Mainstreaming of plant-based movement: A difficult reality for the traditional protein industry to stomach?

20 Nov 2019 --- Although one in two companies are increasing the availability of plant-based products, it is happening against a backdrop of concurrent growth in meat sales. This is one of the findings of the new The Future of Food report, published by Forum For the Future, which assesses the public commitments of 132 of the largest, most influential businesses with a stake in the global food system, such as major high-street retailers, brands and food service providers as well as meat, dairy and feed producers. FoodIngredientsFirst sat down with Roberta Iley, Principle Change Designer, Forum For the Future, at Food Matters Live in London, UK.

With agriculture and land-use change accounting for almost 24 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, the report asks whether businesses are doing enough to create a more sustainable global food system for protein. This entails one in which animals are fed with sustainable feedstocks, natural ecosystems are restored and protected, and ultimately, a growing population is fed with healthy, affordable food within planetary boundaries.

“We’ve all felt inspired by the change that has happened around protein in the last 18 months. Very few people would have predicted the shift that we have seen and the products we can get in the supermarket now. But with this new report, we wanted to take a step back and ask, ‘do we see the real changes that we need to see?’” says Iley.

The report found that food and ingredient businesses are leading the way in the plant-based protein space. Seventy-nine percent are actively advancing plant protein in their portfolios or on their menus, closely followed by foodservice and restaurants (61 percent), retailers (52 percent) and meat producers and processors (34 percent). 

Our protein intake is gradually become more balanced between plant-based and animal sources. Credit: The Future of Food report.High-profile acquisitions of disruptive plant protein companies by food businesses, especially in the EU and US, are rife. An example the report cites is Sweet Earth, acquired by Nestlé and WhiteWave, acquired by Danone, both in 2017. In a recent in-depth interview with FoodIngredientsFirst, Kelly Swette, CEO and Co-founder of Sweet Earth, explained how the plant-based Awesome Burger was created in a kitchen, not a lab, with a focus on achieving “awesome flavor and nutrition in wholesome ways.”

Innova Market Insights also highlights the mammoth growth. Meat substitutes accounted for 11 percent of new meat product launches (meat, poultry and meat substitutes) reported in Europe in 2018 (January to September), up from 9 percent in 2013. The global picture shows stronger growth still, with 14 percent of meat launches in the first nine months of 2018 being meat alternatives. This compares with 6 percent in 2013. The market researcher has also ranked “The Plant-Based Revolution” as second place in its Top Ten Trends list for 2020. 

While plant-based meat alternatives are a robust trend of the floor of Food Matters Live, currently happening in London. Green Meat Products was exhibiting its range of plant-based shawarma, satay and sausage products, which are expected to debut in Britain in the first quarter of next year. 

Even meat-industry heavyweights such as Tyson, Vion and Smithfield broke boundaries by launching plant-based and hybrid ranges, and fast food giants such as KFC, McDonald’s, Burger King and Dunkin’ have jumped on the trend by incorporating vegetarian burgers into their offerings at specific locations.

But, Iley highlights that despite this proliferation in plant-based NPD, real, systematic changes that target the core of business’ centralized strategies are yet to come. 

“That means looking at how the products are formulated, looking at the production practices of protein, how you engage your customers and how you work with the supply chain,” she explains.

A further barrier comes in the form of steady growth in meat sales, and a lack of effort to reformulate other, more mainstream meat or dairy ranges. 

Indeed, the push for a move to more balanced, protein consumption that reduces our focus on animal protein could prompt pushback from the traditional dairy and meat industries – despite the incremental increase in ranges that tout a plant-based profile.

Iley highlights that a “new normal is needed,” which is indeed a difficult reality to face for some industries. “The organization is looking to other enablers in the system like policymakers, asking how can we make that transition? We need to see how we can support people into a new form of livelihood, in some cases. We see some signs of alarm, but it’s not how we polarize the debate but how we work together.” Green Meats are dishing out plant-based shawarma at Food Matters Live, currently taking place in London.

Essentially, there remains a growing need for widespread systemic approaches that account for both protein consumption and production, and have the potential to drive change well beyond individual company boundaries.

A five-point plan
For a real, transformative shift in the global food system, the report lays out a five-point plan to get businesses on track towards a more sustainable global food system. 

1. Develop an integrated protein strategy that puts sustainable nutrition at the center of delivering healthy diets, links to corporate climate targets and covers key protein impact areas.
2. Make public, time-bound commitments to shift to sustainable animal feed that send clear signals to the market.
3. Embed across the business: Focus resources on understanding the shifts needed across all consumer product portfolios to embed and enable healthy balanced diets, and how to align this across all business functions with a supportive business model, led from the top.
4. Collaborate: Identify and collaborate on pre-competitive challenges, from shifting our food culture and transforming across the value chain to create an effective enabling environment for scaling sustainable animal feed.
5. Advocate for change across the food sector, engaging policymakers and institutions. With ten years left to address the climate challenge, businesses can play an active role in engaging policy makers, investors, funders and NGOs to accelerate action – seding a clear signal for outcomes that deliver both sustainability and nutrition outcomes and shifting incentives in the market.

“Businesses can lead the change needed and the five-point plan is designed to accelerate progress,” says Lesley Mitchell, Associate Director for Sustainable Nutrition at Forum for the Future. “The big question is what their business will look like in a world where sustainable, nutritious, affordable protein is the norm – and start shaping that future, today.” 

Forum for the Future commissioned The Future of Food as the facilitator of the global Protein Challenge 2040, an international protein collaboration that brings together pioneering nonprofits and businesses to explore how we can provide up to 10 billion people with enough protein in a way that is healthy, affordable and good for the planet. Each partner focuses on protein as a major issue within its business strategy.

By Laxmi Haigh