🐟Plant-based Salmon/ B12 Tips (Must Read)/ Cambridge Votes Vegan/ & Much More...

Plantwise Monthly Roundup (February 2023)

Feb 28, 2023

We review February’s most interesting plant-based news, product launches, and government policy changes.

🐟 The Plant-Based Salmon That Looks And Tastes Just Like The Real Thing

📚 TL;DR: Founded in 2020, the Toronto-based startup New School Foods has developed a technology to create plant-based salmon fillets that look, cook, taste, and flake like wild salmon. This month, the company secured $17 million in seed funding and government grants to propel them to commercial production. New School Foods are currently piloting the product in restaurants across North America and plan to begin distribution later this year.

🧩 Context: According to IntraFish, sales of plant-based seafood alternatives have nearly doubled in the past 4 years, from $6.8 billion in 2019 to $11.5 billion in 2022, with plant-based fish finger alternatives being particularly popular. However, mimicking the taste and texture of whole-cut seafood has been technologically challenging. New School Food’s breakthrough marks a first of its kind.

➡️ You can check out how NSF makes the plant-based salmon on their website

💊 Supplementing Vitamin B12: Smaller Doses Multiple Times A Day

📚 TL;DR: According to VeganHealth’s B12 Recommendation, the protein in our body that helps B12 absorption gets used up after eating a meal containing high levels of B12 and takes 4-6 hours to become efficient again. To make sure you're getting the most of your B12 supplement, it's best to take smaller doses more often. For example, if you take a 10 µg supplement, splitting it in half and taking 5 µg twice a day (at least 4 hours apart) will meet EFSA recommendations.

🧩 Context: Different countries have different recommended daily allowances (RDA) for Vitamin B12. In the United States, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends 2.4 µg/day for adults, with those over 50 advised to get half the RDA from fortified foods or supplements. In Europe, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommends an adequate intake (AI) of 4.0 µg/day for adults.

➡️ You can read the full recommendation by VeganHealth here

📚 TL;DR: Founded by Lauren O’Donnell in 2020, plant-based startup Oatsu is now scaling fast. Not only is Oatsu out-sourcing production to a manufacturer this quarter, the UK-based startup is also raising its first round of investment, securing more than half of the around within weeks. Oatsu will also be launching into retail later this year.

🧩 Context: Oatsu makes it easy to enjoy a delicious, healthy breakfast by delivering freshly-prepared overnight oats to your door. Lauren launched Oatsu after struggling to find any affordable, shop-bought breakfasts near her office in Canary Wharf. In 2020, she started making and selling overnight oats on Instagram and online, and then quickly became rapid grocer Jiffy's top-selling breakfast. Oatsu's breakfasts have featured in the Daily Mail and The Sun, and were even shouted out by BBC Dragon Steven Bartlett.

➡️ You can buy Oatsu’s delicious breakfasts for the week ahead on their website here

🩺 Plant-Based Diets Could Slow Prostate Cancer

📚 TL;DR: A recent study by the University of California finds that men who eat more plant-based are associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer progression and recurrence. More specifically, among the 2038 men diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer covered in the study, those in the highest quintile of the plant-based dietary index had a 52% lower risk of progression and a 53% lower risk of recurrence than those in the lowest quintile.

🧩 Context: Up until the study, it had not yet been clear how plant-based dietary patterns as a whole affect prostate cancer survivorship, although individual plant foods - such as tomatoes - have been linked to reducing the incidence and mortality of prostate cancer. The research also suggests that combining a healthy plant-based diet with regular exercise could significantly help reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

➡️ You can read the abstract of the study on the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s website here.

🌱 72% Of Cambridge Student Votes Chose Vegan

📚 TL;DR: The Guardian reports that students at the University of Cambridge have voted to support transitioning to a solely vegan menu through its catering services. The motion, which was backed by 72% of non-abstaining student representatives, calls for the change in response to “climate and biodiversity crises”.

🧩 Context: The university has already removed beef and lamb from its menu in all catering services in 2016. The university has a sustainable food policy which also seeks to actively promote plant-based options, remove unsustainable fish from the menu and reduce food waste. While the Student Union vote is a huge statement, the ultimate power to adopt the full-vegan-menu policy resides with the university. Finally, this vote does not impact the individual colleges in Cambridge.

➡️ You can read the full Guardian article here

📚 TL;DR: Our Plantwise app has upgraded the shopping list feature again so you can easily sort your ingredients by each meal or for the whole week. The best part? The shopping list comes with supermarket prices, so you could plan your food budget in advance.

🧩 Context: Plantwise is a mobile app that helps people plan a healthy yet affordable plant-based lifestyle. With over 100 protein-rich recipes, thousands of smart food pairing suggestions, and price comparisons across major UK supermarkets, you could easily meet your personal nutrition and food budgeting goals.

➡️ You can download Plantwise on Apple App Store here for free…

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