Maple Leaf shutters two plants, Impossible lands in UK, dog labs targeted
Maple Leaf Foods will close its Seattle and Turners Falls plant-based meat plants over the next 12 to 18 months, consolidating all US production into Indianapolis.
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Maple Leaf Foods will close its Seattle and Turners Falls plant-based meat plants over the next 12 to 18 months, consolidating all US production into Indianapolis [69].
02
Impossible Foods made its UK supermarket debut this week with four new products exclusive to Tesco [68].
03
Reps. Nick Langworthy and Mark Pocan introduced the COMPACT Act to end all federal funding for dog and cat testing [111].
04
A meta-analysis of 846,589 people found a healthful plant-based diet cuts coronary heart disease risk by 23% [28].
05
GenScript's Bestzyme finished the world's first fully automated sweet-protein production line in Jinan, China, rated at 100+ tons a year [100].
06
A 12-week RCT found a self-selected vegan diet cut protein intake and shrank muscle mass in healthy older adults, an effect resistance exercise blunted [29].
Maple Leaf Foods closes two US plant-based meat plants
Photo: vegconomist
Maple Leaf Foods will wind down its plant-protein plants in Seattle and Turners Falls, Massachusetts over the next 12 to 18 months and move all US production for Field Roast, Lightlife and Yves Veggie Cuisine into a single "Plant Protein Centre of Excellence" in Indianapolis [69][99]. CEO Curtis Frank said the category has "changed significantly" and declining volumes left the three-plant network "substantially underutilized" [69]. It's the second contraction in four years: Maple Leaf downsized its Greenleaf Foods division 25% in 2022, and plant protein sales fell 13.2% in 2023 [99].
“Maintaining three facilities at these utilization levels creates structural costs that are not sustainable over the long term.”
Curtis Frank, Maple Leaf Foods president and CEO · [69]
By the numbers
12 to 18 monthsthe phased shutdown of Seattle and Turners Falls is expected to take, with completion targeted for Q4 2027 [99]
13.2%the drop in Maple Leaf's plant protein sales in 2023, the last time the company cited a specific decline [99]
2%the fall in prepared foods sales, which includes plant protein, in Maple Leaf's most recent quarter [69]
WatchCompletion of the Indianapolis consolidation is targeted for Q4 2027 [99].
FromJust Foodvegconomist the vegan business magazine
02▲Food & RecipesStory
Impossible Foods debuts in UK supermarkets at Tesco
Photo: vegnews
Impossible Foods entered UK retail for the first time this week, putting four products, Burger Patties, Beef Kofta, Smoky Chipotle Chicken Pieces and Spicy Chicken Fries, exclusively into Tesco stores [68][76]. The burgers use a recipe reformulated for Europe and are still made without soy leghemoglobin, the heme ingredient that remains stuck in UK and EU risk assessment since Impossible applied for approval in 2021 [76]. The company says its sales "more than doubled" over the past year in the Netherlands, where it launched in grocery stores earlier in 2026 [68].
“There's already a strong base of plant-based shoppers in the UK but there are even more consumers out there who are curious to try products that deliver on taste, convenience, and versatility.”
James Hemmings, VP of Commercial, EMEA, Impossible Foods · [76]
By the numbers
4new products launching exclusively at Tesco, the UK's largest grocer [68]
2018the year rival Beyond Meat entered UK grocery stores, four years ahead of Impossible's 2022 UK foodservice debut [76]
FromJust FoodVegNews.com
03▲Activism & AnimalsStory
Bipartisan bill would end federal funding for dog and cat testing
Photo: peta
US Reps. Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) introduced the Companion Animal Protection Against Cruel Testing Act, which would cut off all Department of Health and Human Services funding, including every NIH grant, contract and fellowship, for experiments on dogs or cats [111]. The bill would also require labs to protect and rehome animals currently in federally funded testing and adds compliance audits from the Government Accountability Office every three years [111]. PETA, which is campaigning for the bill, says beagles are bred for labs specifically because they're docile [111].
By the numbers
42,000+dogs used in US laboratories annually, PETA says, mostly beagles [111]
12,000cats used annually in US labs, according to PETA [111]
3 yearsthe interval at which the bill would require an independent GAO audit of compliance [111]
FromPETA
04▬Research & NutritionStory
Vegan diet cut muscle mass in older adults, but exercise fixed it
Anna Shvets (via Pexels)
A 12-week randomized trial of 72 healthy adults over 65 found that switching to a self-selected vegan diet cut protein intake by up to 27.7 g/day and shrank thigh muscle volume and lean mass significantly more than staying omnivorous [29]. Adding resistance exercise to the same vegan diet largely offset the loss, leaving muscle protein synthesis close to the omnivorous group's rate [29]. The trial measured an unsupervised, self-selected vegan diet rather than one matched for protein, and is registered at clinicaltrials.gov [29].
By the numbers
-27.7 g/dthe drop in protein intake in the vegan group by week one, versus no change in the omnivorous group [29]
-1.15 kgappendicular lean mass lost in the vegan group over 12 weeks, versus +0.05 kg in the omnivorous group [29]
-0.62 kgthe smaller lean mass loss in the vegan-plus-resistance-exercise group, roughly half the diet-only loss [29]
FromPubMed
Worth Knowing
Food & Recipes
Cook it tonight: Marry Me White Bean Soup, a one-pot, 30-minute soup built on tofu-cashew-hemp cream with 23g protein and 13g fiber a bowl [83].
Innovation
China's Pinggu Consensus, published at Beijing's World Agri-Food Innovation summit, names AI-driven protein diversification and precision fermentation as national priorities [91].
SunOpta opened a $35 million production line for its Dream, Sown and West Life plant milks in Midlothian, Texas, lifting network capacity 10% [93].
Whitworths' walnut-and-lentil Nutty Kitchen Supermince rolled into 900 Tesco stores backed by a full-refund trial offer [97].
BOSH! launched grain bowls at Tesco that print the exact number of plant varieties in each recipe on the pack, from 9 to 17 [98].
Glebe Farm added a four-ingredient coconut oat drink to its PureOaty range as UK oat-milk sales grew 4.8% and coconut 3% over the past year [96].
Better Food Foundation released a free calculator estimating how many meals a cafeteria could shift to plant-based through menu defaults and placement nudges [95].
Faunalytics executive director Brooke Haggerty will step down in January 2027 after eight years leading the animal-advocacy research nonprofit [94].
Research & Nutrition
A meta-analysis of prospective studies found vegetarian diets linked to 13% lower total cancer risk and vegan diets to 23% lower total cancer risk than non-vegetarian diets [42].
A dose-response meta-analysis of seven cohort studies covering 221,380 people found greater plant-based diet adherence linked to a 26% lower risk of cognitive impairment and dementia [47].
A placebo-controlled trial found a daily multinutrient supplement raised omega-3 index and vitamin D status in young vegans over four months, with no extra benefit from doubling the dose [30].
A crossover trial found a plant-based meat-supplemented diet cut TMAO, a cardiovascular risk marker, and LDL cholesterol more than a red-meat-supplemented diet, though it also nudged up body weight and a heart-strain biomarker [44].
Wins & Culture
A ProVeg and University of Göttingen survey found 80.5% of health professionals use national dietary guidelines, but most say pulses, plant milks and nuts are underrepresented in them [126].
One Good Thing
An olive ridley turtle hauled herself onto a Southern California beach on September 19 and laid eggs near Seal Beach, the first recorded natural sea turtle nesting anywhere on the US West Coast. Three days later, a second nest turned up near the Huntington Beach Pier [105]. Lifeguards patrolling at night thought the turtle looked sick until she started digging. Nine-year-old Jude Stephen begged his mom to take him to see the roped-off nest. "It's so magical," she said [105].
Marry Me White Bean Soup is a creamy, smoky soup with rich, Italian flavors. 23g Protein 13g fiber 1 Pot 30 minutes. That Tofu Cashew Hemp cream packs nutrition! (gluten-free with…
20 min3 servings23 ingredients
See the ingredients
1/4 cup raw cashews (soaked in hot water for 15 minutes)
2 tablespoons hemp seeds
3 ounces firm tofu
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 cup water (or vegetable stock)
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Italian herbs
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup chopped red or white onion (or 3 shallots, chopped)
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