The climate crisis is on our plates—so why isn’t it in our headlines?

Every day, we make choices about what we eat, yet few of us realize how deeply those choices are tied to the fate of our planet. The truth is, food systems are one of the biggest levers we have to combat climate change—but somehow, this critical connection remains overlooked in mainstream media.

Consider this:

• Food and agriculture account for 25–33% of all global GHG emissions—more than the entire transportation sector.

• Animal agriculture alone contributes 11–19% of global emissions, yet it appears in just 7% of climate news coverage.

• 65–77% of people have no idea that their steak or cheese habit has a bigger carbon footprint than their car.

• And in a staggering oversight, 93% of climate reporting never even mentions livestock farming’s emissions.

This silence is dangerous. If we don’t talk about food, we can’t fix it.

That’s why I am thrilled to announce that we’re launching The Climate Feed Fellowship—the first program of its kind dedicated to training journalists to investigate, interrogate, and illuminate the food-climate connection. Because the stories we tell shape the future we build.

Why This Matters Now

We’re at a tipping point. Consumers are demanding sustainable options, policymakers are (slowly) waking up to food’s role in climate policy, and scientists are sounding the alarm louder than ever. But without strong journalism to connect the dots, progress stalls.

This fellowship isn’t just about writing articles—it’s about equipping a new wave of reporters with the tools, access, and platform to shift the conversation.

What’s in It for Fellows?

• Deep-dive mentorship from veteran climate and food journalists and the Green Queen editorial team.

• Exclusive workshops with experts like Thin Lei Win (award-winning food systems reporter) and Sophie Egan (author of How to Be a Conscious Eater).

• Guaranteed publication of their work on Green Queen’s high-traffic platform.

• A stipend to support their reporting.

Who We’re Looking For

Early-career journalists (0–5 years experience) who are hungry to investigate:

• How Big Ag lobbies against climate policy

• The rise of regenerative farming—hype or hope?

• Why alt-protein startups are struggling (and what comes next)

• The hidden links between food waste, supply chains, and emissions

The Bigger Vision

This fellowship was born from a frustrating truth: food is the blind spot in climate journalism. Inspired by Covering Climate Now, we’re creating a space where reporters can go beyond the usual "stop flying, drive less" narratives and dig into the real systems change we need.

Huge thanks to Rooted Research Collective for their partnership on strategy and fundraising—and to Craigslist Charitable Fund for helping turn this idea into reality.

If you’re a journalist who wants to break the biggest underreported story of our time, or you know someone who should be—apply now. Deadline: June 20, 2025.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Share this with reporters, professors, or anyone who believes in the power of media to drive change

Let’s rewrite the narrative—one story at a time.

Details & application: greenqueen.com.hk/climate-feed-fellowship

-Sonalie

💡 Green Queen Exclusives

🛒 Amazon of Synbio? This E-Shop Wants to Sell Cultivated Meat Across Europe
Cultivated meat isn’t approved for sale in Europe yet – but that hasn’t stopped entrepreneur David Bell from setting up an online shop for cell-based proteins.

🇨🇦 Industry Insights: As Tariffs Drive Canadians to Buy Local, Vegan Salmon Startup New School Foods is Ready
As relations between Americans and Canadians sour, Toronto-based startup New School Foods is aggressively expanding its plant-based salmon. Here’s why.

🥛 Trend Report: Oat Milk’s New Era
Oat milk continues to rise in popularity globally, thanks to its flavour and climate benefits – but it is so much more than simply another non-dairy alternative now.

🥩 Consumer Trends: Is Expensive Beef the New Reality for US Consumers & Restaurants?
While beef consumption made a comeback in 2024, sustained demand and climate change have caused prices to reach record highs. Is this the new normal?

💰5 Minutes With A Future Food VC: Great Circle Ventures’ Jacob Afriat
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, Jacob Afriat, General Partner at Great Circle Ventures, shares his magic wand fix for plant-based meat, and why innovation doesn’t always need to mean groundbreaking technology.

🌎 Op-Ed: Ultra-Processed Foods Are A Health Issue…For The Planet
Dr Sarah Ison, global director of research at Madre Brava, argues that the ultra-processed food discourse is helping worsen climate change.

✅ Must-Read Headlines

🍯 Californian startup MeliBio, known for its plant-based Mellody honey, has been acquired by Swiss innovation hub FoodYoung Labs.
💡This acquisition is symptomatic of the dire investment landscape for food and climate tech, though hopefully means that MeliBio’s product will thrive.

🧫 A techno-economic analysis has found that French cultivated meat startup Gourmey’s bioreactor system can reach production costs of $3.43 per lb.
💡The assessment confirms that Gourmey can reach these costs without relying on speculative technologies or mega-scale infrastructure - important in scaling successfully and quickly.

🇸🇪 Sweden’s Millow is repurposing a Lego factory to produce an oat and mycelium protein with 97% fewer emissions than beef, and minimal processing.
💡Millow is now finalising distribution agreements with brands, retailers, and distributors to launch multiple products in 2025.

🇫🇷 The co-founder of French plant-based chicken startup Swap (formerly Umiami) has been forced to step down as CEO amid weak sales.
💡The startup is also looking to renegotiate its debts with its creditors, as it reportedly needs $10 million by the end of this year.

📚 Key Research

🌱 US sales of plant-based food fell by 4% and 5% in retail and foodservice last year, respectively, but they held steady above the $8B mark for the third year in a row, according to the Plant-Based Foods Association’s 2024 State of the Marketplace report. Here’s what’s taking over the market.

🤔 A new report from the Physicians Association for Nutrition and the Good Food Institute Europe suggests that research around ultra-processed food often overlooks important nuances when it comes to plant-based meat, which can potentially mislead consumers on the health impacts.

🥩 According to a recent study by researchers at the University of Arkansas, GLP-1 users drastically reduce their consumption of certain foods, including beef – but the demand remains, which gives vegan food producers a leg up.

🐶 Bryant Research’s Billy Nicholles and University of Winchester’s Prof Andrew Knight have found that pets have a significant climate footprint, and this is the best way to lower their impact.

🇩🇪 A new poll conducted by Bitkom Research shows that, in Germany, a quarter of consumers are open to trying cultivated meat made from a 3D printer, a much greater share than in 2019.

🏷️ Current evidence overstates the impact of eco-labels on food products and menus, but a new study says it doesn’t mean we should stop using them.

🚀 Everything Else In Future Food

🍫 German hypermarket chain Kaufland released two sweet treats made using Planet A Foods’ cocoa-free chocolate alternative, ChoViva.

🇺🇸 Nebraska has become the sixth US state to ban cultivated meat, after Governor Jim Pillen signed the bill that he had initially requested. Though, Pillen faced opposition from ranchers and farming groups, with some expressing disdain for lawmakers’ efforts to stifle competition in a free market; could this mean the tides are slowly turning?

🌱🍔  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 Impossible Foods’ new vegan chicken, Quorn’s Mission:Impossible collab, and a new kind of tempeh.

Start learning AI in 2025

Keeping up with AI is hard – we get it!

That’s why over 1M professionals read Superhuman AI to stay ahead.

• Get daily AI news, tools, and tutorials

• Learn new AI skills you can use at work in 3 mins a day

• Become 10X more productive

Sign up and start mastering AI

📆 Scene & Heard

Apply To The Climate Feed Fellowship!

🎉 ANNOUNCING: The Climate Feed Fellowship by Green Queen Media, the first-ever program designed to empower the next generation of journalists to spotlight the critical link between food and climate. Because transforming insights into action starts with amplifying the right stories. Learn more and apply here.

🚀The Gordon Research Conference: Foods of the Future, taking place in January 2026, is now accepting applications! For the first time, this highly selective bi-annual conference will focus on food; don’t miss your chance to secure your spot.

🇺🇸 Future Food-Tech Chicago is where breakthrough innovators unite with global food corporations, investors, ingredient providers, manufacturers, and policymakers to forge partnerships, bridge supply gaps, and discover the next generation of sustainable proteins and ingredients. It’s happening 2nd-3rd June; learn more here.