🤝The need for an alternative protein coalition, how the EU Commission can boost protein diversification and baffling headlines on plant-based foods

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:

• We demonstrated how alternative proteins can support Europe’s shift towards more sustainable farming. We commissioned A New Land Dividend, written by prominent climate think tank Green Alliance, which delivered fascinating new insights into how these foods can enable Europe’s biggest agricultural countries to transition away from intensive farming practices. 

• We built the case for policymakers by evidencing the economic potential of plant-based foods and cultivated meat. Systemiq's The Future of Cultivated Meat in Europe report, also commissioned by ourselves, found that with significant investment and support, cultivated meat could contribute €20-85 billion per year to the EU economy. We also published reports on plant-based retail sales data in key European countries, finding promising opportunities for growth despite the rising cost of living.

• We gave scientists and research funders a clearer view of the alternative protein scientific ecosystem. Our twin reports were the first ever to explore the full breadth of Europe’s research community, finding astonishing growth – an incredible 472 papers were published in 2023 compared to just 19 in 2010 – but also highlighting that this field is still in its infancy and needs more support.

• We highlighted the relevance of alternative proteins for public health. Amid a growing awareness of the challenges of nutrition and sustainability in our diets, we countered misinformation about plant-based meat, created resources in multiple languages and submitted evidence to the UK’s House of Lords about the role alternative proteins can play in healthy diets.

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. 

Read our blog in English or German to find out more.

Top stories

How the new EU Commission can drive protein diversification

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.

A quick guide to the new UK centres turbocharging alternative protein research 

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 hub aims to bridge the scale-up divide 

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.

Beyond the headlines – study finds health and environmental benefits of plant-based meat and whole foods

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.

Read in English, Spanish or Italian.

Analysis provides fresh evidence of precision fermentation's benefits

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

Chewing the fat about healthier plant-based foods with Andrea Araiza Calahorra

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:

• 19 December – GFI Science of Alt Protein: Enhancing Alternative Protein through Microbial Diversity (virtual)

• 16 January – GFI Science of Alt Protein: Are Alternative Protein Products the Ultra-Processed Exception? (virtual) 

• 18-19 January – Plant Food Festival (Aarhus, Denmark)

• 11-14 February – BIOFACH (Nuremberg, Germany) 

Jobs, funding and resources: 

• Opportunity: EU-funded Life Climate Smart Chefs Project

• Opportunity: FLAVOURsome Satellite Event at Food Oral Processing Conference (abstract submission 23 December)

• Resource: Chatham House Report on Strategic Bioeconomy Collaboration

• Resource: ProVeg International Nutritional Assessment of Plant-Based Foods

• Funding: Irish Disruptive Technologies Fund (30 April 2025)

• Funding: FutureFoodS Partnership Transnational Funding Call (pre-submission 15 January 2025)

• Funding: Innovate UK Launchpads: Biobased manufacturing in Scotland and Agritech and food technology in Eastern England (various deadlines)

• Funding: European Innovation Council 2025 Accelerator Challenge, Biotechnology driven low emission food and feed production systems (12 March 2025, 1 October 2025)

• Job: Nutropy, Evry, France – Various Roles (deadlines vary depending on role) 

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. 

Support our work.

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