In a report to state and federal governments, alternative proteins think tank Food Frontier has warned that failing to transform our food system will see Australia miss out on market opportunities as well as fall behind the rest of the world. It makes a series of recommendations for state and federal governments the embed innovation in Australia's food industry.
Food Frontier said state and territory governments should appoint a dedicated Food Minister, as the Federal House Standing Committee on Agriculture suggested for the federal government following its Inquiry into Food Security in Australia last year.
A dedicated strategy to grow domestic food innovation and value-adding industries (including the alternative protein sector) should be developed and implemented, as should mechanisms to promote innovation in food production.
Pulling that altogether would be a whole-of-government National Food Taskforce charged with coordinating departmental delivery of the plan that would work closely with state and territory governments to align jurisdictional priorities and action.
Food Frontier CEO, Dr Simon Eassom, said, “We are now seeing many governments around the world putting policies in place to mitigate climate change. As citizens themselves take effective action, as seen recently in Switzerland, governments will come under increasing pressure to address all areas of concern, including food production.”
Five key recommendations
- Demonstrate support for alternative proteins through thought leadership and proactive sectoral engagement to foster positive sentiment for protein diversification and to engender investor and consumer confidence.
- Co-invest with industry in enabling, scale-up infrastructure, including into onshore plant protein ingredient processing capacity and contract / co-access manufacturing facilities that can be leveraged by the sector to provide domestic value-addition, economic and employment benefits.
- Proactively build Australia’s alternative proteins skilled workforce through subsidised studies, industry placements and targeted, skilled migration programs.
- Pursue health strategies that encourage the adoption of plant-centric and sustainable diets and utilise government procurement to incorporate plant protein in institutional settings, such as in aged care, to address diet-related health concerns.
- Generate investor attraction reports detailing the domestic and export opportunities for new protein industries through detailed market analysis.
The report said that while efforts by governments and those in agricultural and food industries were good, sectoral decarbonisation was no guarantee of the future of Australia’s food systems, particularly in the context of “climate change, growing global food security and nutrition-related public health concerns, and ongoing disruptions to domestic and international supply chains”.
“No one protein, existing or emerging, or agrifood tech innovation, is a silver bullet solution to our complex challenges. Vulnerability points across the entire system – from production through to disposal – must be addressed. Most importantly, the approach across sectors and governments must be coordinated through a considered, holistic systems transformation policy that recognises food as a climate change imperative,” it said.
Countries facing greater risk of food insecurity have already started to address how best to sustainably source, produce, and consume food. Food Frontier said that seeing the challenge as an economic opportunity means engaging with new food industries, including alternative proteins.
“Alternative proteins can and should play a critical role in Australia’s own transformation.
“This report is not about pointing fingers; it’s about recognising the need for a coordinated approach across all protein industries. We hope decision-makers will find it useful and implement its suggested actions,” Eassom said.
Alongside market diversification of sustainable protein sources to support equitable access to nutritious diets and bolster food security, alternative proteins can offer value-addition and waste reduction opportunities to existing agrifood industries.
“The potential to centre new and circular, advanced agrifood industries in Australia’s major growing regions could also provide regional development and skilled job creation whilst increasing sovereign manufacturing capability.”
“We know current global food systems, which rely heavily on animal agriculture, are responsible for between one-quarter and one-third of all global greenhouse gas emissions. Feeding a growing global population, expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, and meeting increased demand for high quality protein will require us to provide a diversified range of protein-rich food in a more sustainable way. Australia has people and businesses with the skills and will to develop alternative protein supplies, but they need support,” Eassom said.
Data from Alternative Proteins Global ranks Australia eighth globally for total alternative protein investment from 2022 to the first half of 2023.
The number of alternative proteins companies in Australia has grown from less than five in 2017, to more than 30 in 2023, and, of the 300 products now available on our supermarket shelves, 56 per cent are made by Australian plant-based meat manufacturers.
“If alternative proteins reach a predicted 11 per cent global share of the meat, egg, and dairy sector, it will lead to a reduction of 0.85 gigatons of CO2e worldwide by 2030 – equal to decarbonising 95 per cent of the aviation industry within the same timeframe,” the report said.
Meanwhile, looking at broader plant protein opportunities, the number of plant protein ingredient manufacturers in Australia has increased to at least six and growing. Made from Australian grown grains and pulses, these value-added products are now being used by domestic and international companies across more than 23 different food and beverage categories to deliver increased protein and fibre content, Food Frontier said.
Australia’s cellular agriculture industry, while still young and addressing challenges, is on track for substantial growth. There are now nine domestic cellular agriculture companies, and Australia is on the
verge of having its first cell-cultivated meat product approved for domestic sale, with Vow Foods’ novel foods application for cell-cultured Japanese quail currently before Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Only Singapore, the US, and as of January 2024, Israel, have so far approved the sale of select cultivated meat products, giving Australia the potential to become the fourth.
Singapore, the US, Israel and, as of February 2024, Canada, are the only countries to have approved the sale of precision fermented dairy products.
Read the full report here.
Major developments in Australia’s alternative protein sector:
In April, cultivated meat company, Vow, unveiled its cultivated meat, Qualia, launched its brand, Forged, and announced it would be on the menu in Singapore at Mandala Club.
Vow also has a novel food application for Qualia before the Food Standards Australia New Zealand.
In January, Plant-based meat pioneer v2food acquired plant-based ready-meal brand, Soulara, and announced a new business Flexitarian Meal Solutions to house it and v2food’s new fitness ready-meal brand Macros.
In October 2023, food tech company, Nourish Ingredients, announced its world-first animal-free fat, Tastilux, saying it solves the biggest issues for plant-based meat on taste, nutrition, and consumer adoption by cooking, smelling, and tasting like animal meat.
Nourish then announced it would use Singapore as its base to build a regional footprint for its world first animalic fats.
Also in October, All G Foods and Fënn Foods merged their plant-based meat businesses into a new company, The Aussie Plant Based Co. All G is retaining its biotechnology division and will focus on developing nature identical dairy proteins.
