How the Alt Protein Project is growing a brighter food future in Argentina
Harvesting the fruit of Argentina’s alternative protein ecosystem
Federico Horn compares the many isolated pockets of alternative protein activity across Argentina to “fruit trees,” ripe with expertise, resources, and passion. Horn is the co-founder of the National University of General San Martín (UNSAM) Alt Protein Project (APP) alongside Dr. Carolina Bluguermann.
With help from the other student leaders of the UNSAM APP, Horn and Bluguermann have worked to finally pick the fruit by building a unified community of Argentinian students, academics, industry members, and government officials who are passionate about alternative proteins.
As an academic community specialist with GFI and the APP, I get to work with incredible APP leaders, like Federico and Carolina, every day. I had the chance to interview them to hear their perspectives on what they have accomplished throughout Argentina via the UNSAM APP.
As the first Alt Protein Project group in Argentina, the UNSAM APP is stepping up to build the momentum across the Argentinian alt protein ecosystem that was previously missing. The success of their past events and the growing enthusiasm for events to come reveal a hunger for alternative protein research and innovation that was previously scattered across the country.
Just a year and a half since their founding, the UNSAM APP group has emerged as a leader, convener, and “gardener” of the Argentinian alternative protein ecosystem, bringing people together to “build something bigger.”
Connecting academia, industry, and government
UNSAM APP hosted its first official event, an introductory conference on alternative proteins, in 2024. It was just three months after their founding, and they still reached maximum attendance before the event even began. Since then, the team has continued to bolster national interest in alternative proteins through events such as their academia-industry focused workshop, supported by our donor-funded ecosystem-building grant.
Several more initiatives are on the horizon: their university’s first official course on alternative proteins slated for the 2026-27 academic year; a national congress and food hackathon for alternative proteins in November 2026; and a new hub at UNSAM that devotes existing technology, lab space, and university resources towards food technology and alternative proteins.
The throughline across their initiatives is the team’s desire to facilitate opportunities for cross-sector collaboration. For example, their academia–industry workshop explored a wide variety of topics: “science and technology, regulatory issues, the funding landscape, and the link between academia and industry.” Attendees were seated at tables dedicated to one of the three key pillars of alternative proteins — plant-based meat, cultivated meat, and fermentation — with each table intentionally mixing representatives from academia, industry, and government to inspire cross-sector discussion.
These opportunities to connect with other alternative protein stakeholders have been invaluable for researchers, many of whom told Federico that before engaging with the UNSAM APP, they “felt like they were alone.”
Cross-APP collaboration
Much of UNSAM APP’s success thus far can be attributed to its own strong roots in collaboration. Federico and Carolina both say they make a great team, inspired by each other’s strengths. Carolina has an extensive background in the field of cultivated meat and alternative proteins as a whole, given her experience as a researcher for a cultivated meat start-up and now as a professor at the university. According to Carolina, Federico complements her strengths with his drive and ability to “field so many questions, emails, and calls from people across so many different sectors.”
Additionally, learning from other APP groups has been critical to their success. When planning their workshop, the UNSAM APP learned from the Cambridge APP, which has hosted many successful cross-sector workshops. The Cambridge APP provided logistical dos and don’ts from their past workshops, while also more broadly advising the UNSAM APP to have a clear purpose and tangible outcomes from their event. Carolina said this advice was crucial, pointing them towards more focused programming, such as their three tracks: emerging needs and capabilities; public-private collaboration and funding opportunities; and regulatory pathways. The UNSAM APP also utilized GFI’s course database and existing syllabi from APP-led courses to pitch their upcoming course on alternative proteins to UNSAM administrators. Having direct examples of successful courses was key to gaining university support for their new course. By looking to other APP groups for guidance and utilizing GFI resources, the UNSAM APP knew they could avoid “starting from zero” and make an even greater impact, says Horn.
Looking to the future
When asked what they hope the Argentinian alternative protein landscape looks like in five years, both Federico and Carolina pointed to a more robust community. The UNSAM APP is the first–and currently only–APP group in Argentina, but they hope to see more Argentinian universities join APP’s global community soon.
“While it was exciting in the beginning to say we were the first, now we need new voices, perspectives, and backgrounds… There is enough work for everyone,” says Carolina.
Federico added that in five years, he hopes to see a more established ecosystem, where their upcoming Argentinian Congress for Alternative Proteins (CAPA) becomes an annual gathering with even greater “visibility and awareness.” At the close of our conversation, Carolina reflected that while many people are eager to join existing movements, it is much harder to find those willing to “build this ecosystem together.”
I have no doubt that the next five years will continue to bear fruit for the Argentinian alternative protein ecosystem, thanks to the UNSAM APP and their commitment to laying the groundwork for others, taking action to create the opportunities they wish already existed. Their story is an inspiring example of how students can lead national change. In the years to come, I hope we see similar new ecosystems sprout up around the world, as students, researchers, industry members, and government officials join together to grow a safer, more robust food system.
Given the extensive ecosystem-building work the UNSAM APP has accomplished in less than two years, its vision for the future feels already underway. What were once scattered “fruit trees” of alternative protein experts across Argentina are now transforming into a flourishing orchard where people across academia, industry, and government can grow together towards a thriving alternative protein ecosystem.
Author
Hanna Barlow
Hanna works with GFI’s university innovation team to support The Alt Protein Project. Areas of expertise: food systems and justice, environment, community-building, curriculum development, and improvisation
