NEW TECH FOODS

Cultivated meat start-up Meatable has raised $10 million in seed funding to accelerate the development of its first pork prototype. The capital comes mainly from an existing investor base including BlueYard Capital, with supplemental funds from angel investors including Taavet Hinrikus, co-founder of TransferWise, and Albert Wenger, managing partner at Union Square Ventures. The European Commission also contributed funds through its Eurostars Programme. The investment brings Meatable’s total funding to $13 million. “We’re excited to announce this new funding, which will enable us to expand our scaling and cost reduction teams and to accelerate development of our first prototype,” said Meatable co-founder and CEO Krijn de Nood. “We believe no one should have to give up the meat they love – there is a way to satisfy the world’s appetite for meat without harming people, animals or the planet.” According to Amsterdam-based Meatable, cultivated meat joins plant-based proteins as a potential solution to sustainably feeding the world’s growing population. The company said cultivated meat has the potential to use up to 96% less water and 99% less land than industrial farming. Meatable’s technology can produce large batches of the cells needed to make meat in a matter of days to weeks. Only one cell is needed to start the process. The cell is sourced from a real animal in a completely painless way – and because it comes from an animal, the meat that can be made with it is real meat, not a processed substitute. “Our mission is to become the leading choice for sustainably and efficiently produced meat,” de Nood added. “To achieve that mission, we will need to solve the cultivated meat industry’s scale-up challenge. We hope that the unveiling of our first prototype this summer will show that we are making real strides toward fulfilling our mission.” Philippe Vanrie, head of the Eureka Association and responsible for the Eurostars-2 programme, said: “We are delighted that Meatable, a dynamic start-up in the cultivated meat sector, has the potential to develop a unique and innovative technology thanks to support received from the Eurostars Programme. We understand the technology developed will have a significant and positive impact on meat production and, in turn, on climate change.” #Meatable #theNetherlands

PepsiCo has announced a $216 million multi-year investment in long-term, strategic partnership agreements with three US-based farmer-facing organisations. The partnerships – with Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI), Soil and Water Outcomes Fund (SWOF) and the IL Corn Growers Association (ICGA) – are designed to drive adoption of regenerative agriculture practices across the US. The company expects the combined impacts of the partnerships to support the uptake of regenerative practices on more than 3 million acres, delivering approximately 3 million metric tons of GHG emission reductions and removals by 2030. PepsiCo will work alongside the organisations to establish and scale financial, agronomic and social programs that enable the transition to the new practices through education, upfront investment in outcomes, cost-sharing and peer coaching and networking. Driven by ‘PepsiCo Positive’ (pep+), the company’s strategic end-to-end business transformation, the investment is set to help the US farming community make changes that secure production volumes and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Jim Andrew, chief sustainability officer at PepsiCo, said: "It's critically important to partner, for the long term, with organisations that have earned the trust of farmers as they make the transition to adopt climate-smart agriculture practices. We intend to be shoulder-to-shoulder with farmers as they work to make soil healthier, sequester carbon, improve watershed health and biodiversity, and improve their livelihoods." By 2023, the collaborative efforts of the partnership are expected to deliver more than 500,000 regenerative acres. By 2030, PepsiCo predicts PFI to reach around 1.5 million acres; SWOF to reach nearly 1 million acres; and ICGA to reach approximately 600,000 acres. Adam Kiel, managing director of SWOF, said: "We are excited to expand our partnership with PepsiCo and farmers in its supply chain to support the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices that have measurable impacts on soil health, the environment, and farm sustainability. By providing high-quality and customised agronomic assistance to farmers implementing new practices we help them reduce emissions and nutrient loss, unlock a new revenue stream, and increase the value of their farmland for current and future generations." The investment will significantly contribute to the food and beverage giant’s ‘pep+’ targets, which include driving the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices across 7 million acres by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2040.

Canadian vertical farming company, GoodLeaf Farms, has announced that it will open a climate-controlled indoor farm in the Montréal suburb of Longueuil by the middle of 2023. The new farm is backed by a CAD 7 million loan ($5.2 million approx.) from the government of Québec and several smaller grants from economic development agencies. GoodLeaf says that the 100,000-square-foot vertical farm will produce 1.9 million pounds of microgreens and baby greens for grocery stores and the hospitality sector across Québec, with capacity to also supply Atlantic Canada. GoodLeaf’s system is said to be free of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, and uses 95% less water than the same crops in an open-field farm. The plants are grown in a complex hydroponics system that provides them with nutrient-rich water, while LED lights are engineered to replicate the spring sun. Barry Murchie, CEO at GoodLeaf Farms, said: “GoodLeaf is building a national network of vertical farms, ensuring Canadians from coast to coast have access to fresh, sustainably and locally grown leafy greens year-round. Our new farm in Longueuil is perfectly located to support all consumers across Québec via retailers and foodservice operators.” He continued: “We are excited to work with the visionary partners in Québec who have astutely created a provincial strategy recognising the need for innovative new approaches to agriculture. In the near future, Québec and Canada will gain greater control of our food security and dramatically reduce the dependency on imported produce.” Alexandre Lagarde, vice president of foreign investments at Montréal International, commented: “Thanks to its strategic geographical location, its supply of green energy and a large pool of ‘locavores,’ Greater Montréal is a very fertile ground for companies such as GoodLeaf”. Lagarde added: “Vertical farming technology brings to our plates fresh and sustainable food that is grown, manufactured and produced within our region, which is perfectly aligned with a very popular tendency. It also helps reduce carbon emissions and other pollutants, another important objective for Montréal International as we seek to develop a green, sustainable economy.” The project is anticipated to create more than 70 new employment opportunities.

Finnish dairy and food company Valio has created a new milk chocolate bar using artificial intelligence. “The Bar” is designed by humans, and its recipe is based on AI analysis of milk chocolate lovers’ thoughts, cravings, and tastes worldwide. Valio created the futuristic concept together with local chocolate artists of Kultasuklaa company. The Bar is a proof of concept of what the dairy company's milk powder solution can do and what the future of milk chocolate could look like through the use of AI. Valio’s senior vice president, Timo Pajari said: “The needs and preferences of global milk chocolate fans are changing. Growing awareness of health challenges affects the confectionery industry with governments around the world already starting to regulate sugar use and consumption. With our Valio Bettersweet solution, the taste remains the same even though the amount of sugar is reduced.” Last spring the company used AI to analyse over 1.5 million public milk chocolate-related social media discussions around the world and surveyed hundreds of people about their preferences regarding chocolate. The AI analysis was produced by the Finnish company Aiwo Digital in cooperation with Valio’s consumer insight team. The recipe for healthier chocolate was based on AI’s findings which resulted in five different chocolates with less sugar. Each chocolate layer has a different taste and texture designed to fit a different use case: impulse, craving, delight, hunger and relaxation. The topographic design of the bar designed by professional designers allows the layers to be easily separated.