Author

Anay Mridul 1286 posts 0 comments

Anay is Green Queen's resident news reporter. Originally from India, he worked as a vegan food writer and editor in London, and is now travelling and reporting from across Asia. He's passionate about coffee, plant-based milk, cooking, eating, veganism, food tech, writing about all that, profiling people, and the Oxford comma.

Green Business

Lidl Teams Up with WWF to Promote Sustainable Diets, Cut Food Waste & Help People Make Greener Choices

Anay Mridul Jul 8, 2024

German discount retailer Lidl has partnered with the World Wildlife Fund to conserve biodiversity, promote planet-friendly diets, and reduce food waste across 31 countries. One of the world's largest retailers, Lidl, has entered a…
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Beauty

Esqa: Unilever Pumps $4M in Indonesia’s TikTok-Famous Vegan Cosmetics Brand

Anay Mridul Jul 8, 2024

Indonesian vegan cosmetics label Esqa – a TikTok favourite – has raised $4M in a Series B round led by Unilever. Unilever Ventures, the VC arm of global FMCG giant Unilever, has led the Series B funding round of Esqa, investing a…
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Policy & Regulation

Biden Proposes Rules to Protect 36 Million Workers from Extreme Heat, Attacks Republican Climate Deniers

Anay Mridul Jul 5, 2024

US president Joe Biden attacked Republican climate deniers as he proposed a new standard to protect American workers from extreme heat. “More people die from extreme heat than floods, hurricanes and tornadoes combined. These…
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Alt Protein

New Meat: Redefine Meat Debuts 3D-Printed Flank Steak in European Retail

Anay Mridul Jul 5, 2024

Redefine Meat has released its 3D-printed vegan flank steak in retail stores in the UK and Switzerland, with the Netherlands soon to follow. Israeli food tech startup Redefine Meat has brought its 3D-printed flank steak to retail…
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Alt Protein

After Popular Demand, the Beyond Orange Chicken is Back at Panda Express

Anay Mridul Jul 4, 2024

Panda Express has brought back the vegan version of its flagship orange chicken with Beyond Meat, a welcome move for the latter's foodservice struggles. It took over 7,200 signatures on a 16-month-long petition for Panda Express to…
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Alt Protein

Bezos Earth Fund’s Andy Jarvis: ‘There Was Too Much Hopium on the Alternative Protein Menu’

Anay Mridul Jul 4, 2024

Andy Jarvis, director of the Bezos Earth Fund's Future of Food programme, talks alternative protein, Asian centre, government bans, VC investments, and stepping away from the us-versus-them mentality. Since announcing the $1B Future of…
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Alt Materials

Uncaged Innovations Bags $5.6M for Plastic-Free Leather Made From Grain-Based Protein

Anay Mridul Jul 4, 2024

US startup Uncaged Innovations has raised $5.6M in seed funding to commercialise its grain-based, plastic-free leather alternative. Uncaged Innovations, which makes vegan leather from grains, has closed a $5.6M seed investment round led…
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Cell-Based News

Pet Food Startup Meatly on Cultivated Meat: ‘Changing Food Habits Transcend Politics’

Anay Mridul Jul 3, 2024

Meatly CEO Owen Ensor and CSO Helder Cruz take us behind the scenes of the UK's regulatory process for cultivated meat, and reveal that it will start with dog food first. As the UK speeds up its novel foods regulation process, Meatly is…
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Vegan

Price Parity, Precision Preference: What This Plant-Based, Fermented Survey Tells Us About EU Consumers

Anay Mridul Jul 3, 2024

Europeans are more trusting of precision fermentation than other forms, prefer cost-competitiveness over lower prices for plant-based food, and are divided over the sustainability aspects of alternative proteins, a new survey has found. …
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Future Foods

Future Food Quick Bites: 7Up Sauces, Plant Milk Factories & Heart Health

Anay Mridul Jul 3, 2024

In our weekly column, we round up the latest news and developments in the alternative protein and sustainable food industry. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers 7Up's new vegan sauces, a bunch of plant-based milk facilities, and…
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Consumer Trends & Insights

Democrats Are More Receptive to Cultivated Meat Than Republicans

Anay Mridul Jul 2, 2024

The perception of cultivated meat is more positive among Democrat and Independent voters in the US, as opposed to Republicans. On Monday, Florida officially banned cultivated meat, making it a felony to sell, manufacture, produce or…
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Consumer Trends & Insights

French People Are Eating 6% Less Meat Than They Were 20 Years Ago

Anay Mridul Jul 2, 2024

Per capita meat consumption is down by nearly 6% in France, though a possible far-right government has dented climate hopes. French people are eating less meat than they used to – especially beef – although it's still much higher…
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Cell-Based News

Upside Foods Cuts Jobs Amid Investment Squeeze and Legislative Challenges

Anay Mridul Jul 2, 2024

Californian cultivated chicken maker Upside Foods has conducted a round of layoffs as it looks to overcome financial and legislative obstacles. Leading cultivated meat company Upside Foods – one of only two to be approved for sale in…
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Alt Dairy

Dairy Deprogramming: Oatly Crashes Big Dairy’s Ice Cream Party on Capitol Hill

Anay Mridul Jul 1, 2024

Swedish oat milk giant Oatly set up a soft-serve truck next to a legacy ice cream event hosted on Capitol Hill to raise awareness about Big Dairy's role in the climate crisis. As Americans walked up to Capitol Hill for some free ice…
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Health

A Third of Brits Back Switch to Fully Vegan Menu in NHS Hospitals

Anay Mridul Jul 1, 2024

A UK-wide survey has found that 35% of Brits would support a switch to a 100% plant-based menu at NHS hospitals – but they're divided over the benefits of vegan diets. If the UK's National Health Service (NHS) would choose to adopt…
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Green Finance

THIS Isn’t Nice: Crowd Investors Angry at Post-Series C Valuation of Plant-Based Meat Brand

Anay Mridul Jul 1, 2024

Crowdfunding backers of UK plant-based meat maker THIS have reacted furiously to a significant drop in the business's valuation, following its £20M Series C round last month. In 2022, when THIS closed its Series B fundraise, it was…
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Policy & Regulation

Over 100 Organisations & Experts Ask FAO to Retract ‘Inappropriate’ COP28 Livestock Report

Anay Mridul Jul 1, 2024

In an open letter, academics and organisations from across the world have asked the FAO to withdraw a livestock emissions report that they claim contains "significant methodological errors". A group of over 100 organisations,…
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Travel

Lufthansa to Raise Fares By Up to €72 for Sustainable Fuel, Blames EU Rules for Surcharge

Anay Mridul Jun 28, 2024

German flag carrier Lufthansa is passing on the added costs from EU-mandated sustainable aviation fuel use to passengers, with a green surcharge of up to €72 per ticket across Europe. Lufthansa passengers departing from Europe from…
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Food & Nutrition

As Big Food Feels the GLP-1 Effect, Nestlé Finally Takes On Ozempic

Anay Mridul Jun 28, 2024

The world's largest food company is responding to the most disruptive trend the industry has faced in years by offering products and services targeted to GLP-1 users. If you can't beat them, join them. Nestlé might be a $105B…
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Cell-Based News

Here’s What Upside Foods Served at the Pre-Ban Cultivated Meat Party in Florida

Anay Mridul Jun 28, 2024

In three days, selling cultivated meat will be a felony in Florida – to celebrate food freedom, though, Upside Foods served its chicken at a pre-ban party in Miami. On Thursday evening, at a rooftop in Miami, Upside Foods served…
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Cell-Based News

House Representatives Reintroduce Bill to Ban Federal Funding of Cultivated Meat

Anay Mridul Jun 27, 2024

A group of lawmakers have reintroduced the REAL Meat Act, this time targeting federal investment in the cultivated meat industry. In the House Representatives, a group of politicians have co-sponsored a bill that would prohibit the US…
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