The Stories: the day’s biggest developments, in the sources’ own words
01▬InnovationStory
Better Dairy self-affirms US safety status for a precision-fermented milk protein
Photo: vegconomist
London startup Better Dairy has self-affirmed GRAS status in the US for lactopontin, a yeast-made version of the human milk protein osteopontin [52]. Self-affirmed GRAS rests on an independent expert panel and involves no FDA review, and the company says it plans to notify the FDA next year [52][47]. Adult supplements come first, with finished products due in Q1 2027 [47].
“Casein is still part of our platform, but we’ve scaled back effort there”
Jevan Nagarajah, co-founder and CEO, Better Dairy · [47]
By the numbers
18mg per litreis the trace amount of lactopontin in dairy, which is why extraction from cow's milk yields so little [47]
100,000-litrefermentation tanks are secured for the next production campaigns through contract manufacturers in India and Europe, the company says [47]
$22 millionSeries A raised in 2022, when the company was focused on animal-free casein [52]
WatchBetter Dairy presents lactopontin to manufacturers at SupplySide Global in Las Vegas, October 28 to 30 [52].
Fromvegconomist the vegan business magazineGreen Queen
02▼Activism & AnimalsStory
Animal Partisan estimates 97,448 farmed animals used on public university farms with little federal protection
Photo: faunalytics
Animal Partisan and Rise for Animals analyzed accreditation records from 10 US public universities and estimate that 97,448 farmed animals were used in production, experiments and teaching in a single year [68]. On average an estimated 96% of those animals fell outside the Animal Welfare Act's protections, and every university that routinely houses pigs described using gestation or farrowing crates [68]. At least eight other accredited universities were left out because of heavy redaction or unaffordable fees, so the groups' count is a floor [68].
By the numbers
97,448farmed animals estimated across 10 universities in one year, just over half of them birds [68]
96%of each university's farmed animals fell outside the Animal Welfare Act, on average [68]
$72.4 milliondirected by two USDA agencies to farmed animal experimentation at nine universities from 2021 to 2025, which the authors call a minimum [68]
71%of the 498 protocols with a pain designation were placed in Category C, the tier for at most momentary or slight pain or distress [68]
FromFaunalytics
03▬Activism & AnimalsStory
Study traces ChatGPT's idyllic farm images to a hidden prompt rewrite
Photo: sentient
Kehan Sheng and co-authors analyzed 4,800 ChatGPT-generated images and found it defaulted to pastoral scenes for dairy and pig farms, even when asked for more realistic ones [69]. The pastoral look came from ChatGPT's automatic rewriting of user prompts; with that revision disabled, the images showed far more intensive farming [69]. OpenAI did not respond to Sentient's request for comment [69].
"The moment that I found out it is actually a prompt revision that is erasing all the reality, I was absolutely shocked" (Kehan (Sky) Sheng, postdoctoral researcher, University of British Columbia) [69]
“While the prompt revision process was originally designed to mitigate bias, in the case of livestock farming, it has introduced more bias”
99%of images from the basic pig-farm prompt were pastoral; all of the basic dairy-farm images were [69]
96%of pig-farm images showed pigs indoors on concrete once prompt revision was disabled [69]
fewer than 3%of lactating US cows are raised primarily on pasture [69]
FromSentient
04▬Wins & CultureStory
GFI India survey finds 94% of urban early adopters would try cultivated meat
Photo: plant based news
GFI India says 94% of surveyed people in India's biggest cities would buy and try cultivated meat [92]. The sample is 414 online respondents aged 18 to 44, non-vegetarian graduates in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad from households earning at least INR 1.5 lakh a month, so it measures stated willingness in an early-adopter slice [92]. A review of novel-food research cautions that what people say and what they buy keep diverging [20].
“reflect the perceptions of this prospective early-adopter segment”
“A comparative analysis of existing studies indicates a persistent attitude-behavior gap”
authors of a review on novel-food sensory acceptance, PubMed · [20]
By the numbers
94%said they would buy and try cultivated meat; only 2% definitely or probably would not [92]
75%believed cultivated meat performs better than traditional meat on animal welfare, per GFI India [92]
414online respondents plus 32 participants in eight mini-group discussions [92]
FromPlant Based NewsPubMed
Worth Knowing
Food & Recipes
Plate pick: a warm Brussels sprouts salad from The Everyday Vegan Cheat Sheet cookbook, with shredded sprouts roasted over smoky coconut bacon and finished with toasted hazelnuts [37].
Innovation
Friends & Family Pet Food has put its cultivated quail treats for dogs and cats on sale in Hong Kong via PetProject.HK and HKTVMall, resting on a June 2025 approval from Singapore's Animal and Veterinary Service [46].
Duke Dining added Nadura Foods' pea and rice protein range to campus menus at the start of the Fall 2026 semester, after several months of recipe development [51].
No Cow reformulated its 60g protein bars to lead with fibre, at 14 to 17g, after a 2025 settlement that included a $300,000 civil penalty over lead and forever-chemical findings [49].
Fi Europe shortlisted 25 entries for its 2026 Innovation Awards and added an Alternative Protein prize, with BeneMeat's dog food containing 26% cultivated meat among the finalists; winners are announced November 17 [53].
Law & Policy
Beyond Meat launched Beyond Immerse Protein + Energy, a caffeinated drink with 20g of protein per serving, sold initially on its own website in Cherry Berry and Watermelon Strawberry [82].
One Good Thing
Denver's Vegan Van, the city's first vegan food truck, has a permanent home. Justin and Brittney Gurule took the truck over in 2016, and on October 17 they opened a restaurant on Colfax Avenue serving crunchwraps, tacos and loaded fries, seven days a week [33]. There is a play area with a mini food truck and hammocks, plus monthly movie nights, which is a fair way to say thank you to the regulars who kept a truck going for a decade [33].
vegconomist the vegan business magazine
Sentient
