Hello from Shanghai!

I am in China on the third day of a 9-day study trip as part of the fellowship, and it’s a wild ride in the future. I will write more about our visit in next week’s edition, but as we drive to the train station on busy, EV-filled, oh-so-quiet roads to board our uber-high-speed train to Beijing, and reflect on a visit to the world’s largest solar panel company, where the company’s global vice president proclaimed that their contribution to the world was reducing solar costs from $2 to $0.10 in ten years, thereby enabling the renewable revolution to truly scale, it’s hard not to be amazed. Wowed, even. China truly is so far ahead in almost every possible way. IYKYK. 

Over in the food tech world, we’ve got a packed edition as always with big headlines, so scroll till the end.

Are consumers over climate? A slew of mainstream news stories this week suggests that sustainable food has lost its mojo:

• Oatly’s CEO blamed falling plant-based milk sales on “greenwashing and ‘doom and gloom talk around climate change” that has “put US consumers off sustainability”.

• The same week at the World Economy Summit, Impossible Foods’ CEO said that marketing plant-based meat as a climate solution was a mistake. In a social media post discussing his comments, the startup’s former chief of comms hit back with fighting words: “masterclass marketing is all about creating a cultural movement.”

• Meanwhile, Michelin has apparently ditched its Green Stars listings, according to Nicholas Gil of the New Worlder Substack. While no formal announcement has been made, they are no longer appearing on the guide’s website, and they were omitted from the latest guide launch.

• A new US study in a college dining hall has concluded that greenhouse gas emissions icons on menus do not shift eating choices towards lower-emission foods; in response, leaders from NGO Food for Climate League said that schools and universities’ foodservice teams need to rely on other, better strategies to change eating behavior.

• Tesco UK appears to have dramatically reduced its plant-based Christmas offerings, leading one vegan marketer to proclaim that “the movement needs fresh energy.”

As I am looking deeper into why the climate argument appears to be weakening, I found the key takeaways from Globescan’s Societal Shift Survey: Uncovering Public Support for Climate and Nature Action, in which over 30,000 people from 30+ countries were polled, helpful and illuminating:

• Systemic change is preferred over personal sacrifice, with strong public support for government and business-led sustainability efforts 

• Emotional storytelling is essential, as hope, fear, and anxiety are dominant emotions generated by data-driven communications 

• Climate fatigue and misunderstanding are rising, highlighting the need for clearer communication and renewed plural and positive narratives 

• The Global South leads in optimism and readiness, showing strong support for green transitions and willingness to act

In memory of the one and only Irina Gerry: While writing this letter, the news that the world has lost a beautiful, incredible human became public—her husband Ryan shared a heartbreaking tribute. Irina inspired and empowered so many of us in our global food tech community. She was also a dear friend, and I will miss her terribly. I have so much more I want to say, but for now, my thoughts and prayers are with her family, and especially her two wonderful boys.

-Sonalie

💡 Only On Green Queen

🧀 Exclusive: With Fresh Funding, France’s Nutropy Eyes 2027 Launch of Animal-Free Cheese
French precision fermentation startup Nutropy raised €7 million to scale up its casein proteins, targeting a launch of its “cheeseable milk” powder in 2027.

❓Industry Insights: As Some Back Out & Others Double Down, Hybrid Dairy Remains A Mystery
Dutch supermarket Albert Heijn has launched a blended yoghurt combining dairy with fava beans, just as Kerry has discontinued its hybrid Smug Dairy range in the UK. Here’s what’s going on.

💪🏼 Interview: How A Former USDA Stalwart & White House Advisor is Leading the Plant-Based Fight
Sanah Baig, who has years of experience working for the US government, explains why she chose to join the Plant Based Foods Institute, and her thoughts on the MAHA and livestock lobby.

✅ Must-Read Headlines

🇩🇰 Denmark’s Matr Foods raised €20 million Series A funding for its mycelium meat alternatives, adding to the €20 million debt funding it received from the EU in 2024.
💡The fundraising total of €40 million is the largest secured by a Danish food tech startup to date, and it will use the funds to build a large-scale factory that can produce thousands of tonnes of mycelium protein.

🍫 Israeli startup Celleste Bio unveiled the first chocolate-grade cocoa butter made via plant cell culture technology.
💡According to Celleste Bio, chocolate manufacturers spend about $16B billion on cocoa ingredients a year, and cocoa butter alone makes up nearly half of that outlay - a massive potential market.

🇫🇷 Food Standards Australia and New Zealand has formally accepted a dossier from French firm Parima to sell cultivated duck products, which is expected to be approved next year.
💡Parima has also filed for approval in the EU, the UK , Switzerland, Singapore, the US, and another undisclosed country.

🤝🏼 Industry Acquisitions & Partnerships

🧀 French dairy giant Bel Group and precision fermentation firm Standing Ovation have completed an industrial-scale production run of casein made with upcycled whey waste.
💡The breakthrough demonstrates the viability of a closed-loop valorisation model, reduces waste, and supports food sovereignty by leveraging available national resources.

🤩 The Good Food Institute has acquired cell lines and growth media from defunct startup SciFi Foods, and partnered with Tufts University to make them available for cultivated meat researchers via an open-access cell bank.
💡The move could save the future food industry years of effort and millions of dollars for R&D.

🇰🇷 GFI APAC and the World FoodTech Council have signed a new partnership to accelerate innovation in South Korea’s alternative protein ecosystem.
💡The partnership comes as government support for novel proteins is ramped up in South Korea; the two organisations will work to support strategic regulatory policies, boost domestic R&D initiatives, and support scientific talent development.

💰 Key Research & Consumer Insights

📊 Combined emissions from the world’s top meat and dairy producers are on par with those of the biggest fossil fuel companies, and higher than those of Saudi Arabia, according to a new study co-authored by Foodrise, Friends of the Earth U.S., Greenpeace Nordic, and Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

🌾 A new report by Compassion in World Farming suggests that growing human-grade crops to feed animals in factory farms wastes more food than any other sector.

🇪🇸 Research from GFI Europe shows that Spain’s alternative protein ecosystem is thriving, with investments rising by nearly 550% in 2024. Here’s what the opportunity looks like.

🚀 Everything Else In Future Food

🍽️ Plant-based giant Beyond Meat unveiled the Beyond Test Kitchen, where it gives customers an exclusive first taste of its new proteins before wider rollout, underlining a customer-led approach to product development.

🌱🥩 Fable Food Co launched its omnivore-favourite blended meat range at Central Market stores in Texas, the US’s largest beef-producing state, and to great success.

☕️ British oat milk maker Minor Figures has partnered with Wildfarmed to launch its first barista-style product with regeneratively grown oats.

🧀 Italian non-dairy cheese maker Dreamfarm secured a listing with French retail giant Monoprix, rolling out six of its innovations to around 70 stores across the Paris area.

🌱🍔  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 Eat Just’s vegan chicken, Beyond Meat’s Walmart expansion, and Tesco’s collab with La Vie.

📆 Scene & Heard

🚀 Don’t Miss Gulfood Manufacturing 4th-6th November

🗓️ From 4th–6th November, Gulfood Manufacturing returns as the world’s leading gathering for food and beverage manufacturers, supply chain leaders and technology pioneers. This year’s edition will unite 2,500+ exhibitors from 79 countries, including new national pavilions from Korea, Japan and Russia. Sign up here.

🧫 The 7th annual Industrializing Cultivated Meats & Seafood Summit is the only event laser-focused on the technical innovations driving cost parity, scalability, and product excellence. Join leading food techs, CPGs, investors, and regulators on 3rd-4th December to explore cutting-edge bioprocessing, downstream design, and commercialisation strategies. Secure your spot here.

🇳🇱 With over 1,000 attendees and 60+ exhibiting companies, the Future of Protein Production Amsterdam is Europe’s premier event for driving innovation and scaling alternative proteins. It’s taking place 29th and 30th October; register here.

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