The Stories: the day’s biggest developments, in the sources’ own words
01▲Law & PolicyStory
Denmark drops its exemption bid, ending mink farming by August 2027
Erik Karits (via Pexels)
Denmark's remaining seven mink farms must close by August 2027, after the government decided not to seek an exemption from the EU ban [101]. The EU listed the American mink as an invasive alien species in 2025, which bans breeding and production from August 2027 with a two-year transition for existing farms [101]. The government cited animal welfare concerns and the industry's limited economic contribution, while Finland has applied to keep farming mink [101].
“Mink farming is one of the most animal-hating productions we know of.”
Britta Riis, Director of Dyrenes Beskyttelse, the Danish Society of Animal Protection · [101]
“It is an outdated industry that is based on cramming the animals together in small wire cages in long rows, where they spend their entire lives.”
Britta Riis, Director of Dyrenes Beskyttelse, the Danish Society of Animal Protection · [101]
By the numbers
7mink farms left in Denmark, all closing by August 2027 [101]
€446 milliona year: the campaign notice's estimate of what the fur industry costs EU taxpayers in harms, at most [101]
WatchThe EU ban on breeding and producing American mink takes effect in August 2027 [101].
Daisy Brand announced a cottage cheese plant in Boone, Iowa, in 2024, estimated at a billion dollars and due to start production in 2028 [95]. Officials say it will need 43,000 additional dairy cattle, and Sentient's reporting finds Marshall Ridge Farms, one of Iowa's three largest dairy CAFOs, has been named as a supplier after growing from 8,000 to 15,000 milking cattle last year [95]. The head of Ames Regional Economic Alliance says existing milk providers can handle the demand [95].
“This keeps me up at night”
Kevin Griggs, environmental scientist in Boone, Iowa · [95]
“I think this could be done right, but I see a thousand ways that it could go wrong”
Kevin Griggs, environmental scientist in Boone, Iowa · [95]
By the numbers
43,000additional dairy cattle needed, about a 17% increase in Iowa's dairy herd [95]
245,000dairy cattle in Iowa today, producing six billion pounds of milk a year [95]
506 million poundsof manure a year from Boone County's 44 existing industrial farms, per Sentient's estimate [95]
WatchThe plant is expected to start operating in 2028 and reach full capacity in 2029 [95].
Liberation Bioindustries finds no buyer and still needs $25 million to finish its plant
Photo: AgFunderNews
Liberation Bioindustries received "no acceptable offers" in a four-month strategic review, so it must finish its 600,000-liter precision fermentation facility in Richmond, Indiana, without a partner, according to shareholder Agronomics [54]. Construction is paused while the firm seeks another $25 million, because expected funding did not arrive and costs rose [54]. AgFunderNews's industry sources say few startups are ready to sign the large annual contracts such a site needs [54].
“Not many startups in the field are in a position to actually commit to multi-million dollar annual contracts.”
precision fermentation founder making animal proteins, speaking to AgFunderNews · [54]
“And the capital markets just seem structurally unwilling to finish that facility.”
biomanufacturing source, speaking to AgFunderNews · [54]
By the numbers
$25 millionstill needed to complete the facility [54]
$125 millionin equity, debt and other support already deployed [54]
Six monthsfrom funding to a running site, per Agronomics [54]
WatchLiberation and Agronomics are working toward a full funding package in H1 2027 [54].
Researchers engineered the yeast Komagataella phaffii to make epidermal growth factor, a costly input for low-serum cultivated meat, and the purified protein promoted porcine muscle satellite cell growth [24]. A Nanjing Agricultural University team separately knocked out CDKN2A in bovine muscle stem cells, which expanded over longer culture and showed no anchorage-independent growth, a tumor-like behavior [31]. Both are cell-culture results, not products on sale [24][31].
By the numbers
12.8-foldhigher EGF yield in shake-flask culture, reaching 280.42 mg/L [24]
21.86 to 36.07 mg/Lfrom truncating the signal peptide alone [24]
FromPubMedRequested Evidence
Worth Knowing
Food & Recipes
Carvel, with nearly 400 locations, launched a permanent nondairy menu with Klimon: nine flavors, including Cold Brew and Chocolate Peanut Butter Ripple, as soft serve, scoops and shakes [45].
Innovation
Believer Meats' receiver got a letter of intent for its Wilson, North Carolina plant from an unnamed party, and UPSIDE Foods, which dropped a $50 million bid in August, says it remains interested [56].
Tokyo's Kinish raised ¥490 million (about $3.1 million) to breed casein-expressing dwarf rice and sell rice ice cream in Japan and the US [69].
A GFI India and Sathguru study counted 103,947 kL of idle fermenter capacity across 530 Indian facilities [70].
Activism & Animals
Eighteen AI models flagged 86% of 1,009 speciesist statements as speciesist but judged only 37% morally wrong, with animals used for food treated most permissively [91].
Wins & Culture
Eleven Madison Park is serving foie gras again while New York City's 2019 ban, upheld by the Appellate Division this year, has yet to take effect [112].
One Good Thing
The Faaborg family raised pigs in Iowa for 35 years, and once they became a CAFO contractor the barn held over 2000 hogs at a time [94]. With Mercy for Animals' Transfarmation Project, they now grow mushrooms for a growing market [94]. The manure pit in the backyard is a freshwater pond, and by Rand Faaborg's account, his grandkids catch frogs there [94].
This indulgent vegan chocolate lava cake is the ultimate crowd-pleasing dessert. With a luxurious molten ganache filling, it’s pure bliss served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
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