivated chicken | Courtesy

    Roosters in Hangzhou provided the cells for the meat. Cao said a sensory evaluation of the product found that the difference in color, smell, and taste comparing conventional chicken with Jimi’s cultivated chicken was minimal, making it a successful first attempt and a viable contender for scaling up, once China greenlights cultivated meat.

    The company says it has managed to reduce the cost of the culture medium to around ¥ 100 ($14), which is only 3 percent of the price of the culture medium on the market.

    Funding the future of sustainable meat

    Prior to the launch, Jimi Biotech completed its second exclusive ¥10 million round of funding ($1.45 million) in the last four months — both led by Shiwei Capital. The funding will be used for research and development as well as the construction of a small pilot plant.

    Weichang Jiang, a partner at Shiwei Capital, praised Jimi Biotech’s rapid progress in core areas such as cell lines and culture media. Jiang also noted that the company’s automation and AI will make the company an efficiency leader in the sector.

    jimi
    Jimi’s cultivated meat | Courtesy

    “Although only three months have passed since the last round of funding, Jimi Biotech has still made significant technological breakthroughs,” Jiang said in a statement. “In addition to the rapid progress in core areas such as cell lines and culture media, we believe that Jimi Biotech’s deep integration of automation and AI into the research and development also reflects the founder’s emphasis on continuously improving research and development efficiency.”

    The debut comes as the Chinese government has explicitly listed cultivated meat as a key area for future food manufacturing in the “14th Five-Year Plan” for National Agricultural Science and Technology Development. The National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center (CFSA) will also establish a special group for cultivated meat this year to study the regulatory framework of cultivated meat in China.

    “China has the largest market for meat and a well-established supply chain system, so we believe that some of the world’s leading cultivated meat enterprises will be Chinese enterprises,” Jiang said. “With the attention of the regulatory agency, the industry is about to enter an important turning point in China.”

    The post Jimi Biotech Debuts China’s First Cultivated Chicken appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Ever After Foods Unveils a Novel Bioreactor Platform to Scale Cultivated Meat

    ever after foods bioreactor
    3 Mins Read

    Israel-based food tech innovator Ever After Foods has launched its patented bioreactor platform for producing cultivated meat.

    Backed by Israel’s largest food producer, the Tnuva Group, Ever After Foods has developed what it says is the first production platform that can bring cultivated meat to the mass market at scale.

    The achievement comes by way of a proprietary bioreactor system that Ever After says can overcome the critical challenge of scaling cultivated meat. Ever After Foods’ manufacturing plants require significantly lower capital and lower production costs, which it says results in a 700 percent increase in productivity when compared with other cultivated meat technology platforms.

    Cost parity for cultivated meat

    “Current cultivated meat companies all use very similar methods for growing cells and face insurmountable challenges when it comes to scaling production in a cost-effective manner,” Ever After Foods CEO Eyal Rosenthal said in a statement.

    Upside Foods' cultivated chicken
    Upside Foods’ cultivated chicken | Courtesy

    “To achieve cost parity, their methods will demand huge bioreactors of more than 10,000-liters, which are infeasible for use with animal cells. Ever After Foods’ disruptive technology enables significantly higher cultivated meat production capacity, with efficiencies that lower resources and costs. We can currently produce more than 10 kilograms of cultivated meat mass with just a 35-liter bioreactor and have a proven path to scale and reach price parity,” Rosenthal said.

    “Leveraging its unique production platform, Ever After Foods will transform the food system by reinventing how we produce and consume meat. Ever After Foods is prepared to spearhead the move toward the efficient development, production and distribution of delicious, high-quality cultivated meat products at mass scale,” said Eyal Malis, CEO of the Tnuva Group.

    Sustainable protein

    Ever After says the need for protein solutions is critical as the United Nations predicts the global population will reach 9.7 billion by 2050 with global meat demand rising concurrently. The planet’s natural resources cannot support that, but Ever After says cultivated meat provides an animal-friendly alternative that can.

    A recent LCA on cultivated meat have found it to be more sustainable than conventional animal products, especially when using renewable energy. Another recent report predicted alternative protein will account for 60 percent of the global meat market by 2040, with cultivated meat is forecasted to outpace plant-based alternatives, even despite lacking regulations at present.

    Good Meat's cultivated lab meat
    Good Meat’s cultivated lab meat | Courtesy

    “In less than a year, Ever After Foods developed a solution unlike any other in the market through massive technological advancements that evolved the original biotech-focused technology into a food-grade platform. We see incredible potential for Ever After Foods to transform cells into high-quality cultivated meat products,” said Yaky Yanay, Pluri CEO and President, as well as Chairman of Ever After Foods.

    Ever After Foods, formerly Plurinuva, launched last year as a spin-off of 3D cell-based food tech pioneer, Pluri, Inc.

    “Addressing food security, health, sustainability and animal-welfare concerns, cultivated meat is the future of food,” said Rosenthal. “Our new name, logo and branding underscore our ambition to deliver the future of meat, sustainably, ever after.”

    The post Ever After Foods Unveils a Novel Bioreactor Platform to Scale Cultivated Meat appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • PoLoPo Raises $1.75 Million In Seed Funding For Potato Protein

    potatoes

    3 Mins Read

    Israel-based startup PoLoPo has secured $1.75 million in a Pre-Seed funding round for its molecular farming potato-based technology.

    PoLoPo’s new funding was led by FoodLabs with participation from CPT Capital, Siddhi Capital, Plug and Play Ventures, Milk & Honey Ventures, and HackCapital.

    The funding will support PoLoPo’s technology platform, starting with replicating ovalbumin, the protein found in egg white. The company says it expects to have prototypes in the coming 18 months, including protein-rich potato tubers and ovalbumin functional samples.

    Turning potatoes into eggs

    PoLoPo’s proprietary technology allows for proteins to be expressed in potatoes in a scalable, cost-effective way, which the company says can enable the food industry to meet its protein demands and nourish the world’s growing population; the egg protein market alone is valued at more than $26 billion, the company says.

    eggs
    Photo by Jakub Kapusnak on Unsplash

    Using its microbial tech, PoLoPo says its ovalbumin will be identical to chicken egg ovalbumin in terms of functionality, nutritional value, and protein sequence. PoLoPo’s goal is to produce better food for the world and reduce the carbon footprint of the production process.

    “We want to produce better food for the world. Molecular farming technology, being harnessed for the production of high-quality proteins, presents a huge opportunity to do so, alongside with taking the animals out of the equation and reducing the carbon footprint of the production process” PoLoPo co-founder, Dr. Raya Liberman-Aloni, said in a statement.

    The mighty, underused potato

    The potato is the world’s most widely grown non-cereal food crop, produced in more than 100 countries worldwide. Potatoes are abundant, resilient, cheap, and versatile yet, according to PoLoPo, are an underused food source. PoLoPo says its potato-to-protein pathway offers commercial scalability since plants require relatively low investment to grow and are amenable to upscaling by common agricultural practices.

    PoLoPo founders
    PoLoPo founders Maya Sapir-Mir (left) and Raya Liberman-Aloni (right)

    “We’ve been very impressed by the disruptive potential of their platform technology and, most importantly, by the deep plant science expertise of PoLoPo’s founders and their bold vision for the company,” said Christian Guba, Managing Partner at FoodLabs. “We believe they are set to complement the incumbents in Precision Fermentation by pioneering a simpler approach to develop proteins.”

    PoLoPo’s innovative approach to protein production has already gained recognition, winning the Coller startup competition FoodTech track in July 2022, and securing its first investment from CPT Capital. Last October, PoLoPo won the FoodHack Demo Day as the startup with the most impact potential.

    The post PoLoPo Raises $1.75 Million In Seed Funding For Potato Protein appeared first on Green Queen.

  • How FÆRM Defied the Impossible to Make Plant-Based Cheese Just Like Dairy

    FÆRM's cheese
    3 Mins Read

    Danish food tech startup FÆRM, says it has developed a patented cheesemaking technology that mimics traditional dairy fermentation using rennet and cultures such as lactic acid bacteria.

    FÆRM makes its cheese by fermenting legume-based plant matrices that it turns into cheese without using additives, colorants, or flavorings. Its tech has made soy milk coagulate like cow’s milk. The process is so unique that the company, which was founded in 2020 by Andrea Donau, Mikkel Dupont, and Anna Gundorph, was able to write a patent on it.

    Doing the impossible

    “In the beginning, we had a lot of experts telling us that what we wanted to do with enzymes and plant proteins was impossible,” Donau told Dairy Reporter.

    “Through research, stubbornness, and countless tests, we achieved the impossible: Getting plants to go through the same tailored process as traditional cheese,” FÆRM says on its website. “Turning them from a liquid plant drink into solid, diverse, and complex deliciousness. Thanks to enzymes and bacteria.”

    FAERM cheese
    FÆRM is making cheese with plants using traditional cheesemaking tech | Courtesy

    FÆRM has developed three clean-label, coconut oil-free plant-based cheeses using the tech, including cream cheese, brie, and fresh mozzarella.

    “Our first goal is to further develop our technology and get even firmer and bouncier curds,” Donau told Dairy Reporter.

    Donau says the technology allows for all kinds of cheesemaking, but firmer curds would make hard cheeses more difficult.

    “Which brings me to our second goal,” which Donau says is commercializing the company’s plant-based cheese technology, “and hitting the market in combination with a production partner.”

    Although FÆRM’s fermentation technology has thus far only been applied to soy, the company says it will work with other legumes to develop soy-free products. According to the company, legumes are more sustainable ingredients than nuts and also contain complex proteins that give the products added nutritional value.

    ‘Centuries of discoveries’

    “Cheese is a long, gentle process that allows the proteins to work together to go from a liquid milk to a nice firm blob that can do all the magic tricks we know and love from cheese,” According to FÆRM. “And centuries of discoveries have found how the sugars in milk can be cultured to develop complex flavors and experiences. We want to give that experience to everyone, just without the dairy.”

    FÆRM's team
    FÆRM’s team | Courtesy

    FÆRM says its traditional fermentation methods can be implemented in existing dairy plants without specific equipment, making scaling up production feasible without significant investments in assets. “With our approach, we have created a process for a plant-based product that is so unique, we were able to write a patent on it,” the company says.

    Last September, FÆRM joined the Venture Lab accelerator at the BioInnovation Institute in Cohort 4 to help the startup scale its process, conduct further research, and find commercial partners to bring its unique cheeses to market. FÆRM was a 2021 finalist at the SDG Tech Awards, which discover, showcase, and promote sustainable tech innovations from startups, SMEs, and corporations.

    The post How FÆRM Defied the Impossible to Make Plant-Based Cheese Just Like Dairy appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • TurtleTree Debuts Its Cultivated ‘Pink Gold’ Lactoferrin

    TurtleTree has debuted its cultivated lactoferrin
    3 Mins Read

    TurtleTree, a global leader in animal-free functional dairy proteins, has announced the launch of the world’s first precision fermentation-produced lactoferrin.

    Known as “pink gold” for its high value and iron-rich pink hue, Singapore-based TurtleTree debuted the cultivated LF+ product at an exclusive tasting event in San Francisco this week.

    LF+ is considered a highly prized bioactive milk protein and one of the most powerful components found in cow’s milk, with functional benefits for immunity, iron regulation, and digestive health.

    ‘Harnessing the power of precision fermentation’

    “By unlocking access to one of the most powerful and multifunctional proteins in milk, we are envisioning a better food future where more people than ever before can improve their personal nutrition sustainably,” TurtleTree Founder and CEO Fengru Lin, said in a statement. “Harnessing the power of precision fermentation will provide us with an abundant supply of these vital nutrients that can be enjoyed by all segments of the population through everyday food products.” 

    TurtleTree's lactoferrin
    TurtleTree’s lactoferrin in application | Courtesy

    TurtleTree says its breakthrough provides an affordable source of lactoferrin; conventional sources can retail at between $700 to $1,500 USD per kilogram.

    While lactoferrin is in use in supplements and infant formulas, supply scarcity means that demand cannot be met for other fertile segments like sports nutrition, where the protein’s iron-regulating benefits can improve physical performance.

    TurtleTree’s development is also removing high methane-emitting cows from the supply chain. Animal agriculture represents more than 15 percent of anthropogenic emissions, fueling the climate crisis.

    ‘Transforming the food system’

    “As one of TurtleTree’s early investors, KBW Ventures recognized that transforming the food system requires studied innovation; a commitment to the science, and both ingenuity and integrity to see it through,” said KBW Ventures Founder and CEO Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed.

    “Transforming the food system as a mission is the business of changemakers, and I am proud that we could play a role in fueling the world’s future in food. TurtleTree’s world first, the showcase of LF+, is what technology can do when mobilized for good,” he said.

    TurtleTree raised $30 million in a 2021 Series A funding round led by Verso Capital after it first announced the lactoferrin product was in the works in June 2020.

    Prince Khaled Bin Alwaleed was an early investor in TurtleTree | Courtesy

    “We are incredibly touched by the degree of faith all our investors have placed in TurtleTree and our unique vision of food,” Lin said at the time. “The Series A funds will allow us to scale up our processes and come a huge step closer to creating a new era of sustainable nutrition.”

    The company sees a clear path to profitability on a per unit basis within six to 12 months after commercial launch, which is anticipated for Q4 2023.

    Good Food Institute co-founder and president Bruce Friedrich called the development “another innovative breakthrough” that he says gives consumers more sustainable food choices and creates a more sustainable food system.

    “Consumers deserve nutritious, affordable options that are produced in efficient, better-for-the-planet ways,” Friedrich said. “With more private sector and public sector support, precision fermentation is one of the brilliant alternative protein technologies that can open up a world of possibilities on this front.”

    The post TurtleTree Debuts Its Cultivated ‘Pink Gold’ Lactoferrin appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Precision Fermentation Leaders In Europe Form a Coalition to Advance Regulatory Approval

    3 Mins Read

    European precision fermentation companies form the Food Fermentation Europe (FFE) alliance and call for speedy regulatory approval.

    The FFE aims to promote precision fermentation as a sustainable food framework. Founding members include Better Dairy, Formo, Imagindairy, Onego Bio, and Those Vegan Cowboys.

    According to Christian Poppe, the FFE spokesperson and global public affairs director with Formo, the demand for animal-free alternatives to animal products is rising rapidly. To meet this demand, FFE members are working on solutions like animal-free dairy, cheese, and eggs.

    ‘A critical time’

    “We are forming now because it’s a critical time in terms of precision fermentation market development and for sustainable agri-food systems,” Poppe told FoodIngredientsFirst.

    “Demand for alternatives to animal products is rising rapidly and our solutions like animal-free dairy, cheese and eggs are getting ready to come to market and launching in other parts of the world.”

    Formo Animal Free Feta
    Formo’s animal-free feta uses precision fermentation | Courtesy

    The FFE’s primary objective is to push for change in the current EU regulatory process.

    “Firstly,” Poppe says the alliance’s focus is to “raise awareness and build a supportive, forward-looking policy framework for fermentation food and food ingredients in Europe.” 

    Secondly, FFE will advocate for “a predictable, non-discriminatory and market-based regulatory framework for fermentation food and food ingredients,” with the goal to enable fair competition among market players.

    FFE will also act as a center of expertise “to inform policymakers and stakeholders about the sector’s importance and work in partnership with stakeholders to ensure a smooth transition to more sustainable food systems,” Poppe said.

    Fermentation sustainability

    The alliance believes that the current process is outdated and sluggish, hindering the efficient roll-out of precision fermentation products. Furthermore, the E.U. aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, and innovative solutions like precision fermentation must be given a fair chance at market access to achieve this goal, the group says.

    egg white
    Onego Bio uses fermentation to develop egg substitutes | Courtesy

    The FFE believes that a framework with environmental and sustainability goals at its core is essential. It says precision fermentation has the potential to deliver nutritious food with tangible environmental benefits and economic growth potential. Precision fermentation can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water use, and eliminate animal farming-related public health risks.

    The FFE formation follows the launch of the Precision Fermentation Alliance announced in the U.S. earlier this year. Its members include Perfect Day, Remilk, Change Foods, The EVERY Co, Helania, Motif Foodworks, New Culture, and FFE members Onego Bio and Imagindairy.

    The launch follows a study commissioned by Perfect Day and Cargill, that found consumer perceptions toward new food technology innovations are shifting, with 77 percent saying they’re likely to purchase products made with ingredients produced via precision fermentation.

    The post Precision Fermentation Leaders In Europe Form a Coalition to Advance Regulatory Approval appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Life-Cycle Assessment Shows Cultivated Meat’s Benefits for a Sustainable Food System

    GOOD Meat cultivated chicken
    3 Mins Read

    A new ex-ante life-cycle assessment looks at the efficiencies and benefits of cultivated meat.

    The LCA looked at cultivated meat from more than 15 companies, comparing the outlook of cultivated meat production in 2030 to that of conventional animal meat. The research was funded by GAIA, The Good Food Institute, a donor-backed 501(c)3 nonprofit, and CE Delft. The findings are published in The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

    “Cultivated meat (CM) is attracting increased attention as an environmentally sustainable and animal-friendly alternative to conventional meat,” reads the abstract. “As the technology matures, more data are becoming available and uncertainties decline.”

    The findings

    According to the researchers, the ex-ante LCA looked at cradle-to-gate production of 1kg of meat. Source data include lab-scale primary data from five cultivated meat producers, full-scale primary data from processes in comparable manufacturing fields, data from computational models, and data from published literature.

    “Although animal products contribute around 18 percent of calories and 37 percent of protein to the average global diet, the impacts on the environment are disproportionately large compared to non-animal products in diets (Poore and Nemecek 2018),” note the researchers.

    Photo by Louis Reed at Unsplash.

    The researchers note that conventional animal products’ impact on climate change is significant, making up between 16.5 percent and 19.4 percent of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, twice as large as plant-based sources and “by far the highest contributor within food system emissions.”

    Conventional animal products use approximately 83 percent of global agricultural land, including pastures and cropland for feed, as well as 41 percent of green and blue water use.

    The findings suggest cultivated meat is nearly three times more efficient at turning crops into meat than even the “most efficient” livestock, making agriculture land use significantly lower. It also found nitrogen emissions to be lower because of cultivated meat production efficiency and lack of manure.

    Renewable energy

    The report also points to the need for renewable energy in producing cultivated meat as the process is “energy-intensive”.

    “Using renewable energy, the carbon footprint is lower than beef and pork and comparable to the ambitious benchmark of chicken,” reads the report. “Greenhouse gas profiles are different, being mostly CO2 for CM and more CH4 and N2O for conventional meats. Climate hotspots are energy used for maintaining temperature in reactors and for biotechnological production of culture medium ingredients.”

    Cultivated chicken from Upside Foods
    Cultivated chicken from Upside Foods | Courtesy

    The researchers say cultivated meat producers should work to optimize energy efficiency, including sourcing renewable energy, and leverage supply chain collaborations to ensure sustainable feedstocks. The LCA also calls on governments to consider the renewable energy demands of the emergent cultivated meat industry, and, it encourages consumers to look at cultivated meat not as an extra menu option, but a substitute for higher-impact meat products.

    Cultivated meat has the potential to have a lower environmental impact than ambitious conventional meat benchmarks, for most environmental indicators, most clearly agricultural land use, air pollution, and nitrogen-related emissions, the researchers say. “While CM production and its upstream supply chain are energy-intensive, using renewable energy can ensure that it is a sustainable alternative to all conventional meats.”

    The post Life-Cycle Assessment Shows Cultivated Meat’s Benefits for a Sustainable Food System appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Mung Beans Bring a Sustainable Solution To The Struggling Food Industry: Report

    As Bird Flu Ravages South Korea's Egg Industry, Just's Vegan Egg Arrives
    4 Mins Read

    Mung beans are a versatile and nutritious legume staple and a new GFI APAC report highlights their value in an evolving food industry.

    Mung beans have been consumed by many cultures around the world for thousands of years. They are now gaining popularity as an alternative protein source vital to the future of the food industry, due to their high protein content, versatility, and sustainability.

    A recent report by the Good Food Institute Asia Pacific (GFI APAC) highlights the untapped potential of mung beans as a sustainable and nutritious alternative to animal-based proteins in the growing Asian market.

    Mung beans are a rich source of protein, containing about 24 percent protein by weight, which is comparable to other legumes such as lentils and chickpeas. Mung beans are the base of Eat Just’s vegan egg product, and the high protein content makes them an ideal ingredient for other plant-based products, the report notes.

    ‘A portfolio of solutions’

    “There is no silver-bullet ingredient that fits every system, so we need a portfolio of solutions that
    slot into various regional and product contexts,” reads the report. “Mung beans are a mighty plant protein with a functional fit for many plant-based applications, which can bring a business case across the value chain.”

    According to the report, mung beans hold potential across dairy, meat, and egg successor categories.

    “Mung bean proteins cater to lactose-intolerant consumers without triggering other common allergens like soy and wheat proteins,” the report notes. Lactose intolerance is extremely prevalent across Asia —affecting nearly 100 percent of East Asia — and affects 68 percent of the global population.

    mung beans
    Mung beans are a versatile protein source | Photo Courtesy David Gabrielyan on Unsplash

    “While the nascency of mung bean product development means it is too early to tell what the best
    applications are, first-mover companies claim the excellent dairy-like functionality of mung bean proteins and their status as low-allergen and non-GMO can bring unique consumer benefits, including superior taste and appealing clean labels,” the report notes.

    GFI APAC also points to the potential to supplant eggs, particularly amid the avian flu disruption of the supply chain.

    “Shocks to the conventional egg market in 2022 illuminated the supply-side risks facing animal proteins, the impact on price parity, and the value of plant-based eggs as volatility-proof substitutes,” reads the report. Skyrocketing egg prices driven by the outbreak saw sales of Just Egg, the leading mung bean-based egg alternative jump 17 percent in Q4 2022.

    “Plant-based eggs are not only a market opportunity in Asia, which is the world’s biggest egg-consuming region, but an imperative to future-proof the egg supply,” the report reads.

    Mung beans hold potential in the alternative meat category as well, the report notes. “In order for alternative meats to take off in Asia, they must demonstrate key functionalities such as
    the formation of an emulsion—a heat-stable gel with a desired mouthfeel—which can be found in mung bean proteins,” GFI APAC notes.

    Beyond Meat and PepsiCo’s recent joint venture tapped mung beans for plant-based jerky. “The snack segment represents 12 percent of the global meat market and its growth trends are strong with the rise in snacking behaviour since COVID-19, increased desire for healthy, protein-rich snack options,
    and the extremely high demand for convenience food in Southeast Asia,” reads the report.

    Mung beans also show potential applications for cultivated meat and fermentation. “The protein residue
    and peptides left in the water after washing and concentration processes can be extracted and potentially used as plant-based culture media components for the cultivated meat industry,” says GFI APAC. “For fermentation, mung bean hulls have been proven as a good feedstock for the production of xylitol, which is an ingredient used in obesity intervention. Mung bean components may have additional untapped potential in other microbial fermentation processes.”

    Mung bean sustainability

    Beyond their versatility, one of the key benefits of mung beans is their sustainability. Mung beans require considerably less water and land compared to animal-based proteins, making them an eco-friendly protein source. They are also less resource-intensive than other plant-based protein sources such as soybeans and peas. Moreover, mung beans can be grown in a variety of climatic conditions and are relatively easy to cultivate, making them a versatile crop for farmers.

    Courtesy Just Egg

    The GFI APAC report also highlights the potential of mung beans in addressing food insecurity in Asia. As a staple food in many Asian countries, the mung bean’s high protein and nutrient content make them an ideal food source for populations that are struggling to meet the protein demands of rising populations.

    “Crop diversification offers huge potential to increase mainstream acceptance of alternative proteins across Asia and build back the health of our global food system,” reads the report. “Alternative proteins are a dramatically more efficient way of producing protein to meet the soaring consumer demand; however, we need to urgently accelerate product development to drive consumer uptake. Developing alternative proteins using diversified and localised plant protein sources will bring relevant product benefits, and lay the foundations for a sustainable and secure food system that can cope with the
    vulnerable and volatile climates we face now and in the future.”

    The post Mung Beans Bring a Sustainable Solution To The Struggling Food Industry: Report appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Are Consumers Ready for Bee-Free Honey? MeliBio Debuts Mellody to ‘Help Restore Ecological Harmony’

    MeliBio's honey is coming to food service

    3 Mins Read

    MeliBio, one of the more recent hyped-up food tech companies to come out of the Bay Area, has released its first product: bee-free honey.

    MeliBio has been promoting its bee-free tech for several years, keeping ingredients and technology under wraps. At last week’s Natural Products Expo in Anaheim, Calif., MeliBio debuted Mellody, its first product, to a crowd of more than 65,000 attendees.

    Mellody honey

    While other companies have launched bee-free honey products made from ingredients like apples and lemons, Mellody claims to mimic the signature taste and performance of honey from bees while offering consumers a more sustainable and ethical product.

    Mellody bee-free honey is launching in food service

    The ingredients label on the new product shows fructose, glucose, and a range of plant extracts including sumac, fava d’anta, Indian trumpet flower, green coffee bean, chamomile, and seaberry, among other ingredients.

    Mellody is launching first in food service accounts, MeliBio says. The product is already available at Baia in San Francisco, Little Choc Apothecary in New York City, and Motel Fried Chicken in Philadelphia.

    “By providing restaurants and consumers with a delicious and sustainable alternative, we hope to help restore ecological harmony and make room for native pollinators,” Darko Mandich, CEO and co-founder of MeliBio, said in a statement.

    Honeybees

    According to Nielsen data, 2022 saw honey sales reach $920 million with double-digit dollar growth in the latest year. But commercial honey production faces a number of threats.

    “Many people are unaware of the issues surrounding commercial honey production and its impact on the 4,000 [species of] native bees in the U.S.,” Mandich said.

    Last year, the USDA reported that honey production declined by more than 125 million pounds — a 14 percent decline per colony. Issues affecting colony health, including the mysterious colony collapse disorder (CCD), have continued to increase in recent years. From spring 2020 to 2021 colony losses were the second highest on record since first tracked in 2006.

    We tried Melibio Cruelty Free Fermented Honey
    Melibio honey | Courtesy

    Experts link bee decline to a number of issues, namely agricultural pesticides and herbicides. In 2018, the European Union banned the most popular class of insecticides, neonicotinoids, because of their link to CCD.

    The ban followed a report from the E.U. scientific risk assessors, which concluded that the pesticides posed a risk to honeybees and wild bee populations. A recent study that looked at honey samples from around the world found widespread contamination with neonicotinoids.

    Bees play a vital role in the food system, pollinating more than 130 fruits and vegetables; they also pollinate 75 percent of the world’s flowering plants. 

    The post Are Consumers Ready for Bee-Free Honey? MeliBio Debuts Mellody to ‘Help Restore Ecological Harmony’ appeared first on Green Queen.

  • 77% of Consumers Will Try Precision Fermentation Once They Understand the Benefits, Survey Finds

    3 Mins Read

    A new white paper released by the Hartman Group in partnership with precision fermentation leaders Perfect Day and Cargill takes the pulse on consumer attitudes toward food technology, chiefly precision fermentation.

    Entitled “Fermenting the Future: The Growing Opportunity for Products Made with Precision Fermentation,” the paper measures current consumer perceptions of food and technology.

    More than 2,500 U.S. adults were surveyed for the research, and 77 percent of those surveyed who said they were familiar with precision fermentation said they are likely to purchase precision fermentation products.

    Perfect Day Raises $350M in Late-Stage Funding Round As Brand Prepares to IPO
    Courtesy Perfect Day

    The tech has been most frequently associated with Perfect Day, the Bay Area company that uses yeast and microorganisms to grow dairy-identical whey protein.

    But the tech has been used in other categories and by other manufacturers. Precision fermentation is expected to grow in popularity as consumers seek out more sustainable and ethical alternatives to conventional animal products.

    The findings

    The report notes that a majority of consumers have favorable opinions about the benefits that science and technology can have in streamlining the food system.

    Younger consumers expressed the most enthusiasm for new technologies like precision fermentation and say they want to support companies that align with their own values around the environment and animal welfare.

    Chocolate ice cream cone
    Photo by Dylan Ferreira on Unsplash

    Consumer attitudes align with the findings that 69 percent of Americans believe “we need to find ways to meet our society’s nutritional needs with fewer resources like energy, water, or carbon,” the Hartman Group said in a statement.

    “[The report] illuminates how companies like ours can meet them where they are with education and tasting opportunities,” said Allison Fowler, CMO of Perfect Day. Fowler says the data validates that most Americans “share our mission to create a kinder and greener future and that consumers are open to learning more about the positive impacts this will have on the environment.”  

    Precision fermentation market potential

    Precision fermentation has already seen interest from major food conglomerates including Nestlé, General Mills, and Unilever. The report predicts the category will see support from more than 132 million adults by 2027.

    Currently, 40 percent of adult consumers are interested in trying the tech; 61 percent say they believe science and technology are our best hope to address climate change. Additionally, more than half of Americans are willing to drastically change their lifestyle to be more environmentally friendly.

    cowabunga milk
    Nestlé and Perfect Day’s precision fermentation Cowabunga milk is now available in select locations | Courtesy

    Millennials and Gen Z show the most eagerness in adopting food innovations, including precision fermentation. Sixty percent of Millennials and 55 percent of Gen Z said they actively seek out food and beverage products from companies that prioritize sustainability and animal welfare.

    With a clearer understanding of precision fermentation, 85 percent of Millennials and 84 percent of Gen Z say they would be likely to purchase products containing ingredients made with precision fermentation.

    The data validates the momentum Perfect Day has cultivated in the precision fermentation industry. Earlier this month, Perfect Day, along with eight other precision fermentation companies, launched the Precision Fermentation Alliance — the first industry trade group for the precision fermentation sector.

    The post 77% of Consumers Will Try Precision Fermentation Once They Understand the Benefits, Survey Finds appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Shiru Debuts OleoPro, a Sustainable Plant Fat That Performs Like Animal Fat

    shiru products
    3 Mins Read

    Shiru, an AI-powered discovery and development company for novel ingredients, has launched its first commercial product. OleoPro is a novel, sustainable plant protein-based fat ingredient for use in a range of alternative protein food products.

    Shiru says the new ingredient delivers a 90 percent reduction in saturated fat while enhancing technical performance in alternative meats compared to commonly used structured fats. OleoPro is self-standing, holding its shape at room temperature, and delivers a “juicy, fatty mouthfeel” in plant-based meat applications, the company says.

    OleoPro

    The new fat is patent-pending and comes from Shiru’s proprietary technology platform, Flourish, which leverages AI to generate unique plant protein insights.

    “At Shiru, we think consumers shouldn’t have to compromise on taste or texture to make sustainable, nutritious food choices, and we know novel ingredients are crucial to unlocking the next generation of plant-based foods,” Dr. Jasmin Hume, Shiru’s founder and CEO, said in a statement.

    Shiru's OleoPro
    Shiru’s OleoPro is a stable, sustainable fat replacement | Courtesy

    “Oils commonly used in plant-based meats today like palm and coconut are disastrous for the environment and aren’t great from a health perspective either,” she said. “OleoPro is a categorical upgrade, bringing all the juiciness and fattiness we expect from conventional meats to plant-based, but with a much improved nutritional profile and without tearing down the rainforest.”

    Industry feedback has already been favorable, Shiru says with cultivated meat company Upside Foods praising the innovation. “Our testing revealed OleoPro to be a promising fat solution for alt meats, demonstrating superior performance in approximating beef fat compared to a range of plant-based fat systems in the market,” said Daniel Davila, Senior Food Scientist at Upside.

    The new fat made its debut at San Francisco’s Future Food-Tech conference as part of a plant-based crispy chik’n karaage developed by Nourish Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Griffith Foods. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Shiru on the launch of their first ingredient, OleoPro,” said Simon Burton, managing director of Nourish Ventures. He called OleoPro “a real game-changer” and says it holds the potential to impact the alternative protein industry.

    Alternative fats

    Shiru’s pursuit of alternative fats puts it in good company. A number of startups are working on supplanting animal fats and unsustainable plant fats such as palm oil.

    shiru oleopro burger
    Shiru’s OleoPro joins a growing category of alternative fats | Courtesy

    Last October, Nourish Ingredients closed a $28.6 million Series A for its microbial fermentation fats. More Lypid’s proprietary vegan PhytoFat is already being served in Asia, and Zero Acre Farms emerged from stealth mode last August to bring its cultured oil to market.

    Earlier this month, meat giant Cargill announced a partnership with Cubiq Foods to scale plant-based fat.

    While Shiru’s initial development has focused on plant-based meat applications across multiple formats, it says it’s equally as important to explore additional applications, including OleoPro’s use in plant-based dairy and personal care products. Shiru is currently sampling OleoPro with potential launch partners and says commercial production will begin later this year.

    The post Shiru Debuts OleoPro, a Sustainable Plant Fat That Performs Like Animal Fat appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Agri-Food Tech Investments Dropped 44% Last Year, But a Big Turnaround Is Just Ahead, Report Finds

    3 Mins Read

    A new report from AgFunder and Temasek reveals that funding to agri-food tech start-ups reached $29.6 billion in 2022 — down 44 percent from the previous year. But despite the decline, outlook for the category is positive.

    According to the report, the decline in funding was largely in line with global venture capital markets, with the e-grocery market in China, cloud retail infrastructure, and North American alternative protein start-ups hit hardest.

    “The global agri-food system is critical to supporting human life and yet as a system, is inefficient, inequitable, and causing inordinate strain on the planet,” Temasek says in the report.

    Data from the United Nations points to a 60 percent increase in global food demand by 2050, including a 73 percent increased demand in animal protein.

    steak
    Demand for animal protein will soar over the next three decades. Photo by tommao wang on Unsplash

    “Existing food production practices account for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, 70 percent of freshwater usage, and 80% of deforestation worldwide,” Temasek noted. “Geopolitical instability, protectionist government policies and unpredictable weather events have also fueled a global food crisis, with food price inflation threatening global food security.

    “The need to invest for a resilient food system, that is also part of the climate change solution, has never been greater.”

    The findings

    According to the report, “cheap money” along with “increasingly outlandish tech valuations” drove 2021’s record-breaking $51.7 billion in food tech funding — an inflated number that could not be matched in 2022 amid war, inflation, and continued supply chain disruptions, “the market came crashing down in 2022.”

    The report notes that there were no “mega deals” in 2022, which put it in stark contrast to recent years. More than four billion-dollar-plus deals happened in 2021, the report notes, and barring covid’s impact in 2020, there has been one deal worth more than $1 billion every year since 2016.

    Funding for meal delivery programs, e-grocery, alternative protein, cloud retail, and midstream technologies declined more than 35 percent.

    Impossible Foods patties
    Can the alt-protein industry weather the agri-food tech investing climate? | Courtesy

    But climate-related categories, including bioenergy and biomaterials, ag biotech, novel farming systems, farm management software, sensing and IoT, all saw increased funding. Funding upstream in food production technologies, including farm tech and innovative food, raised significantly more capital than downstream.

    The report also shows that African agri-food tech start-ups received 22 percent more funding last year than in 2021, with $600 million raised.

    “There’s no denying the second half of 2022 was terrible for venture capital (VC),” AgFunder noted.

    Climate-focused food system

    The drop in 2022 may be short-lived, however. The report notes that many of the world’s macro challenges, including inflation, food insecurity, and labor shortages, are driving interest in agri-food tech investments.

    farmer
    Climate solutions play a big part in the future of investments. Photo by Zubair Hussain on Unsplash

    A survey accompanying the report found industry VCs largely agree that the sector is playing a bigger role in the climate conversation. Those categories, including indoor agriculture, biotech, and precision agriculture, all saw funding increases.

    “With more discipline from founders (and investors too!), the industry can capitalize on the growing interest in using technology to transform our food and agriculture system to be better for people and our planet,” reads the report. “[2023] could be a vintage year to invest in agrifoodtech.”

    The post Agri-Food Tech Investments Dropped 44% Last Year, But a Big Turnaround Is Just Ahead, Report Finds appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • South Korea’s Tofu Giant Teams Up With Cultivated Meat Startup Simple Planet

    burger
    3 Mins Read

    South Korea’s plant-based food manufacturer Pulmuone and cell-based startup Simple Planet have teamed up to co-produce hybrid cultivated meat.

    Pulmuone and Simple Planet say they’re working to co-develop and commercialize hybrid cultivated meat products that combine plant-based ingredients and cultivated meat. The companies are targeting a 2025 retail launch given the current lack of regulatory approval for cultivated meat products.

    Hybrid meat

    Demand for healthier and more environmentally friendly food is on the rise in South Korea; the country’s alternative meat market was worth approximately $15.6 million USD in 2022, an increase of 28 percent from the previous year, according to Euromonitor. The market is predicted to rise to $24 billion USD by 2025.

    simple planet
    Simple Planet’s cultivated meat will be blended with Pulmuone’s plant-based ingredients. Courtesy

    The move builds on Pulmuone’s recent launches including a plant-based meat brand last year and a 2020 partnership with cultivated seafood startup BlueNalu.

    Last June, Simple Planet announced that it had developed cultivated meat with a higher concentration of unsaturated fatty acids.

    Coldplay-backed SCiFi Foods is also working to develop plant-based and cultivated meat hybrids.

    Hybrid meat development is also coming to conventional meat producers. Last month, Mush Foods announced its mycelium protein intended for combining with traditional beef.

    U.S. market

    Pulmuone is also preparing to increase its U.S. presence. Already, 70 percent of the tofu products sold in the U.S. are made by Pulmuone; Walmart, Costco, and hundreds of restaurant chains currently use Pulmuone’s products. It’s the company behind the Plantspired range.

    The company is now aiming to bring healthy, low-fat Korean food sold in South Korea for the last 40 years, to the U.S. consumer, including a range of “healthy” instant noodles.

    Cho Kil-su, head of Pulmuone, told the Korean Herald that the U.S. market saw significant growth in consumption of plant-based food after the pandemic years, as consumers’ interest in health grew.

    plantspired
    Pulmuone is behind the U.S. brand Plantspired. Courtesy

    “Concern for the environment also grew after the pandemic, and demand for plant-based products soared even higher as they produce less carbon dioxide throughout the production process,” he said.

    “This year, we plan to further expand our production infrastructure and expand our B2B business. We will mainly center on supplying universities with our products, as we have analyzed that young adults are most sensitive about health issues and receptive to new types of food,” said Cho.

    “We have partnered with leading local universities such as Yale University and Virginia Tech to provide sustainable food, and contribute to having students establish healthy diets.

    “We also aim to foray into Canada and Europe by expanding our tofu production line at the Ayer tofu plant (in Massachusetts) at the end of 2023.”

    Fellow South Korean plant-based food manufacturer Unlimeat has also seen steady growth in the U.S. after launching in stores last year. It recently launched its plant-based Korean BBQ and two flavors of pulled pork into 1,500 Albertsons locations.

    The post South Korea’s Tofu Giant Teams Up With Cultivated Meat Startup Simple Planet appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Why Patagonia’s First Acquisition In 20 Years Is a Regen Cracker Company Called Moonshot

    moonshot crackers
    3 Mins Read

    Patagonia Provisions, the food and beverage arm of outdoor giant Patagonia, has announced the acquisition of Moonshot, a snack brand that is known for its environmentally-friendly and sustainable practices.

    The acquisition, which marks Patagonia’s first in over two decades, is part of the company’s continued efforts to invest in businesses and products that support its mission to save the planet.

    Last year, Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, now 84, transferred ownership of the company to the Holdfast Collective, a nonprofit that’s dedicated to preserving the planet.

    “Instead of ‘going public,’ you could say we’re ‘going purpose.’ Instead of extracting value from nature and transforming it into wealth for investors, we’ll use the wealth Patagonia creates to protect the source of all wealth,” Chouinard wrote on the company’s website in September.

    Julia Collins, Moonshot founder
    Julia Collins, Moonshot founder | Courtesy

    That commitment is echoed in Moonshot’s mission.

    “I founded Moonshot with the vision of using the power of food to help tackle climate change,” Julia Collins, founder of Moonshot, said in a statement. “By joining Patagonia Provisions, who recently made Earth their only shareholder, Moonshot now belongs to the planet. I cannot imagine a more spectacular path forward for our mission, our team and our Climatarian community.”

    Collins founded Moonshot with a vision to help consumers tackle climate change by offering sustainable food. The company sources wheat that’s grown using regenerative and organic practices. As the main ingredient in its crackers, the wheat is fully traceable to the farm and field. Moonshot’s crackers are also produced sustainably, using renewable energy in a LEED-certified facility, and the boxes are made from 100 percent recycled materials.

    Patagonia Founder Yvon Chouinard
    Patagonia Founder Yvon Chouinard | Courtesy

    “To us, it’s not one action, but taking a full inventory of your company’s impact on the planet so you can holistically evaluate where you can make adjustments and drive change. It all starts with measuring your baseline carbon footprint so you can create an action plan from there and track progress year over year,” Collins said in an interview last year.

    According to Paul Lightfoot, general manager of Patagonia Provisions, Moonshot’s impressive growth can be attributed to its focus on producing and selling nutritious and delicious crackers with a significantly improved carbon footprint compared to industry standard practices — values that align with those of Patagonia Provisions, which made the acquisition a natural fit.

    Patagonia Provisions launched more than a decade ago. Its first product was wild-caught salmon. The label now produces more than 30 products, which are distributed through other outdoor retailers as well as natural grocers.

    Moonshot’s commitment to its climate mission and its great-tasting product earned it the Expo West Virtual 2021 NEXTY Award for Best New Savory or Salty Snack.

    The post Why Patagonia’s First Acquisition In 20 Years Is a Regen Cracker Company Called Moonshot appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • The Power Plate: Why Women Should Lead Food Industry Disruption – My Ask for IWD 2024

    5 Mins Read

    In her OpEd for International Women’s Day, Green Queen’s founding editor Sonalie Figueiras has an ask: If we’re going to disrupt food systems, let’s make sure women are in charge.

    Women control most household food purchasing decisions but almost none of the industry’s production decisions. Meanwhile, men have had a (very!) long run and made a mess of things. If we’re going to disrupt the food system, we need to put women in charge.

    The world we live in is built by men, for men. And that includes the food we eat. Ironically, women across the world manage the vast majority of household grocery spending and are responsible for meal planning and meeting the nutrition needs of children and their families. Yet we control almost none of the policy and production decisions around food.

    This International Women’s Day (IWD), I’m asking: why aren’t more women in charge of how food is grown and sold?

    Every IWD, we’re supposed to celebrate women. This is a tall order because, despite some advances over the past few decades, it’s very much still a man’s world out there.

    It’s 2023 and women still make less money than men in pretty much every job and in almost every country. Our bodies are policed. We’re at risk of sexual violence on a daily basis (the WHO describes this as devastatingly pervasive). There are entire hate groups dedicated to taking away our freedoms. In the few countries where we control our reproductive rights, they are getting taken away. 

    Soon, things may take a turn for the worse as we enter what I like to call the ‘Age of Artificiality’, an age where artificial intelligence will make decisions on our behalf that will govern our lives. 

    Silicon Valley titans (most of whom are white and male) are currently hosting press conferences, appearing on panels, and getting interviewed all over the interwebs about how terribly exciting it all is. I’m less enthused. 

    A world where we leverage AI to tell us what to eat, what to manufacture, how to work, and how to think is a world where women will continue to suffer. How do I know that? Because most AI-trained robots out there are already biased against women. AI algorithms are objectifying women’s bodies, refusing to hire women, and generally putting our lives at risk. 

    It’’s hard for women to change any of this because women are woefully underrepresented at all levels of political decision-making worldwide and women make up less than 30% of parliament in the majority of the world. This also helps explain why universal daycare, free education, and guaranteed maternity leave are still not mainstream across the planet. Even the world’s richest country does not offer these basic rights to its female population. 

    In addition, wealthy countries are grappling with population decline. Across Europe, North America, China, Australia, the UK, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand, women are choosing to have fewer or no kids. This trend is playing out all over the planet. Hundreds of millions of women in Asia, Africa, and Latin America will attain middle-class lifestyles as these regions get more financially prosperous, and they will have fewer children. 

    Why? Because as women get more educated and get their own income, they are increasingly deciding not to take the (pretty shitty!) motherhood deal that society is offering (no time for self-care, the dreaded second shift, lower earnings aka the motherhood penalty, limited career advancement, higher rates of divorce (note: this is not necessarily a bad thing, but I’d argue this is not exactly every young woman’s dream). Once they have freedom of movement and control over their reproductive rights, women don’t want to be beholden to domesticity. Neither do men. That’s why women do more grocery shopping and food preparation than men in the US and all over the world. In fact, 80% of US women say they are the primary grocery shopper, and 71% say they shop and prepare meals.

    Here’s more data that makes clear why public investment in human health and nutrition is so low. Women tend to be in charge of family and child nutrition– responsible for food choices, menu planning, and meal preparation. Men are not dealing with the reality of these topics on a daily basis and therefore don’t prioritize it at a policy level. 

    And yet, most of the food products we eat and the decisions made about our food and agricultural systems are controlled by men. 

    According to a 2021 study, more than two-thirds of food systems leaders (execs at CPG/Big Food companies like Coca-Cola and Danone) are men; further, women in food jobs get paid up to 30% less than their male counterparts. This is despite the fact that women control over $31.8 trillion in worldwide spending, making up 85% of all consumer spending in the US alone.

    And may I just say, men have done a pretty crappy job on the whole of keeping people healthy and ensuring our food systems are as safe, nutritious, and sustainable as they can be.

    Rich countries are in the midst of a major public health crisis particularly when it comes to what researchers call lifestyle-related diseases. We are facing soaring rates of obesity (36% of the population in the US, 17-20% in Europe, 8% in Asia), heart disease (the leading cause of death globally), and diabetes (now affecting 422 million people worldwide). 

    It doesn’t help that thanks to a major medical research gap that excludes women from clinical trials all too often, we are subject to drug and nutrition protocols designed for male bodies.  

    And then there’s the pesky climate problem. Amidst a worsening climate crisis with extreme weather events that are causing havoc with our global food supply chains, farmers everywhere (another male-dominated industry) are grappling with more frequent heat waves, drought, loss of arable land, deforestation-linked and loss of biodiversity-related complications and water scarcity. We’re overly dependent on methane-emitting and carbon-heavy foods like beef and dairy products, which are pushing our food systems to the brink and making us sick. 

    The food tech industry is working to find solutions to all these issues as we at Green Queen report every day. But who’s in charge of the change? 

    NOT ENOUGH WOMEN, that’s who!

    This has to change.

    The post The Power Plate: Why Women Should Lead Food Industry Disruption – My Ask for IWD 2024 appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Beef Lite: Impossible Foods Launches New Meat Alternative With 45% Less Fat Than Animal Version

    3 Mins Read

    California food tech Impossible Foods has announced a new Beef Lite product with a lower saturated and total fat content that cooks like 90/10 lean beef from cows.

    US plant-based meat company Impossible Foods has expanded its plant-based product portfolio with the launch of a new product dubbed Beef Lite, a leaner and less fatty version of their vegan-friendly Impossible Beef mince.

    Beef Lite has been created to be “better than lean ground beef” according to the company. The product features 21 grams of protein per serving and no trans fats or cholesterol. Compared to 90/10 lean ground beef, it has 75% less saturated fat and 45% less total fat. In addition the company called out Beef Lite’s sodium content as 33% lower than plant-based beef product from an undisclosed competitor.

    The company says Beef Lite can be used in the same cooking applications that consumers use beef for including tacos, lasagna, meatballs and stir-frieds and describes the product’s environmental footprint as being “a fraction of the land use, water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions” of that of lean ground beef from cows. In addition, Beef Lite does not contain any hormones or antibiotics, both of which are uses heavily by the industrial livestock industry.

    Beef Lite remains a more expensive option than lean beef from cows. A 12-ounce pack of Beef Lite retails for $8.99, which is approx. $11.98 per pound. This is compared to $5.64 for a pound of Walmart’s All Natural 90/10 Ground Beef Sirloin and $5.98 for a pound of Marketside Butcher Grass-Fed 90/10 Ground Beef (also sold on Walmart’s website).

    Courtesy Impossible Foods

    “We’re constantly working to compete with beef in all of the ways that matter to consumers, including nutrition,” said Peter McGuinness, president and CEO of Impossible Foods. “A lot of health-conscious fans and shoppers are looking for a plant-based beef option that’s high in protein and nutrients with even less fat, and Impossible Beef Lite is our solution to that. It’s got 21 grams of high-quality protein, a whopping 75% less saturated fat than lean ground beef from cows, and of course no cholesterol. It’s a perfect plant-based way to customize all of the great recipes that call for lean animal ground beef.”

    The is the fourth new Impossible product announced in 2023, with the news coming just a few weeks after the company debuted three new plant-based chicken products including Impossible Spicy Chicken Nuggets, Impossible Spicy Chicken Patties, and Impossible Chicken Tenders. In 2022, Impossible added sausage links, animal-shaped chicken nuggets, chicken patties and a range of eight ready-meal bowls.

    Impossible products are available at over 30,000 grocery stores across the US. Beef Lite is being rolled out at select stores in the fresh meat aisle and will add more locations over the next weeks.

    Courtesy: Impossible Foods

    According to the company, Impossible is the fastest-growing plant-based meat brand in US retail with over 50% in sales growth in 2022, and its flagship Impossible Beef product is the the best selling-retail plant-based meat product in the US by volumes and dollar sales. The company has worked to improve taste, texture and the nutrition profile of its meat-free beef since its launch in 2016, updating the recipe both in 2019 and in 2022, when it reduced saturated fat content by 25%.

    In a wide-ranging interview with TIME last month about the media controversy around plant-based meat in the US, McGuinness said that Impossible’s nutritional profile was a key driver for consumers of the brand: “It is zero trans fat, zero cholesterol. So you’re eating zero-cholesterol beef. No matter who you are—you’re crazy educated, you’re less educated, you’re rich, you’re less rich, you’re in the middle of the country, you’re on the coast—I don’t think people love cholesterol. So cholesterol-free meat that tastes damn good? Sounds pretty good to me.”

    The post Beef Lite: Impossible Foods Launches New Meat Alternative With 45% Less Fat Than Animal Version appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Terrific or Terrible? This Ice Cream Is Made Entirely Out of Cauliflower

    eatkinda cauli ice cream
    3 Mins Read

    New Zealand-based EatKinda has debuted its vegan ice cream made from cauliflower at the popular pizza chain Hell Pizza.

    Cauliflower has earned significant street cred in recent years serving double duty as chickenless wings, low-carb rice, and even dairy-free cheese. But ice cream? Yes, even ice cream.

    Cauliflower ice cream

    The new cauliflower ice cream was developed by the Kiwi startup, EatKinda. Jenni Matheson, co-founder of EatKinda, says she developed the recipe for cauliflower ice cream while looking for ways to use up vegetables from her garden. Matheson says cauliflower was the perfect base with a creamy texture without an overpowering taste.

    “After initially trying pumpkin, and other vegetables I had grown, it quickly became clear that cauliflower was the perfect base. It has a beautiful texture without an overpowering taste, meaning you can create flavours easily,” Matheson said in a statement.

    Courtesy Canva

    The company is using “ugly” cauliflower for the ice cream, taking discards that are otherwise deemed unsuitable for retail but retain flavor, texture, and nutrients.

    “Apart from cosmetic imperfections, such as being the wrong size, an odd colour, or not pretty enough for the supermarkets, the cauli we use is completely fine to eat,” says Mrinali Kumar, EatKinda co-founder. “We source it from suppliers including Perfectly Imperfect, a social enterprise that saves cosmetically imperfect food from rotting in the ground. It’s a win-win for everyone,” she says.

    The ice cream is currently available in two flavors, Strawberry Swirl and Mint Choc Bikkie, and is going nationwide at all of Hell Pizza’s more than 70 locations.

    ‘Pushing the envelope’

    “It sounds like it will be good for you but not tasty — yet we were blown away and knew we had to offer it to our customers,” Ben Cumming, CEO of Hell Pizza said. “We’re always pushing the envelope in offering plant-based alternatives and think people will be just in love with it as we are. It’s a pretty sweet aftertaste knowing that it’s dairy-free and uses rescued cauliflower,” he says.

    eating ice cream
    Courtesy Canva

    According to Cumming, sustainability is one of the brand’s core values. “We’ve always been big on plant power — from our Burger Pizza using Impossible Beef to the recent Steak & Cheese Pie Pizza using Fable Steak (a mushroom alternative). For us, it’s about showcasing amazing plant-based alternatives and showing people that being kinder to the planet doesn’t mean compromising on taste,” he says.

    Cumming also says that while the chain is already effective at reducing its own food waste, it is a “significant issue” for the wider food industry.

    The post Terrific or Terrible? This Ice Cream Is Made Entirely Out of Cauliflower appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.