Everyone has a pet theory about what's gone wrong for alt meat. It's too processed, too expensive, too different from meat... or not different enough. But we may be missing the elephant in the room, claims ex-TiNDLE exec Andre Menezes.

“The fundamental issue is that there is no real underlying consumer demand to shift away from meat. If the price is right and consumers like the product, they don’t care if they are destroying the Earth.” So what does this mean for TiNDLE and the broader alt meat sector?

Elsewhere, we caught up with Amfora, which is helping regenerative farmers make a living from traditional olive oil production, and Growcer, which has acquired the assets of vertical farmer Freight Farms. Meanwhile, the ALDF discussed why it is suing USDA over climate-friendly beef ads.

Finally, there were fresh funds for animal microbiome expert BiomEdit, GenAI startup Zucca, precision fermentation specialist Eclipse Ingredients, and ag biologicals co Puna Bio.

Have a great weekend! Louisa, Elaine, and Jenn

P.S. Check out AgFunder's webinar with portfolio company Lumi AI on July 30 to explore how data and AI are being used by today’s top-performing retail and supply chain teams. Sign up here.

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