After the harvest, straw bales wrapped in white plastic film dominate the landscape of many fields. In these so-called silage bales, fodder crops such as corn are turned into food for cattle through lactic acid fermentation. But the films used for this purpose are anything but environmentally friendly. They are made of conventional plastic and have been shown to leave traces of microplastics in the soil. "In addition - and this is particularly regrettable - they have so far been purely disposable and thus bad for the eco-balance," explains Isabell Kleiber.

Whether ground or roasted: Almonds and nuts are especially in demand during the Christmas season. But the protein-rich food is unfortunately also a source of salmonella, which can cause food infections. Now, researchers have succeeded in finding a way to make them germ-free.

More and more consumers are turning to meat substitutes in the supermarket. The range extends from soya schnitzel and tofu sausage to lentil burgers. The trend is mostly served by start-ups such as the Berlin company Mushlabs. The eleven-member team around founder Mazen Rizk uses mycelia from mushrooms to make vegan meat substitutes. The biotechnology company has now been able to attract new investors for the further development of its products. A total of 8.7 million euros were raised in a Series A financing round.

Drinking straws, plastic bags, cotton swabs and plastic dinnerware are soon to disappear from everyday life, and this throughout Europe. In November 2018, the EU Parliament had already given the green light for a ban on disposable plastics, which is to come into force in 2021. The German government has also initiated a turnaround towards less plastic and more recycling.