XPRIZE this week announced the launch of its $15 million “Feed the Next Billion” competition in collaboration with ASPIRE. Through this four-year competition the non-profit organization claims that it intends to revolutionize the global food supply chain, transforming the whole meat industry in the process.
The competition follows the release of XPRIZE’s Future of Food Impact Roadmap, an in-depth analysis of global food system challenges. This resulted in the identification of a global need for alternative proteins at-scale, which was found to be a critical impact area that requires significant technological advances, decreased price points, and notable shifts in consumer preferences, while maintaining positive health and environmental benefits as compared to animal-based proteins.
Launched in partnership with ASPIRE, the project management pillar of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), The Tony Robbins Foundation, which helps providing millions of meals a year, and The Good Food Institute, XPRIZE intends to accelerate innovation within alternative meats and fish products that offer nutritious food security solutions.
Within the competition, teams of global innovators will work to ensure that the world’s growing population has equal access to protein-rich, nutritious, and high-quality food. Thereby, XPRIZE “Feed the Next Billion” will challenge the winning teams to develop several consistent cuts of a meat alternative that replicates the appearance and nutritional properties of a textured fish or chicken breast fillet while having a lower comparable ecological footprint.
Commenting on the global impact of the four-year competition, Faisal Al Bannai, Secretary-General of the Advanced Technology Research Council, which oversees ASPIRE, states: “Abu Dhabi has been instrumental in developing the global food security ecosystem, and we are continuously uncovering cutting-edge agriculture solutions that will shape the future of food production. Through our partnership with XPRIZE, we seek to unearth new technologies that will become solutions for all, helping people around the world access safe, sufficient, and affordable food. We’re excited to bring together top international talent and global innovators to develop solutions to answer one of the world’s most critical challenges.”
