What were the most read articles on AgFunderNews in 2023?

Given the intense scrutiny on the beleaguered plant-based meat sector, it should come as no surprise that pieces on Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods featured heavily in the ‘most read’ articles on AgFunderNews this year.

Meanwhile, the collapse of Berkeley-based cell-cultured pork startup New Age Eats also struck a chord with readers wondering if cultivated meat is a viable alternative to animal agriculture or a foodtech fantasy (to quote Dave Humbird: “None of this stuff makes any commercial sense until everyone’s eating it. The emperor has no clothes”).

Amid all the schadenfreude and the mainstream media narrative, however (to paraphrase: ‘the tech bros promised the earth and gave us processed mush and pipedreams’), AgFunderNews readers also took the time to read more nuanced takes from stakeholders featured in our recent deep dive into the cultivated meat sector.

As one investor pointed out, it seems premature to write off an industry that didn’t even exist a decade ago because it can’t immediately compete with a heavily subsidized industry (industrialized animal agriculture) and associated ecosystem that has been scaling up and driving efficiencies for decades.

Other segments attracting eyeballs in 2023 were indoor agriculture, which has also been on a rollercoaster ride over the past decade; regenerative agriculture, a term that could become the new ‘natural’ in food marketing if not properly defined; animal-free dairy via precision fermentation; and the launch of Mineral, an agtech business created by Google’s parent co Alphabet.

Another story that captured the imagination of AgFunderNews readers was the ugly spat between the board at plant-based dairy co Miyoko’s Creamery and its namesake founder Miyoko Schinner, with both airing some dirty laundry in public before burying the hatchet in May.

1. Impossible Foods CEO: ‘I feel good about where we are, I do not feel good about where the category is’  – Elaine Watson
2. Alphabet brings agtech startup out of stealth with data from 10% of world’s farmland, 3 major customers – Louisa Burwood-Taylor
3. Keep calm and carry on: Navigating the trough of disillusionment for plant-based meat – Elaine Watson
4. Cultivated meat startup New Age Eats makes ‘painful decision’ to shut down: ‘We’ve been unable to attract investment’ – Elaine Watson
5. Fifth Season’s former VP on why it failed and how vertical farming must change –  Jennifer Marston
6. Crunch time for cultivated meat: ‘Probably 70-90% of players will fail in the next year’ – Elaine Watson
7. 10 years in indoor ag: After a decade of tough lessons, indoor ag nears ‘the plateau of enlightenment’ – Jennifer Marston
8. Meet the Founder: CEA engineer & advisor Erika Summers on why (vertical) farming isn’t a ‘get-rich-quick’ industry – Jennifer Marston
9. PepsiCo to pump $216m into US regenerative ag: ‘We’re putting our money where our mouth is’ – Elaine Watson
10. Beyond Meat may ‘need to tap the financial markets in 2024′ to stay afloat, says analyst as firm posts $70.5m net loss in Q3 – Elaine Watson
11. ‘It’s been a very dark week…’ Miyoko Schinner hits back as company accuses her of ‘hatching plot’ to steal IP – Elaine Watson
12. Exclusive: Loam Bio raises $73m Series B from Lowercarbon, Acre, others to boost soil carbon – Jennifer Marston
13. Mizuho Securities analyst on Beyond Meat: ‘They’re just sort of stuck’ – Elaine Watson
14. Plenty confirms closure of South San Francisco vertical farming facility – Jennifer Marston
15. Eat Just’s GOOD Meat division hasn’t paid its bills, says bioreactor co; parties in arbitration – Elaine Watson
16. Exclusive: Perfect Day animal-free dairy patent in US challenged – Elaine Watson
17. Learning from Japan’s mistakes, Oishii CEO “hasn’t spent a dime” on leafy greens as ultra-premium strawberries thrive – Jennifer Marston
18. FBN appoints Temasek’s John Vaske as new CEO, co-founder Amol Deshpande steps down – Jennifer Marston
19. Exclusive: Animal-free dairy startup Remilk hits pause on plan for world’s largest precision fermentation facility – Elaine Watson
20. Lemna/duckweed processor Lemnature AquaFarms files for bankruptcy, asset sale set for Dec 12 – Elaine Watson