As the IPCC puts the finishing touches on part two of its Sixth Assessment Report, which assesses the impacts of climate change on our planet and will be completed in February 2022, we explore the implications of part one and highlight opportunities for alternative proteins to mitigate climate impacts.
Join branding and consumer research experts in a panel discussing how alternative protein companies can leverage storytelling to build awareness and trust with consumers.
Bruce Friedrich and Energy Innovation executive director for strategy and policy, Anand Gopal, argue the climate community must back (and governments must implement) strong policies in support of alternative meats, or Paris agreement goals will not be possible.
There is a need for a supplier of low-cost growth factors produced without the use of animals to support the proliferation phase of cultivated meat production. The cost of growth factor production will need to be brought down significantly as cultivated meat production is scaled up.
Despite booming commercial interest in alternative meat and the huge climate mitigation potential it offers, funding for academic research lags; GFI’s grant program is designed to address this shortfall and key scientific bottlenecks.
GFI’s Competitive Research Grant program provides catalytic seed funding to accelerate alternative protein R&D and unlock the climate benefits on offer. But serious public investment is critical to achieving a net-zero, climate-resilient world.
In order to appeal to health-conscious consumers, alternative seafood products should contain similar omega-3 fatty acids, especially DHA and EPA, content to conventional seafood. Animal-free omega-3 ingredients can be expensive and supply can be inconsistent. Scaling up animal-free omega-3 production is critical to the success of the global alternative seafood market, which is seeing increased attention and promising growth. Adding omega-3 to other alternative protein products could also provide a great point of differentiation while improving health appeal.
As the alternative seafood industry scales up, a low-cost and abundant source of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids will become necessary. Several means of producing these compounds have been investigated and commercialized, but additional innovation is needed to build a robust and scalable supply chain. Methods that would benefit from additional research include precision fermentation and cell-free systems.
Deeper fundamental knowledge of the causes and prevention of oxidation of omega-3 fatty acids before, during, and after addition to alternative seafood products is needed to improve their nutritional and organoleptic properties. While several approaches to prevent oxidation of unsaturated lipids in conventional seafood products have been developed, antioxidation methods must be tailored to the formulations and processing of alternative seafood products, or perhaps new methods must be developed altogether.
This year’s Good Food Conference Founding Sponsors include an eclectic group of companies invested in the growth of alternative proteins. Read on to learn more about their work and predictions for the industry in 2022.
