89% of the world’s people want their governments to be doing more to address climate change

Green Queen is a proud partner of Covering Climate Now (CCNow), a global collaboration of over 500 media outlets designed to support journalists and newsrooms to produce more and better coverage about the climate crisis.

On April 21st, CCNow launched the 89th Percent Project, a year-long global journalistic effort to explore a pivotal but little-known fact about climate change: The overwhelming majority of the world’s people — between 80 and 89%, according to recent science — want governments to take stronger action. But that fact is not reflected in our news coverage, which helps explain why the 89% don’t know that they are the global majority.

As part of the week-long launch, CCNow has invited its global media partners to publish stories on the theme.

At Green Queen, our focus is on reporting on the food x climate nexus, highlighting the research and the solutions about the biggest share of global greenhouse gas emissions: food production.

As part of the 89th Percent Project, we worked on a story about how most people want to eat better for the climate, which is our version of the Project’s theme: Globally, 60% Believe in Climate-Smart Diets, and 89% Want More Govt Action.

Here are two more 89th Percent Project stories we published this week:

• Americans Know Beef is Bad for the Planet, And They Want Their Leaders to Talk About It

• In Trump’s America, Only 14% of Republicans Call Climate Change A Threat

Both underscore the main message, which is that: 1) people know climate change is a problem; 2) people know we need to change how we eat to address the climate crisis; and 3) people want their government representatives to tackle the issue.

Everyone who reads this newsletter cares about food system change in some way. This Earth Day/Earth Month, my message for you is this: you are not alone. Far from it, actually. In fact, despite what angry headlines on social media and biased media outlets may have you believe, most people think like you, no matter what their politics.

-Sonalie

💡 Green Queen Exclusives

🌱 Industry Insights: Why Revo Foods Says ‘Stop Copying, Start Creating’
With sales of meat analogues continuing to drop, some plant-based companies are moving away from replication and betting on new product formats. Revo Foods is one of them; here’s why.

💰5 Minutes With A Future Food VC: Solvable Syndicate’s Steve Simitzis
In our new interview series, we quiz future food investors about the solutions that excite them the most, their favourite climate-forward restaurant, and what they look for in successful founders. Here, Steve Simitzis, Partner at Solvable Syndicate, shares why the crash in funding has been a good thing for cellular agriculture and why he looks for problem-obsessed founders.

✅ Must-Read Headlines

🇩🇰 Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk has provided a grant of 50 million kroner ($7.6 million) to the University of Copenhagen to develop less processed plant-based proteins, using AI.
💡The initiative comes weeks after Novo Nordisk came under heavy criticism by nutrition researchers for aiming to create the “next generation” of the Nova classification, the tiered system that groups foods by the amount of processing. Does this vested interest take away from the project’s positive objectives?

☕️ San-Francisco-based Compound Foods has debuted a sustainable B2B ingredient platform for beanless coffee and cocoa aimed at mass-market players who are looking for alternatives due to supply chain volatility.
🍫 Crop failures and low harvests are becoming increasingly common, leading to shortages of two commodities whose demand keeps rising. 

🇯🇵 Researchers in Japan say they’ve reached a “breakthrough” in tissue engineering that could open up “transformative opportunities” for cultivated meat production.
💡This new method allowed the scientists to produce a 2 cm thick piece of chicken muscle that was several centimetres long and wide - opening up many possibilities for tissue production.

🇪🇺 Data from DigitalFoodLab shows that European future food startups saw a 25% boost in funding in 2024, making the region a global leader in the space.
💡However, economic uncertainty is keeping investors cautious this year, with tariff talks between the bloc and the US not going smoothly so far.

🇨🇭The Swiss government has published its nutrition strategy for the next eight years, and has significantly expanded its focus.
💡Industry advocates hope that other countries will follow suit with government-backed approaches to fixing food systems.

⛔️ Company Closures

📉 Atlantic Natural Foods, the plant-based company behind Loma Linda and Tuno, has filed for bankruptcy months after withdrawing from a takeover deal by Above Food.
💡Atlantic Natural Foods bought Loma Linda from its parent in 2014, and has since expanded to over 25,000 stores in the US, plus 30 other countries; this situation is a sign of the extremely volatile plant-based landscape.

🍔 Neat, the vegan burger chain backed by Sir Lewis Hamilton and Leonardo DiCaprio, has shut its remaining UK locations, after a spate of closures over the last 18 months.
💡The company has raised over $25 million and was valued at $100 million in 2023, when it charted a path for expansion both domestically and outside the UK.

👩🏻‍⚖ Industry Lawsuits

🥛 US startup Perfect Day has been hit with a false marketing lawsuit by the Organic Consumers Association for its FDA-approved, animal-free dairy whey protein.
💡It’s worth noting that the Organic Consumers Association has a vested interest here, having been described as engaging in “anti-science activities” and promoting anti-vaccine conspiracies.

🍬 Confectionery giant Mondelēz International is facing a major lawsuit alleging that it falsely claims climate neutrality on Clif Bars.
💡Mondelēz is being accused of charging a premium based on the purported eco credentials, pushing offsets under further scrutiny.

📚 Key Research

🍚 Researchers have found that rising emissions and temperatures are linked to increased arsenic levels in rice - on which half of the world depends for most of its food needs - putting billions at greater risk of cancer and other diseases.

🇺🇸 A new survey has found that over half of Americans identify beef as the most polluting food, and many are open to eating plant-based, but they need policy changes to support the shift.

🌱What will the food system look like in 2050? According to a new report from the European Environment Agency, meat will give way to plants and novel proteins, no matter how things end up.

🇫🇮 A new government-commissioned report reveals that Finland is well-placed to become a cellular agriculture leader, with its export potential set to reach €1 billion in the next decade – but funding and regulation challenges must be addressed.

🌱🍔  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 Purple Carrot’s partnership with Fable Foods, Gosh!’s new points-based packaging, and SimpliiGood’s spirulina-based salmon.

📆 Scene & Heard

Connect With Green Queen’s Sonalie Figueiras At SynBioBeta 2025!

🇺🇸 Green Queen’s Founding Editor, Sonalie Figueiras, is excited to speak at SynBioBeta 2025—where synbiology’s future takes shape! Join her on May 5th–8th in San Jose, CA, to meet pioneers, explore innovative breakthroughs, and discuss biotech’s next chapter. Register here and use code SBB25-Future for $100 off.

🇳🇱 F&A Next, taking place 21st-22nd May, is about thought leadership and connecting promising startups and scale-ups to dedicated Food and Agtech investors and leading corporates. It includes two days of networking, pitching, and debating the dynamics of food and agriculture; get your ticket here.

🇨🇭From the lab to the field, from markets to ministries, science belongs everywhere decisions are made. Don’t miss the HackSummit on May 15th-16th, where you’ll join 850 ClimateTech founders, funders, and operators building what matters most. Get your ticket here.

💸 pladis is looking for companies with innovative solutions in personalised nutrition, advancing functional foods, and future ingredients to join its Accelerator Programme; find out more and apply here.

Seeking impartial news? Meet 1440.

Every day, 3.5 million readers turn to 1440 for their factual news. We sift through 100+ sources to bring you a complete summary of politics, global events, business, and culture, all in a brief 5-minute email. Enjoy an impartial news experience.

Join for free today!