Author

Anay Mridul 3143 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.

Alt Protein

NovoNutrients Closes $18M Series A to Make Protein from CO2 for People & Pets

Anay Mridul Jul 11, 2024

US alternative protein startup NovoNutrients has raised $18M in a Series A funding round ahead of opening its pilot facility, with a renewed focus on humans and pets. The $18M Series A round was led by Australia's Woodside Energy and…
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Vegan

Green and Gold: 7 Vegan Athletes Competing at the Plant-Powered 2024 Olympics

Anay Mridul Jul 11, 2024

With Paris 2024 going predominantly plant-based, here are seven athletes competing at the Olympics, fuelled by a vegan diet. At this year's Olympic Games – touted to be the greenest ever – 60% of the 13 million meals served will be…
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Seafood

Bayou Best Foods: Big Idea Ventures Launches Vegan Seafood Company, Acquires IP From New Wave Foods

Anay Mridul Jul 10, 2024

Food tech investor Big Idea Ventures has launched a new vegan seafood company that utilises intellectual property from New Wave Foods, which shut down last year. Big Idea Ventures (BIV) has incorporated Bayou Best Foods, a new…
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Cell-Based News

Researchers Use Gelatin to Recreate Maillard Reaction for Tastier Cultivated Meat

Anay Mridul Jul 10, 2024

A team of researchers in South Korea have developed a gelatin-based scaffold that replicates the flavour and aroma effects of the Maillard reaction in cultivated meat. What if you put Jell-O in your steak? It may sound like a radical…
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Future Foods

Future Food Quick Bites: Crownless Pineapples, Spent Coffee Cookies & A Brat Summer

Anay Mridul Jul 10, 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 Aldi's zero-waste pineapples, a Charli XCX-inspired marketing drive, and…
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Vegan

Banana Skin Muffins & Vegan Victoria Sponge Highlight Wimbledon’s Sustainability Efforts for 2024

Anay Mridul Jul 10, 2024

Wimbledon is serving up vegan and zero-waste treats to guests at this year's tournament, as the Grand Slam's organisers level up their sustainability efforts. Plant-based Victoria sponge cake and waste-free banana muffins are the top…
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Climate Change

Big Oil Could Be Charged with Homicide for 2023 Arizona Heatwave

Anay Mridul Jul 9, 2024

Fossil fuel companies could be reasonably charged with homicide for deaths caused by a 2023 heatwave in Arizona, a group of lawyers say in a public memo. In Washington DC, Abraham Lincoln's head melted off his wax statue at an…
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Funding News

NatWest Gives In to Pressure from Livestock Lobby, Waters Down Advice to Eat Less Meat & Dairy

Anay Mridul Jul 9, 2024

NatWest has scaled back its dietary recommendations to users of its banking app after months of lobbying pressure from livestock farmers. UK bank NatWest has made changes to the carbon footprint tracker on its app, which previously…
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Alt Protein

Umami Bioworks Looks to India to Scale Up Cultivated Seafood

Anay Mridul Jul 9, 2024

Singapore's Umami Bioworks has partnered with two Indian entities as it aims to advance R&D and reach commercial-scale production for its cultivated seafood. Months after its merger with Shiok Meats, Umami Bioworks is looking to…
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Alt Protein

Nestlé Enters Blended Meat Space with Soy-Based ‘Meat Extender’

Anay Mridul Jul 9, 2024

Nestlé has introduced Maggi Rindecarne, a plant-based meat product meant to be blended with conventional beef, in Chile. The blended meat category continues to expand, with the world's largest food company now jumping onto the trend…
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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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