Food Frontier

When early-stage companies and outside expectations don’t align, the results can have serious implications for an emerging industry—especially when that industry was founded on the promise of being a more sustainable option than the norm. This is the situation the cellular agriculture sector faces, and one that Cellular Agriculture Australia is eager to resolve. CAA’s Jessica Freitag and Joanne Tunna authored our latest viewpoint piece to highlight an issue they believe is critical for the industry to address together, using examples from once-early stage industries to illustrate the difficulties. https://lnkd.in/gnDt8ujJ #CellularAgriculture #DemonstratingImpact #CultivatedMeat #CellularAgricultureAustralia #AlternativeProteins #SustainableFood

When it comes to the most popular plant-based meat formats on our shelves, crumbed chicken and sausages dominate. The past few years have seen an increase in the diversity of plant-based meat formats, with long-standing options like burgers and mince stabilising in number, while newer formats and flavours, such as strips, chunks, and whole-cut style products, have gained traction. There has also been a shift towards convenience products since January 2021. 🍔🥗❄️ The number of deli meats, ready meals, snacks, and crumbed chicken-style products has grown, despite some products or flavours being removed after their launch. Interestingly, seafood-style products have declined significantly, with a 69% reduction since 2021. Reflecting trends seen overseas, the availability of frozen plant-based products in Australia has increased by 10%, now accounting for just over half of all products on shelves. While chilled products remain the preferred format for retail consumers, frozen options dominate in the foodservice sector. For more information about plant-based meat trends see our free state of the industry report. https://lnkd.in/gBnFv5-Z #PlantBasedInnovation #MeatAlternatives #SustainableEating #PlantBasedTrends #ConvenienceFoods #AlternativeProteins

We’ve uploaded a selection of sessions from AltProteins 24 to YouTube. These recordings include the popular foodservice panel featuring Green Queen Media’s Sonalie Figueiras, Compass Group’s Simon Jackson, Redefine Meat’s Edwin Bark, and Griffith University’s Dr David Fechner; a session with the Bezos Earth Fund; and the exciting pitch segment where several innovative protein companies present their business ideas. https://lnkd.in/gW_c8ZrZ #AltProteins24 #PlantBasedMeats #AlternativeProteins #PrecisionFermentation #Bezos 

At an event in Brisbane this week Australia’s national science organisation demonstrated its commitment to transforming the protein landscape for a more sustainable and resilient future. CSIRO's AgCatalyst 2024 communicated a future inclusive of traditional protein sources and alternatives. Using interactive and immersive displays, it showcased highlights from its research, including enhancing crop varieties such as lupins to improve their palatability and market potential, and advancing synthetic biology, particularly precision fermentation, to develop dairy proteins.   #CSIRO #proteins #innovation #grains #futureoffood #Agcatalyst 

A snapshot of the recommendations made by Australia's Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA) white paper on #precisionfermentation. Full paper here https://lnkd.in/gSQ8Arrs.

We all know how quickly duckweed multiplies on just one sunny day! Australia is home to three species of duckweed, and it's being trialled for livestock feed here. Good to see it being developed for human consumption.💡

We are honoured to be recognised in this longlist of very worthwhile organisations. It's encouraging to see so much work happening around the world to improve food systems. Good luck to all the nominees, especially those working in alternative proteins, a sector that could really do with extra funding and support.

How do we nourish 10 billion people by 2030 with less land and fewer emissions? That’s the one-billion-dollar question falling squarely in the hands of Dr Andy Jarvis, who leads the Bezos Earth Fund’s Future of Food Program. With a big chunk of money to deploy and an incredibly complex problem to solve, Bezos Earth Fund is championing the urgent need to address food as part of the fight against climate change by supporting the development of alternative proteins as part of the solution. Andy recently sat down with Food Frontier Founder & Chair Thomas King at AltProteins 24 for a Q&A. Here are some key takeaways: - The Bezos Earth Fund is getting behind food because it believes we can't solve the nature or climate crisis without food systems transformation. - The diversity within our food system calls for the embrace of multiple solutions, including in traditional agriculture. - The proof is in the pudding. Taste parity is possible, but prices need to go down, taste needs to get better, and marketing needs to tell a strong story about the health benefits of the products. - Based on numbers alone, what consumers in the APAC region are eating in 20 years is critical to defining the future of food. Consumer shifts could be easier there, as meat is less of a headline act in meals. Plus, in Thailand, being vegan or vegetarian is increasingly seen as “cool” or “edgy” among the youth and middle class. - Philanthropic support is a drop in the ocean compared to what the alternative protein sector needs. Governments need to invest now and create an enabling environment for alternative proteins to succeed. - Alternative protein companies rushed to get venture capital funding without a strong end product in mind. Bezos Earth Fund's research centres aim to go back to the basics to create the foundations that will result in cheaper, tastier, more nutritional products. - How can alternative protein companies benefit from the Bezos Earth Fund investment in research centres? Although still in its early stages, Andy suggests reaching out to the centres now. By doing so, you can help set the agenda by sharing the challenges you're facing and collaborating on research projects. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eqQgeb8t

A cooking competition with a twist! 👨🍳 🍽️ One of the world's largest foodservice companies is hosting a chef challenge where contestants must create 100% plant-based recipes, focusing on sustainable ingredients, and use every part of each vegetable to minimise food waste. Tune in Friday morning: https://lnkd.in/gfWz2WVU

Food will be on the formal COP29 agenda on November 19 as part of Food, Agriculture, and Water Day. The event will feature CSIRO’s Agriculture and Food Director on a discussion panel, with the Australian Government ’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry participating in the Australia Pavilion. Food systems change is also part of an affiliated COP29 event on November 15 which includes our friends from the The Good Food Institute. Bruce Friedrich will be one of 50 speakers, discussing alternative proteins during the Agri-Food Systems Summit discussion. Virtual registration for this and other sessions is available free of charge.