Author

Anay Mridul 3145 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.

Cell-Based News

Ahead of Singapore Launch, Meatable Can Now Make Cultivated Meat Quicker Than Anyone Else

Anay Mridul Mar 22, 2024

Dutch cultivated meat leader Meatable has cut the production time for its cultivated meat by half, making it the fastest process in the sector. This means its hybrid pork sausages are much cheaper to produce, months before their expected…
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Future Foods

Bee-Free Honey: MeliBio Partners with Pow.Bio to Scale Up Precision-Fermented Sweetener with AI

Anay Mridul Mar 22, 2024

One of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies for 2024, Californian food tech startup MeliBio has teamed up with Pow.Bio to scale up production of its bee-free honey made from precision fermentation. After a year of multiple product…
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Alt Protein

Q&A with Max Elder: ‘Alt-Protein Needs to Engage the Cultural & Political Elephants’

Anay Mridul Mar 22, 2024

Max Elder, co-founder of former plant-based meat company Nowadays and managing director of Food System Innovations, reflects on the journey of his vegan chicken nugget startup, explains why it was forced to cease trading, talks VC funding…
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Alt Protein

Meat Paradox: Americans are Eating More Plant-Based, But Also More Red Meat

Anay Mridul Mar 21, 2024

A majority of Americans recognise the health and environmental benefits of vegan food, yet only a quarter are willing to adopt plant-rich diets. Plus, there has been an increase in red meat consumption over the years, according to a new…
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Fermentation-Based Alt Protein

Sweet Protein: Oobli Receives FDA GRAS Letter for Game-Changing Precision-Fermented Sugar Alternative

Anay Mridul Mar 21, 2024

Californian food tech startup Oobli has received a 'no further questions' letter from the FDA for its Oubli Sweet Protein made from precision fermentation. The ingredient leverages West African fruits to make a sugar alternative that has…
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India

The Pure Veg U-Turn: The Zomato Debacle That Divided the World’s Largest Vegetarian Minority

Anay Mridul Mar 21, 2024

This week, Indian food delivery service Zomato launched a Pure Veg Mode in its app for people to order from 100% vegetarian restaurants – but it has sparked intense debate about casteism and religious discrimination after announcing a…
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Funding News

Cash Cows: Banks Have Financed Over Half a Trillion Dollars to Increase Meat & Dairy Production Since the 2015 Paris Agreement

Anay Mridul Mar 21, 2024

Since world leaders signed the landmark Paris Agreement in 2015, banks and financial institutions have credited livestock producers with $615B to increase meat and dairy production, according to a new study. It's not just public funding…
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Alt Protein

Backed by Government & EU Funding, Umiami Opens Large-Scale Plant-Based Meat Facility in France

Anay Mridul Mar 20, 2024

Parisian plant-based whole-cut meat producer Umiami has opened a commercial-scale facility in the Alsace region, backed by financing from the French government, the Grand Est area, as well as the EU. It plans to launch its chicken fillet…
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Fermentation-Based Alt Protein

Cauldron Ferm Raises $6.25M in Series A to Fund Hyper-Fermentation Facility for High-Value Ingredients

Anay Mridul Mar 20, 2024

Australian hyper-fermentation company Cauldron Ferm has secured AU$9.5M ($6.25M) in Series A funding to build a large-scale facility to manufacture high-value ingredients through precision fermentation. A year after closing a large…
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Future Foods

Future Food Quick Bites: Nicki Minaj’s Nails, Vegan Condoms & Animal-Free Yoghurt

Anay Mridul Mar 20, 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 a new vegan nail brand by Nicki Minaj, cocoa-free easter eggs, and…
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Cell-Based News

India Working on Regulatory Framework for Cultivated Meat & Seafood: Report

Anay Mridul Mar 20, 2024

India is joining the ranks of other southeast Asian companies to establish a regulatory framework for cultivated meat and seafood companies, who can then file a dossier to receive approval from its food safety authority to sell their…
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Alt Dairy

Formo & Those Vegan Cowboys Join Forces to Bring Animal-Free Cheese to EU Shelves

Anay Mridul Mar 19, 2024

European precision fermentation leaders Formo and Those Vegan Cowboys have announced an R&D partnership to advance the production of their casein proteins and bring animal-free cheeses to the EU market. The collaboration combines their…
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Policy & Regulation

Why Won’t the FAO Talk About Meat? It’s What Climate Experts are Asking the UN Body

Anay Mridul Mar 19, 2024

At COP28, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) produced its much-awaited roadmap to cut emissions from the food system in line with the 1.5°C goal – but it didn't address reducing meat and dairy consumption as a solution. Now,…
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Future Foods

Melt&Marble Scales Up Production of Precision-Fermented Fats with New HQ, Eyes US Launch for 2025

Anay Mridul Mar 19, 2024

Swedish food tech startup Melt&Marble has moved into new headquarters and scaled up production of its precision-fermented fat, which can be used in alternative meat and dairy applications. The company is aiming for a 2025 launch in the…
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Coffee

K-Rounds: Keurig to Roll Out Compostable Cellulose Coffee Pods Next Year

Anay Mridul Mar 19, 2024

US coffee company Keurig, one of the world's largest coffee pod producers, has introduced K-Rounds, a line of plant-based, fully compostable capsules, alongside a new machine, which are slated for launch in 2025. Next year, Keurig Dr…
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Alt Protein

Germans & Austrians Believe Meat Consumption is Too High, But Less Than Half Think It’s Bad for the Climate

Anay Mridul Mar 18, 2024

Nearly six in 10 consumers in Germany and Austria believe meat consumption is too high, but less than half think these foods are bad for the climate and plan to reduce their intake of animal products, according to new surveys. Even fewer…
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Climate Change

Climate Scientists: We Need to Halve Our Livestock Emissions by Replacing Meat & Dairy with Plant-Based Foods

Anay Mridul Mar 18, 2024

Globally, greenhouse gas emissions from livestock farming must peak next year, and be reduced by 50% by 2030 to align with our climate goals, scientists suggest in a new survey. And to do this, we need to replace meat and dairy consumption…
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Alt Protein

UK Regulatory Approval for Cultivated Meat Looms with New Proposed Rules, As Meatly Expects Greenlight for Pet Food Within 3 Months

Anay Mridul Mar 18, 2024

Meatly, the British startup making cultivated meat for pets, has indicated that it expects to get the regulatory greenlight to sell its cat food within three months, which would make it the first company in the sector to go to market in…
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Climate Change

63% of the USDA’s Climate-Smart Funding Goes to Farming Practices That Don’t Cut Emissions

Anay Mridul Mar 18, 2024

The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) funding for climate-smart agriculture is flawed, with 63% going to farming practices that don't reduce – or actually increase – greenhouse gas emissions, a new report has found. In September,…
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Fermentation-Based Alt Protein

Planted Launches Fermentation-Derived Vegan Whole-Cut Steak

Anay Mridul Mar 15, 2024

A leader in the European plant-based meat sector, Switzerland's Planted has launched a clean-label whole-cut steak leveraging a proprietary fermentation process, hitting flavour, health and climate touchpoints all at the same time. …
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Seafood

The Kraken: Revo Foods Releases the World’s First Vegan Octopus

Anay Mridul Mar 15, 2024

Revo Foods has today launched the world's first vegan octopus for retail, using its patented 3D-printing technology to transform fungi into a seafood analogue beloved by many, and one being increasingly unethically farmed. Six months on…
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