This was according to the Founder and President of alternative proteins think tank Good Food Institute (GFI) Bruce Friedrich, who also highlighted current operational inefficiencies as the main reason this change is inevitable.
“We know that the energy conversion of animal meat consumption is not the most efficient – the best performing is chicken which converts every 9 kcal of its consumption to 1kcal of energy for the consumer, which is 11% efficiency,” he told the floor at the recent Asia Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit in Singapore.
“Other meats are even less efficient such as pork which converts 10 kcal to 1 kcal at 10% efficiency, and beef from 100 kcal to 1kcal at 1% efficiency.
“This just shows that over the system of growing crops to feed animals to feed us which has been ongoing for 12,000 years is simply very inefficient [but today] some three billion hectares of land is being used for these crops, to be made into animal feed or for animals to graze on.
“By 2050 we are going to need some 70% more meat and so even more land, which is not feasible and the only solution moving forward is protein transition – but we also need to recognise that currently plant-based products do not yet satisfy consumers
“More work is still needed to unlock their potential, which involves both making these taste the same or better or costing the same or less compared to conventional animal products.”
Larger role for APAC governments to play
He also spotlighted Asia Pacific as the region that will be leading this increased protein demand, comprising as much as 50% of meat demand primarily due to population size.
“There is a parallel to be drawn here with that of solar energy or electric vehicles, which a decade ago were not yet viewed as real options to transform the energy sector,” he said.
“Ten years on, the costs for solar power and EVs have decreased by a huge amount because the world and Asia all leaned in after recognising the need for these solutions
“Asia in particular led the way in energy transition powered by government support and we believe that Asian governments can do the same for alternative protein, especially given its massive potential to become a US$700bn industry by 2050.”
Hopes are being pinned on markets such as China with a strong and stable government system as well as high ambitions for self-sustainability.
“The fact is that Chinese Premier Xi Jinping has for some time set a directive for self-sufficiency in China, in that he wants Chinese bowls to be filled with locally-produced foods, but this has seen a setback recently,” he added.
“Last year, China moved from national self-sufficiency to a situation where it was importing more crops than it was exporting, dropping to around 70% self-sufficiency, and this is sharply in contrast with Xi’s directive.
“As such, we are hopeful that alternative proteins will be seeing much more of the spotlight in order to increase national self-sufficiency rates in markets such as China, and it is now a good time to push forward.”
