Believer Meats' plant stalls again as evidence for vegan diets piles up
UPSIDE Foods walked away from its $50 million bid for Believer Meats' shuttered North Carolina cultivated-meat plant, leaving the industry's largest facility without a buyer again.
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UPSIDE Foods walked away from its $50 million bid for Believer Meats' shuttered North Carolina cultivated-meat plant, leaving the industry's largest facility without a buyer again. [111]
02
A PETA whistleblower alleges dead, poisoned cats and thousands of heat-killed hens at a farm supplying Sauder's Eggs. [142]
03
A large meta-analysis finds vegetarian and vegan diets both cut cancer risk across multiple sites, most sharply for vegans. [11]
04
Belgian mycoprotein maker MAASH landed fresh financing and a new CEO to scale up its fermentation plant in France, a rare raise during the alt-protein funding drought. [119]
05
The Center for Biological Diversity sued USDA and Interior, arguing their plan to reopen vacant public-land grazing allotments violates the Endangered Species Act. [161]
MAASH raises €12.15 million to scale up its mycoprotein fermentation plant
Photo: vegconomist
“Our industrial fermentation experience, combined with the arrival of our new partners, will allow us to move quickly through our technical and commercial scale-up.”
Frédéric Van Gansberghe, MAASH co-founder and chairman · [119]
By the numbers
€12.15 millionfinancing package funds the industrial scale-up of MAASH's LoCylia mycoprotein ingredient [119]
10,000 tonsis the projected annual mycoprotein capacity of the Carling-Saint-Avold demonstration plant once built out [119]
Cook Marry Me lentils tonight: green lentils simmered in a garlicky, sun-dried-tomato cream sauce, ready in about 40 minutes with 19g of protein a serving. [77]
The Vegan Society unveiled a redesigned Vegan Trademark ahead of an EU rule taking effect September 27 that bans unverified green and vegan label claims. [95]
Starbucks' 2026 fall menu still has no vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte after more than 20 years, though the Pecan Cortado and other drinks go vegan with a dairy-free milk swap. [87]
Innovation
European openness to food innovation ticked up in 2025, but disapproval of cultivated meat climbed to 48% and precision-fermented dairy to 39%, EIT Food's trust survey found. [117]
French group FUTUR is holding plant-based communal picnics in 23 cities this weekend, with more than 500 people registered so far. [115]
Estonian biotech ÄIO and research group TFTAK won a €1.94 million grant to digitize and cut costs in fermentation-derived oil production. [118]
Brazilian researchers filed a patent for a fermentation process that turns potato peels and oat husks into a natural, meat-like aroma for plant-based meat. [112]
NASA-funded scientists programmed yeast to turn plastic bottles and crop waste into edible protein cookies for deep-space missions. [113]
Beyond Meat enlisted an NHS doctor and a fitness influencer for a UK "September Reset" campaign as it works to reverse six straight quarters of revenue decline. [110]
Research & Nutrition
A crossover feeding trial found a whole-food plant-based diet cut LDL cholesterol 17.9% more than a standard American diet in people with familial hypercholesterolemia. [6]
The FOOD-1 crossover trial found a plant-based-meat-supplemented diet lowered TMAO, a cardiovascular risk marker, more than a red-meat diet, though body weight ticked up slightly. [13]
Law & Policy
FoodNavigator argued brands could grow by downplaying "vegan" branding in favor of taste-first marketing, pointing to Beyond Meat's losses as evidence the label has become a liability. [159]
Wins & Culture
UK health officials declared a national Salmonella outbreak tied to egg dishes eaten outside the home; one person has died and 207 cases are confirmed. [162]
One Good Thing
Five of the seventeen Great Dane puppies pulled from a Schoharie County, New York property in July died of parvovirus. The other nine pulled through, thanks to a monoclonal antibody treatment running about $3,000 for six vials and weeks of round-the-clock care from the Susquehanna SPCA's Stacie Haynes and her staff, who converted their shelter into an isolation ward to save them. This week, the puppies the shelter calls the Miracle Nine were cleared to meet visitors for the first time. [86]
These Marry Me lentils might just become your new favorite cozy dinner. Green lentils simmer in a Tuscan-inspired sauce infused with garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and plenty of…
40 min3 servings15 ingredients
See the ingredients
1 cup dry green lentils
4 cup water
2 tbsp oil from the sun-dried tomatoes jar
1 tbsp vegan butter
5 cloves of garlic ((minced))
1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes ((patted dry to remove excess oil))
1 and 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
3/4 tsp dried thyme
3/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 and 1/8 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup plant-based cream ((Such as soy or cashew cream))
vegconomist the vegan business magazine