Stephanie Goodwin © Danone Stephanie K. Goodwin, PhD, MPH, RD, is a nutrition and public health expert with a focus on national food and nutrition policy. Currently, she works for Danone North America to help bring the company’s mission to bring health through food to as many people as possible through partnerships, public policy, and national initiatives. Improving access to plant-based foods to drive better nutrition outcomes By Stephanie Goodwin, Director, Nutrition Policy, Danone North America There is no doubt that the food system in America needs to improve. Food insecurity is on ..read more

© GALY GALY, a plant-cell culture startup based in Brazil and Boston, USA, has raised $33 million in an oversubscribed Series B financing round to advance its proprietary platform for cultivated cotton from lab to pre-industrial scale. Additionally, the funds will support expanding R&D efforts to improve the quality of “GALY Cotton” and develop other sustainable alternatives to traditional crop-derived commodities. The funding round was led by Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), with participation from two fashion giants, H&M Group and Inditex. Other participan ..read more

© Vegetarian Society of Denmark The Plant Food Festival will be held for the first time in Aarhus on the weekend of 18-19 January 2025 at Savværket, followed by its return to Copenhagen on 1-2 November 2025. This green food expo will focus on plant-based and organic products, while also welcoming exhibitors with conventional offerings. Open to both private visitors and industry professionals, the event will feature a range of plant-based products, including those from startups developing innovative new foods. Attendees can explore various exhibitors, participate in workshops, and enjoy prese ..read more

© Armored Fresh Zero-dairy food tech company Armored Fresh, known for its fermented almond and oat-based cheeses, continues to innovate in manufacturing to create products that rival the taste and texture of traditional dairy cheese. The South Korean company operating in the US announces that it has filed a new patent for a technology that mimics the process of grating traditional hard-aged cheese. Instead of using the standard spray-drying process for grated plant-based cheese, which involves a liquid mixture that is then atomized into particles, the food tech company creates cheese blocks ..read more

Beyond Meat headquarters in El Segundo, California ©JHVEPhoto-stock.adobe.com Beyond Meat has plans to launch a mycelium-based whole-cut steak alternative, responding to growing consumer demand for clean-label alternatives, reports CNBC. President and CEO Ethan Brown said that the new filet would roll out in a healthy restaurant chain instead of McDonald’s, Dunkin’, or KFC; however, he did not give a launch date. “The focus on this has been a very small number of ingredients, very high protein, and very low saturated fat,” Brown told CNBC. Mycoprotein for realistic alternatives Mycoprotein ..read more

© Impossible Foods Impossible Foods and Motif FoodWorks have announced a joint settlement agreement regarding the legal battle over a patent infringement of heme technology using yeast and precision fermentation. Under the deal, Impossible Foods would acquire Motif FoodWorks‘ heme-related business. The agreement also stipulates neither party can renew allegations or bring the issue back to court, reported AFN. With this settlement, Impossible Foods, which produces the protein soy leghemoglobin found in soy, has gained access to the intellectual property and expertise of Motif FoodWorks on th ..read more

Beyond Meat headquarters in El Segundo, California ©JHVEPhoto-stock.adobe.com Beyond Meat has plans to launch a mycoprotein-based whole-cut chicken filet, responding to growing consumer demand for clean-label alternatives, reports CNBC. President and CEO Ethan Brown said that the new filet would roll out in a healthy restaurant chain instead of McDonald’s, Dunkin’, or KFC; however, he did not give a launch date. “The focus on this has been a very small number of ingredients, very high protein, and very low saturated fat,” Brown told CNBC. Mycoprotein for realistic alternatives Mycoprotein, a ..read more

© National University Singapore The Bezos Earth Fund has announced the establishment of the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein at the National University of Singapore (NUS), marking its first initiative of this kind in Asia. The centre, which is backed by a US$30 million grant, will focus on advancing sustainable protein research and the commercial development of alternative proteins in the region. The NUS centre will focus on key areas such as biomass fermentation, which involves using by-products like tofu waste to feed algae and produce high-quality protein. This research initiative for ..read more

© Upfield Upfield-owned dairy-free spread brand Flora has expanded its range with the launch of a new plant-based smoked garlic butter. The limited-edition product is claimed to be a category first for butters, spreads, and margarines. According to Flora, it is suitable for making pasta dishes, garlic mushrooms, and more. A Quantis life cycle assessment tool reportedly shows that the garlic butter has a 78% lower climate impact than dairy butter. The product is vegan-friendly and free of common allergens. According to The Grocer, Flora also has plans to launch more savoury plant-based butter ..read more

© Foundation Earth Food innovation community EIT Food has announced a partnership with non-profit organisation Foundation Earth to develop internationally adopted and accepted standards for the environmental scoring of food and drink. Foundation Earth already provides front-of-pack environmental scores for food products, but the new International Alliance for Food Impact Data will aim to address the lack of standards and coordination between stakeholders. The Alliance will initially focus on the EU policy landscape, with the belief that any future EU-mandated standards are likely to be of th ..read more