Hi Folks,

Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving if you celebrate, and if you don’t, I hope your December has started out as festive as mine! I’m late on my note for this edition as it’s been busier than usual but I promise to share more next week.

-Sonalie

❓ Is Cultivated Meat Vegan?

Cultivated meat is real meat "developed without slaughter", but it isn't vegan, according to the organisation that coined the term, The Vegan Society.

• Vegan food and cultivated meat are both subsets of the alternative protein space, working to address the same issues, but with vastly different approaches.

• The Vegan Society has published a research briefing that states in no uncertain terms: "Cultured meat is not vegan. Furthermore, it may never be considered vegan."

• To think that cultivated meat companies and investors are driven mostly by ethical and environmental concerns is perhaps "naive", according to the charity, which outlined the industry's massive growth potential and profit-making opportunities.

• Could this “vegan perfectionism” harm the industry? Find out more here.

💡 Only on Green Queen

🌱 Op-Ed: Is Unilever’s Sale of The Vegetarian Butcher A Turning Point For Plant-Based Meat?
Unilever is planning an auction to sell The Vegetarian Butcher, its flagship plant-based meat brand. This news has sent ripples through the industry, prompting many to ask: What does this mean for the future of plant-based meat, and how did we get here? Andre Menezes, former TiNDLE CEO, shares his point of view.

❓Deep Dive: What Are Employers & Jobseekers Looking For In Alt Protein Careers?
A new analysis of job posts in the alternative protein sector shows what kind of roles are most popular, where people want to relocate to, and the disconnect with remote work. Here are our key takeaways.

📈 Must-Read Biotech Headlines

🇰🇷 Industry group Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization and its Bio-based Future Food Industry Committee have signed an MoU with the Good Food Institute APAC to advance the alternative protein industry in South Korea.
💡Cultivated meat is set to enter the market in South Korea, and collaborative support such as this is crucial for industry advancement.

🏭 Perfect Day, The Every Company, Cauldron, Liberation Labs and Checkerspot received grants from the US Department of Defense’s Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program.
💡These investments are in response to a 2022 executive order by the Biden-Harris administration, which focuses on advancing the country’s bioeconomy.

🐟 Umami Bioworks and Steakholder Foods have culminated their government-backed R&D project, and will now look to develop 3D-printed cultivated fish fillets at scale.
💡The companies are working with NAMIC, a national platform hosted by the Singapore government’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research, to accelerate their commercialisation efforts.

🇩🇪 German startup ProteinDistillery has broken ground on a large-scale plant for its yeast-derived Prew:tein ingredient, marked by a ceremony attended by the federal agriculture minister.
💡The Protein Competence Centre will begin production in April, helping avoid nearly two million kg of emissions.

🧫 Hot Topic - Industry Lawsuits

🚫 A UK court has dealt a blow to Oatly by ruling that the term ‘milk’ should not be used on plant-based products.
💡Plant-based labelling has been a heated battle across the globe for the last decade, and this ruling marks a big win for Big Dairy.

🍔 A judge in Los Angeles is set to dismiss investors’ class-action lawsuit against plant-based meat maker Beyond Meat, for good.
💡The case alleged that Beyond Meat misled investors about its manufacturing capacities, which led to artificially inflated stock prices that dropped by 92% when production hit a snag in 2022.

🌱 Meat Reduction News

🌱 At Tesco UK, vegetable-centric dishes account for 40% of plant-based sales, beating those featuring vegan meat alternatives. Here’s why putting the ‘plant’ back in ‘plant-based’ might be a key direction for the industry.

📊 Experts at Wageningen University argue that a shift away from meat and a transition to plant-based diets should be welcomed by the EU. Here’s why.

🇫🇮 The Finnish Food Authority just released its revised dietary guidelines, and they encourage a transition from meat-heavy diets to plant-based proteins.

🧫 Everything Else In Future Food

🍄 Faced with regulatory roadblocks in its home region, German startup Infinite Roots debuted its mycelium ingredient in South Korean supermarkets in partnership with plant-based giant Pulmuone.

🛢️ Unilever has partnered with Australian biotech firm Nufarm to produce oil from the entire sugarcane plant, with the aim of replacing fossil fuels in its laundry and beauty products.

🥩 Israeli startup Redefine Meat secured a listing at Greene King, a 225-year-old British pub chain, which will serve its premium vegan flank steak at 70 sites.

🇮🇳 Zomato has introduced a Food Rescue feature to allow customers to buy cancelled orders at a discounted rate, but restaurants remain divided over the move.

🆕 New Newsletters: have you signed up YET? 🆕

Green Queen Gulf is a new monthly industry newsletter spotlighting the Gulf region’s agrifood innovation. Expect the same insight and curation you love from our team with a new geographical focus → subscribe and share.

Climate Kitchen: a bi-monthly newsletter for climate-curious parents who care about the climate crisis and are looking for hope, inspiration and solutions → subscribe and share.

🌱🍔  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 a vegan nugget campaign with Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli, Japan Airlines’s plant-based sushi offering, and a precision fermentation communication guide.

📆 Scene & Heard

Future Food-Tech Returns To San Francisco March 2025

🇺🇸 Join global leaders from CPGs & retailers, ingredient and technology providers to cutting-edge innovators and investors for strategic networking, exclusive industry insight and startup discovery at Future Food-Tech San Francisco, happening 13th-14th March 2025. Find out more here.

🇸🇬 The 3rd annual Meat Evolution Leaders Summit, taking place 12th-13th February in Singapore, will bring together 200 decision makers from prominent to small-sized manufacturers, commercial producers, investors, cutting-edge technology providers, intellectuals, brands and future food vanguards who want to increase their knowledge and footprint in this lucrative growth market. Sign up here.

🌱 Registration for Natural Products Expo West 2025 is open. Whether you are looking for health and beauty, organic, or natural and specialty foods, this is THE place to see the newest products and trends. It’s happening March 4th-7th; register here.

Want More? Check out Green Queen’s Deep Dive series: 

• Blended Meats Are Here 

• Meat Misinformation Deep Dive

• Ozempic & the GLP-1 Revolution

• Policy Matters: Regulating Future Food Innovation