Animal-based foods are typically more resource-intensive and environmentally impactful to produce than plant-based foods. By making meat alternatives from plants and cultivating meat from cells, meat production is undergoing a modernization. It is a faster process that enables more flexibility in production with a significantly lower emission rate. This modernization is mainly enabled by three different processes and technologies: plant-based protein, fermentation and cultivated meat, and these three processes make up the new and growing field of alternative proteins.
Calls for public funding for research
California is at the center when it comes to both academic research and industry innovation in the field of alternative proteins. In 2020, The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded around $3.5 million to fund a cultivated-meat consortium at the UC Davis in California.
Cultivated meat is a way of redesigning meat. It is grown directly from animal cells and produced in bioreactors and tastes like regular meat (because it is regular meat) but without having the environmental impact. Cultivated meat is still in its infancy, but in December 2020, the first cultivated chicken was produced by California-based Eat Just.
And the grant to NSF represents the US government’s biggest investments in open-access alternative protein research so far. UC Davis also hosts a chapter of the Good Food Institute-financed project the “Alternative Protein Project” which attempts to build an education pipeline for the alternative proteins industry by designing educational offerings and driving innovative research.
UC Berkeley also focus on research and education in the field of alternative proteins. They have formed the UC Berkeley Alternative Meats Lab, which serves as a hub connecting students, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and industry leaders.
While Californian universities are making progress in the field of alternative proteins research, public funding for research is still relatively low. Instead, most investments in research are made in and by private companies competing for market share, meaning that the findings often end up patented. The famous political analyst Ezra Klein, brought this debate to wider public attention, when he published an impassioned opinion piece in the New York Times calling for larger public investments into alternative protein research. According to Klein, conventional meat has had decades of subsidies and publicly funded research, and the time has now come for alternative proteins to receive the same.
“Let’s Launch a Moonshot for Meatless Meat"
Some politicians seem to be listening to these calls. At a USDA subcommittee hearing, Chair of the House Appropriations Committee Rosa DeLauro also called for parity in research funding for alternative proteins, saying that these technologies “play an important role in combatting climate change and adding resiliency to our food system”.
“Alternative proteins play an important role in combatting climate change and adding resiliency to our food system”
California: An industry hub
According to GFI, a thriving alternative protein ecosystem requires investors, talent in the form of researchers, local demand (vegetarians and flexitarians), a supportive government, a business community, access to resources, and infrastructure. California is beginning to develop such an ecosystem and it has consequently developed into a hub for innovative companies working in the alternative proteins industry.The two giants in the alternative proteins industry, Impossible Foods and Beyond Meats, are both based in California. Through 2019, Impossible Foods have raised $672MM and Beyond Meats $482.75MM, making them undisputed leaders when it comes to producing plant-based meats. Plant-based proteins are made from plants, since they have a similar biochemical composition to meat made up by fat, protein, water, vitamins and minerals. Traditionally these products and innovations were directed towards vegetarians, but with a growing consumer base, the challenge is now to develop plant-based meats that closely mimic conventional meats’ properties. Impossible Foods has struck a deal with fast-food chain Burger King which has released the Impossible Whooper made from their plant-based meat. According to analyses made by Barclays and CNBC, Burger King stores saw an overall increase in foot-traffic and a 3.5% sales increase in its U.S. stores as a result.
Perfect Day is another big Bay Area company that uses fermentation to create plant-based Dairy. Fermentation is an effective way to produce lots of protein and has already given us alcohol and yoghurt. Efficiency attracts money, and by July 2020, companies developing and deploying technologies that enables the process have raised $435 million in funding. A life cycle assessment of Perfect Day’s protein production through fermentation shows that it reduces greenhouse gas emissions by at least 85% and up to 97%, compared to conventional production methods. As fermentation is one of Denmark’s strong points, there might be interesting opportunities for companies and researchers in this area as well.
All of these companies are part of a relatively new, but rapidly growing industry. According to The Good Food Institute, a record $3.1 billion was invested in plant-based food companies in 2020 – a figure that is three times higher than the amount raised in 2019. The demand for research, innovation and capital in the field is projected to increase in the coming years.