| |
|
December 2020
|
NEWS FROM THE FRONTIER
|
|
Dear friends –
We celebrate the close of the year with a historic moment for the future of food: Singapore is now the first jurisdiction worldwide to approve the sale of meat cultivated from cells. The cultivated chicken, produced by Eat Just Inc., will be available in one Singaporean restaurant next year.
Earlier this month, SuperMeat also opened the world’s first test kitchen for cultivated meat in Israel, offering dishes made with cell-cultivated chicken. These represent major milestones for the emerging cellular agriculture industry on its path to commercialisation across the globe.
Following a challenging year, we hope you are as energised as we are by these momentous developments. Read on for more in alternative proteins.
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
2
|
Food Frontier joined the National Farmers' Federation (NFF) and New South Wales Farmers in convening the first Future of Protein Forum, bringing together agriculture sector bodies, state governments and alternative protein companies to discuss opportunities in the alternative protein sectors. Hosted by NFF CEO Tony Mahar, the Forum included presentations from CSIRO, the EAT Group and the secretariat of the Pulse Protein Cooperative Research Centre bid team.
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
3
|
CEO Thomas King and Director of Policy and Government Relations Sam Lawrence took their first (COVID-safe) trip to Canberra since Q1 for a series of meetings, including meetings at federal Parliament and with the NFF and the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, amongst others.
|
|
|
|
4
|
Food Frontier joined the first two working group meetings on plant-based labelling convened by the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, which focused on process and the development of a discussion paper. Food Frontier has highlighted concerns about representation in the working group (covered in Food Navigator Asia) and will continue to call for an evidence-based discussion.
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
DEVELOPMENTS DOWN UNDER
|
-
ProForm Foods has opened a manufacturing facility in northern Sydney capable of producing up to 5,000 tonnes of plant-based meat per year, which will be sold in retail under the company’s MEET brand. Federal Minister for Industry, Science and Innovation Karen Andrews joined the facility's opening event, noting that plant-based meat is one of six major priorities under the government’s Modern Manufacturing Strategy.
-
Change Foods, which produces animal-free dairy using microbial precision fermentation, has closed its pre-seed funding round raising US$875,000, as well as hired a CMO, ex-Danone marketing lead Irina Gerry.
-
Western Australian business Wide Open Agriculture has announced the successful production of protein isolates from locally grown lupin, paving the way for the protein’s use as an ingredient in plant-based meat, among other products.
-
A new report from agribusiness specialists Rabobank says Australia’s grain, oilseed and pulse producers are well placed to capitalise on the plant-based meat boom, pending increased investment in local processing facilities.
|
| |
|
Source: ProForm / Wes Nel
|
|
| |
| |
| |
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
|
-
McDonald's announced that a new McPlant burger – featuring a plant-based beef-style patty co-created by Beyond Meat – will be tested in select US locations in 2021.
-
Shiok Meats, a cellular agriculture company focused on seafood, has debuted its latest prototype - the world’s first cultivated lobster - at a taste-testing event in Singapore.
-
Beyond Meat has launched Beyond Pork in China, catering to the world's largest consumers of pork. Beyond Pork is the company's "first plant-based meat product created specifically for the Chinese market".
|
| |
|
Source: McDonald's
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
WHY ALTERNATIVE PROTEINS?
|
|
While action on climate change often focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from fossil fuels, a new study by the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Population Health has demonstrated that cutting emissions from food production is critical. The study found that rising GHGs from global food production will make it almost impossible to meet the Paris Agreement target – even if the emissions from fossil fuel industries immediately ceased. A senior author of the study called food systems “the dark
horse of climate change,” though the authors offered hope, noting that rapid and ambitious changes to the global food system and individuals’ adoption of plant-rich diets would limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, per the Paris Agreement target.
|
| |
|
Source: Getty Images
|
|
| |
| |
|
We wish you a wonderful holiday season and thank you for your continued support. As always, please get in touch with any ideas, questions or feedback.
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
If you wish to discover more of the latest on alternative proteins, visit our News page.
|
|
|
|
| |
|
