The race for non-meat protein
How Israel can lead the world in developing food for the future
The vegan idea of avoiding consumption of animals and their products has existed in the world for more than 1,000 years. Israel, you might be surprised to learn, is considered the world’s vegan capital, with some 5% of the general population vegans and another about 8% vegetarians.
The reasons for the shift to veganism are varied and include other considerations beyond concern for animals. It includes concern over greenhouse gas emissions at a rate of over 15% (more than all the motorized vehicles in the world together); the realization that this is a terrible waste of assets (to produce a single calorie of beef necessitates 20 calories, an equation that cannot be sustained in a world of 10 billion people); and recognizing the economic advantages of producing meat-based protein by reducing the use of antibiotics in the meat industry, especially in chicken.
Nonetheless, meat consumption – both in Israel and worldwide – is increasing. The world today consumes six times more meat than during the 1960s. And Israel, despite all its vegans, is the world leader in per capita chicken consumption. So how can the consumption of animal-based food be reduced?
The short answer is technology. The slightly longer answer is by finding new ways to produce meat substitutes that are tasty, juicy and affordable.
A billion dollars are invested every year in the race to produce alternative proteins to animal-based products, and Israel, which in the past decade has become a world leader in “foodtech,” has the potential to lead this race.
One familiar way to produce meat substitutes is plant-based production. Options such as Ramat Gan’s Tivol Food Industries’ plant-based products have existed in Israel for years. The next generation’s products are today reaching supermarket shelves. These include the famous Beyond Burger, already served in over 200 restaurants in Israel. By the way, Beyond’s launch on the Nasdaq was the most successful of 2019, and the company is now valued at over $6 billion!
A second way is to produce “cultured meat.” This is meat in every respect but whose source is cells removed from animals that are reproduced in-vitro. The first cultured steak was developed in Israel by the Israeli company Aleph Farms and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.
Other methods under development use yeasts and genetic engineering. The American company Perfect Day recently launched ice cream made from cow’s milk that did not come from a cow, but was rather produced using yeasts that underwent a design process to produce milk proteins. Other researchers worldwide are trying to design various plants so they will produce meat proteins.
A one-time opportunity for Israeli research and industry The food industry is one of the biggest in the world, reaching over $10 trillion (!) a year. Of this, the meat market alone is worth some $2t. The business opportunity is clear to all. Conservative estimates are for the meat-substitutes market to grow to more than $140b. in the coming decade. Israel, believe it or not, is today considered a leader in this field.
A long list of groundbreaking Israeli companies and start-ups are already developing all sorts of alternatives that include hummus and quinoa protein, 3D-printed hamburgers, meat substitutes produced from only seven components, groundbreaking vegan yogurt and a multi-purpose egg substitute. The Israeli foodtech world already encompasses more than 300 start-ups, and new initiatives are opened almost every week. Giant companies like Tnuva and Strauss have already been in the field for a long time, with vegetarian production lines and technological incubators. Even Israel Chemicals recently entered this world with a NIS 70 million investment in research and development of the capability to produce meat substitutes.
However, the world market has recognized the trend in recent years, and initial investments measuring several billion dollars are beginning to reach the substitute field. In order to remain in a leading worldwide position, Israel must keep up with the pace. With food, as opposed to other hi-tech industries, particularly high investments are needed in order to reach initial results. Facilities worth millions of dollars are required to produce high-level plant-based meat, and these are in short supply in Israel.
Producing cultured meat requires even higher investments. And if this isn’t enough, Israeli regulation has not yet begun to think how to contend with the production supervision processes and approval to sell cultured meat, while the Americans and Singaporeans have already advanced in these processes. The required investments and regulation in its infancy mean that if the government of Israel will not undertake to promote this matter, despite the abundance of Israeli innovation and research, the next Beyond Burger will probably not be developed in Israel.
So what has to be done so that we will see a successful meat substitute industry here? Simple. The government of Israel has to define alternative protein technology as a national priority assignment, like cyber or like desalination technology. The Israel Innovation Authority must finance groundbreaking research studies through start-ups, in academia and in industry. The ics and environmental protection must use the tools at their disposal and direct the Israeli food industry toward groundbreaking innovation. And the Health Ministry must quickly formulate a detailed program of activities for the regulation of cultured meat, so that Israel will also be the first country in the world in which the Israeli inventions can be consumed.
The writer is managing director of The Good Food Institute Israel (gfi.org) that promotes research, development and innovation of sustainable and humane food, based on proteins produced from plants and cultured cells.