Interview
The research gaps holding back alternative proteins from mass adoption | Seren Kell (2023)
- Korn's current fungal strain, discovered in the 1970s, will serve as the basis for future work while researchers anticipate discovering hundreds of thousands to millions of uncharacterized microbial strains, noting that the potential for new fungal discoveries is vast given that fungi are less understood than the lunar surface.
- The market outlook predicts a shift toward hybrid products combining cultivated meat, fermentation, and plant-based ingredients, with specific pillars appealing to different consumer segments as the industry moves toward 150 global cultivated meat companies compared to fewer than 20 in 2017.
- Fermentation is expected to drive the rise of alternative proteins by offering massive reductions in land use, water usage, and greenhouse gas emissions, including a predicted 70% lower carbon footprint for Korn's protein compared to chicken and 97 fewer emissions for precision fermentation whey versus cow-derived whey.
- Sustainability plans include utilizing waste byproducts like spent grain and corn husks as feedstock, while biomass fermentation companies like Enough Foods are projected to deliver 50,000 tons of protein annually, equivalent to a cow's worth of protein every two minutes.
- Technical and economic expectations for cultivated meat include a required cost reduction for cell culture media from $300–$400 per liter to approximately $1 per liter, with strategies involving metabolic engineering, media recycling, and the use of plant hydrolysates to achieve commercial viability and a target production cost of €4.68 per kilogram by 2030.
- Consumer adoption relies on alternative proteins being familiar, affordable, and convenient, with expectations of strong interest shown by 80% of UK and US consumers and visible demand in Singapore, alongside a need for the industry to integrate into specific cultural contexts and cuisines.
- Infrastructure and regulatory developments are anticipated to address major bottlenecks, with public investment needed for shared pilot plants and government signals like the Dutch 60 million euro investment or US and Singapore approvals expected to incentivize industry growth and signal that regulation is not a primary barrier.
- Research and community growth efforts, particularly by GFI Europe, will focus on building open access ecosystems, mobilizing funding through projects like "More," and expanding career pathways across disciplines, though an unmet annual funding need of $40 billion remains, representing a requirement for 300 times more current research funding levels.
- Strategic challenges include the current lack of appropriate fermentation infrastructure for food applications and the need for significant technical research to make growing on substrates like wood pulp economically viable, alongside the necessity for positive political narratives to support the transition away from animal agriculture.