Morning All,

The longevity sector is having a glow-up moment. What used to be the niche domain of biohackers and Silicon Valley supplement stacks is rapidly professionalising into a global industry spanning clinics, wearables, biomarkers, and “longevity-ready” menus at upscale restaurants. Underneath the hype, though, one theme keeps resurfacing in the data: populations that live the longest and healthiest lives tend to eat in ways that are overwhelmingly plant-centric, with animal products—if present at all—sitting firmly on the sidelines rather than at the centre of the plate.

From Okinawa to Sardinia to Loma Linda, the world’s longest-lived communities (aka Blue Zones) consistently share dietary patterns that skew heavily toward legumes, whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds, with low intake of red and processed meat and minimal ultra-processed foods.

Large epidemiological cohorts and meta-analyses over the past decade echo this pattern, linking plant-forward diets to lower all-cause mortality, reduced cardiovascular risk, lower incidence of type 2 diabetes, and better weight and metabolic markers well into older age. The nuance matters: it is not just “plants”, but minimally processed, fibre-rich, diverse plant foods that appear most protective, especially when they edge out high-saturated-fat animal products and refined carbs.

For the future food world, this creates both an opportunity and a responsibility. Longevity is becoming a powerful aspirational narrative for urban, affluent consumers (a rapidly expanding segment in emerging markets across the globe), exactly the audience willing to experiment with new products, formats, and routines. But if longevity becomes synonymous with expensive supplements or “biohacked” snack bars, the sector will have missed the point.

At Green Queen, our lens is clear: the real longevity play lies in making plant-centric eating normal, delicious, and accessible at scale, from alt proteins to balanced proteins to functional staples to ready meals and hospital menus, so that the diets associated with living longer and better are not a luxury niche, but the everyday baseline.

-Sonalie

💡 Only On Green Queen

🍼 Exclusive: Brazil Govt Pumps $6M in Biotech Startup to Close Gap Between Breast Milk & Baby Formula
Harmony Baby Nutrition secured R$31.8 million ($5.8 million) from the Brazilian government to create breast-milk-inspired infant formulas through fermentation and set up a new R&D centre. Here’s the inside scoop.

🥛 Industry Insider: Strive Nutrition Wants to Take Over the Dairy Aisle with Protein-Rich Freemilk
Strive Nutrition will be rolling out its Freemilk range, which contains 10g of cow-free whey protein per serving, at Walmart stores in 2026. Its co-founder Dennis Cohlmia lays out the startup’s challenges and future ambitions.

🇺🇸 Key Insights: San Francisco Sues 10 Companies Over Ultra-Processed Foods 
San Francisco has filed the first government-led lawsuit against ultra-processed food manufacturers in the US, an issue with rare bipartisan support. Will it succeed?

🌱 Deep Dive: Everyone’s Favourite Beatle Weighs In On EU ‘Veggie Burger’ Labelling Ban
The Beatles star Sir Paul McCartney has joined eight UK politicians to call on the EU to drop its proposed ban on the use of meat-like terms on plant-based products.

✅ Must-Read Headlines

💵 Swedish startup Melt&Marble secured $8.5 million Series A funding to scale up and launch its precision-fermented “designer fats” for use in food and personal care products.
💡The startup is already co-developing products with companies across various industries globally, including Beiersdorf and Valio.

💰 Australia’s All G raised A$10 million ($6.6 million) in a convertible note round, ahead of a planned Series B raise, to support its commercialisation efforts.
💡The startup has also signed a joint venture with French bioactives leader Armor Protéines to expand production of its precision-fermented lactoferrin proteins.

🇦🇺 Also in Australia, the state of Victoria has invested A$12 million ($8 million) to set up a new research hub and glasshouse to develop climate-resilient crops to meet the global demand for plant-based proteins.
💡Victoria has emerged as a leading player in growing crops for plant-based protein products in Australia, with its pulse industry generating $638 million in export income last year. 

☂️ US startup Bettani Farms has acquired vegan cheese brands Stockeld Dreamery and Numu, and plant-based meat maker Hungry Planet, bringing them under one brand umbrella.
💡These acquisitions are in line with the wider trend of consolidation in the alternative protein sector, which has seen over 50 instances of M&As or businesses falling into liquidation since September 2024.

☑️ Regulatory News

🇨🇳 Chinese biotech firm Fushine Bio received the country’s first regulatory green light for Fusarium venenatum, a source of fungal mycelium protein, as a novel food ingredient, in a move hailed as a “significant step forward” for the global alternative protein sector.
💡The firm has earmarked several applications for its ingredient, including dairy-free cheese, pet food, medical supplements like low-sugar or condition-specific formulas, and food for consumption in space.

🇦🇺 Australian startup Eden Brew has submitted the country’s first regulatory application for a precision-fermented dairy protein, with a decision expected by November 2026.
💡Eden Brew plans to sell its casein proteins as a B2B ingredient for use in supplements, food fortification, sports nutrition products, and the GLP-1 market. 

🇬🇧 The UK’s Food Standards Agency has published the first of several pieces of guidance for cultivated meat regulation, born out of its ongoing regulatory sandbox.
💡It marks a shift away from the EU’s novel food regulations, which the UK still followed post-Brexit, and hopefully offers opportunities for startups looking to commercialise there.

🇪🇺 The EU’s new Bioeconomy Strategy outlines the bloc’s intention to help “advanced fermentation” startups scale up and fast-track their novel food approval pathway.
💡The current process presents a huge barrier for future food companies, many of which turn their attention to North America or Asia, where regulatory processes are more streamlined.

📚 Key Research & Consumer Insights

🇨🇳 A group of scientists have identified 10 bottlenecks hindering China’s alternative protein progress, calling for policy and investment support to overcome the barriers.

💧Asia’s water insecurity is escalating, threatening further economic and social risks. According to the latest Asia Food Challenge report by Oliver Wyman, Rabobank and Temasek, adopting measures like better irrigation systems and sustainable diets can avert this crisis.

📰 New analysis from the Center for Biological Diversity reveals that, despite sustainable diets and meat reduction being identified as key levers to mitigate the climate crisis, only a tiny fraction of media coverage focuses on these topics.

📈 Data from market intelligence firm Euromonitor reveals that meat prices in the UK have increased over six times faster than beans and lentils, causing a slowdown in sales of animal proteins in favour of plant-based options.

🚀 Everything Else In Future Food

🫛 Spanish food emulsion producer Lasenor introduced a new pea protein texturiser that can help bakery manufacturers reduce eggs, important amid supply and price shocks.

🏈 French dairy giant Danone has partnered with the Big Ten Conference, America’s largest college sports league, to expand access to its protein and plant-based products under the Oikos and Silk brands.

🌱 The Jensen Meat Company has integrated vegan meat maker Before the Butcher into its plant-based division, bringing it together with Cool Beans to accelerate its growth in the sector.

🇳🇱 The Health Council of the Netherlands has published new dietary guidelines that call for a transition to plant-rich eating patterns for nutritional and environmental benefits, with meat and dairy alternatives a prominent feature.

🇪🇺 The European Union has failed to reach an agreement over the highly contentious plant-based meat labelling ban, with negotiations now delayed to 2026.

🌱🍔  Future Food Quick Bites 

In our weekly column, Future Food Quick Bites, we round up the latest news and developments in the alternative protein and sustainable food industry. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Treeline Cheesemakers’ cottage cheese, Veganuary’s participation for 2026, and the world’s best vegan restaurant.

📆 Scene & Heard

🚀 The Agenda For Future-Food Tech SF 2026 Is Live!

🇺🇸 Join CPGs, retailers, ingredient and technology providers, cutting-edge entrepreneurs and investors at Future Food-Tech San Francisco on March 19th-20th and connect for targeted networking, exclusive industry insights and startup discovery. Sign up here.

🇭🇰 Catch Green Queen’s founding editor, Sonalie Figueiras, at HK Green Drinks on 17th December, where she’ll be talking all things alternative proteins and food sustainability. Get more details here.

🇨🇭 Missed the HackSummit New York this week? Don’t worry, it’s coming back to Lausanne 22nd-23rd April. The event will be doubling down on Climate Deep Tech, supporting companies at the cutting edge of hardware and science-driven solutions. Learn more here.

🇳🇱 F&A Next is about thought leadership and connecting promising startups and scale-ups to dedicated Food and Agtech investors and leading corporations. It includes two days of networking, pitching, and debating the dynamics of food and agriculture, and is happening 21st-22nd May. Find out more here.

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