Redefine Meat expands to 391 Tesco stores as Finnish fur cruelty surfaces
Redefine Meat's 3D-printed burgers and lamb kofta hit shelves in 391 Tesco stores today, its second UK supermarket win as whole-food vegan staples outpace meat alternatives.
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Redefine Meat's 3D-printed burgers and lamb kofta hit shelves in 391 Tesco stores today, its second UK supermarket win as whole-food vegan staples outpace meat alternatives [94].
02
Undercover footage shows Finnish fox-fur farms breeding animals so oversized their skin sags in folds, landing as the EU's fur-ban decision sits delayed [105].
03
Trump ordered a review of mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef and moved to let ranchers sell meat directly, as the US cattle herd hits a 75-year low [72].
04
A 12-week RCT found a self-selected vegan diet without enough protein shrank older adults' muscle mass, a loss resistance training mostly blocked [26].
05
Nourish Ingredients ran its first 10-tonne industrial batch of animal-free dairy fat with SD Guthrie, eyeing 100 tonnes a year in Europe [87].
06
ProVeg Netherlands found plant-based groceries cheaper than meat and dairy at all nine major Dutch supermarkets it checked, by up to 30% [118].
Redefine Meat lands its second UK supermarket giant with a Tesco listing
Photo: green queen
Redefine Meat's Premium Burgers and Lamb Kofta Mix went into 391 Tesco stores and Tesco.com today, its second UK Big Four listing less than a year after debuting at 364 Asda stores [94]. The launch lands as Tesco's plant-based category returns to growth, but the growth is coming from whole-food staples like beans, tofu, and vegan mince rather than meat alternatives, which dipped 4.3% in the first half of 2026 [86]. Redefine Meat's UK lead Simon Owen says the two products chosen have already proven themselves with consumers and judges [94].
“Taste remains the biggest barrier preventing more shoppers from entering the plant-based category. Consumers shouldn't have to compromise on flavour to choose plant-based food, which is why we've focused relentlessly on creating products that deliver an exceptional eating experience first and foremost.”
Fromvegconomist the vegan business magazineGreen Queen
02▼Activism & AnimalsStory
Undercover footage exposes deformed, injured foxes on Finnish fur farms
Photo: <strong
Footage recorded on Finnish fox farms between November 2025 and April 2026 shows animals bred so oversized for their pelts that skin sags in folds, with untreated eye infections and injuries, GAIA and Project 1882 said releasing it September 3 [105]. Finland's fur industry pledged a pelt-size cap after similar images surfaced in 2017, but auction house Saga Furs sold more than 12,000 pelts exceeding that limit at its March sale [105]. The European Commission's decision on a Fur Free Europe ban, triggered by a citizens' initiative that gathered over 1.5 million signatures, was expected in March 2026 and remains delayed [105].
“These foxes are literally being deformed to produce a few extra centimetres of fur. This is how far this industry is prepared to go to increase its profits.”
Sébastien de Jonge, Director of Operations, GAIA · [105]
“No animal should be confined to a cage and killed for its fur.”
20kgaverage weight of fur-bred Arctic foxes by 2014, more than double a wild Arctic fox and up from 7-8kg in the 1990s [105]
12,000+size-70 blue fox pelts sold at Saga Furs' March auction, exceeding the industry's own size-60 cap [105]
1.5 millionvalidated signatures behind the EU's Fur Free Europe initiative, the most successful European Citizens' Initiative for animals to date [105]
WatchThe European Commission's Fur Free Europe decision, already delayed past its expected March 2026 date, remains pending [105].
From<strong>Latest</strong> news
03▬Research & NutritionStory
Vegan diet without enough protein shrank older adults' muscle in trial
Wikimedia Commons / Tofu
A 12-week randomized trial split 72 healthy adults over 65 into a self-selected vegan diet, their usual omnivorous diet, or a vegan diet paired with resistance exercise, and found the vegan-only group lost significantly more thigh muscle volume and lean mass than the other two [26]. Protein intake fell by roughly 20 to 28 grams a day in both vegan arms, but resistance training blocked most of the muscle loss the unsupervised vegan group experienced [26]. The Maastricht-led team, publishing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, frames the finding as a case for planning protein deliberately on a vegan diet in later life, not a case against it [26].
By the numbers
-27.7gaverage daily protein cut in the vegan group by week one, versus no change in the omnivorous group [26]
-1.15kgappendicular lean mass lost by the vegan-only group over 12 weeks, compared with a 0.62kg loss when resistance exercise was added and a slight gain on the omnivorous diet [26]
72healthy adults aged 65 and older, split across the three study arms [26]
FromPubMed
04▬Law & PolicyStory
Trump orders review of mandatory country-of-origin beef labeling
Wikimedia Commons / Cattle
President Trump ordered Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to review, within 90 days, whether existing law allows mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef, and separately directed the USDA to widen ranchers' ability to process and sell meat directly across state lines [72]. The orders cite the US cattle herd sitting at a 75-year low and aim to cut ranchers' dependence on the four processors, JBS, Cargill, Tyson Foods, and National Beef, that dominate US meat packing [72]. The Meat Institute, representing those processors, called mandatory labeling costly and warned that selling uninspected meat risks undermining food safety, while the Department of Justice separately expanded its price-fixing probe to include Walmart and Costco [72].
“raise the price of meat for consumers already struggling to afford groceries”
Julie Anna Potts, president and CEO, Meat Institute · [72]
By the numbers
$1bn+estimated annual added supply-chain cost from reinstating mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef and pork, per a Meat Institute-cited study [72]
75-year lowfor the US cattle herd, the backdrop cited for the orders [72]
WatchSecretary Rollins has 90 days to complete the labeling review and report findings [72].
FromJust Food
Worth Knowing
Food & Recipes
Baked teriyaki sesame cauliflower bites: oil-free, chickpea-flour-crusted florets tossed in a sweet-tangy sauce, ready in about 30 minutes for a grain bowl or wrap filling [78].
Poland's competition watchdog is investigating Danone, Mondelez, Nestlé, and Unilever for shrinking pack sizes without clear labeling, after an EU court ruling that such practices can mislead consumers [71].
Innovation
Leah Garcés, who built Mercy For Animals' farmer-transition program, returns to Compassion in World Farming as Global Ambassador to lead its campaign to end caged animal farming [96].
Stanford engineers built a single-nozzle bioprinter that lays down muscle, fat, and sacrificial nutrient-channel inks together, aiming to grow whole cultivated steaks instead of ground cuts [95].
A Dutch consortium led by Wageningen University won €4 million to turn legume, rapeseed, and potato processing waste, now mostly fed to animals, into protein ingredients for meat alternatives and tempeh-like foods [91].
Mushroom Squared is moving beyond plant-based meat to sell mushroom-and-pea-protein patties targeting gut, metabolic, and cognitive health, and is seeking non-UPF certification [89].
Redefine Meat says it has taken its "first steps into the US market" as part of a broader international push beyond its core European base [86].
Research & Nutrition
A meta-analysis of prospective studies found vegetarians have 13% lower total cancer risk and vegans 23% lower than non-vegetarians, with the strongest evidence for colorectal and breast cancer [37].
A crossover feeding trial found a whole-food plant-based diet cut LDL cholesterol by 17.9% compared with a standard American diet in adults with genetic familial hypercholesterolemia [32].
A randomized crossover trial found swapping red meat for plant-based meat patties lowered TMAO, a gut-microbiome metabolite tied to cardiovascular risk, in just six days [39].
A dose-response meta-analysis linked healthful plant-based diets to 21% lower dementia risk, and unhealthful ones heavy on refined carbs and sweets to 24% higher risk [45].
A small trial found a vegan Mediterranean diet beat a standard Mediterranean diet at cutting LDL cholesterol and pain scores in women with fibromyalgia over six weeks [29].
One Good Thing
Dutch shoppers now save real money for going plant-based, not just conscience. ProVeg Netherlands priced identical baskets, mince, burgers, butter, milk, yogurt, cheese, at nine major supermarkets and found the plant-based versions cheaper at every single one, up to 30% cheaper in some cases. Even Ekoplaza, an organic chain, beat its own animal-based prices by 5%. The sustainable choice, at least on a Dutch grocery run this week, is now also the cheap one [118].
This California Grape lemonade slushie combines naturally sweet frozen green grapes with lemon juice to create a smooth, icy treat that can be enjoyed in just 10 minutes.
vegconomist the vegan business magazine
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