All PFN ARTICLES

Greenland is back in the headlines, not for geopolitics or melting ice, but for something far more practical: food. In the Arctic town of Sisimiut, population roughly 6,000, a local hydroponic farm is proving lettuce, not logistics, might be the real sovereignty issue. As imported produce arrives soggy, bruised, and eye-wateringly expensive, locally grown crunchy greens are quietly winning shelf space.

Vietnam’s seafood economy, one of the world’s most export-oriented and livelihood-intensive, is watching a new frontier emerge in the form of bioreactor-based seafood cultivation. “Cell-cultured seafood” grown in giant industrial bioreactors, stainless-steel tanks more like brewery vats, rather than ponds, could produce tuna and shrimp without a single drop of seawater, completely free of mercury and microplastics. This represents a major change in traditional aquaculture an

In the UK, Marks & Spencer ( M&S) is under fresh scrutiny after a vigilante food waste watchdog posted a video on Instagram and TikTok showing wheelie bins of in-date, unsold food and flowers left behind an M&S store, everything from sliced meats and whole chickens to potatoes and bakery goods still days from expiry.

Vietnam’s busy cities are confronting rapid urbanisation and shrinking farmland by augmenting traditional organically grown vegetables with cutting-edge urban vertical farming models. In Ho Chi Minh City, cooperatives like Tuan Ngoc Hydroponic Vegetable Cooperative are expanding hydroponic and IoT-controlled production, scaling from 1,000 m² of leafy greens in 2019 to over 10,000 m² today and boosting output from 3 t to ~30 t monthly while maintaining premium quality and trac

Since the first Gisborne truffière produced in 1993, more than 40,000 inoculated trees across 100+ sites have been planted from the Bay of Plenty to Canterbury. Yields of well over 100kg per hectare have already been achieved, reputedly among the highest in the world for cultivated truffles. Agronomically, New Zealand isn’t the problem but whether the country can become a serious player in the global truffle game.

Organic dried fruit is quietly having a moment and not the dusty trail-mix kind. According to Verified Market Reports, the category is riding a wave of clean-label snacking, rising disposable incomes, and a renewed appetite for food that feels both simple and earned. The firm projects a 6.5% annual growth from 2026 to 2033, pushing the market from US$3.35bn in 2024 to US$5.78bn by 2033. This isn’t dried fruit nostalgia, it’s a food sector re-valuation.

For years, the coconut aisle has traded on a halo of tropical purity, hydration, wellness, plant-based goodness. But behind some Thai coconut products sits a practice feeling wildly out of step with 2026 ethics and that is forced monkey labour. According to Foodfacts, pig-tailed macaques are still being captured, chained, and trained to harvest coconuts in parts of Thailand, despite repeated assurances the practice has ended - monkey picked coconuts.

Italy's cuisine has just been received an accolade even the most passionate nonna might blush over by convincing UNESCO its entire cuisine, the whole sprawling, tomato-splashed, pasta-shaped universe, deserves protection as an intangible cultural treasure. Forget individual dishes. The whole national food identity just got canonised.

Victoria, Australia has just given plant-based protein a serious upgrade, opening a $12 million Plant Protein Hub and glasshouse at Agriculture Victoria’s Horsham SmartFarm. This isn’t a token ribbon-cut, it’s a fully kitted-out engine-room with shared labs, a test kitchen, analytical gear and grower access, built to turn lentils, chickpeas and field peas into the next wave of high-protein products.

Strap in: the European Space Agency (ESA) has just signed a deal with Finnish startup Solar Foods to test a protein powder made from microbes, air, electricity and urea (yes, that urea, found in urine) aboard the International Space Station; giving a whole new meaning to pee protein!!

America’s appetite for white mushrooms is going through a full-blown functional food awakening. The market is forecast to surge from US$13.3 billion in 2024 to US$22.34 billion by 2033, a nearly 6% annual increase driven by wellness-minded consumers seeking nutrient-dense, plant-forward foods doing more than fill a plate.

Chocolate giant Barry Callebaut is hedging its bets, keeping cocoa close while diving headfirst into the cocoa-free future. The Swiss heavyweight has entered a long-term partnership with Planet A Foods, the German start-up behind ChoViva, a chocolate alternative made from local crops like sunflower seeds. The deal neatly straddles both camps: traditional cocoa dominance and the growing demand for sustainable, non-cocoa chocolate.