Kashika Sethi (l) and Rhea Thomas Thommana (r) were at Ag in Motion to represent food scientists Drs. Martin Reaney and Michael Nickerson and their 3D printer projects, including their work on printable protein-based materials, such as the pea-based “chicken leg” seen in the machine. (Becky Zimmer photo)

At Ag in Motion: 3D printer takes aim at food ingredients

Making foods both plant-based and printable the goal

Reading Time: 2 minutes With the development of 3D printing, the age of Star Trek replicators has arrived. For master’s student Rhea Thomas Thommana and PhD student Kashika Sethi, food replication is on the horizon as well. Thomas Thommana and Sethi were at Ag in Motion this week with a 3D printer designed to incorporate plant-based ingredients into food, […] Read more

(Ozo Foods video screeengrab via YouTube)

Meatpacker JBS to close U.S. plant-based foods business

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Brazilian meatpacker JBS is closing its U.S. plant-based foods business, Planterra Foods, after about two years, the company said on Monday. The closure signals increasing troubles in the plant-based protein sector, where U.S. sales are flattening. Colorado-based Planterra sold fake meat under the Ozo brand, but JBS will now focus on […] Read more


File photo of soy-based milk alternatives. (SherSor/iStock/Getty Images)

Lactalis to shift from milk to near-milk at Sudbury

Facility to halt fluid milk processing, switch to plant-based product lines

Reading Time: 2 minutes The processor of the Beatrice and Lactantia milk brands plans to put its fluid milk processing plant in northern Ontario over to plant-based dairy substitutes. The Canadian arm of France’s Lactalis said Wednesday it will stop fluid milk processing and packaging at its plant at Sudbury effective Sept. 30 and convert that plant to a […] Read more

Kellogg’s Canadian operations include its Mini-Wheats plant at Belleville, Ont. and its Canadian office in Mississauga. Other cereals and snack brands imported by Kellogg Canada are produced elsewhere in North America, the company says. (Kellogg Co. photo)

Kellogg to spin off into three food companies

Plant-based foods, North American cereals to be hived off

Reading Time: 3 minutes The company that makes Mini-Wheats cereal, Pringles potato crisps and MorningStar veggie burgers now plans to see those each of those three product lines go their separate ways by the end of next year. Michigan-based Kellogg Co. said Tuesday its board has approved a plan to break into three yet-to-be-named independent publicly-traded companies by way […] Read more


Greenleaf Foods, a subsidiary of meat processor Maple Leaf Foods, last month began providing its plant-based Lightlife Chick’n Tenders to convenience chain 7-Eleven in Canada. (Dave Bedard photo)

ADM releases alternative protein outlook for 2022

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Major U.S. agribusiness ADM released a report Tuesday identifying the seven biggest trends in the alternative protein market, ranging from creating new protein sources from fungi to making plant-based meat substitutes more affordable and palatable to the general public. The seven trends in the report were: introduction of novel protein sources, using microbial […] Read more

The McDonald’s “P.L.T.” sandwich in 2019. (CNW Group/McDonald’s Canada)

McDonald’s, Beyond Meat seen planning big U.S. McPlant expansion

Reading Time: 2 minutes New York | Reuters — McDonald’s Corp. is planning a major expansion of its plant-based burger with Beyond Meat Inc. in the United States in 2022, according to two Wall Street analysts. The companies began testing the “McPlant” patty in eight McDonald’s U.S. locations in November. Those restaurants have been selling enough of the sandwiches […] Read more


Production is being fine-tuned at Roquette’s pea processing plant near Portage la Prairie. (Photo courtesy Roquette Canada)

Roquette warns of price rise in plant-based food market

Prairie drought could cut pea yields 45 per cent

Reading Time: 1 minute Paris | Reuters — A global surge in pea prices linked to low supplies and growing demand for plant protein will inevitably need to be passed on to customers, including makers of alternative food such as meat-free burgers, French producer Roquette said on Monday. The market for alternative protein has soared in recent years, attracting […] Read more

Burger King’s soy- and potato-based Impossible Whopper entered the Ontario market effective March 22, 2021. (CNW Group/Burger King)

Burger King rolls out plant-based Impossible Burger in Canada

Nationwide launch of soy- and potato-based burger set for mid-April

Reading Time: 2 minutes The Canadian arm of quick-service chain Burger King has made its move into the Canadian plant-based burger market, working with U.S. processor Impossible Foods. Burger King, a U.S.-headquartered brand of Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International (RBI) since 2014, said Monday it becomes “the first quick-service restaurant in Canada to put the award-winning, plant-based Impossible Foods patty […] Read more


(ArdentMills.com)

Major flour miller to buy U.S. chickpea processor

Ardent Mills to take up Hinrichs Trading Co.

Reading Time: 2 minutes Major North American flour miller Ardent Mills is expanding its reach into pulse-based ingredients with a deal to buy U.S. chickpea processor Hinrichs Trading Co. The two companies said they “expect the deal will help customers bring innovative products to market to meet growing consumer demand for plant-based and specialty ingredients.” Terms of the deal […] Read more

The McDonald’s “P.L.T.” (CNW Group/McDonald’s Canada)

McDonald’s to make its own ‘McPlant’ items

Beyond Meat says co-created patty

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Burger chain McDonald’s on Monday decided to debut its own plant-based meat alternatives line called “McPlant” in 2021, including a patty that Beyond Meat subsequently said it helped co-create. “Beyond Meat and McDonald’s co-created the plant-based patty which will be available as part of their McPlant platform,” a Beyond Meat spokesperson said in […] Read more