Alternative protein research grants tracker

The scale and urgency of the challenge

Paradigm-shifting technologies, capable of solving some of the world’s most pressing challenges, require substantial amounts of research.

From 1976 to 2016, global funding for renewable energy research and development averaged $10-22 billion (in 2016 USD) every year^[1] , amounting to $600 billion over four decades. In contrast, grants for alternative protein research since 2005 total a mere $112 million—less than one ten-thousandth of total R&D expenditures for renewable energy. Given that almost one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions come from animal agriculture and associated land use, it’s clear that increased R&D in alternative proteins can equip the world with scalable solutions to tackle climate and other global challenges^[2]. 

In order to accelerate the shift toward a sustainable, secure, and just protein supply, vastly more investment into alternative protein research is required. The fruits of these investments are clear: by 2018, due in large part to the massive R&D investment the field had received for at least a half-century, renewable energy comprised 26.2 percent of global energy production^[3]. By contrast, retail plant-based meat sales currently account for only 1.4 percent of total retail meat sales^[4]. Commensurate investment into research and development is needed now to achieve improvements in sensory traits, cost reduction, and scalability to enable alternative proteins to reach mainstream adoption.