EU relaunches meat-label ban fight as cultivated meat clears new ground
The EU reopened its "veggie burger ban" fight for a third time, proposing to extend meat-term restrictions to blended foods just days after a March compromise took effect; a committee vote lands in December.
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The EU reopened its "veggie burger ban" fight for a third time, proposing to extend meat-term restrictions to blended foods just days after a March compromise took effect; a committee vote lands in December [118].
02
NotCo sold its Brazil business and reportedly exited Mexico, retreating from branded vegan food to bet everything on its AI recipe-design tool [70][80].
03
South Korea set formal cultivated-meat approval standards and Aleph Farms cleared Singapore's review, even as the FDA proposed tighter safety scrutiny for the sector [82].
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A fully controlled feeding trial found a whole-food, plant-based diet cut LDL cholesterol 17.9% in adults with a genetic cholesterol disorder [28].
05
A systematic review of prospective studies found vegetarian diets cut total cancer risk 13% and vegan diets 23%, the strongest cancer evidence yet for plant-based eating [33].
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Cutting back on chicken and eggs, not just quitting meat outright, does the most to reduce animal suffering per bite, a Faunalytics analysis found [105].
EU lawmakers reopen 'veggie burger ban' fight for a third time
Photo: gfi europe
Members of the European Parliament from the EPP, Patriots for Europe and ECR filed new amendments just days after a March compromise took legal effect on August 19, extending proposed restrictions from 32 meat terms to blended foods and historic names like the "Adenauer Sausage" [118]. A vote is scheduled for December in the Parliament's agriculture committee, with a full plenary vote expected in early 2027 [118]. More than 600 businesses across 22 EU countries have organized against the amendments through the No Confusion coalition [118].
By the numbers
600+businesses across 22 EU countries opposing the amendments through the No Confusion coalition [118]
€250 millionestimated cost to Germany's plant-based sector from the March restrictions alone, per industry group BALPro [118]
92%of German consumers said they had no difficulty telling plant-based products from meat in stores, a 2022 study found [118]
WatchA vote on the amendments is scheduled for December 2026 in the European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, with a full plenary vote expected in early 2027 [118].
NotCo sells its Brazil business, retreats further from branded vegan food
Photo: AgFunderNews
NotCo sold its Brazilian operations to Ferrara, a Brazilian investment group, months after divesting Argentina and Uruguay in June, and media reports indicate its Mexico business has also changed hands [70]. The Chilean company, once known for branded NotMilk and NotBurger products, is pivoting to its AI recipe-development tool Giuseppe, saying it has more than 35 commercial agreements with food companies including Kraft Heinz and PepsiCo [70]. AgFunderNews grouped the move alongside German cultivated-meat startup Cultimate Foods shutting down and France's Agronutris entering court-supervised receivership [80].
“NotCo is taking its next step towards a bright future and its two business units with the acquisition of its operation in Brazil by Ferrara.”
South Korea and Singapore advance cultivated meat as the FDA tightens scrutiny
Photo: cultivated meat news
South Korea established formal approval standards for cultivated meat and Aleph Farms cleared Singapore's regulatory review, adding to its existing Israeli approval, Cultivated Meat News reported [82]. The US FDA moved the other way, proposing mandatory safety notifications for the GRAS food ingredients cultivated meat relies on, tightening scrutiny even as approvals multiply abroad [82]. German startup Cultimate Foods shut down after failing to secure funding, one sign the sector's regulatory wins are outrunning its ability to reach a plate [82].
By the numbers
50/50plant-to-beef protein blend in Offbeast's new steak alternative, one of the month's product launches [82]
€2 millionraised by Swedish startup Millow to scale mycelium and oat protein production [82]
A whole-food, plant-based diet cut LDL cholesterol 17.9% in a genetic disorder trial
Wikimedia Commons / Chickpea
A fully controlled, two-period crossover feeding trial found a whole-food, plant-based diet cut LDL cholesterol 17.9% compared with a standard American diet in 50 adults with genetically confirmed heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, none on cholesterol-lowering drugs [28]. Participants ate each diet for four weeks under isocaloric, fully controlled conditions, the kind of tightly designed feeding trial diet research rarely achieves [28]. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded the study, published in Nature Communications [28].
“The study demonstrates the clinical significance of diet therapy in HeFH and supports its re-establishment as a cornerstone in clinical guidelines.”
17.9%reduction in LDL cholesterol on the plant-based diet versus the standard American diet (95% CI: -21.7% to -14.3%) [28]
50adults with genetically confirmed familial hypercholesterolemia completed the trial [28]
FromPubMed
Worth Knowing
Food & Recipes
Bake Full of Plants' vegan peanut butter brownies, which pipe a thick peanut butter layer between two fudgy chocolate layers [68].
Burger King Austria launched a limited-edition Plant-Based Crispy Chicken sandwich, double sandwich and wrap [73].
Tesco expanded its list of "banned or restricted" additives in private-label food to 114 ingredients, up from 65 last year, as part of its ultra-processed-food push [71].
Innovation
UK plant-based whole foods like beans, pulses, tofu and tempeh grew unit sales 7.3% and veg-led analogues like sausages nearly 25% in early 2026, while meat-alternative analogues fell 4.3%, Tesco's plant-based buyer said [91].
Beyond Investing launched a second vegan-screened ETF, VEGX, covering developed markets outside the US and Australia, after its US fund beat the S&P 500 by an annualized 19.87% to 16.28% over seven years [92].
Corning filed a patent for an edible, zein-coated microcarrier bead that lets cultivated-meat cells grow without animal-derived materials [93].
British ingredient maker Ulrick + Short launched a sunflower seed flour delivering 54% protein and 21% fiber for plant-based food texture, an alternative to pea and soy proteins [90].
Research & Nutrition
A 12-week RCT found a self-selected vegan diet reduced skeletal muscle mass and protein synthesis in healthy older adults, an effect blunted by resistance exercise [21].
Drinking one sugar-sweetened beverage a day was linked to 2.45 times the gastric cancer risk in a decades-long study of more than 112,000 US adults; artificially sweetened drinks showed no such link [10].
A four-month RCT found a vegan multinutrient supplement significantly raised omega-3 index and vitamin D status in young vegans compared with placebo [22].
A meta-analysis of more than 221,000 people found greater adherence to plant-based diets was linked to lower risk of cognitive impairment and dementia [38].
Activism & Animals
PETA and Save the Duck brought feather-free puffer jackets to the Emmys' backstage Giving Suite for nominees and presenters [106].
One Good Thing
Four years ago, Bobak Bakhtiari turned a shuttered Shell station in San Bruno, California into Hangry Planet, a fully vegan gas station and convenience store, expecting sales to dip after he pulled every animal product off the shelves. They didn't, and this month he sold the place for more than $12 million, telling CBS the plant-based bet paid off bigger than he ever planned [73]. Sometimes the win isn't a lab or a courtroom. It's a gas station where the snacks changed and the sales went up anyway.
These peanut butter brownies are fudgy, dense, and intensely chocolatey, with a thick layer of creamy peanut butter in the center. Made with simple ingredients, they are easy to…
Just Food
