GFI Europe calls for UK government investment in plant-based food

Good Food Institute Europe calls on the UK government to invest in a £30 million (US$40 million) innovation fund for plant-based foods and include protein sales in mandatory reporting measures. This comes as the government’s new food strategy has highlighted that alternative proteins can deliver economic growth.

Innovations like plant-based meat and precision fermentation can contribute to the government’s ambition for a healthy, resilient, and sustainable food system, according to GFI. 

The non-profit and think tank welcomes the UK’s policy paper, launched by Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs Daniel Zeichner, who set out a vision for how the strategy will “make healthy and sustainable food the default choice for consumers.” 

Towards a Good Food Cycle: A UK Government Food Strategy for England highlights how innovation can help plug a £14 billion (US$19 million) productivity gap in British food and drink manufacturing.

It highlights strong R&D in Britain, which is well placed to develop new products and markets for alternative proteins. 

GFI Europe is now calling for specific measures setting out how innovative food, such as precision fermentation, can help deliver innovation-driven growth.

Precision fermentation

According to GFI, start-ups and researchers are increasingly using precision fermentation to develop egg and dairy proteins that can enhance plant-based products, along with sustainable palm oil and coffee compounds.

GFI Europe also wants to see mandatory reporting on the proportion of protein sales that come from plant-based foods. This closely follows announcements that large food companies will need to report on health metrics, set out in the government’s 10-Year Health Plan earlier this month. 

This includes plant-based meat, which evidence suggests can reduce levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol, reduce the risk of bowel cancer, and improve gut health.

Linus Pardoe, senior UK policy manager at GFI Europe, says: “Increasing the take-up of options like plant-based meat, which can provide people with a simple switch to reduce our current overconsumption of processed meat, is an excellent way of making the sustainable and healthy choice the default option for consumers.” 

“The food strategy represents a unique opportunity to capitalize on the expertise that has been developed in the UK over the last decade, and develop ambitious plans to unlock alternative proteins’ potential to deliver food security, drive green growth and create new opportunities for food producers.”