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© Lviv Vegan Kitchen

Double Your Donation: Vegan Meals For Refugees in Ukraine (More Than 30,000€ Already Donated)

vegconomist has been supporting a vegan meals project for refugees in the Ukrainian city of Lviv since April 2022 (scroll down to read more about the project). As the invasion of Ukraine continues, we will also continue to support the project. As of September 2022, with the help of our readers and a $10,000 matching grant from the Karuna Foundation (which matches each reader’s contribution), we were able to send more than €30.000 to Lviv Vegan Kitchen. Update: September 8th, 2022: The Karuna Foundation offered another $10,000 matching grant! E.g.: You donate €50. The Karuna Foundation will also donate €50, totalling €100. A big thank you to the Karuna Foundation and the team behind it, for making this possible! How to Donate If you would …

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UPSIDE Foods FDA greenlight

© UPSIDE Foods

UPSIDE Foods Becomes First Company in the World to Receive FDA Green Light for Cultivated Meat

UPSIDE Foods, formerly known as Memphis Meats, just announced it has received approval from the US FDA for its cultivated chicken, marking the first time in the world a company has received a No Questions letter from the US FDA for cultivated meat, poultry, or seafood. “Before entering the U.S. Market, the food must meet other federal requirements,” states the FDA document, meaning that market entrance is not yet granted but is imminent. The products have been granted Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status and once the FDA has obtained further evidence that the process is safe, it should issue a “no further questions” letter to the company. The move paves the way for the company’s path to market in the United States and brings …

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BMW Mini leather-free

© BMW/Mini

All BMW and MINI Cars to Have Fully Vegan Options From 2023

Update 27 Feb 2023: All vehicles will have the vegan interior as an option, but it is not standard across the platforms. BMW has announced that from next year, all BMW and MINI cars will have fully vegan interiors. The move is intended to help the company achieve its sustainability goals. To make this possible, BMW claims to have developed an innovative premium leather alternative with good wear resistance, suitable for use on all parts of car interiors — including steering wheels. Following the change, under 1% of the cars’ components will contain animal-derived materials (such as the lanolin and beeswax used in paints). According to BMW, replacing leather with a vegan alternative will cut emissions by 85%, since cattle rearing and processing cowhide both …

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Fry's sausage

©Fry's

Temporary Victory in South Africa Where Seizure of Plant-Based Foods Has Been Halted

Plant-based advocates in South Africa are celebrating a temporary victory after succeeding at the Johannesburg High Court on Saturday in halting thousands of product seizures scheduled to take place today, 22nd August. The Food Safety Agency (FSA) was set to begin the seizure of thousands of plant-based meat alternatives from retailers across the country for using terms such as “burger”, “nugget”, and “sausage”, in a now familiar battle that plant-based industry has been winning in various markets. To name recent examples, the French decree on labelling was suspended just three weeks ago down to insufficient legality, and famously, Amendment 171 actioned by the dairy lobby was rejected by the EU parliament last May. Saturday’s ruling prohibits the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development …

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Bluu Seafood_Cultivated Fish Fingers on a plate_copyright Bluu GmbH_Wim Jansen

Cultivated Fish Fingers, image copyright Bluu GmbH / Wim Jansen

Bluu Seafood Announces Europe’s First Cultivated Seafood is Market-Ready

Germany’s Bluu Seafood has presented its first market‐ready products made from cultivated fish cells, positioned as Europe’s first cultivated seafood products. The company states the alt seafood products will soon be ready to enter the regulatory approval process across its target markets. Bluu Seafood is concentrating on goods manufactured from fish cells that are developed in specialist facilities, based on the notion that conventional seafood production is nearing its limitations. Compared to cultivated meat, cultivated seafood has a less complicated structural makeup and is more temperature-tolerant, allowing for easier upscaling. Europe’s first cultivated seafood Founded two years ago, Bluu Seafood now becomes Europe’s first cultivated seafood startup to present market-ready cultivated seafood products. The first cell-based products developed by the startup are cultivated fish fingers …

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Happyvore bbq

©Happyvore

BREAKING! French Decree to Ban Plant-Based Use of Meat-Like Terminology SUSPENDED

The French Conseil d’Etat, France’s highest court, has just now expressed serious doubt about the legality of the proposed ban of meat-like terminology for plant-based producers in France, and deems it unjustified in terms of providing consumer information. The decree, intended to come into effect in October 2022, has now been suspended. Vegconomist has seen the document revealing the suspension ruling as signed by the judge last night, 27th July. The French body Protéines France states: “Protéines France, supported in particular by its members ACCRO, HAPPYVORE, LA VIE, NUTRITION & SANTE, OLGA and UMIAMI, has lodged an urgent application for interim relief against Decree No. 2022-947 of 29 June 2022 on the use of certain names to designate foodstuffs containing vegetable proteins” Recognising the “impossibility” …

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©Vivera

Plant-Based Meat Now Cheaper Than Animal Meat in Netherlands

Plant-based meat alternatives have suddenly become cheaper than their conventional counterparts, according to new figures. Compiled by supermarket researcher Questionmark on behalf of the Dutch branch of food awareness organization ProVeg International, the data shows how inflation and high raw material prices have caused animal meat prices to skyrocket in comparison with plant-based alt meats.  ProVeg and Questionmark systematically mapped the price differences between animal products and plant-based substitutes for the first time in February this year. They then mapped the differences again in June this year and discovered that a lot has changed, including the following price developments: In February 2022, plant-based burgers were on average 56 cents per kilo more expensive than animal-based burgers. Now, they are 78 cents per kilo cheaper. In …

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Sentient Ventures

©Sentient Ventures

Veganuary Founder Matthew Glover Announces £30M Sentient Ventures Vegan Fund

Sentient Ventures, a new UK venture fund has been launched to invest in early-stage growth capital for alt protein startups globally. Headed by Matthew Glover, co-founder of Veganuary, VFC, and Veg Capital, the Sentient Ventures founding team also includes venture investor Alexandra Clark and former investment banker Manish Karani.  The new London-based Sentient Ventures £30 million investment vehicle will spur growth in firms developing alt meat products in the plant-based and fermentation sectors. Growth capital between £500,000 and £2.5 million will be available to startups driving the net zero transition and removing animals from the supply chain, with the fund targeting a 3-5x return on investments (MOIC). Sentient Ventures will use its proprietary impact assessment tool to evaluate metrics such as reductions in greenhouse gas …

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Beyond Meat CEO

Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown © Beyond Meat

Beyond Meat CEO Announces First Sliced Steak Product is Launching This Year

Beyond Meat is planning to launch a sliced steak product later this year, marking the brand’s first venture into whole-muscle meat alternatives, reports The Wall Street Journal. According to CEO Ethan Brown, the new steak will first be available in retail stores, followed by a restaurant debut.  Intended to recreate whole pieces of meat, the product would be a major advance for Beyond Meat, whose product line has previously been restricted to ground or minced foods like burgers, sausages, chicken tenders and meatballs. “It’s probably one of our best products to date,” Brown said at WSJ’s Global Food Forum.  The steak may also provide a much-needed boost to Beyond’s lagging stock market performance, which has reported considerable losses in recent quarters due to increased investment …

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OZO Plant-Based Bacon Launch

©OZO

JBS Claims Plans to “Foster and Develop” Alt Protein Through Multiple Investments & Acquisitions

In a new podcast with Food Manufacture, the largest meat processing company in the world, JBS SA, has revealed plans for its alt protein future. JBS claims it intends to “foster and develop” alt protein innovation with multiple investments and acquisitions across plant-based, fermentation, and cultivated sectors. Citing expected levels of population growth and increased demand for proteins, the Brazilian conglomerate says it has a responsibility to increase alt proteins in its portfolio. Eduardo Noronha, JBS’s global head of innovation and operational excellence, also spoke of changing consumer habits, needs, and trends across the globe that will influence the company’s alt protein direction.  As part of this alt protein expansion, JBS recently completed the acquisition of Spanish cultivated meat leader BioTech Foods. The acquisition also …

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The Prime Minister Boris Johnson Portrait

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson, image: Ben Shread / Cabinet Office

“A Missed Opportunity”: Alt Protein Leaders Respond to UK Government Food Strategy Published Today

The UK Government Food Strategy was published today, highlighting how sustainable and alternative proteins can play a major role in British food production. However, the report falls short and has been labelled as a disappointment to the UK and to the planet. Here follows commentary on the whitepaper from leaders and experts from within alt protein: Russ Tucker, Co-Founder of UK’s first cultivated meat company Ivy Farm; Morten Toft Bech, founder of Meatless Farm; Elena Walden, Policy Manager at the Good Food Institute Europe; and Marisa Heath, Chief Executive of the Plant-based Food Alliance UK. Russ Tucker, Co-Founder of Ivy Farm “With no commitment given on the future of cultivated meat in the UK, the Government’s Food Strategy White Paper has missed a key opportunity …

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Plant Based Treaty Activists

© Plant Based Treaty

IPCC Expert Calls for “Global Veganization” as Calls for Plant Based Treaty Intensify

Climate campaigners will be in Bonn for the United Nations Climate Change Conference starting today to present a new position paper and urge delegates to begin negotiations for a Plant Based Treaty. The move comes after a senior IPCC expert has backed the paper, calling for “global veganization”; an urgent transition to plant-based diets to avoid climate disaster.  The new position paper titled “Appetite for a Plant Based Treaty” highlights how the IPCC has repeatedly demonstrated a vegan diet to be the optimal diet to drastically reduce food-related emissions. The position paper has so far been endorsed by over 50 groups and prominent individuals. It offers a roadmap for a fast and just transition to a plant-based food system this decade in response to the …

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GOOD Meat Largest Cultivated Meat Facility

©Eat Just

In Historic Move, GOOD Meat Signs with ABEC to Produce 30M Pounds of Cultivated Meat Each Year

GOOD Meat, a subsidiary of food tech brand Eat Just, announces it has entered an exclusive seven-year agreement with biotech manufacturer ABEC, Inc. to design, engineer and build the world’s largest known bioreactors for culturing avian and mammalian cells.  GOOD Meat’s large-scale cultivated meat complex will consist of ten 250,000-liter bioreactors and will be located in the US. Once fully operational, it will be capable of producing up to 30 million pounds of cultivated meat, beginning with beef and chicken, which it plans to distribute to customers across the US. Singapore strength ABEC is also manufacturing bioreactors for GOOD Meat’s headquarters in Alameda, CA (scheduled to be operational in Q4 of 2022) and for one of the brand’s facilities in Singapore (operational in Q1 of …

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Eat Just cultivated chicken curry

©Eat Just/ GOOD Meat

Eat Just & ADM Announce “First-of-its-Kind” Partnership to Accelerate GOOD Meat Cultivated Chicken 

Eat Just, the US food tech leader, has entered into a joint development agreement with agrifoods giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) to accelerate production in the GOOD Meat cultivated division. The partnership marks ADM’s first strategic partnership of its kind in the cultivated meat sector, as the US multinational food corporation continues to diversify in the alt protein sector.  Eat Just, famous for its JUST Egg brand, started its GOOD Meat division in 2017 and became the first in the world to sell its cultivated chicken to diners, as well as becoming the most funded company in the emerging industry. The company states its first-of-its-kind partnership with ADM highlights how startups like Eat Just can work with established industry leaders to reach their joint mission …

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COFE EU

Image courtesy of CIWF EU​

EU Citizens Tell Their Leaders to Shift to a More Sustainable Food System

The Conference on the Future of Europe (COFE) has called for a shift to sustainable diets, plant-based eating, and increased animal welfare. The citizen-led EU initiative enables people from across the bloc to propose ideas, with a transition to a more sustainable food system high among citizens’ concerns. The COFE is based on a series of discussions featuring citizens and EU representatives, from which the urgency to shift to a more sustainable food system has arisen. The conference heard about the importance of promoting plant-based diets during the discussions, including fostering knowledge and creating awareness on how reducing the consumption of animal products promotes climate protection and the preservation of the environment. As well as organic farming and sustainable agriculture, according to Compassion in World …

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Cows Greenpeace

Image Source: Greenpeace.org

$52 Trillion Investor Group FAIRR Warns of “Apollo-13” Moment for Meat and Dairy 

FAIRR has called the recent IPCC Assessment Report a “red flag to investors”, following its scathing figures on climate change impact for the meat and dairy industry. The FAIRR Initiative, a collaborative investor network with $52 trillion assets, has warned the destructive industry of its “Apollo-13” moment, with investors shifting capital in the food industry’s much-needed low-carbon transition.  The Apollo-13 moment refers to the meat industry’s necessity to broadly embrace innovative alt proteins in order to avert disaster like the Apollo 13 astronauts of 52 years ago. Not only is livestock the main source of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, but also warming temperatures are jeopardizing the cruel industry’s profits. Predictions show how the beef sector could lose over 20% value due to heat stress in …

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UPSIDE Foods Chicken Taco

© UPSIDE Foods

UPSIDE Foods Achieves Unicorn Status Following Largest Ever Fund Round in Cultivated Meat

UPSIDE Foods (previously Memphis Meats) announces a $400 million Series C round which included returning investors Cargill, Tyson Foods, and Bill Gates. UPSIDE says this is the largest round in the industry to date and brings its valuation to over $1 billion, thus achieving Unicorn status. The news closely follows Upside’s acquisition of Culture Decadence, producer of cultivated lobster. Pending regulatory approval, which is slated to take place in 2022, UPSIDE Foods says it intends to initially launch on the US market. The fresh funds will be utilised to expedite commercialisation, build a commercial-scale facility with a planned annual capacity of tens of millions of pounds of cultivated meat, and develop the supply chain for ACF Cell Feed – a cell media that the company …

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Wishing You a Happy Easter from vegconomist

Here at vegconomist we will be taking an Easter break from the 15th to the 18th. Next Tuesday we will be back for you with all the latest vegan business headlines.  Feel free to use the time until then to look through our archive of articles, there are over 12,000 to choose from!! The vegconomist team wishes you all a very happy Easter break.    

JUST Egg Canada

©Eat Just

JUST Egg Approved By European Commission, Will Launch in Europe This Year

Eat Just, Inc. announces today that its mung bean protein — the key ingredient in global phenomenon JUST Egg — has received approval from the European Commission, paving the way for a European launch in Q4 of this year. JUST Egg is the fastest growing egg brand in the USA and also retails across Canada, Singapore, South Korea, South Africa, Hong Kong and China. In October of last year, the protein was initially passed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) which determined mung bean protein to be safe under novel food requirements. CEO Josh Tetrick commented at the time: “Bringing JUST Egg to Europe, and to millions of consumers who are choosing a healthier, more sustainable approach to eating, will be one of the most important milestones …

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Eat Just breaks ground Singapore

©Eat Just

Eat Just to Open Largest Alt Protein Factory in Singapore 

Eat Just, the US alt protein innovator, has announced the start of construction on what it claims will be the largest plant-protein factory in Singapore. To be functional within two years, the new facility will house JUST Egg operations in the Asian alt protein epicenter of Singapore. The new Eat Just factory will produce thousands of tonnes of alt protein every year, strengthening Singapore’s food security – a key government initiative for the state’s government. The new facility is the result of a $120 million investment, with backers including Proterra Asia, and will primarily produce Eat Just’s mung bean-based egg products. California-based Eat Just has placed a heavy focus on its operations in Singapore, as it became the first nation to grant regulatory approval for …

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