policy

The European Commission has published a new communication, Building the future with nature: Boosting Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing in the EU.

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Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

EU Commission Proposes Ambitious Biotech Initiative, Including Key Actions for Alt Proteins

The European Commission has published a new initiative, Building the Future with Nature: Boosting Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing in the EU, that summarises the sector’s challenges and proposes a line of actions to address these barriers in different industries, such as agriculture, health, marine biotech, and food and feed among others. According to the Good Food Institute Europe‘s policy team, the document provides three key actions pertinent to Europe’s alternative protein sector, as follows. Firstly, the document emphasises the importance of fostering public and private investments in biotechnology through the European Innovation Council’s accelerator program. It suggests including specific biotech-related challenges in the program to support innovative technologies and solutions. Furthermore, the document mentions exploring new investment support options from the European Investment Bank to boost …

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Vegan protein sources- EIT Food calls for innovative policymaking on protein diversification to address the challenges of the food system Challenges

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Studies & Numbers

Think Tank Calls for Innovative Policymaking on Protein Diversification to Address EU Food System Challenges

A new policy brief by the food innovation community EIT Food, Accelerating Protein Diversification for Europe, argues that innovative policymaking is key to unlocking protein diversification to transform Europe’s food system. To feed a growing population and minimize the adverse effects of animal agriculture on the environment and human health, new policy strategies should prioritise protein diversification, including plant and algae-based, cultivated, fermented, and insect-based alternatives, states the paper. The policy brief, developed by Think Tank EIT Food Protein Diversification in consultation with experts and stakeholders across the sector provides policy recommendations for decision-makers to accelerate a change for sustainable proteins in the region. “This collaborative effort confirms the important role of EU governments in driving change — from R&I funding, to enabling policy frameworks, to support for …

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The Good Food Institute has released two white papers that explore the potential of alternative seafood.

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Studies & Numbers

New GFI Alt Seafood Reports: Meeting the Global Demand for Seafood Without Depleting the Oceans

The Good Food Institute (GFI) has released two white papers that delve into the potential of alternative seafood to meet the increasing global seafood demand while achieving the world’s climate and biodiversity goals.  With seafood production projected to grow by 14% from 2020 to 2030, traditional fishing and aquaculture will impact the oceans and the environment severely, threatening biodiversity and marine habitats, argues GFI. However, plant-based and cultivated seafood have the potential to mitigate GHG emissions and also address other global challenges, such as biodiversity loss, nutrition, public health, and food security. GFI’s new research reports shed light on how policymakers, researchers, and ocean advocates can advance alternative seafood. Building climate policy momentum for alternative seafood This white paper explores how plant-based and cultivated seafood …

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tall grass with flowers

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Sustainability / Environment

GFI Europe: Alt Proteins Could Halt Biodiversity Loss in the UK & Globally

The international nonprofit the Good Food Institute Europe says alternative proteins could help achieve the objectives of the UK’s Environmental Improvement Plan 2023. Recently published by the UK government, the document provides a comprehensive delivery plan for the government’s approach to “halting and then reversing the decline in nature.” A decline in nature? According to scientists, humanity is facing a rapid biodiversity loss that has become a crisis, with a global rate of species extinction tens to hundreds of times higher than the average over the past 10 million years. At the UN Nature Summit COP15 in December 2022, nations, including the UK, adopted an ambitious new global agreement to protect biodiversity (similar to the Paris agreement), to conserve and manage at least 30 percent of the …

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ProVeg Oat Milk/ Dairy-Free Milk

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Politics & Law

ProVeg Urges FDA to Protect Consumer Choice as Agency Considers Plant-Based “Milk” Ban

Food awareness organization ProVeg International is urging the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to refrain from issuing new guidance that could discriminate against America’s rapidly growing plant-based milk sector. The FDA has sent an unpublished guidance document, entitled “Labeling of Plant-based Milk Alternatives and Voluntary Nutrient Statements”, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). ProVeg has learned this document may include a ban on the use of “milk” terms for plant-based products out of fear that it misleads consumers.  The organization is now calling on the FDA to protect dairy-free milk products from such labeling restrictions, which it says would discourage and impede food innovation.  Congressional letter Four US Senators, including Cory Booker, Mike Lee and Julia Brownley, already issued a letter to …

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Politics & Law

PBFA Launches New Institute to Drive Transition to Plant-Based Food System

The Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) announces the launch of a sister non-profit, The Plant Based Foods Institute (PBFI.) Led by food systems experts and industry pioneers, the Institute aims to drive transition to a plant-based food system by advancing key business and policy initiatives.  While the PBFA works to expand access to plant-based foods in the marketplace, PBFI’s goal is to cultivate solutions that shift government policies, agricultural practices, and demand toward a regenerative plant-based food system. To accomplish this, the organization will work with stakeholders to identify and implement effective strategies and approaches. Its board members include: Rachel Dreskin, CEO, PBFI and PBFA Jaime Athos, CEO, The Tofurky Company Matt Dunaj, CFO & VP of Operations, Follow Your Heart Tyler Whitely, Director, Transfarmation …

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Politics & Law

Report Tells UK Government to Revise “Fragmented and Underdeveloped” Alt-Protein Policy

A report by the Social Market Foundation has called on the UK government to update its alt-protein policy, with the aim of improving consumer choice and accelerating the transition to a more sustainable food system. The report says that with its current “fragmented and underdeveloped” policy, the UK risks falling behind other countries. The authors propose several steps the government could take to remedy this. The recommendations are as follows: The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy should develop a UK alt-protein strategy, with input from other departments, within a year. An alt-protein innovation needs assessment should be commissioned to understand how best to spend money and how much R&D is needed. Supermarkets should aim for at least 30% of protein sales to be …

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Environmental Conscious Businessman in Nature

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Society

How to Launch a Vegan Industrial Revolution

Could ‘shroomdogs’ and ‘veggie ribs’ be modern emblems of British innovation? These were two of the meat-free delights on offer at Sainsbury’s ‘vegan butchers’ – the UK’s first – which opened its doors to Londoners in late June. As one of the country’s largest supermarkets, Sainsbury’s recent animal-friendly zeal exhibits veganism’s gradual growth from hipsterish novelty into mainstream cuisine. That growth, combined with challenges it has yet to overcome, make it a perfect target for some activist policymaking. Many vegans and vegetarians will have heard the complaint that abstaining from meat remains unaffordable for many families and households – with veganism in particular sometimes being labelled as ‘classist’. While it may sting one’s moral sensibilities, this largely misses the point. New habits and technologies have …

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