Editor’s Picks: Green Queen’s 10 Favourite Future Food Stories of the Year

It has been a big year for the future food sector. These are our editor’s picks of the 10 best stories on Green Queen in 2024 (in chronological order), featuring a public tasting for cultivated meat, an interview with a US senator, and Portugal’s plant-based strategy.

Beyond Meat unveils IV lineup

Plant-based giant Beyond Meat reformulated its flagship beef product line for the first time in three years. The meat analogues are now healthier, meatier, and costlier, and communications chief Shira Zackai explained why in an interview with Green Queen.

Vow CEO talks regulatory approval for cultivated quail

George Peppou, co-founder and CEO of Australian cultivated meat startup Vow, spoke to Green Queen about obtaining regulatory approval for its Forged cultured quail parfait in Singapore, and the company’s business philosophy.

Meatable hosts EU-first cultivated meat tasting

We exclusively reported on Dutch cultivated pork producer Meatable’s historic public tasting for its hybrid sausages in the Netherlands, a first for the European Union.

A trip to Starbucks’s Farmer Support Centers

Green Queen visited Starbucks’s Farmer Support Centers in North Sumatra, Indonesia to find out what the giant is doing to safeguard the future of coffee and the farmer community it employs.

Bezos Earth Fund talks alternative protein

After Green Queen revealed that Bezos Earth Fund’s third Center for Sustainable Protein will be in Asia (it opened in Singapore months later), its Future of Food director Andy Jarvis explained the organisation’s goals and the industry’s challenges in an in-depth interview.

Alternative protein = EVs?

We contextualised a report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the Good Food Institute (GFI), and Synthesis Capital that explored what the future food industry can learn from the rise of electric vehicles.

Massachusetts senator on highlighting alternative proteins in economic bill

While US states like Florida and Alabama moved to ban cultivated meat, Massachusetts passed an economic bill that pledged funding to alternative proteins. Senator Barry Finegold, who spearheaded the effort, spoke to Green Queen about the move and the importance of food tech.

Behind Upside Foods’s lawsuit against the Florida ban

Speaking of the Florida ban, California’s Upside Foods filed a lawsuit against the state, asking a federal court for an injunction and calling the effort unconstitutional. We broke down what the legal action meant, with insight from Upside Foods’s counsel. (A judge later rejected the request for an injunction).

India’s BioE3 policy and its implications for future food

Smart proteins, functional foods and climate-resilient agriculture were among the six pillars of India’s new biotechnology (BioE3) policy. Green Queen spoke to GFI India about how the policy came into existence, and what it meant for the alternative protein sector in India.

Portugal to develop plant-based strategy

We explored the behind-the-scenes moves that led to the Portuguese government’s decision to develop a national action plan for plant-based foods with detailed inputs from ProVeg Portugal director Joana Oliveria.