Author

Anay Mridul 3136 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.

Food & Nutrition

Indian Plant-Based Meat Products Are Nutritionally On Par With Animal Proteins – And Sometimes Even Better

Anay Mridul Oct 21, 2024

Plant-based meat and egg alternatives in India meet the government's standards for 'high-protein' products, a new analysis has shown. In a country where food attitudes are driven as much by health as they are by religion, and four in…
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Future Foods

Lidl’s Climate Target Makes It A ‘Frontrunner’ in the Protein Transition, But Speedier Action is Needed

Anay Mridul Oct 19, 2024

German supermarket Lidl has extended its target to reduce Scope 3 emissions, which nearly make up its entire climate footprint. But experts say the shift to plant proteins needs to be accelerated. European retail giant Lidl has revised…
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Green Business

WWF Develops Tool to Help Retailers Meet Planetary Goals By Ramping Up Plant-Based Food Sales

Anay Mridul Oct 18, 2024

The World Wildlife Fund has launched a tool for supermarkets to align their sales with their climate goals, urging them to sell more plant-based food than animal protein. With retailers playing a key role in the food system's emissions…
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Future Foods

Duckweed, Sea Moss & Eco-Friendly Booze Among Whole Foods Market’s Top Trends for 2025

Anay Mridul Oct 18, 2024

Whole Foods Market has published its annual list of food trends for the upcoming year, highlighting 'plant-based aquatic ingredients' as a key category to watch. 2025 could be the year of duckweed, sea moss, agar agar and other vegan…
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Fermentation-Based Alt Protein

The Better Meat Co Takes Its Mycoprotein to Asia with Singapore Regulatory Approval

Anay Mridul Oct 18, 2024

Californian startup The Better Meat Co has received regulatory approval for its Rhiza mycoprotein ingredient in Singapore, paving the way for its international debut. The Better Meat Co is now cleared to sell its Rhiza mycoprotein in…
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Fermentation-Based Alt Protein

German Ministry Grants €2.6M to Project Upcycling Dairy Waste Into Mycelium Protein

Anay Mridul Oct 17, 2024

Infinite Roots and the Hamburg University of Technology have received a €2.6M grant from the German government to develop tech that transforms whey into a feedstock to grow mycelium. As mycelium protein mushrooms in popularity, the…
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Cell-Based News

Czech Startup Introduces Cultivated Burgers Priced the Same As Premium Beef

Anay Mridul Oct 17, 2024

Prague-based Bene Meat Technologies has produced its first cultivated burger, which it says will be at price parity with premium beef. It has also hinted at an update on its pet food venture. Bene Meat Technologies, the Czech producer…
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Alt Protein

Aussie Plant Based Co Acquired By Smart Foods A Week After Liquidation

Anay Mridul Oct 17, 2024

The Aussie Plant Based Co has been acquired by Queensland-based Smart Foods, eight days after entering liquidation due to cashflow problems. It was only three weeks ago that Queensland-based vEEF introduced a new lineup of…
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Health

UK Hospitals Urged to Follow NYC’s Lead & Make Vegan Food the Norm By 1,200+ Health Experts

Anay Mridul Oct 17, 2024

A score of health experts and climate activists are calling on the UK's public health service to make plant-based food the default option in hospitals. Gut health guru Tim Spector, environmentalist Chris Packham, and climate journalist…
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Climate Change

Denmark Invests $2.1B to Speed Up Green Transition, With Major Focus on Climate-Friendly Agriculture

Anay Mridul Oct 17, 2024

The Danish government is pouring 15 billion kroner into green research and innovation, which includes a focus on climate-friendly agriculture and alternative proteins. To speed up its path to net zero by 2045, Denmark is investing 15…
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Future Foods

Molecular Farming Startup Earns USDA Approval for Peas That Produce Beef Protein

Anay Mridul Oct 16, 2024

Moolec Science has received what it claims is the first USDA approval for genetically engineered peas, which can produce iron-rich beef protein via molecular farming. Luxembourg-based molecular farming startup Moolec Science has…
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Future Foods

Future Food Quick Bites: Cultivated Chicken Tasting, Oat Milk Liqueur & Alt-Protein Awards

Anay Mridul Oct 16, 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 Vital Meat's cultivated chicken tasting in Singapore, Oatly's new…
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Alt Protein

The UK Could Lead the Protein Transition – Stakeholders Outline How

Anay Mridul Oct 16, 2024

With a host of positive developments recently, the UK's alternative protein sector is at a tipping point – but the country needs further action to solidify its leadership. It has been a big year for the UK's alternative protein…
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Chocolate

Hershey’s, Nick DiGiovanni Part of $20M Investment for Startup Making Upcycled Cacao Products

Anay Mridul Oct 15, 2024

US cacao startup Blue Stripes has closed a $20M Series B investment round to develop superfood chocolates, with backers including Hershey's and celebrity chef Nick DiGiovanni. New York-based Blue Stripes, which tackles chocolate…
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Alt Protein

French Whole-Cut Vegan Chicken Startup Umiami Rebrands to Swap & Makes Play for the US

Anay Mridul Oct 15, 2024

Umiami, the Parisian startup making whole-cut plant-based chicken, is now called Swap, and has entered the US foodservice sector. French plant-based meat company Umiami has rebranded to Swap, which it says is "a universal word, easy to…
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Future Foods

Swedish Researchers Adopt Ancient Technique to ‘Trick’ Grains Into Releasing As Many Minerals As Meat

Anay Mridul Oct 15, 2024

Researchers in Sweden are using hydrothermal treatment to amplify the bioavailability of minerals in grains to mimic animal proteins like red meat. In 2023, a study of 20 meat and plant-based analogue products revealed that almost all…
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Cell-Based News

Judge Rejects Upside Foods’s Request to Block Florida’s Cultivated Meat Ban

Anay Mridul Oct 15, 2024

A federal judge has refused Upside Foods' request for a preliminary injunction in its lawsuit against Florida's ban on cultivated meat, throwing its Art Basel plans into doubt. Upside Foods has had its request to halt the enforcement of…
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Vegan Dining

Plantega’s Nil Zacharias: ‘I See Our Sandwiches Becoming A National Phenomenon’

Anay Mridul Oct 14, 2024

Nil Zacharias, founder and CEO of Plantega, talks bodegas, BECs, New York City, plant-based struggles, and plans to expand across the US. The first thing I did when I got to New York City was order a burrito. It was 2pm, so naturally…
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Funding News

Blue Horizon: Why The Food Tech Investor Gave Up Fund Management To Build a Giga Protein Factory in The Desert

Anay Mridul Oct 14, 2024

Leading future food industry investor Blue Horizon is pivoting from fund management to manufacturing, starting with a Giga Protein Factory in the Arabian desert. Here's why. Just over a year ago, alternative protein fund leader Blue…
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Alt Materials

Billie Eilish, The Lumineers Embrace Plastic-Free Mycelium Foam Earplugs in Concerts

Anay Mridul Oct 14, 2024

US startup GOB, which makes eco-conscious wearables, is debuting mycelium foam earplugs in collaboration with Billie Eilish and The Lumineers. Last month, New York startup Ecovative closed a $28M funding round for its mycelium-based…
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Alt Protein

Americans Remain Divided Over Plant-Based Meat & Dairy Labels, But Should Brands Worry?

Anay Mridul Oct 14, 2024

A new YouGov survey reveals that around half of Americans don't like the use of meat- and dairy-related terms on plant-based products, but should this shake up brands' marketing strategies? It was only last week that the European Court…
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