2023 Review: Green Queen’s Top 10 Future Food & Climate Stories of the Year

As we wrap up another year full of future food innovations and climate developments, here are Green Queen’s 10 most-read non-alternative-protein stories for 2023, featuring lab-grown fruit, a Netflix documentary, beanless coffee and a greenwashing ban.

Live to 100 names Singapore sixth Blue Zone

Netflix documentary Live to 100 was the talk of the internet in August, with host Dan Buettner, co-founder of the Blue Zones certification, naming Singapore as the sixth location on the list.

Chinese dishes that are naturally vegan

There’s a perception that Chinese food isn’t very vegan-friendly, but while it is meat-heavy, there are loads of dishes that are automatically plant-based, including Hunan steamed eggplant, lo han jai, and braised bamboo shoots.

What is lab-grown fruit?

After scientists in New Zealand harvested fruits grown in labs using plant cells, we took a look at what cell-based fruits are, why they could be a necessity, and whether they’re a viable future food group.

Terrifying facts about microplastics

We rounded up 10 truly horrifying facts about microplastics, including where you could find them, what they can do to us, and how we’re responsible for microplastic pollution.

The toxicity of single-use paper cups for coffee

A study revealed that paper coffee cups can be just as toxic to aquatic midge larvae as plastic ones, calling for more transparency regulations in the plastic industry.

The startups making beanless coffee

It was a big year for coffee tech – we rounded up seven startups working on beanless (or molecular) coffee to sidestep the effects of climate change on the crop.

Is climate change real?

We touched upon the basics of climate change, and explored the question: “Is it real?”. Our explainer covered scientific research on the topic, facts about carbon emissions, and details about the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The hows and whys of carbon labelling

With net zero becoming a corporate priority, more and more food products will feature carbon labels on packaging – we described how they would work, and the best way to design and implement them.

Everything you need to know about the EU greenwashing ban

In an in-depth look at the EU’s anti-greenwashing legislation, we looked at whom it would affect, which terms and actions are banned, and how it was going to take shape.

The best home composters

With people becoming increasingly aware of food waste and its impact on the planet and food security, we listed out seven of the best home composters you can buy, alongside their pros and cons.

Check out our top 20 alt-protein stories for 2023.