Author

Anay Mridul 2864 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.

Vegan Dining

Celeb-Favourite Vegan Sushi Chain Planta to Wind Down Despite Revival Attempts

Anay Mridul Mar 17, 2026

Planta, a pioneer in the North American plant-based restaurant industry, has been forced into liquidation after attempts to resurrect the sushi chain were unsuccessful. In one of the biggest markers of the struggles faced by plant-based…
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Green Business

How AI Can Plug the Upstream-Downstream Gap in Scaling Up Bio-Based Products

Anay Mridul Mar 17, 2026

New Wave Biotech and iMEAN have teamed up to help biomanufacturers address the cost and viability gaps between the upstream and downstream parts of their scale-up efforts. One of the most recurring obstacles to large-scale manufacturing…
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Fermentation-Based Alt Protein

Unibio to Build $373M Gas Protein Factory in Saudi Arabia, Dubbed the ‘World’s Largest’

Anay Mridul Mar 17, 2026

Danish fermentation startup Unibio has signed a deal with the Saudi Industrial Investment Group to build the world's largest factory producing sustainable proteins from greenhouse gases. One of the world's largest producers of natural…
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Health

Can Protein Grown Inside Potatoes Help You Live Longer?

Anay Mridul Mar 16, 2026

Reagenics Research produces protein inside potatoes via plant cell culture, and studies show its low methionine content can help build muscle and slow ageing. Could the spud be the key to longevity? Globally, up to 60% of people say…
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Alt Protein

Swedish Meatballs, With A Fungi Twist: Smaqo Debuts Blended Meat in Country’s Largest Retail Chain

Anay Mridul Mar 16, 2026

Swedish food tech startup Smaqo has rolled out meatballs made with beef and mycoprotein in supermarkets within the ICA Gruppen network. First, it was hybrid dairy; now, it's blended meat. Sweden's largest retailer is going all-in on the…
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Funding News

German Retailer Rewe Group Invests in Fibre-Based Sugar Reduction Startup Neoh

Anay Mridul Mar 16, 2026

Austrian startup Neoh, which has developed a sugar replacement solution with plant-based functional fibres, has bagged new funding from investors including Rewe Group. Could plant-based fibres be the solution to our sugar rush? …
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Health

UK Hospitals Cut Emissions by 22% by Making Plant-Based Food the Default Option

Anay Mridul Mar 13, 2026

Catering giant Sodexo's partnership with Nuffield Health, which saw them provide plant-based meals as the default option in UK hospitals, has resulted in a 22% decline in food-related emissions. Sodexo UK and Ireland has announced the…
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Future Foods

Cultivated Meat Could Land on UK Plates in 2027, Suggests Govt Food Regulator

Anay Mridul Mar 13, 2026

Brits could be eating cultivated meat as soon as next year, with the Food Standards Agency hoping to approve two proteins by early 2027 as it releases an outlook on future food innovations. Cultivated meat has never been closer to…
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Cell-Based News

South Dakota Becomes Eighth US State to Ban Cultivated Meat with 5-Year Moratorium

Anay Mridul Mar 13, 2026

South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden has signed a bill that puts a five-year moratorium on the sale of cultivated meat, a month after vetoing a proposal to impose a permanent ban. The Mount Rushmore State has temporarily outlawed the sale…
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Fermentation-Based Alt Protein

Amyris Installs New Production Line in Brazil for Precision-Fermented Ingredients

Anay Mridul Mar 13, 2026

Californian biotech firm Amyris has completed construction of a new manufacturing line at its precision fermentation plant in Brazil, the latest move in its post-bankruptcy rebuild. US biomanufacturing company Amyris is expanding its…
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UPFs

Wisecode Unveils Non-UPF Shield for A New Way to Define Ultra-Processed Foods

Anay Mridul Mar 12, 2026

US startup Wisecode has launched a verification programme for brands and a consumer-facing app to bring clarity to the ultra-processed food debate. Nearly a year after they first unveiled a nuanced way of defining ultra-processed foods…
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Climate Change

EU Climate Advisers: Eat Less Meat, Redirect Subsidies & Tax Farm Emissions

Anay Mridul Mar 12, 2026

The EU's scientific advisory board has outlined critical measures to curb agricultural emissions and meet its climate goals, including the removal of livestock subsidies and encouraging plant-based diets. A shift from meat-heavy diets…
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Vegan

Urban Farm-Produce Hops On UK’s Whole-Food, Anti-UPF Drive with Lion’s Mane Steaks & Mince

Anay Mridul Mar 12, 2026

Amid an ongoing fundraising drive, UK mushroom grower Urban Farm-Produce has unveiled Prepared Mane, a range of lion's-mane-based meat alternatives. As sales of plant-based food bounce back in the UK, one company is betting the farm on…
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Funding News

Swiss Startup Seprify Secures $15.7M to Replace Titanium Dioxide with Cellulose Materials

Anay Mridul Mar 12, 2026

Swiss biomaterials firm Seprify has raised 12.25 million francs ($15.7M) to scale its cellulose-based alternatives to titanium dioxide for the food and cosmetics sectors. As the consumer goods industry reckons with the impact of…
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Future Food Quick Bites

Future Food Quick Bites: Beyond x Starbucks, Alpro Matcha & Savoury Protein Shakes

Anay Mridul Mar 11, 2026

Our weekly column rounds up the latest sustainable food innovation news. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Beyond Meat's Starbucks return, Quorn's ready-to-go bites, and a host of Indian alternative protein launches. New…
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Alt Fats

Melt&Marble Cleared to Sell Animal-Free ‘Designer Fats’ for Food & Personal Care

Anay Mridul Mar 11, 2026

Swedish precision fermentation startup Melt&Marble has secured clearance to sell its animal-free fat for food in the US and personal care lipid internationally. Melt&Marble can now commercialise its sustainable "designer fats"…
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Fermentation-Based Alt Protein

Danish Startup Takes Over Orkla Factory to Scale Up Lacto-Fermented Plant-Based Ingredients

Anay Mridul Mar 11, 2026

Danish food tech startup Ferm Food has acquired Orkla's former facility to expand production of its fermented plant-based ingredients, like fava beans and rapeseed cake. Using lacto-fermentation to transform common plant-based…
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Fermentation-Based Alt Protein

Mexican Food Giant Sigma Explores Chicken-Free Egg Protein Applications with Onego Bio

Anay Mridul Mar 11, 2026

With the global egg market in crisis, Sigma Foods has teamed up with precision fermentation startup Onego Bio to explore innovations with its animal-free egg white protein. After a year that exposed the volatility of the international…
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China

New Proteins, Biomanufacturing & Green Energy: China Charts Path to 2030 in 15th Five-Year Plan

Anay Mridul Mar 10, 2026

China has released a draft of its policy priorities under its 15th five-year plan for economic growth, with new protein sources and green energy a key part of its climate strategy. At its ongoing Two Sessions summit, China's…
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Green Business

Beyond Meat Gets Nasdaq Delisting Warning As Stock Price Languishes Below $1

Anay Mridul Mar 10, 2026

Plant-based giant Beyond Meat has received a deficiency letter from Nasdaq, warning that the public company faces a delisting risk after its stock registered below $1 for 30 consecutive business days. As it overhauls its brand to drop…
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Cell-Based News

Rogue Pet: Magic Valley Debuts Australia’s First Cultivated Meat for Dogs

Anay Mridul Mar 10, 2026

Australian startup Magic Valley has launched Rogue Pet, a brand of cultivated meat treats for dogs, to generate early revenue. The first drop of products has sold out within a week. As it advances its cultivated pork platform for…
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