Author

Anay Mridul 1281 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.

Climate Change

Denmark Invests $2.1B to Speed Up Green Transition, With Major Focus on Climate-Friendly Agriculture

Anay Mridul Oct 17, 2024

The Danish government is pouring 15 billion kroner into green research and innovation, which includes a focus on climate-friendly agriculture and alternative proteins. To speed up its path to net zero by 2045, Denmark is investing 15…
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Future Foods

Molecular Farming Startup Earns USDA Approval for Peas That Produce Beef Protein

Anay Mridul Oct 16, 2024

Moolec Science has received what it claims is the first USDA approval for genetically engineered peas, which can produce iron-rich beef protein via molecular farming. Luxembourg-based molecular farming startup Moolec Science has…
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Future Foods

Future Food Quick Bites: Cultivated Chicken Tasting, Oat Milk Liqueur & Alt-Protein Awards

Anay Mridul Oct 16, 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 Vital Meat's cultivated chicken tasting in Singapore, Oatly's new…
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Alt Protein

The UK Could Lead the Protein Transition – Stakeholders Outline How

Anay Mridul Oct 16, 2024

With a host of positive developments recently, the UK's alternative protein sector is at a tipping point – but the country needs further action to solidify its leadership. It has been a big year for the UK's alternative protein…
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Chocolate

Hershey’s, Nick DiGiovanni Part of $20M Investment for Startup Making Upcycled Cacao Products

Anay Mridul Oct 15, 2024

US cacao startup Blue Stripes has closed a $20M Series B investment round to develop superfood chocolates, with backers including Hershey's and celebrity chef Nick DiGiovanni. New York-based Blue Stripes, which tackles chocolate…
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Alt Protein

French Whole-Cut Vegan Chicken Startup Umiami Rebrands to Swap & Makes Play for the US

Anay Mridul Oct 15, 2024

Umiami, the Parisian startup making whole-cut plant-based chicken, is now called Swap, and has entered the US foodservice sector. French plant-based meat company Umiami has rebranded to Swap, which it says is "a universal word, easy to…
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Future Foods

Swedish Researchers Adopt Ancient Technique to ‘Trick’ Grains Into Releasing As Many Minerals As Meat

Anay Mridul Oct 15, 2024

Researchers in Sweden are using hydrothermal treatment to amplify the bioavailability of minerals in grains to mimic animal proteins like red meat. In 2023, a study of 20 meat and plant-based analogue products revealed that almost all…
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Cell-Based News

Judge Rejects Upside Foods’s Request to Block Florida’s Cultivated Meat Ban

Anay Mridul Oct 15, 2024

A federal judge has refused Upside Foods' request for a preliminary injunction in its lawsuit against Florida's ban on cultivated meat, throwing its Art Basel plans into doubt. Upside Foods has had its request to halt the enforcement of…
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Vegan Dining

Plantega’s Nil Zacharias: ‘I See Our Sandwiches Becoming A National Phenomenon’

Anay Mridul Oct 14, 2024

Nil Zacharias, founder and CEO of Plantega, talks bodegas, BECs, New York City, plant-based struggles, and plans to expand across the US. The first thing I did when I got to New York City was order a burrito. It was 2pm, so naturally…
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Green Finance

Blue Horizon: Why The Food Tech Investor Gave Up Fund Management To Build a Giga Protein Factory in The Desert

Anay Mridul Oct 14, 2024

Leading future food industry investor Blue Horizon is pivoting from fund management to manufacturing, starting with a Giga Protein Factory in the Arabian desert. Here's why. Just over a year ago, alternative protein fund leader Blue…
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Alt Materials

Billie Eilish, The Lumineers Embrace Plastic-Free Mycelium Foam Earplugs in Concerts

Anay Mridul Oct 14, 2024

US startup GOB, which makes eco-conscious wearables, is debuting mycelium foam earplugs in collaboration with Billie Eilish and The Lumineers. Last month, New York startup Ecovative closed a $28M funding round for its mycelium-based…
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Alt Protein

Americans Remain Divided Over Plant-Based Meat & Dairy Labels, But Should Brands Worry?

Anay Mridul Oct 14, 2024

A new YouGov survey reveals that around half of Americans don't like the use of meat- and dairy-related terms on plant-based products, but should this shake up brands' marketing strategies? It was only last week that the European Court…
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Climate Change

Big Meat Rivals Big Oil’s Methane Output – Governments Need to Step In

Anay Mridul Oct 11, 2024

Meat and dairy giants produce as much methane as the world's largest fossil fuel companies, but non-action would result in global heating of 0.32°C by 2050. At COP26 three years ago, leaders from around the world came together to adopt…
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Vegan

Plant-Based May Cause: Trade Body Launches First Vegan Industry Ad Campaign

Anay Mridul Oct 11, 2024

Some of America's leading vegan food companies are part of a first-of-its-kind marketing campaign for the plant-based industry. Do not ingest plant-based food... if you enjoy the taste of average to mediocre food. That is the call to…
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Alt Protein

US Hamburger Chain Takes On Asia’s Plant Protein Appetite with All-Vegan Restaurant Brand in Japan

Anay Mridul Oct 11, 2024

Connecticut-based Wayback Burgers' franchisee in Asia has opened a 100% plant-based chain called Next Restaurant in Japan, with major expansion plans in sight. Fast-casual chain Wayback Burgers is going all-in on Asia's hunger for plant…
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Alt Protein

Plant-Based Meat Matches Beef on Protein Quality and Fills You Up More Quickly, Finds Research

Anay Mridul Oct 11, 2024

Two new studies have found that plant-based meat can match or outperform beef on many nutritional fronts, while also making you full faster. A vegan mince product can have the the same protein quality and digestibility as conventional…
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Cell-Based News

Cultivated Meat Could Bring 90,000 Jobs and €85B to the EU Economy – But Only If Lawmakers Bite

Anay Mridul Oct 10, 2024

New analysis lays out the widespread benefits of cultivated meat to the EU and the environment, but not without significant support from parliamentarians. In late July, French startup Gourmey announced it had officially filed an…
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Alt Dairy

The State of Play: Unlocking China’s Appetite for Plant-Based Milk

Anay Mridul Oct 10, 2024

China is on course to becoming the world's third-largest dairy producer – what does that mean for its plant-based industry? People in China are eating more protein than Americans now, but a majority of this comes from plant-based foods.…
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Alt Protein

Jack & Annie’s Maker Adds $5M to Series B to Tackle America’s Fibre Deficiency with Jackfruit Meat

Anay Mridul Oct 10, 2024

The Jackfruit Company and its consumer brand Jack & Annie's have raised $5M in a Series B extension round to support their product development and expansion efforts. In a nod to consumers' growing appetite for fibre-packed food…
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Cell-Based News

Umami Bioworks Heads to the Home of Fish & Chips, Seeking UK Regulatory Filing for Cultivated Seafood

Anay Mridul Oct 9, 2024

Singaporean cultivated seafood producer Umami Bioworks has expanded operations to the UK, and is in talks with the country's regulator as it maps a path to market. Umami Bioworks's international expansion rages on, with the cultivated…
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Alt Protein

Exclusive: Think Tank Shows How Governments Can Create National Protein Transition Strategies

Anay Mridul Oct 9, 2024

Devising a national action strategy for alternative proteins is crucial for countries' climate targets and global food security – a new report shows how. In the next 25 years, the world will need 56% more food to feed its expanding…
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