Why we need to move towards Alternative Proteins in our diets

FOOD and climate are linked topics - an undeniable fact, and an uncomfortable one, too. By 2050, 52% more protein will need to be produced to feed a global population of 10 billion, on less land, at a time when the resources needed to do it diminish rapidly.

Asking you and I to be climate-aware about what we eat can seem like one extra thing we don’t have time to worry about. But therein lies the issue: we don’t have time to worry, we only have time to act.

In this new four-part series, we’ll look at advances in Alternative Proteins. This includes protein-rich crops from land and sea that provide nutrient-dense, delicious food, improves soil and water condition, sequesters carbon and other greenhouse gases, are adaptable to changing climate conditions, and combat poverty and food insecurity with accessibly priced alternatives to animal-based proteins.

What this does not include are foods commonly labelled as lab-grown meat, but it can include insects (more on that in week four!). This series isn’t proposing these alternatives replace animal-based proteins, rather it’s a way to rebalance the plate in of where our protein comes from.

Food innovation is rooted in research. The EU-funded Smart Protein Programme is a global research initiative led by a UCC-based project team.

This week, I talk to Dr Jaqueline Lyons, an expert in nutritional sciences and project manager for the Smart Proteins programme. I begin by asking: What is the Smart Protein project?

“Smart Protein is an EU- funded project under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme by the European Commission. It has €10m worth of funding, led by UCC and co-ordinated by Dr Emanuele Zannini in UCC’s School of Food and Nutritional Sciences,” explains Jacqueline.

“The project is a consortium of 33 partners from 14 countries from across Europe but also Switzerland, Israel, Thailand, New Zealand and USA. It’s a mixture of academics, research performing organisations, food industry partners – big and small - and some NGOs.”

The project has nine broad research strands, or Work Packages (WPs), many intersecting. It’s a complex picture but the overarching aim, explains Dr Lyons, is transitioning toward a plant-based diet.

“One WP looks at growing plant-based protein crops. There are four crops of interest: quinoa, chickpea, fava bean and lentil – high protein crops that are delicious.

“There are seven growing sites, or pilot farms, across Europe, including Ireland, using Regenerative Agricultural techniques. Data is gathered on the success of these plants in different climatic and soil conditions.

“Two WPs have food industry and academic partners working together on innovation to develop potential new ingredients. Some are proteins from the four crops of interest, but others are by-products from aspects of food industry: e.g., brewing, baking, pasta making.

“Working alongside the innovation groups, two further WPs provide s, such as life cycle analysis. They look what is being proposed among the innovators, the process from sourcing the ingredient right through its potential life, all associated energy inputs, and make assessments on its sustainability.”

This is important because any new product must meet three criteria: is it sustainable, nutritious, and affordable.

“Another WP researches market trends for plants and alternative products and looks at the regulatory landscape. Some Alternative Protein innovations could face regulatory hurdles because of something called the Novel Food Authorisation process. That’s a big deal if it doesn’t exist.

“The final WP looks at attitudes and behaviours towards plant-based foods from the results of wide-ranging European surveys. 40% of EU citizens self-described themselves as flexitarian, meaning not fully plant-based but actively incorporating more plant-based products into their lives. That’s useful to understand the consumer landscape and to identify future trends.

“This area of research is interesting and evolving; it has a global reach and takes a bigger picture view,” Dr Lyons says.

Why should we move towards APs in our diet?

“Mainly, food security and climate change and use of resources going forward,” explains Dr Lyons. “This buzz around AP comes from looking at food as it’s currently produced, and, in Europe, the way it’s currently produced is not sustainable. There’s big population growth predicted for the next 50 years, and it isn’t possible to use the resources we have to feed people as we do right now: we won’t be able to have the same amount of meat per capita because we wouldn’t be able to farm it.

“Change is needed to ensure food security and food affordability as much as possible, and acknowledging the impact animal agriculture can have on the environment. For these reasons, you can see a solution is to move towards a heavier reliance on plant-based AP and decreased reliance on animal protein.”

This research isn’t about eradicating animals as a source of food in favour of loading up the plate only with beans, peas and lentils, but rebalancing it with other sources of protein in the mix.

“From a nutrition point of view, what’s typically shown in the Western diet is that we eat a little more protein than we need. We could all exist on a little less protein, but that’s not what’s being suggested either. Animal proteins can be very nutritious; good quality meat and dairy like we have in Ireland, and particularly meat and fish in their unprocessed forms, is very valuable in the diet.

“But, equally, there are nutritionally valuable plant-based protein alternatives too. It wouldn’t be detrimental to our health to replace some meat, fish and dairy with a little more plant-based proteins because we have enough overall. I see both as relevant. I don’t think it must be all or nothing.”

UCC is the hub of the Smart Protein project, encoming 33 different partners. Why is it important for the project to be on that scale?

“You’ll always get more from collaboration, you can do more and amplify the results,” says Dr Lyons. “Even though the partners are far- flung globally, many are at the same stage with what’s going on in their population and the trend toward plant-based diets. People are becoming flexitarian, and the food industry is responding to that demand from consumers for better products to match that choice.

“That’s happening consistently across the EU, and most of the partners are governed by the same EU policies, food rules, the same labelling, marketing and public procurement rules. It makes sense to have ed up thinking as a group of Europeans looking at solutions because it affects us all relatively equally. We can achieve more together.

“It’s quite a challenge to have a product that’s tasty, affordable, and sustainable. The people who work in Smart Protein are very rounded in their view: we’re not for plant-based at all costs. There is a lot of thought about what goes into something being acceptable, and we would like to see stricter rules about some aspects of food labelling that make the merits of a product much clearer.”

Why is a project like this important now?

“EU policies align very much with the work of Smart Protein, and the work going on in the project (looking at food systems as they currently exist, tweaking to better help the climate situation) also must protect livelihoods as they are. They want to protect growers and farmers, but they also want to try and transform the food system to an extent.

“It’s hard to suggest to people in that space that change is coming and will be needed. Those people who have livelihoods in that area need to be ed if these changes are to come down the line.

“It’s likely subsidies will be the way to go. Animal agriculture has subsidies, but right now, for plant-based agriculture, there generally aren’t. If you want to encourage a shift, or for farmers to diversify and use some of their land for plant-based products, then it must be made attractive to farmers.

“I do think there is an urgency here given that climate change is happening as much as predicted, if not more, and that how we grow our food can have significant impact looking at the global sense.”

In researching sources of AP, the Smart Protein programme is taking a holistic view of the food system - from farm to fork. This might not sound revelatory because it is a term often thrown around, but in practice the global food system is a massive and complex web to navigate, let alone realigning it to a new paradigm.

Dr Lyons, alongside other Smart Protein colleagues, has published a policy paper on Alternative Proteins with recommendations that will offer better clarification on how to better help AP gain ground in the marketplace.

“The policy brief requests the inclusion of a sustainability policy labelling system within the Food Information to Consumer (FIC) Regulations that governs all food labelling in the EU. Right now, it’s unregulated; you can write what you want on a product,” says Dr Lyons.

“Another thing is a clear definition of what is vegan and vegetarian food. These are not defined yet in the FIC regulation, even though they should be. For instance, if it’s fully plant-based the vegan term can be used.

“Another policy point is an EU Public Procurement Directive. Any time there is public food procurement managed for a school, hospital, prison etc, we suggest including something about plant-based food, e.g., a minimum per portion of the menu to be plant-based. You could have a dramatic impact there.”

The Smart Protein project will complete its tenure in June, 2024, after four-and-a-half years. What will be its legacy?

“We are continually releasing publications from findings of the project – there’s a library of about 20 reports out there already. But in of what comes next, the industry partners involved who have explored pathways to innovation will be left to decide whether these products should go to launch. Based on products so far, there would be a limited number likely to come to market.

“The project has also added to the literature. By funding research and making the results publicly available, the studies published will drive on scientific research in this area.

“I also hope that the Alternative Proteins policy paper is taken seriously, and some changes are made based on it. I would love for that to be an output of the project that lasts.

“Projects of this scope move research questions along and naturally lead to the next step in the research pathway. The research from this project won’t end, it’s there to build upon for others who come next.”

The Smart Protein research project is timely and needed, but are we moving fast enough for the change that needs to happen?

For more see www.smartproteinproject.eu

• Next week: Kate Ryan talks to acclaimed Cork-based chef, Ali Honour, formerly of Ali’s Kitchen and The Imperial Hotel, who is a champion for the Beans Is How campaign, which aims to double global consumption of beans by 2028.

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