??The need for an alternative protein coalition, how the EU Commission can boost protein diversification and baffling headlines on plant-based foods
The Good Food Institute Europe
Advancing plant-based and cultivated meat in Europe to build a better food system for people, planet and animals.
This month: How we worked to broaden the conversation about protein diversification in 2024, a whistle-stop tour through the UK’s exciting new research centres, and the scientist who hopes her innovation can replicate fat in plant-based products.
Featured story
The ‘cow in the room’ remains a critical source of climate inaction, with government funding for food systems change representing a fraction of spending on green technologies such as electric cars and renewable energy. Protein production is far more complex and emotionally ingrained than the kind of car you drive, and awareness of alternative proteins’ potential is still sorely lacking –?so it’s vital that we work to get everyone around the table.
The growing global demand for meat presents multifaceted threats to the environment, public health, food security and biodiversity. However, protein diversification is unlikely to succeed without cheap, tasty options that can meet this growing demand sustainably. Alternative proteins therefore represent a hugely leveraged opportunity to build a food system that is better for people, planet and animals, but are often overlooked.?
As the year draws to an end, it’s time to look back on the work we’ve done to build a broad coalition of stakeholders working together to realise the opportunities of protein diversification. Work that was only made possible by our fantastic family of donors.?
Here’s a snapshot of some of our work:
As we head into 2025, many obstacles still block the road towards alternative proteins entering the mainstream, and we will continue this work to ensure that everyone –?from policymakers and scientists to farmers and health professionals – is part of the conversation.?
Top stories
With the new Commission now in place, President von der Leyen and the 26 Commissioners have an opportunity to tackle some of the most pressing global challenges by advancing innovation in protein diversification. Deputy Head of Policy Alex Holst looks at four key approaches they should take – leading industrial food biotech, building strength in European science, securing the regulatory path to market for foods like cultivated meat, and enabling farmers to grasp opportunities offered by plant-based foods. Looking ahead to an uncertain future, supporting efforts to diversify Europe’s protein supply can help build a more secure food system while boosting international competitiveness.
The UK is home to a growing network of alternative protein research hubs, but with so many exciting new projects, there’s a lot to take in. Head of Science and Technology Seren Kell gives a whistle-stop tour through the National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC), the Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub (CARMA), the Microbial Food Hub and the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein, and what they mean for the UK landscape. These centres represent a step-change in alternative protein science, enabling researchers to collaborate with industry, and also demonstrate the UK government’s recognition of the role plant-based, cultivated meat and fermentation can play in generating green growth.
Swiss companies Migros, Givaudan, and Bühler Group?have opened The Cultured Hub – a service enabling cultivated meat and fermentation startups to scale up their processes from lab experiments to 1,000-litre pilot operations. Based in Kemptthal, Switzerland, the centre is capable of hosting three companies simultaneously and aims to bridge the gap between research and commercialisation. With many startups struggling to raise the funds needed to build large production facilities, centres such as this –?along with Belgium’s recently expanded Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant –?will play a crucial role in enabling European companies to bring sustainable products to market.
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found striking environmental and health benefits of replacing meat and dairy with a wide range of plant-based foods. But despite the paper’s promising findings, much of the media coverage bizarrely focused on the tiny differences between traditional plant-based whole foods and innovative plant-based meat and dairy products. Nutrition lead Amy Williams and researcher Sarah Nájero Espinosa from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine dive into the study and discuss how both options can play a vital role in helping build a healthier and more sustainable food system.
A peer-reviewed life cycle analysis (LCA) has added to the growing body of evidence showing the significant environmental benefits of precision fermentation. The LCA, conducted by independent experts from the French public research institute INRAE, found startup Bon Vivant’s precision fermentation-made dairy protein produced 72% less greenhouse gas emissions than cow’s milk and used 81% less water and 99% less land. As these advantages grow clearer, governments across Europe must invest in R&I and infrastructure to help scale climate-friendly, nutritious fermentation-made foods enabling consumers to keep eating the foods they love, but made in a more sustainable way.
Meet the researcher
We meet Andrea Araiza Calahorra, whose work as a postdoc researcher at the University of Leeds led her to help develop an innovation that aims to replicate the sensory experience of fat. She says the technology has particularly important applications for improving the mouthfeel of plant-based meat and dairy products while addressing concerns about nutrition and sustainability by reducing the use of saturated fats like coconut oil. Read about how a career spent analysing food textures –?from unpicking the molecular make-up of chocolate to developing more palatable products for older people –?led to her work as technical director of spin-out company MicroLub.
Events, opportunities and resources
Events:
Jobs, funding and resources:?
For more alternative protein opportunities, check out our funding database or visit AltProtein.jobs.
Our impact
The year ahead holds so much promise, but progress is by no means guaranteed. We need your support if alternative proteins are to fulfil their world-changing potential. Driving real change is central to everything we do, and we are exceptionally proud to have been selected as most impactful climate charity of 2024 by Doneer Effectief and the University of Amsterdam Business School.?
Check out this blog from entrepreneur and investor Anna Alex on why she donates to the Good Food Institute, why we won’t challenge industrial animal agriculture unless we develop delicious foods honouring culinary traditions –?and why it’s important to keep joy central to our work building a more sustainable food system.
Help us reach our €380,000 fundraising goal by donating before 31 December and empower our teams across the world to make the global food system better for the planet, people, and animals in 2025 and beyond. Thanks to a generous donor, your gift will be matched 1:1 up to €95,000.?
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GFI Europe · Gfi Europe (Belgium) Asbl · Dreve Du Pressoir 38 · Forest 1190 · Belgium
Gardener, Vegan food producer & Entrepreneur.
2 个月I don't remember seeing anything about COP and their ludicrous apparent lack of awareness of this information. The Plant Based Treaty had a load of media posts raising these issues and I feel a coordinated effort, or even a collaboration, would have been a force to be reckoned with. Perhaps next time the could even be an outlet providing fabulous plant based food along with facts and information.