What’s trending?
There’s growing interest in the future of food in the halls of academia across the globe. Schools around the world are racing to set up future food curricula and innovation centres to create the food workforce of the future. We are seeing more and more case studies of such curricula pop up – in the US, Singapore, Israel and Brazil to name a few. A Singaporean university introduced Asia Pacific’s first alt-protein university course called “Future Foods – Introduction to Advanced Meat Alternatives.” In Israel, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem launched a pilot course titled “Cultivated Meat and Plant-Based Meat”, one of three universities participating in the Good Food Institute’s programme on alternative proteins – a critical step to empowering the next generation of alternative protein researchers.
Why is it important?
The market for alternative protein is approximately $2.2 billion, compared with a global meat market of approximately $1.7 trillion. This is not a huge stake. However, according to a study by Boston Consulting Group and Blue Horizon, alternative proteins are set to take 11% of the global protein market by 2035. This is a sizable chunk of business which will continue to expand in line with growing consumer awareness of, and interest in, alternative proteins.
What can businesses do about it?
It is essential students and industry professionals are equipped with the specialised knowledge they need to tap into the alternative protein sector. Academic institutions should expand their curricula to offer education on this important topic for there to be more innovation in this space. “In five years, we hope to see alternative protein courses at every major university around the world,” said Amy Huang, who heads up the Good Food Institute. “The educators and institutions that begin cultivating these kinds of educational pathways today will hold the attention of alternative protein start-ups and companies as they expand their teams, build infrastructure, and establish industrial centres.” Businesses in the food retail space will be among those incorporating the trend of alternative-protein into their strategy, if they have not done so already.
By Faeeza Khan
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Image credit: LikeMeat
