Hello from Shenzhen.

I was planning to share more about my China trip, but that will have to wait because the long, packed days have not left much time for writing.

Instead, I want to discuss the provocative memo that Bill Gates published this week ahead of COP30 that challenges many of our sector’s assumptions around climate action.

Gates spotlights three tough truths: that the doomsday view of climate change is overstated, that global emissions are falling faster than models predicted thanks to innovation, and that our top priority should be boosting human welfare rather than just meeting emissions targets.

The piece urges policymakers to invest in solutions that maximize impact for the world’s most vulnerable, with agricultural adaptation and health improvements ranking at the top for cost-effectiveness.

He argues that innovation, especially in energy, manufacturing, and food systems, is the best way to close the gap between rich and poor nations, and advocates for measuring climate success through tangible improvements to people’s lives.

It’s not a short piece, but it’s one worth reading. Whatever your views on Gates, it is undeniable that he has spent decades thinking on climate and global public health, so his views on the subjects are important. The main takeaway for me was this: “Development doesn’t depend on helping people adapt to a warmer climate—development is adaptation." A shining example of Gates’ conclusion? China, where I have just spent 9 days experiencing the fruits of its multi-decade, nationwide push towards clean energy, EVs, and public health.

With adaptation and human development taking center stage at COP30, Gates’ message is a call for our food-tech community to stay rigorously focused on outcomes, keep challenging our Green Premiums, and ensure our boldest ideas deliver real value on the ground, where it matters most.

Whole Foods + MAHA: Reporter Ben Ryder Howe, whose New York Times article about Costco and the American shopping psyche went viral last year, has followed that up with a deeper dive on Whole Foods, MAHA and healthy eating culture, and I shared my views on the topic in it. It’s a fascinating one. Ben and I had several long and fascinating chats about how the right has co-opted healthy eating in the US and why (though only a fraction of what we discussed made it into the final piece). Have a read here.

-Sonalie

💡 Only On Green Queen

✅ Exclusive: Parima Earns Singapore Approval for Cultivated Chicken After Vital Meat Merger
France’s Parima, formed this month after Gourmey’s acquisition of Vital Meat, has received regulatory approval to sell cultivated chicken in Singapore, marking a first for a European startup.

🔍 Industry Insights: Plant-Based Meat is Struggling – This Mycelium Bacon Maker is Not
While sales of meat alternatives fell by 7% in the US in 2024, MyForest Foods’ clean-label mycelium bacon grew fourfold, both in terms of sales and retail presence. Here’s how it’s making success happen.

✅ Must-Read Headlines

💰 Protein transition platform Food System Innovations received a $2 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund to create an open-source AI model for sustainable food products with Stanford University.
💡Researchers are developing algorithms that predict sensory attributes and optimise ingredient formulations for sustainable proteins, which could accelerate product development and deepen their market penetration.

📈 Following a dismal first half of 2025, funding for alternative protein startups bounced back in Q3 as investors rallied around differentiated tech and financial credibility, according to the Good Food Institute’s analysis of data from Net Zero Insights.
💡Plant-based and fermentation-derived proteins both enjoyed a resurgence in funding, and over two-thirds of alternative protein capital flows went to companies headquartered in Western Europe. 

🇦🇪 Abu Dhabi has begun work on establishing a framework for novel food approvals aligned with best practices from international regulators.
💡The move aims to position the Emirati capital as a global leader in food innovation, reducing approval timelines and accelerating market entry for novel foods.

⛔️ Plant-based companies are no longer allowed to label ground meat products as ‘mince’ in the Netherlands, according to a new ruling by the country’s Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority.
💡Critics argue that the decision is based on a 27-year-old law that did not mention and does not apply to plant-based products.

🧫 Cell-Based News

🇺🇸 On Saturday, Americans will be able to walk into a grocery store and buy cultivated meat off the shelf for the first time, thanks to Californian startup Mission Barns.
💡Mission Barns will sell its frozen pork meatballs at an event at Berkeley Bowl West, and will hold similar events monthly to allow consumers to learn about its tech.

🇨🇳 Shanghai-based culture media supplier JS Biosciences Co has expanded from biopharma to the cellular agriculture field to join China’s booming alternative protein industry.
💡China boasts more alt protein patents than any other region in the world, and an ecosystem boosted by government investment.

💰 Key Research & Consumer Insights

📉 Amid the slowdown in sales of plant-based meat and investment in alternative proteins, a new patent analysis from Appleyard Lees reveals that patent filings for sustainable proteins continue to fall.

👎🏼 The FAIRR Initiative’s protein diversification report reveals that, by failing to invest and innovate in plant-based foods, global food giants including Nestlé, Unilever and Walmart risk losing out on the protein race.

🇳🇱 In the Netherlands, individuals ate 74.4kg of meat on average in 2024, the lowest since records began two decades ago, according to a survey commissioned by animal rights group Wakker Dier. 

🌱 A new French study published in The Lancet Regional Health suggests that nutritious plant-based diets high in UPFs don’t lower the risk of heart disease more than minimally processed, meat-rich diets. But experts warn it is highly misleading - here’s why.

🚀 Everything Else In Future Food

☕️ Japanese food conglomerate Ajinomoto debuted a new line of beverages made using Prefer’s beanless coffee and Solar Foods’ Solein gas protein in Singapore.

🥛 Burger King Austria announced that all hot drinks will now be made exclusively with Oatly’s Baristamatic oat milk, phasing out cow’s milk while retaining its standard price.

🧀 Swedish-American startup Stockled Dreamery, known for its fermented vegan cheese, has shut up shop, after deciding against raising capital amid the slowing momentum for plant-based products.

🌱 Green Queen Wire: Held in Copenhagen on 22nd October, the Farm Adaptation Summit 2025 gathered over 50 participants from across Europe’s food value chain to co-create pathways for farm adaptation and plant-rich farming models.

🌱🍔  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 Vow’s retail debut of cultivated meat, Beyond Meat’s new European packaging, and India’s plant-based dairy launches.

📆 Scene & Heard

🚀 Don’t Miss Plant Based World Expo 2nd-3rd December

🌱 Plant Based World Expo will bring together more than 3,000 stakeholders on 2nd-3rd December to spark new opportunities in a rapidly evolving $11.3 billion market that’s projected to triple in the next ten years. Find out more and register here.

🇭🇰 Vegetarian Food Asia is the largest and most comprehensive showcase of vegetarian and eco-friendly living in Hong Kong, featuring 300+ exhibitors and 600 brands. It’s happening 23rd-25th January; find out more here.

🇯🇵 Since its debut in 1976, FOODEX JAPAN has become the premier international F&B business platform, connecting over 80,000 exhibitors with 4,000,000 buyers. Don’t miss the next one, taking place 10th-13th March. Get more details here.

🇩🇪 The Smart Proteins Summit, taking place in Frankfurt on 4th November, offers participants a comprehensive view of market events and the developments of plant-based, fermented and cultivated proteins for the food industry. Sign up here.

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