Author

Anay Mridul 2385 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

Singapore University Trials Carbon-Labelled Menus to Lower Food Emissions

Anay Mridul Feb 2, 2026

The National University of Singapore has introduced carbon-labelled meals on campus menus as part of a research initiative with carbon accounting firm Zevero. In its bid to identify the most effective ways to lower food-related…
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Chocolate

How Planet A Foods is Taking Over the Chocolate World with Its Cocoa-Free Alternative

Anay Mridul Feb 2, 2026

German food tech startup Planet A Foods is leading the cocoa-free alternative race to help the chocolate industry deal with the climate crisis. It has now gone global and will soon enter the US. As chocolate collaborations go, there's…
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Research & Scientific Studies

True Cost of Meat: Factory Farming Cuts Nearly Two Years of Life

Anay Mridul Feb 2, 2026

A new Factory Farming Index suggests that industrial animal agriculture leads to a loss of 1.8 years of healthy life per person, thanks to antibiotic resistance and excessive meat consumption. Factory-farmed meat is threatening human…
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Alt Dairy

Trend Report: Is Hybrid Dairy the Bridge Plant-Based Milk Needs?

Anay Mridul Feb 2, 2026

Hybrid dairy is looking to plug the gap between dairy's climate and health issues and plant-based alternatives' taste and price challenges – can it be the near-term solutions this industry sorely needs? Milk remains the most…
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Climate Change

Sure, Beef’s Emissions Can Be Reduced – But It Can Never Be ‘Climate-Friendly’

Anay Mridul Jan 30, 2026

Low-carbon beef is a fantasy, and the only way to guarantee a reduced impact of this meat is to buy less of it, according to a new study. Livestock producers may make claims of sustainability or even carbon neutrality, but beef can…
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Alt Protein

These Countries & Companies Posted the Most Future Food Job Openings in 2025

Anay Mridul Jan 30, 2026

The US led the world in the number of job opportunities in the alternative protein sector, as Europe and the cultivated meat category punched above their weight. Future food companies in the US posted more than 1,500 open roles in 2025,…
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Alt Protein

Trend Report: Protein Continues to Reign Supreme – Can Blended Meat Take the Climate Edge Off?

Anay Mridul Jan 30, 2026

As a category, blended meat matured in 2025, and supermarkets led the way. Can the climate crisis, inflation, and health concerns bring more consumers to this format this year? With meat prices and the demand for protein simultaneously…
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Fermentation-Based Alt Protein

Protein Shots: Fermentation Leader Targets Premium Drinks Segment with Animal-Free Dairy

Anay Mridul Jan 29, 2026

Are protein shots the next big functional beverage trend? Dutch fermentation firm Vivici thinks so, positioning its animal-free whey ingredient as the ideal base for these products. Since the start of the pandemic, the number of…
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Fermentation-Based Alt Protein

‘Women Aren’t Just One Blanket Use Case’: Helaina is Flipping the Script for Female Wellness

Anay Mridul Jan 27, 2026

Most of our nutrition toolkit was never designed around female biology, says New York startup Helaina, which ferments microbes to create breast milk proteins for a new dawn for women's wellness. Americans can now buy vegan protein…
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Health

How The Protein Brewery is Eyeing the Longevity Space with Mycoprotein Bioactives

Anay Mridul Jan 26, 2026

Can fungi help humans live better and longer? Dutch mycoprotein startup The Protein Brewery is hoping to do just that by promoting multiple pathways of healthy ageing. In Western Europe, people born in 2024 are expected to live 17 years…
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Funding News

German Startup Innocent Meat Nabs $7M to Launch Cultivated Proteins by 2028

Anay Mridul Jan 23, 2026

German cultivated protein startup Innocent Meat has raised €6M ($7M) to scale up and obtain regulatory approval for its products, which it aims to bring to market in 2028. Innocent Meat, a German firm producing a range of cultivated…
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Cell-Based News

Upside Foods: Cultivated Meat Leader Expands Into Life Sciences with Cell Culture Media Company

Anay Mridul Jan 23, 2026

US cultivated meat pioneer Upside Foods is branching out its cell culture expertise by launching a new division targeting the life sciences sector, called Lucius Labs. One of the leaders of the cultivated meat category has diversified…
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Cell-Based News

Arizona Lawmaker Wants to Send Cultivated Meat Makers to Prison

Anay Mridul Jan 23, 2026

Arizona's House of Representatives is deliberating over two new bills that aim to restrict the sale of cultivated meat, with one suggesting an 18-month prison term for violators. The season of state-level attempts to ban cultivated meat…
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Funding News

Danish Startup Bags $5.8M to Roll Out Fossil-Free Pigments for Food & Textiles

Anay Mridul Jan 22, 2026

Denmark's Octarine Bio has raised €5M ($5.8M) in new funding to launch precision-fermented pigments for food, textiles, and personal care this year. In yet another sign of the post-petroleum dye era, Danish startup Octarine Bio has…
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Opinion

Op-Ed: British Supermarkets’ New GLP-1 Ranges Miss the Mark by Centring on Meat

Anay Mridul Jan 22, 2026

Sara Ayech, UK director for Madre Brava, believes retailers in the UK have faltered by focusing on animal proteins in their new GLP-1 product lines. Checking out the new supermarket ranges for January, it’s interesting to see several of…
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Alt Dairy

First Better-for-You Kids, Now Protein Drinks: Alpro Aims for Premium Niches

Anay Mridul Jan 22, 2026

Danone-owned plant-based brand Alpro is launching Meal to Go, a line of meal replacement drinks packed with protein and over two dozen micronutrients. Banking on its single-digit growth in a volatile plant-based dairy market last year,…
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Alt Protein

Vegan Food Group Splits From VFC & Meatless Farm, Closes Clive’s Purely Plants

Anay Mridul Jan 21, 2026

Vegan Food Group has closed its York office to focus on its plant-based factory in Germany, with VFC and Meatless Farm separating from the company, and Clive's Purely Plants shutting down. Two years after its formation, the Vegan Food…
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Future Food Quick Bites

Future Food Quick Bites: Just Egg, Oatly Capsule & Broccoli Leaf Soup

Anay Mridul Jan 21, 2026

Our weekly column rounds up the latest sustainable food innovation news. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Just Egg's Germany debut, Oatly's latest fashion collab, and HappyCow's 2026 vegan index. New products and launches …
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Alt Fats

Can Fermented Algae Oils Clean Up Europe’s Cosmetics Industry?

Anay Mridul Jan 21, 2026

As Europe’s personal care brands look for eco-friendly alternatives to animal and tropical fats, a new partnership bets on microalgae oils to usher in a new era for cosmetics. More and more Europeans are seeing cleaner beauty, with half…
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Alt Materials

No Animals, No Plastic: Fashion’s Sustainability Makeover Gains Ground with Eco Leather, Fur & More

Anay Mridul Jan 20, 2026

This year has kicked off with a host of encouraging developments for the alternative materials category, from plant-based leather bags and animal-free fur jackets to the revival of an industry pioneer. The fashion industry's impact on…
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Alt Protein

EU-Backed Project Aims to Turn Sunflower Fat Waste Into A Plant-Based Protein Powder

Anay Mridul Jan 20, 2026

Dutch startup Time-Travelling Milkman has teamed up with Finland's VTT Technical Research Centre on a $700,000 EU-backed project to create a plant protein from sunflower sidestreams. To tackle the worsening climate and food insecurity…
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