Obtaining proteins using alternative techniques to those we know is a matter of global interest, since it depends on being able to guarantee world nutrition for the next decades under criteria of sustainability and environmental protection. The ecosystem of innovative projects around the world is growing: from plant-based or seaweed-based products to cultured, non-slaughtered animal meat.
The world population will be close to 10,000 million inhabitants by the middle of this century and food supply systems must be as closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Eradicating hunger and food insecurity, as well as achieving sustainable management of agriculture and natural resources, is a central pillar in the 2030 Agenda marked by the United Nations.
Faced with this challenge, it is understandable that the ecosystem of companies and innovative projects related to alternative proteins around the world is growing. The agri-food industry invests more and more in the development of this type of product because it is aware that the future requires conversion towards a more efficient food supply system.
What are the options of this ‘entrepreneurial ecosystem of alternative proteins? Well, currently there are several and very diverse: High quality protein concentrate from marine algae grown in the ocean; meat made with 100% vegetable ingredients, such as soybeans or peas, insect protein… or cultivated meat of 100% animal origin that does not require sacrifice, are some of the main options.
And in Spain there are pioneering projects of this type. BioTech Foods is one of them, the first to work on the scale-up of natural, high-protein, cultivated meat without antibiotics.
The ‘nature’ of cultivated meat
As the CTO and co-founder of BioTech Foods, Mercedes Vila, explains, despite the names that may be given to it, such as laboratory meat or synthetic meat, the cultivated meat process is “just as natural as the one carried out with bacteria to make yoghurts or with yeasts to create beers”.
Cultivated meat is real meat, since if we look at the product through a microscope, the same cells are observed as in the animal from which the original tissue has been extracted. And the same is true if we look at DNA. That is why the final products, for the moment prepared with meat such as sausages, hamburgers or meatballs, will have the same texture and flavor as we know today.
The environmental ‘savings’ of future products
On the other hand, consumers are increasingly informed and concerned about the health, sustainability, ecology and proximity of the food we consume. Alternative proteins also have a lot to contribute in this field, since to tasty meat with a healthy protein intake, another advantage must be added: the savings in water, land and emissions that it entails compared to traditional industrial methods.
In the case of Biotech Foods: 99% less land, 75% less water and 90% less emissions than another similar meat product today. We are facing a food and environmental emergency in which new proposals such as cultivated meat are an option for the future.
