Australia and New Zealand's food regulator approved Gourmey's cultivated duck as a wholesale ingredient, pending a 60-day ministerial window [73].
02
A study of 136,553 US households found plant-based meat took 3% of meat spending, flat from 2019 to 2021 [93].
03
An op-ed says Eleven Madison Park is now promoting a foie gras dish on Instagram, a step back from its plant-based years [42].
04
EARTHDAY.ORG made plant-based eating a headline target of Earth Day 2027, aiming to recruit 10 million people [72].
05
A narrative review of carnivore diets found no randomized trials or prospective cohort studies, and self-reported LDL rose from 126 to 172 mg/dL in the largest survey [123].
Australia and New Zealand's regulator approves Gourmey's cultivated duck as a wholesale ingredient
Photo: vegconomist
Food Standards Australia New Zealand's board approved Gourmey's cell-cultured duck biomass on October 6, and ministers have 60 days to ask for a review before it enters the Food Standards Code [73]. It can be sold wholesale to caterers and food manufacturers but not directly to shoppers, and labels must say "cell-cultured" or "cell-cultivated" [73]. If it proceeds, it becomes the second cultivated food allowed in the two countries, after Vow's quail [73].
By the numbers
17submissions came in during consultation, and two submitters opposed the approval outright [73]
60 daysis how long ministers have to request a review after the October 13 notification [73]
200 litresis the production process the dossier was based on, against the 2,500 litres the company intends to reach [73]
WatchFood ministers have 60 days from the October 13 notification to request a review; the Food Standards Code then changes on gazettal, and no Australian or New Zealand launch date has been announced [73].
Household scanner data shows plant-based meat holding 3% of US meat spending
Photo: faunalytics
A peer-reviewed analysis of grocery scanner data from 136,553 US households found plant-based meat took 3% of the average meat budget, with no growth across 2019 to 2021 [93]. For most product pairs, households switched to cheaper animal meat when the plant-based version got pricier [93]. The data predate today's products and cover only groceries bought for home, so it describes the early market, not this year's [93].
“suggesting that price is still one of the major barriers impeding the protein transition”
study authors, Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy · [26]
By the numbers
3%of household meat spending went to plant-based meat, roughly flat each year from 2019 to 2021 [93]
$0.19more per ounce, on average, for plant-based than animal meat [93]
Twicethe price of animal counterparts in bacon, beef patty, chicken and other cooked meats; only lunchmeat was cheaper [93]
At least 6%rise in plant-based demand from a simulated 10% price cut, against a fall of no more than 5% in animal-meat demand [93]
FromFaunalyticsPrimary Sources
03▼Wins & CultureStory
Eleven Madison Park promotes foie gras, an op-ed in VegNews says
Photo: vegnews
An op-ed republished in VegNews says Eleven Madison Park posted a "Black Truffle & Foie Gras Stuffed Chicken" dish to its Instagram in late September, and that chef Daniel Humm's new restaurant HUMM features a caviar bagel on its website [42]. The author notes the restaurant still offers plant-based cooking, and that Humm has argued bringing animal products back can introduce more guests to vegetable-focused cuisine [42]. Everything here comes from one opinion piece, not from the restaurant [42].
“Caviar, Kobe beef, foie gras is from a different time.”
Daniel Humm, to Food & Wine in July 2024, as quoted in the op-ed · [42]
EARTHDAY.ORG makes plant-based eating a headline target for Earth Day 2027
Photo: vegconomist
EARTHDAY.ORG named Food for Our Planet its theme for Earth Day 2027, presenting the multiyear campaign at the World Food Forum in Rome on October 14 [72]. Its targets include recruiting 10 million people to eat more plant-based foods and expanding plant-based options in schools and universities [72]. It also backs mandatory labels on all ultra-processed foods without saying how plant-based alternatives would be treated, a gap that matters because many are classed as ultra-processed under NOVA [72].
“We cannot continue to ignore the enormous toll our food system is taking on public health and the environment.”
Jillian Semaan, Global Director of Food and Environment at EARTHDAY.ORG · [72]
By the numbers
10 millionpeople the campaign aims to recruit to eat more plant-based foods [72]
100 million acresof farmland targeted for regenerative and other soil-restoring practices [72]
30%targeted cut in harmful pesticides, chemicals, plastics and microplastics in food by 2040 [72]
150,000partners in over 192 countries make up the network the campaign will work through [72]
Plate pick: butternut squash stands in for pork in an al pastor marinated at least 2 hours in achiote, guajillo chiles and garlic, grilled, and finished with poblano cashew cream, from the Plant Powered Mexican cookbook [46].
Innovation
One Planet Pizza put tofu tikka masala, mac and cheese, and lentil lasagna in 276 Asda stores at £3.85 per 400g pack, entering a frozen meat-free segment its own research put down 9.6% [67].
Galy, known for lab-grown cotton, says its plant-cell-cultured WunderHaus chocolate debuts in December at Boston's Troquet on South in a hybrid with conventional cocoa, and it has self-affirmed GRAS status without yet having an FDA "no questions" letter [68].
Japan's Kinish raised ¥490M ($3.1M) in the first close of a Series A to expand its rice-based ice cream and its work on casein grown in rice [66].
Activism & Animals
Politico reported, via Vox, that USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins pulled back an internal poultry vaccination plan over concerns it would clash with RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine views; the USDA did not answer detailed questions [94].
Law & Policy
California enacted AB 2244, directing its health department to create a "Non-Ultraprocessed Certified" seal, with certifying agents to be accredited by June 1, 2029 [120].
One Good Thing
Cambodia's critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphins gained six confirmed calves this year along a 120-kilometer stretch of the Mekong, lifting the estimated population to 118 [89]. That is still short of the roughly 200 counted in the late 1990s, but river guards who earn $5 to $7.50 a day have kept watch over the pools where the calves were born [89]. "The income is small, but it is out of the goodness of our hearts we keep doing this job," said river guard Kem Sophat [89].
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