Morning All,

I’ve been spending time digging into GLP-1 drugs and their effects on the food system. One recent piece of news in particular got me thinking: the patent for these medications expires in China and India in early 2026—home to more than one-third of humanity—which will unlock a flood of biosimilar and generic versions of these blockbuster appetite-suppressing medications. This is not just a pharma story; it signals a deep disruption for food systems, retail, and agriculture across Asia and beyond. When tens of millions of new patients suddenly gain affordable access to GLP-1s, adoption curves in China and India are expected to leapfrog those seen in the West, with South and East Asia poised to rapidly outpace global trends in obesity drug uptake. Lower drug prices and local manufacturing will dramatically expand the user base, putting these medications within reach for vast middle-class and even lower-income populations for the first time.​

What does this mean for food demand and consumption patterns? Data from the US and Europe, where GLP-1s are already entrenched, point to fairly significant changes: grocery spending in households with a GLP-1 user plummets by 5–6% within six months, with caloric intake dropping by 15–40%. The deepest cuts hit ultra-processed foods (though some recent reports suggest folks on these drugs love processed meats), fast food, and high-calorie snacks, with these categories seeing double-digit declines.

Conversely, spending on nutrient-dense foods, i.e fruits, vegetables, and high-quality proteins, either holds steady or ticks upward as patients seek smaller, more satiating meals. In fact, GLP-1 users in several studies consume up to 55% more fresh produce and dramatically reduce their intake of sugary drinks and alcohol. The shift away from empty calories is partly physiological—cravings for high-fat and high-sugar foods drop sharply under these drugs.​

Supply chains across Asia will need to adapt rapidly: smaller portion sizes, single-serve and high-protein snacks, and convenient, health-focused ready meals are likely to surge in popularity as consumption patterns realign around satiety and protein targets rather than volume and indulgence.​

As millions of Chinese and Indian GLP-1 users pivot towards protein and smaller portions, pressure will mount across supply chains, from soybeans and lentils to meat alternatives, eggs, and dairy, with ripple effects on commodity markets and food inflation. Restaurant chains, from fast food giants to street hawkers, will feel the squeeze as portion sizes shrink and menu demand shifts. Food system leaders should not underestimate the speed of change—nor the need to champion innovation that can keep pace with Asia’s new appetite.​

Let’s zero in further on protein demand: the coming wave of GLP-1 adoption in Asia will no doubt cause a surge in protein demand, as both doctors and patients prioritize higher protein intake to offset muscle loss—a known side effect of these drugs. There are now medical guidelines for GLP-1 users to aim for 1.2–1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, driving a behavioral shift toward eggs, fish, pulses, dairy, and meat.

This has consequences for the climate crisis. High-protein foods, particularly conventional animal products, are the most resource-intensive and emissions-heavy foods we consume, requiring disproportionate land, water, and energy inputs. If demand for animal-derived proteins spikes sharply in Asia’s mega-economies, this means an increase in greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss across the region, unless a deliberate effort is made to shift demand towards plant proteins, pulses, and other alternative proteins. For progressive policymakers and foodtech leaders, it’s a clarion call: scaling sustainable, low-emission protein will be as urgent as the drugs themselves in shaping the food system’s climate future.

-Sonalie

💡 Only On Green Queen

♻️ Exclusive: MOA Foodtech’s AI Fermentation Service Turns Food Waste Into Sustainable Ingredients
Spanish startup MOA Foodtech unveiled the MOA Box, a turnkey service for manufacturers to create high-value ingredients from starch byproducts through fermentation and AI. Here’s how it works.

🌱 ‘GLP-1 is Raising the Bar’: How Danone’s Kate Farms is Embracing the Ozempic Boom
As GLP-1 users become “more label-literate and science-minded”, Kate Farms’ CMO Catherine Hayden shares the ways Danone’s plant-based nutrition brand is busting its gut to meet the moment with “truly better-for-you” products. 

❓ Deep Dive: What Does the Non-UPF Verified Standard Mean for Plant-Based Meat & Dairy?
The Non-GMO Project has published the first version of its Non-UPF Verified Standard to help companies label foods that are not ultra-processed. Here’s how plant-based alternatives will be impacted.

💡 COP30 Updates

📝 COP30 Digest: Everything You Need to Know in Food & Climate News Today
Welcome to #COP30. In our Green Queen COP30 Digest, our editorial team curates the must-reads, the must-bookmarks and the must-knows from around the web to help you ‘skim the overwhelm’. Catch up on it with our most recent editions: Vol. 2 and Vol. 3.

👀 Op-Ed: Clearing the Greenwash Fog – Challenging Agribusiness Influence at COP30
Maddy Haughton-Boakes, senior campaigner at the Changing Markets Foundation, on how the Big Ag lobby is flooding COP30, and how to curb its greenwashing efforts.

✅ Must-Read Headlines

🇸🇪 Swedish cultivated meat company Re:meat announced a strategic rebrand to Curve, shifting focus away from producing its own ingredients to become a sustainable protein biomanufacturer.
💡The startup is opening up its production platform to help other sustainable food manufacturers speed up their processes and path to market, helping to eliminate a major bottleneck in the industry.

🧀 UK plant-based company Julienne Bruno, known for its dairy-free Italian cheeses, has been rescued out of insolvency by The Compleat Food Group’s Harvey & Brockless.
💡The acquisition marks yet another instance of consolidation in the plant-based category, and means that the brand’s innovation will continue under new ownership.

🧐 Lawmakers Making Moves

🍼 The US government’s 2026 budget, signed into law by President Donald Trump, includes language directing the FDA to streamline regulatory pathways for non-dairy, non-soy infant formula.
💡The change aims to boost the quality, safety and nutritional adequacy of the domestic infant formula supply, while expanding options for families, and hopefully opening up options for the alternative protein industry.

🇪🇺 The European Parliament has voted to scale back rules for ESG reporting, eliminating a fine for human rights and climate violations.
💡This is its latest move to weaken climate goals, and comes as a result of the centre-right European People’s Party partnering with far-right groups.

🇭🇺 BREAKING: Lawmakers in Hungary have overwhelmingly voted in favour of banning cultivated meat, even though the EU Commission has called the move “unjustified” and experts have questioned its legality.
💡The bill cited the need to protect “traditional rural lifestyles and human health” (as well as the environment), warning against the “potential dangers of non-traditional technologies”.

🍫 Alt Chocolate News

🆕 Leading bakery industry supplier CSM Ingredients introduced Nuaré, a new line of carob-based cocoa alternatives to address the sector’s cost, supply and sustainability concerns.

🏅 Swiss manufacturing giant Bühler Group named three winners of its New Chocolate Challenge, which aims to industrialise climate-resilient cocoa-free ingredients.

🚀 Everything Else In Future Food

🇺🇸 US wellness company Fermenta is set to roll out limited-edition protein bars featuring Solar Foods’ gas-fermented protein, Solein, early next year.

📈 German discount retailer Lidl has increased the sales of healthy food in the UK by 80% since 2019, two years ahead of schedule, after becoming the first supermarket to align with the Eat-Lancet Planetary Health Diet.

🥩 US meat giant Tyson Foods has settled a greenwashing lawsuit, agreeing to stop labelling its beef products as climate-friendly or claiming it will reach net zero by 2050.

💭 A new report by think tank the Ministry of Future Affairs claims that the EU is losing out to other regions on the biotechnology front, thanks to an outdated novel food framework, and a regulatory sandbox could reinstate its leadership.

🌱🍔  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 Crafty Counter’s protein buns, Too Good To Go’s Whole Foods partnership, and Space F’s cultivated meat tasting.

📆 Scene & Heard

🚀 Register Now For Natural Products Expo West 2026!

🌱 Registration is NOW OPEN for Natural Products Expo West 2026! Taking place 3rd-6th March, the event is expected to attract more than 70,000 industry professionals and over 3,200 exhibitors from around the world. Sign up 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 MEVO Summit, happening in London 11th-12th February, is an exclusive summit for the few shaping the cultivated protein era through science, strategy and collaboration. Learn more here.

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