Cultivated Meat’s CO2 Emissions, Ghost Kitchens Are Dying + More

Image Credit: The Spoon

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

Recent findings have taken the food industry by surprise, unveiling a stark reality about cultivated meat’s environmental footprint. Contrary to initial expectations, cultivated meat has the potential to generate anywhere from four to twenty-five times more carbon dioxide emissions. Meanwhile, another industry revelation comes to light, as Bloomberg highlights the fading presence of ghost kitchens, once hailed as the future of food delivery. These delivery-only establishments have lost their appeal and viability as a sustainable business model, transitioning from a pandemic-era trend to an uncertain future.

In other news, we’ve wrapped the first season of our podcast in partnership with AgFunder: New Food Order, a nuanced investigation into the business of tackling our climate and social crises through food and agriculture. Read all about why we launched the podcast, and be sure to subscribe and share!

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1. New Study Claims Cultivated Meat’s Current Path Is Significantly Worse for Environment Than Beef – The Spoon

A new life cycle analysis revealed that cultivated meat could produce anywhere from 4 to 25 times more CO2 than traditionally produced beef.

2. Ghost Kitchens Are Dying and Nobody Noticed – Bloomberg

Delivery-only restaurants are turning out to be more a thing of quarantine folklore than a reliable business.

3. Spain: Foody’s and Cocuus Launch the First Large-Scale 3D Vegan Meat Bioprinting Facility – Green Queen

The announcement follows Cocuus’ 2022 €2.5m in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Cargill last summer.

4. Switzerland’s Ecorobotix Raises $52M to Bring Crop Protection ‘Bots to the Americas – AFN

Ecorobotix offers weeding and crop protection via its “high-precision sprayer” for targeted herbicide, fungicide and pesticide application.

5. Prime Roots Raises $30M to Ramp Up Its Plant-Based Deli Meat Production – Forbes

The startup’s technology uses koji mycelium to mimic the microscopic texture of meat. It currently offers alternative deli meats across the San Francisco Bay Area.

6. Supreme Court’s Ruling on Humane Treatment of Pigs Could Catalyze a Wave of New Animal Welfare Laws – Modern Farmer

The decision could result in a patchwork of laws that are likely to make national meat producers very uncomfortable.

7. Organic Food Sales Hit a Record in 2022, Topping $60B for the First Time – Food Dive

The category saw a 4.3% increase last year to $61.7b in sales, which the Organic Trade Association said indicates a continued interest from consumers despite economic volatility.

8. CRISPR-Edited Conscious Greens Officially Debut In Foodservice – Food Dive

Pairwise’s consumer brand also plans to launch its Purple Power Baby Greens Blend at grocery stores later this year.

9. Wendy’s, Google Train Next-Generation Order Taker: an AI Chatbot – WSJ

The fast food chain has customized a language model with terms like ‘JBC’ for junior bacon cheeseburger and ‘biggie bags’ for meal combos.