Stymied by consumers' free will, Beyond Meat shifts operations to Moscow

“But just temporarily, until the UN brings people to their senses”.

Russia proposes alternative meat made from fly larvae

A senior Russian official has suggested that residents of his country may need to chow down on meat alternatives such as fly larvae and vegetable protein, as the country feels the pinch of sanctions over the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, who is also minister of industry and trade, told onlookers at the Innofood exhibition in Sochi that he would “continue to experiment” with alternative meats.

Referencing a vegetable protein by the brand Efko, he said the final product was “very difficult to distinguish from natural meat.”

“To be honest, I couldn’t tell the difference,” he insisted.

Aside from more typical alternative sources like vegetables and aquafaba, Manturov was also impressed by those derived from black soldier fly larvae.

“It was a real surprise when a protein sourced from black soldier fly larvae is used, but here we are on the cutting edge of modern [practices],” he said. 

“We need to overcome that mental block and then even a black soldier fly larva will be to your taste. You need to make an effort.”

In a separate, totally unrelated development, Larry Fink announced today that BlackRock has expanded its investment in Beyond Meat, and now holds 85% of all outstanding stock.